From this weekend onwards there will be six gameweeks of Fantasy Premier League in 21 days, making it one of the most jam packed and intense periods in the league’s recent history.
That’s why we’ve put together a few key tips and bits of advice ahead of gameweek 12 to help make your FPL team the best it can possibly be.
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Just get Grealish
Is Jack Grealish the most essential midfielder in FPL this season? If he isn’t then I don’t know who is because the Aston Villa playmaker has been sensational this season.
In just nine games Grealish has provided five goals and six assists and is still only priced at £7.7. Just under 40% of FPL managers own him now, with his ownership skyrocketing in recent weeks.
The English international’s more advanced role, which is attracting comparisons with prime Eden Hazard, is returning dividends. Last season he was getting 3.84 touches in the box per 90 minutes, whereas this season that has increased to 8.89! Indeed, only Mo Salah (89) can boast more penalty area touches than Grealish’s 80.
The Birmingham native is also third in the league for chances created (26) and big chances created (7). And it’s worth noting again: he’s played two fewer games than most.
The Villans come up against a Wolves side in inconsistent form and we expect them to pick apart their midlands rivals ahead of a soft festive schedule. So if you don’t have Grealish, what are you doing?
Fixtures: wol, BUR, wba, CRY, che
Two differentials for GW12
Brighton face a tough test away to Leicester City on Sunday, but then again when you’re Brighton then most games are a tough test.
But on The Fantasy Faithful Podcast Harry Diamond suggested Pascal Groß (£5.8), owned by only 0.4%, as a differential. The German has reclaimed his place in the starting lineup after impressing against Spurs and looks as good as ever.
Groß has returned in four of the five games the Seagulls have played since then, scoring twice and assisting two more. He’s also created 13 chances in that time, with two of them considered big chances.
As for me, I put forward Eric Dier (£5.0) as a potential differential. Tottenham’s top points scoring defender thus far, Dier has missed just one game this season but has played every other minute, meaning he is nailed on in Jose Mourinho’s lineup.
The Portuguese manager’s tactics have made his team difficult to watch in recent weeks, but it’s resulted in zero goals conceded in their last four matches. There is perhaps an element of luck to that, as they have conceded 37 shots in the box over that period, only one more than Fulham, but we expect them to extend that to five consecutive matches without a goal conceded when they face Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Start planning for Double Gameweeks
With the news that West Ham and West Brom have moved their scheduled match in January back a week, we now know that there are going to be a couple of bumper double gameweeks in gameweek 18 and 19.
???? Double Gameweek Alert ????
West Ham have announced that their GW18 fixture at home to West Brom is being moved to GW19.
West Ham and West Brom will both Blank in GW18 and have a Double GW in GW19.
West Ham's DGW19 fixtures are BUR+WBA
West Brom's DGW19 fixtures are wol+whu— Ben Crellin (@BenCrellin) December 8, 2020
The teams with games in hand now are: Aston Villa (2), Burnley, Man City, Man United, Newcastle United, West Brom and West Ham. When the rest of these games in hand will be played has not been confirmed, but GW18 and 19 have been earmarked as the most likely time to pen them in.
This means we can actually start planning a little bit, making transfers in the meantime that can help maximise your squad between now and then. If you still have your wildcard, then you should definitely keep it until the last possible moment, which is 28 December. You can activate it that week to fill your squad with players from those teams.
Using your chips effectively will be key to maximising your points return from the DGWs, and we will be giving advice on that front closer to the time.
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See Also: How to master FPL: 15 tips to help you dominate Fantasy Premier League
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