| Rank | Player | Res | Cls | Exa | Slm | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 - |  | 23 | 70.5 | 57 | 15 | 165.5 |
2 - |  | 24 | 76.5 | 48 | 15 | 163.5 |
3 - |  | 31 | 61.5 | 45 | 13 | 150.5 |
4 1 |  | 27 | 67.5 | 42 | 14 | 150.5 |
5 1 | | 21 | 75 | 42 | 12 | 150.0 |
My choice of Erling Haaland as my captain last week could have gone badly as he didn’t play, but choosing Mohamed Salah as my vice captain paid off. The chances are I will choose Haaland again this week as it looks like he will return from injury and he has a good fixture, but a home game against struggling United could go very well for Salah. Besides Salah the only players to score points for me were Bernd Leno, Vitalii Mykolenko and Simon Adringa, but their combined points were enough to give me my best weekly position of the season so far.
With so many games over the next couple of weeks I will be looking to bring a few new players in with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Son Heung-Min, Dominic Solanke, Pedro Porro, Marcos Senesi and Matheus Cunha all possibilities. I’m still struggling to find defenders that I can depend on with clean sheets few and far between.
Friday December 15
Nottingham Forest v Tottenham Hotspur
8pm GMT, City Ground, Nottingham
Forest drew 1-1 away to Wolves last week and they’re now five points above the relegation zone. They have lost their last two home games after taking nine points from the previous five and they have some tough home games coming up. The draw against Wolves was their first point in five games and only three other teams have scored less goals.
I can’t see any Forest players doing enough to interest fantasy managers at the moment.
Spurs bounced back from their recent bad run last week with a 4-1 win at home to Newcastle. Only three other teams have taken more points away from home and no other team has scored more goals on the road. They had only taken one point from five games before beating Newcastle, but they have a very good run of games coming up.
Son Heung-Min and Pedro Porro are the Spurs players who can make a difference for fantasy managers.
I think this will be a close game with Spurs probably winning by one goal.
Prediction: 1-2
Saturday December 16
Bournemouth v Luton Town
3pm GMT, Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth
Bournemouth had a fantastic 3-0 win away to United last week and they’re now only two points off the top half of the table. They have taken seven points from their last three home games after only taking two in the previous five, but only Palace have scored less goals on their own ground. They have taken 13 points from their last five games and they kept clean sheets in three of those games, but only three other teams have conceded more goals.
Dominic Solanke is the Bournemouth player to have for fantasy managers while Marcos Senesi has done well recently too.
Luton lost 2-1 at home to City last week and they are now four points adrift of the relative safety of 17th place. They have lost their last three away games and they conceded seven goals in those games with only three other teams conceding more goals on their travels. They have lost their last three games and they conceded nine goals in those games with only the two teams below them conceding more goals.
I can’t see any Luton players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Bournemouth will continue to climb the table with another win in this game.
Prediction: 3-1
Chelsea v Sheffield United
3pm GMT, Stamford Bridge, London
Chelsea lost 2-0 away to Everton last week to drop back into the bottom half of the table. They have only won once in their last six home games and they conceded 12 goals in those games, but they have a good run of home games coming up. They have lost three of their last four games and they conceded 10 goals in those games.
With their upcoming good run of games Cole Palmer and Raheem Sterling might be worth considering for fantasy managers.
United won 1-0 at home to Brentford last week, but it wasn’t enough to take them off the foot of the table. They’re the only team without a win away from home and no other team has conceded more goals on the road. They have taken seven points from their last six games after only taking only one in the previous 10 with no other team conceding more or scoring less goals.
I can’t see any United players who might be of interest to fantasy managers.
I think Chelsea will get a much needed victory in this game with at least a couple of goals to spare.
Prediction: 3-0
Manchester City v Crystal Palace
3pm GMT, Etihad Stadium, Manchester
City came from behind to win 2-1 away to Luton last week and they’re now only four points off the top of the table. They have drawn their last two home games after winning the previous five with only Villa and Liverpool scoring more goals on their own patch. The win against Luton was their first win in five games, but they don’t play next week and they have a very good run of games after that.
Erling Haaland is an absolute must have for fantasy managers as long as he’s fit to play with Phil Foden looking good at the moment too.
Palace conceded a very late goal to lose 2-1 at home to Liverpool last week, but they still have seven points to spare over the bottom three. They have taken 11 of their 16 points away from home, but their next four away games are all very tough. They have only taken one point from their last five games with only Sheffield United scoring less goals.
I can’t see any Palace players doing enough to recommend them to fantasy managers at the moment.
I can’t see anything other than a comfortable City victory in this game.
Prediction: 4-1
Newcastle United v Fulham
3pm GMT, St. James’ Park, Newcastle
Newcastle lost 4-1 away to Spurs last week and they’re now seven points behind the top four. They have won their last six home games and they only conceded one goal in those games with no other team conceding less goals on their own ground. They have lost their last two games and they conceded seven goals in those games, but this is the first of three very winnable games in a row.
Anthony Gordon is the Newcastle player to have for fantasy managers at the moment.
Fulham won 5-0 at home to West Ham last week and that win moved them into the top half of the table. They have only taken three points from their last seven away games and they conceded 17 goals in those games with only four other teams conceding more goals on the road. They have won three of their last four games and they scored 16 goals in those games.
Willian, Alex Iwobi, Andreas Pereira, Harry Wilson and even Raul Jiminez have all done very well recently for fantasy managers and they’re all available at the exact same price.
I think Newcastle should be good enough at home to win this game by a couple of goals.
Prediction: 3-1
Burnley v Everton
5.30pm GMT, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley drew 1-1 away to Wolves last week and that point kept them off the foot of the table on goal difference. No other team has taken less points at home with only Sheffield United conceding more goals. They have lost seven of their last nine games with only Sheffield United conceding more goals and only the same team and Palace scoring less.
I can’t see any Burnley players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment.
Everton won 2-0 at home to Chelsea last week and they would be in the top half of the table if they hadn’t been given a 10 point deduction. They have won their last three away games and they kept clean sheets in two of them with only four other teams taking more points on their travels. They have taken 22 points from their last 11 games and they look likely to leave the relegation zone far behind them very soon.
Vitalli Mykolenko, James Tarkowski and Abdoulaye Doucoure are all worth considering for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Everton will continue to move clear of the bottom three by taking all the points in this game.
Prediction: 0-2
Sunday December 17
Arsenal v Brighton And Hove Albion
2pm GMT, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal lost 1-0 away to Villa last week and that defeat cost them their place at the top of the table. They have won their last four home games and they scored 10 goals in those games with only two other teams scoring more goals on their own patch. They had won four games in a row before losing to Villa and no other team has conceded less goals.
Bukayo Saka remains the best of the Arsenal players for fantasy managers with Martin Odegaard looking pretty good recently too.
Brighton drew 1-1 at home to Burnley last week, but they’re now seven points off the top four. They have only won once in their last five away games, but they have scored in all of their games on the road so far. They have taken seven points from their last four games after failing to win the previous six and no other team has drawn more games.
Pascal Gross and Kaoru Mitoma are probably the Brighton players most likely to do well for fantasy managers at the moment with Simon Adringa a possibility too.
I think Brighton will make a real game of it, but Arsenal should win narrowly.
Prediction: 2-1
Brentford v Aston Villa
2pm GMT, Gtech Community Stadium, London
Brentford lost 1-0 away to Sheffield United last week and that defeat meant they stayed in the bottom half of the table. They have won three of their last four home games and they scored 10 goals in those games with three of their next four games on their own ground. They have lost four of their last five games and don’t have a game next week.
With Bryan Mbeumo injured I can’t see any Brentford players who can make a real impact for fantasy managers.
Villa won 1-0 at home to Arsenal last week and that victory put them within two points of the top of the table. They have only won once in their last four away games and they need to improve on their travels if they’re going to be real title contenders. They have taken 13 points from their last five games and the only big six team they play in their next 11 games is United.
There are so many Villa players for fantasy managers to choose from at the moment with Ollie Watkins, John McGinn, Leon Bailey and Douglas Luiz all good options.
I think Villa should have just enough to take the three points in this game.
Prediction: 1-2
West Ham United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
2pm GMT, London Stadium, London
West Ham lost 5-0 away to Fulham last week, but they’re still safely in the top half of the table. They have only won once in their last four home games and three of their next four games are on their own patch. They had taken 10 points from four games before losing to Fulham and only the bottom three have conceded more goals.
Jarrod Bowen is the West Ham player of choice for fantasy managers with James Ward-Prowse and Mohammed Kudus worth considering too.
Wolves drew 1-1 at home to Burnley last week to leave themselves two points off the top half of the table. They have lost their last three away games and they conceded seven goals in those games. They have only won once in their last four games, but they haven’t failed to score in their last 15.
Hwang Hee-Chan and Matheus Cunha are both in very good form for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think this is a game which could go either way and the chances are it will end in a draw.
Prediction: 2-2
Liverpool v Manchester United
4.30pm GMT, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool came from behind to win 2-1 away to Palace last week and that win was enough to put them on top of the table. They’re one of two teams with a 100% record at home with only Villa scoring more and only Newcastle conceding less goals on their own ground. They have taken 20 points from their last eight games and they kept clean sheets in four of those games with only City scoring more goals and no other team conceding less.
Mohamed Salah is an absolute must have for fantasy managers at the moment with Trent Alexander-Arnold returning to his best form too.
United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth last week to put an end to their recent revival and leave them six points behind the top four. They have won four of their last five away games with no other team conceding less goals on the road, but only four other teams scoring less. They have lost two of their last three games and they failed to score in each of those defeats with no other team in the top half of the table scoring less goals.
I’m not sure there are any United players to interest fantasy managers in this game in particular.
I can’t see anything other than a comprehensive victory for Liverpool in this game.
Prediction: 3-0
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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