Preview: Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 22
After a break for the FA Cup, Fantasy Premier League is back with Gameweek 22 presenting new challenges. LastWordOnFootball previews the upcoming round of Premier League fixtures.
Captaincy Picks
There are basically 3 major contenders this week for the armband. Mohamed Salah has to be a very strong captaincy option considering the form he is in. The Egyptian travels to Brighton this week with 4 goals and 2 assists in his last 4 away games. Salah scored a memorable hat-trick at Bournemouth recently and with his recent form, no one can bet against him netting at the Amex. He received the African player of the year award for the 2nd consecutive season on Tuesday so he should be in high spirit. Salah is also well rested as he did not start the FA cup game at Wolves. One would expect Liverpool to win comfortably at Brighton but things can get tricky if the Bluebirds get an early goal.
Chelsea have been very inconsistent this season. Eden Hazard seems to be their only source of inspiration in Premier League matches. They had a busy week with both FA Cup and Carabao Cup matches. Hazard played the full 90 minutes on Tuesday at Wembley in a highly competitive game against Spurs. This week they face Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge. Normally, one would expect a fairly routine victory for the Blues but after such a busy period, facing a Benitez side could make it a frustrating encounter. Hazard owners already have such experience from last week when he blanked against lowly Southampton. The potential is there for the Belgian to do really well though.
Manchester City are back! They seem to have come out from their wobble with 4 wins on the bounce and scoring goals for fun again. City won 9-0 last night against Burton Albion in the League Cup and thrashed Rotherham 7-0 in the FA Cup on Sunday. The win against Liverpool seems to have worked wonders for them. This week, they are at home again and facing a Wolves side that has earned a reputation of doing well against the big teams. One would expect a big win for the Citizens this week though. Sergio Agüero did not play in either of the two cup games. He is apparently ill but one would expect him to play this week. Team news might clarify things further. Raheem Sterling also could be a good option as he was benched last night.
Other Top Contenders
From the Liverpool vs Brighton game, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané are also worth considering. Andrew Robertson is another one who could do well.
Leroy Sané was taken off after 66 minutes last night so should start this week. The young German has the ability to go big in any home game.
As Newcastle are likely to defend deep, there is a good chance of clean sheet for Chelsea. Marcos Alonso and David Luiz could do very well, especially if they are involved in the attacking play as they most often are, at home.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has the happy knack of scoring goals even if he doesn’t seem to be playing well. He travels to the London stadium to face West Ham. This match is likely to see goals in it with both defences being quite porous in recent week.
Differentials to Consider
Everton vs Bournemouth could be a great game for Fantasy Football managers. It could also be very dire like when Leicester came to visit Goodison. One might consider Richarlison, Lucas Digne, Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser, and Gylfi Sigurdsson from this game.
Leicester City will take on Southampton in a match that holds a lot of promise for fantasy points. Jamie Vardy, Ricardo Pereira, and Nathan Redmond are the top picks from this game.
Calling Harry Kane a differential is not normal but this week against an in-form Man Utd picking him could be termed as such. It could be a game where the Red Devils come crushing back down to earth.
Top Picks
- Mohamed Salah (13.3)
- Eden Hazard (11.1)
- Sergio Aguero (11.2)
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (11.4)
- Raheem Sterling (11.3)
- Roberto Firmino (9.2)
- Jamie Vardy (8.9)
- Lucas Digne (5.2)
- Harry Kane (12.6)
- David Luiz (5.9)
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