There is a brigade of players that are a given in most FPL teams at this stage of the season, so these players aren’t going being included in our list. The players presented are useful additions or no go zones for any FPL manager to get that late advantage in overall ranking or moving up in mini-leagues before the season comes to a close.
Goalkeepers:
Own
Ederson
City have a decent run of fixtures that all look set to have clean-sheet potential. With them keeping 4 shout-outs recently, the Brazilian is on a stretch of steady point’s production that will no doubt continue.
Bernd Leno
Arsenals run home looks simple. An away trip to Leicester looks the toughest test for a clean-sheet and with Leno making top quality saves all round (4.6 per game), points galore and potential bonus is on the cards. A double GW38 against Burnley and Wolves could be a nice way for FPL managers to end the season.
Avoid
Lukasz Fabianski
Despite tons of saves recently, West Ham have only kept 1 clean-sheet since GW22. The Polish keeper’s bonus points in a losing effort have also dried up with his lack of shut-outs. Fixtures between GW33 and GW36 also don’t look good on paper, with the Hammers facing Chelsea, Manchester United, Leicester and Spurs.
Jordan Pickford
Recent weeks have served well for the young Englishman, however, fixtures are generally determinant of points and Everton have a torrid run to finish the season. Recently Pickford has registered scores of 6, 7 and 7, but these appear to be his last credible returns for the season.
Defenders:
Own
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Back into the Liverpool team with a bang, scoring returns of 18 and 9 in his first two games back from injury. At a £5.6 price compared to his Liverpool counterparts of Virgil Van Dijk (£6.6) and Andy Robertson (£6.9), Trent could propel many FPL managers as being a sneaky dark horse pick. Set-piece duty, bonus points, fixture difficulty and no blank weeks.
Nathan Akè
Only 6.3%TSB gives FPL managers a proven differential for assistance in outscoring opponents in mini-leagues. Adept at scoring goals and only missing 9 minutes of football all season so far, the Dutchman could have a stellar finish to the season. Bournemouth have a great run of fixtures with only a GW37 home match against Spurs being the only side in the top half of the table at the current time.
Avoid
Marcos Alonso
Despite being stellar at the beginning of the season, performing as a midfielder while being listed as a defender, the Spaniard has had a hard time of late. Frequently blanking in recent weeks, his inconsistency is his downfall. At 27%TSB still, missing GW29 and GW30, Alonso can’t be trusted to provide returns and should be shipped for better, cheaper performers.
Matt Doherty
Being the surprise of the season in the defence, Doherty looks to have hit his peak and fallen since. Having produced three 1 points’ returns in a row, this return run could have dated back to GW21 had he not grabbed a couple of assists in GW25 and GW27. With poor fixtures coming for Wolverhampton, 2 blanks and a double GW38 that consists of Liverpool and Arsenal, points could be scarce for Doherty.
Midfielders:
Own
Raheem Sterling
The young Englishman has been simply superb this season, and with him being in Guardiola’s core of favourites it is likely that Sterling won’t be rested in the run in. Sterling is averaging 7.4 points per game over the season and is producing double figure returns every 3.3 games on average. With that in mind Sterling statistically has 2 double figure matches and around 60+ points to turn in to FPL managers. He is maybe the biggest must have with their title push in the picture.
Sadio Manè
Like Sterling, Manè has been outstanding this season from the get go, often out performing FPL darling Mohamed Salah. Despite not producing as many overall points as his Liverpool counterpart it has been the consistency of the Senegalese winger that makes him a better option than Salah. Only blanking 3 times since GW20, Manè has produced 9 goals in that same time-frame.
Avoid
Felipe Anderson
1 assist in the last 11 games is a production rate that speaks for itself. Being one of the best players in the league for the better part of the first half of the season, this early season production has stuck in FPL managers heads with 16.5% of teams still having the Brazilian in them. A fraudulent display of seasonal statistics makes the Hammer an enticing option, but his over-excelling early on has skewed data to make it look like he is viable. Bad fixtures in the run home and the blank after blank against easier opponents only means an avoid at all cost.
Christian Eriksen
There can only be room for a few premiums in each FPL squad and right now the Dane can’t be one of them. This “avoid” doesn’t totally come from a poor performance stand point but a squad depth view. With Eriksen sitting at a £9.3 value it is a better option to get the more explosive and higher scoring Heung-Min Son instead. Add-in Spurs target man Harry Kane and there is no need for that third option on Spurs attackers. Money is better spent elsewhere, like on Sadio Manè as mentioned earlier.
Forwards:
Own
Harry Kane
The Englishman is lighting up. Scoring 3 times in the four games since his return, he is looking ominous for a big final stanza, and if Spurs want to remain in the champions league spots he is going to have to produce. Rarely benched or even subbed, Kane is a banker to play all remaining fixtures that consist of some mouth-watering games for FPL managers - Brighton, Huddersfield, West Ham, Bournemouth and a double GW38 of Everton and Crystal Palace. His price is high, but no one gives returns like an inform Kane.
Alexandre Lacazette
Playing second fiddle to Aubameyang in the Arsenal FPL pecking order, the Frenchman could be the spark for FPL managers to finish strong. Not registering a scoring involvement in only 2 of his last 10 fixtures, consistency has been key with 6 goals and 3 assists. At a £9.4 price, well below Aubameyang (£10.8), he could provide a great Arsenal attack differential – Lacazette (8.3%TSB), Aubameyang (17.8%TSB). Fixture difficulty also couldn’t be better for Arsenal with an away trip to Leicester looking to toughest match-up.
Avoid
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Although the Fulham forward has had a decent season with 10 goals and 3 assists his FPL numbers lately have been abysmal. The bulk of his returns came at the early stages of the season and from then on has been a perennial bench filler for a lot of FPL teams. At £6.4 this is relatively okay for a 90 minute player as a back-up. But Fulham as a whole have been terribly and it doesn’t appear that Mitrovic will bang in any returns in the home stretch. At the £6.5 and below option you have Bournemouth pairing of Callum Wilson and Josh King, Solomon Rondon and Troy Deeney. 4 options better for the price.
Marcus Rashford
With the change in manager, Rashford looked to have a new lease on life at Old Trafford scoring 5 goals in 6 games. However, a drop-off was expected and it has arrived recently. 5 blanks in a row with 6 blanks in his last 7 is bad news. To add to this, Romelu Lukaku has hit form and looks set to remain in the central striker role pushing Rashford wider. Currently, still 26.9% of FPL managers have the Englishman, but it is time to ditch and either downgrade to allow upgrades elsewhere or upgrade in the forward spot.
Honourable Mentions:
Own
Callum Wilson
As mentioned, Wilson is a valuable asset in FPL at his price range. Continually among the goals and assists, Wilson returned from a stint on the sideline with an impressive 11 point FPL return. With only Spurs presented as a team that appears to be able to keep him quiet in Bournemouth’s final games, goals could continue to the finish.
Virgil Van Dijk
One of the best EPL players this season, VVD has transformed Liverpool’s defence into a rock solid clean-sheet point’s production system for FPL. As a premium there are better valued options in terms of price but consistency is again the key. As said, Liverpool produce a ton of clean-sheets and that doesn’t appear to be stopping. Now that the big Dutchman has added goals to his repertoire he is undoubtedly the most must have defender. 42 FPL points in his last 5 games explains it all.
Avoid
Richarlison
The lustre of the young Brazilian as a credible option should have worn off by now but some (17.8%TSB) still have him as a squad player. His goals are few and far between and he is attracting next to no bonus points, even threw his good stints of form. FPL managers should just steer clear of all Everton players.
Marko Arnautovic
The man that everyone touted to be the most valuable asset of the season has dropped off a cliff since GW6. The up and down performances plus an inability to stay fit has led to him being one of the worst FPL options. His price range is tempting to allow for other options, but with only 2 goals since GW12 and him being behind in the pecking order to others at the club – not starting a game in 6 fixtures (4 bench appearances/2 left out of squad), he is to unreliable to trust for FPL returns with the tough schedule West Ham have to finish.
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