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Fantasy Premier League (FPL) continues for Gameweek 23. The Premier League has been approved to schedule matches during the January international break, meaning we could be in store for another Double Game Week (DGW). The teams that could potentially have a DGW are Aston Villa, Burnley and Leeds.
With the group stage coming in the African Cup Of Nations (AFCON), players could be returning to their clubs as early as this weekend’s fixtures. However, star players like Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané helped their teams qualify for the knockout rounds, so they will be absent for at least another week.
COVID-19 cases are significantly down compared to this same point last month. However, teams are still dealing with multiple injuries. For instance, Dean Smith informed the press that Tim Krul will miss this week’s game against Watford due to a shoulder injury. Also, Leeds will be without Adam Forshaw and Júnior Firpo due to muscular injuries and Patrick Bamford, who recently gained a knock on his foot.
You can keep up with all Premier League news on the NBC Sports Edge site HERE.
Reviewing our NBC Sports league, congratulations to Mujahid Bashir, manager of gucci8158, for being the Manager of the Week, scoring a total of 133 points. While some were selling off Bruno Fernandes, Mujahid doubled down, making the Portuguese midfielder their captain. The gamble paid off generously as Fernandes tallied a total of 69 points across Manchester United’s DGW. Mujahid further separated themselves from the pack with double-digit performances from Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kevin De Bruyne and Joao Cancelo.
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Top Transfer Targets will look at the roster tiers in FPL, breaking down the best options in each. The tiers will be broken down as The 40 percent or more club, 25-40 percent owned, 15-24 percent, 10-15 percent, and under 10 percent.
Let’s look at this week’s fixtures:
Friday, January 21
Watford vs. Norwich
Saturday, January 22
Everton vs. Aston Villa
Brentford vs. Wolves
Leeds vs. Newcastle
Manchester United vs. West Ham
Southampton v Manchester City
Sunday, January 23
Arsenal vs. Burnley
Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool
Leicester vs. Brighton
Chelsea vs. Tottenham
No explanation needed (40 percent or more rostered):
Joao Cancelo, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Michail Antonio are all members of the 40% club this week. All players will be playing away this weekend, as Liverpool will be at Brentford, City will play at Southampton, and West Ham will be against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Don’t get caught out in the crowd (25-40 percent rostered):
Diogo Jota (FWD Liverpool 8.4m, 37.9%): With Salah and Mane away at AFCON, Jota is the clear choice at striker this week. Jota has ten goals this season and 53 shots inside the 18-yard-box; both rank second in the PL behind only his teammate Salah. After having six shots inside the box, the Portuguese striker was unlucky not to come away with a goal in Gameweek 22. However, I expect him to put one in the back of the net on Sunday as Liverpool with be up against Crystal Palace, who has allowed five goals in their last three games.
Worth your consideration (16-24 percent rostered):
Ben Foster (GKP Watford 4.1m, 17.9%): Foster is more than affordable and has an excellent matchup this weekend against Norwich City. The Canaries have only four away goals all season and have recorded the second-lowest Expected Goals (xG) in the Premier League at 18.1. Therefore, look for Foster to bring in his first clean sheet of the season and have a few easy saves.
Solid if not Stellar (10-15 percent rostered):
Kevin De Bruyne (MID Manchester City 12.1m, 11.3%): When in the lineup, De Bruyne has been unbelievable this season. He leads the PL with 5.72 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes this season and has accounted for seven-goal contributions in just 11 starts. De Bruyne will more than likely continue his playmaking and scoring ability on Saturday, as Manchester City will be away against Southampton. The Saints have given up a goal in 11 straight matches.
Rolling the dice (under 10 percent rostered):
Philippe Coutinho (MID Aston Villa 7.0m, 6.5%): Coutinho may be coming off the bench against Everton, but as he proved in his debut back into the PL, all the Brazilian needs is 20 minutes to be a difference-maker in the attack. If Coutinho is anything close to his FPL production during his last season with Liverpool, where he averaged 7.4 fantasy points per match, the 29-year-old would be well worth the risk, even this week.
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