Tom Carnduff delivers his fantasy football tips and advice for Gameweek 17 with transfers and captaincy choices discussed.
Who has the best fixtures in Gameweek 17?
It's another midweek round of Premier League fixtures and the quick turnaround may cause some issues in fantasy football. In a busy time of year - with games coming every few days - rotation is more likely to happen.
The past week has highlighted how important it is to have a strong bench on FPL. The upcoming fixtures play their part but games are being postponed due to Covid.
When games are called off, having the ability to call upon four bench players who you know will play is vital. It will catch other players out - there will be chances for additional points that others won't have.
It'll be no surprise to see that LIVERPOOL feature here as they face a Newcastle side who lost 4-0 away at Leicester in their last outing.
The Reds are heavily involved in the title race again and they know the importance of winning games such as this - and even boosting their goal difference while they do so.
Injury-hit Leeds pushed Chelsea all the way at Stamford Bridge but MANCHESTER CITY will be another who are viewing this week as a bit of a must-win.
Joao Cancelo is suspended for this one - which impacts plenty of fantasy football players - and the quick turnaround means that rotation could come into play.
An interesting one is NORWICH. They have posted above 1.0 xG in all four of their games under Dean Smith and a home contest against Aston Villa could bring goals.
On the flip side, under Steven Gerrard - who replaced Smith at Villa Park - they have conceded above 1.0 xG in four of their five contests with no clean sheets in their last four.
Who are the cheap FPL players to make up my squad?
To help with those decisions of bringing cheaper players in so that the options on the bench are involved, here is a list of those with smaller price tags who see regular minutes.
GK:
- Vicente Guaita - Crystal Palace - £4.6m
- Robert Sanchez - Crystal Palace - £4.6m
- Tim Krul - Norwich - £4.5m
- Daniel Bachmann - Watford - £4.2m
DEF:
- Pontus Jansson - Brentford - £4.6m
- Ben White - Arsenal - £4.5m
- Tino Livramento - Southampton - £4.3m
- Rayan Ait Nouri - Wolves - £4.3m
MID:
- Emile Smith Rowe - Arsenal - £6.0m
- Demarai Gray - Everton - £5.6m
- Bryan Mbeumo - Brentford - £5.5m
- Stuart Dallas - Leeds - £5.0m
FWD:
- Teemu Pukki - Norwich - £5.9m
- Emmanuel Dennis - Watford - £5.8m
- Armando Broja - Southampton - £5.1m
What are the best transfers to make for Gameweek 17?
Based on statistics, form and fixtures, we pick out three players worth considering for Gameweek 17.
Marcos Alonso
- Position: DEF
- FPL price: £5.7m
- Sky price: £7.9m
Chelsea face an Everton side who are struggling. The pressure is on Rafa Benitez with his side struggling to pick up points - that should continue as they go to Stamford Bridge.
Reece James is a popular fantasy football choice but there is a case for bringing in a differential in Marcos Alonso. James is in 35.5% of FPL teams; Alonso sits in a much lower 10.3%.
Clean sheets have been a bit of a problem for Chelsea lately but we can hold confidence in Alonso posting attacking returns. He contributed an assist against Leeds to take his tally to two - that's alongside the goal against Crystal Palace.
With Ben Chilwell still sidelined, Alonso should continue his run in the team and he can return points over the busy festive period.
Teemu Pukki
- Position: DEF
- FPL price: £5.9m
- Sky price: £7.7m
We've spoken already about the importance of having a squad of players who will be involved given the current suspensions to matches and there is an argument for involving Teemu Pukki as the third striker for a cost of £5.9m.
He scored in the recent away game at Newcastle while seeing a total of 12 shots since Smith was appointed - that is significant when we consider that two of those games were against Manchester United and away at Tottenham.
This week sees them host a Villa side have conceded above 1.0 xG in four of their five contests under Gerrard. There is every chance that Norwich can find a way through and Pukki being involved.
There is also potential over the Christmas period and beyond as five of Norwich's next six are against teams rated 3 on the FDR - with two games against those rated 2 afterwards.
Conor Gallagher
- Position: DEF
- FPL price: £6.1m
- Sky price: £7.3m
Conor Gallagher has already been mentioned in fantasy football articles in the past but now is the time to suggest him again - almost 75% of FPL teams don't currently have him in their squad.
Gallagher remains a bargain price at £6.1m and he is someone who continues to deliver - only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Manchester City's Bernardo Silva have returned more points among midfielders on FPL.
He netted twice against Everton (landing an 11/1 winner in our best bets video) and Palace's run of fixtures is good - three of their next four are against teams rated 2 on the FDR (Southampton H, Watford A, Norwich H).
Who is the best captain for Gameweek 17?
Something, something MOHAMED SALAH captain.
Everyone else will so you may as well if you want to keep up with the majority of players. They've got Newcastle at home - and unless we hear anything from Jurgen Klopp regarding Salah's availability - how can we make a serious case for not making him captain?
All eyes will also be on CRISTIANO RONALDO with Manchester United going to Brentford, although we can make a case for Manchester City's BERNARDO SILVA.
Those willing to take a gamble - although it's a big one at that - is to look at TEEMU PUKKI with Norwich's game against Aston Villa. However, there is a 50/50 feel to whether or not it will pay off.
FPL: Gameweek 17 captain picks
Safer options:
- Mohamed Salah, Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo
Alternative options:
- Conor Gallagher, Romelu Lukaku, Sadio Mane
Sky Sports Fantasy Football: Gameweek 18 captain picks
Tuesday:
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva, Teemu Pukki
Wednesday:
- Emile Smith Rowe, Conor Gallagher, Emmanuel Dennis
Thursday:
- Mohamed Salah, Romelu Lukaku, Diogo Jota
