If ever there was a Fantasy Premier League gameweek that demonstrated the importance of selecting a dependable vice-captain it was the one last weekend.
Although Luton have adapted admirably to the top flight, their meeting with Manchester City was one that the more studious FPL managers would have circled in red pen on their calendars when the fixtures were announced in the summer.
It was one of those gameweeks where there was an obvious satndout captain: Erling Haaland. Over 6.6 million gaffers handed him their armband and some brave bosses even used their Triple Captain chip on the Norwegian, only for him to miss the match entirely with a mysterious foot injury.
Plenty were granted a reprieve when their vice-captains delivered the goods in Haaland’s absence. Mo Salah scored 13 points as Liverpool came behind to beat Crystal Palace, while Son Heung-min, another popular pick, racked up a 17-point score as Tottenham flattened Newcastle.
i‘s top scorers in Gameweek 16
- Son Heung-min – 17 points vs Newcastle: Son was the highest-scoring player of the gameweek with two assists and a goal wrapping up a sixth double-digit haul of the campaign already. Haaland’s non-appearance means he is up to second in FPL’s overall standings.
- Mo Salah – 13 points vs Crystal Palace: Not for the first time this campaign, Salah kept his owners waiting with his two attacking returns coming after the 75th minute. The Egyptian now has a 14-point lead at the top of the FPL rankings.
- Leon Bailey – 4 points vs Arsenal: Bailey extended his run of FPL returns to three matches after assisting John McGinn’s match-winner. Unfortunately, an injury forced Bailey off at half-time depriving him of at least two points for reaching the 60-minute mark and earning a clean sheet.
*These players all featured in our Fantasy Football newsletter. Sign up here for our full starting XI here
Others were less fortunate, however. Over 200,000 managers had Ederson as their backup skipper, presumably out of complacency rather than choice. They won’t be making that mistake again in a hurry.
Other than setting your captain and vice-captain, make sure your team is in full working order nice and early as there is an awkward deadline time of 6.30pm on Friday. You wouldn’t want to spoil your office Christmas party by forgetting to make your FPL transfers now would you?
This is an extract of i’s Fantasy Premier League tips. Sign up here to receive the newsletter every week this season for our full 11-player team, advice on the best captain and more!
Gameweek 17 fixtures
Friday 15 December
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham (8pm)
Saturday 16 December
3pm kick-off unless otherwise stated
Bournemouth vs Luton
Chelsea vs Sheffield United
Man City vs Crystal Palace
Newcastle vs Fulham
Burnley vs Everton (5.30pm)
Sunday 17 December
2pm kick-off unless otherwise stated
Arsenal vs Brighton
Brentford vs Aston Villa
West Ham vs Wolves
Liverpool vs Man Utd (4.30pm)
Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
With doubts surrounding Haaland’s availability, FPL managers giving up on Darwin Nunez and Bournemouth flying under Andoni Iraola, Dominic Solanke is proving to be a very popular transfer indeed. The Cherries, who have won four of their last five league games, host a Luton side yet to keep a clean sheet in the top-flight on Saturday.
Solanke was superb during the Cherries’ shock 3-0 win at Old Trafford, opening the scoring in the first five minutes, hitting the post later on and generally causing a nuisance of himself. The Premier League’s November Player of the Month Harry Maguire couldn’t live with him.
The 26-year-old has already enjoyed the most fruitful Premier League campaign of his career with eight goals and the underlying numbers suggest he can continue adding to that tally. Haaland and Ollie Watkins are the only forwards in the game to have registered more shots on goal than Solanke, while he ranks fourth for big chances among players in his position.
Price: £6.6m Points: 73 Gameweek 17 fixture: Luton (h)
Pedro Porro (Spurs)
Tottenham haven’t kept a clean sheet since beating Fulham 2-0 on 23 October, a full eight games ago, but that hasn’t stopped FPL managers from buying Pedro Porro in their droves ahead of the Gameweek 17 deadline. At the time of writing Porro is the third-most purchased player and his ownership is steadily creeping up to the 20 per cent mark.
Although Spurs are struggling to keep goals out – Joelinton’s injury-time consolation on Sunday was a real sickener for FPL bosses – they looked much more like their old selves on Sunday.
Son was a deserving recipient of the man of the match award, but Porro would have been a worthy alternative after setting up Richarlison’s second goal with a Trent Alexander-Arnold-esque pickout and dominating his flank throughout.
That was Porro’s sixth assist of the campaign, a total that can only be beaten by one defender: Kieran Trippier (with seven). The data suggests Porro can continue to provide attacking returns in the coming weeks: he ranks third among defenders for big chances created (with eight) and is top of the charts for shots (with 26).
Price: £5.4m Points: 60 Gameweek 17 fixture: Nottingham Forest (a)
Abdoulaye Doucoure (Everton)
One of the more puzzling aspects of Frank Lampard’s shortlived Everton reign was the banishment of Abdoulaye Doucoure from the team. The Malian was a bit-part player under Lampard after a falling out between the pair but has been front and centre of the Dychian revolution at Goodison Park.
One of Sean Dyche’s most impressive feats – and there are plenty – since taking charge of the Toffees is transforming Doucoure into a goalscoring No 10. The 30-year-old is Everton’s leading goalscorer under Dyche, netting 11 goals in 31 Premier League appearances this calendar year, including a team-leading six this season.
Further proof of his increased attacking threat can be found in the numbers. Mo Salah, Son, Jarrod Bowen, Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes are the only midfielders to have had more shots on target than Doucoure this season. He has registered more than Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and Kaoru Mitoma, amongst others.
Price: £5.5m Points: 75 Gameweek 17 fixture: Burnley (a)
Alex Iwobi (Fulham)
If any of the “Big Six” clubs plus Aston Villa and Newcastle had dished out back-to-back 5-0 thrashings there would be a clamour to load up on their players in FPL. Fulham have done just that and yet no such queue for their players is forming. The obvious conclusion to draw is that the Cottagers are being underappreciated and overlooked.
Granted, Fulham’s home form has been far superior to their away form, but given how lethargic and jaded a depleted Newcastle looked against Spurs, there is every chance Marco Silva’s side can maintain their positive momentum at St James’ Park in Gameweek 17.
It’s great to see Raul Jimenez back among the goals and he looks like a shrewd pick-up at £5.2m, but Alex Iwobi is even lesser owned and posting some great numbers. A box-to-box player at Everton, Iwobi has returned to a right wing role at Fulham and is thriving, as evidenced by two goals and an assist from that position in the past two gameweeks.
Price: £5.3m Points: 45 Gameweek 17 fixture: Newcastle (a)
Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal)
FPL managers could have a big decision to make around Haaland should the information around his foot injury continue to be inconclusive.
If Pep Guardiola rules Haaland out of City’s game against Crystal Palace (which given his track record in press conferences seems unlikely), it makes sense to sell him given he will definitely miss Gameweek 18 too while City contest the Club World Cup.
Selling Haaland would enable you to buy literally any other forward in the game, but with perhaps Solanke aside there aren’t many making a compelling case to be purchased. Gabriel Jesus is one player potentially being overlooked if the FPL transfer market is anything to go by.
The Brazilian has started Arsenal’s last four league games, providing a goal and assist in the 4-3 win over Luton last week, was given a breather for the dead rubber Champions League game in midweek, and faces a Brighton side yet to keep a clean sheet in the league this season.
Price: £7.9m Points: 35 Gameweek 17 fixture: Brighton (h)