3 Players to drop and pick for Gameweek 16

With games coming thick and fast over Christmas, the midweek round of matches saw popular players such as Salah and Tomori rested with Rico and Dendoncker autosubs bailing out many an FPL manager.

It only emphasizes the need for a playable bench going forward, especially given Liverpool’s blank Gameweek 18 (due to Club World Cup commitments). Given the demands of modern-day football and the squad depth available to managers, rotation is inevitable and as FPL managers we must prepare for it.

Keep this in mind while deciding your Captain this week. Mane looked on fire against Everton but I am not confident that he starts against Bournemouth with their Champions League game on Tuesday. Pay attention to your bench order and vice-captain, you might need it.

3 Players to pick

1. Dele Alli (BUR)

Tottenham Hotspur v AFC Bournemouth - Premier League

Mourinho’s appointment has seen an upturn of form for Alli and since Gameweek 12, no midfielder has scored more goals than his three. He is ranked fifth for shots in the box (SiB) (seven) amongst midfielders with only Perez, Grealish, Richarlison (all eight) and Pulisic (nine) faring better. His total of five shots on target (SoT) is beaten only by De Bruyne (six) and he is also joint-top for ‘big chances’ with three.

Spurs have scored seven goals over that period, only Man City (eight) and Liverpool (nine) have been more prolific. They created 10 ‘big chances’ with only Burnley (11) and Leicester (14) creating more. Burnley have conceded 13 goals over the last six gameweeks, keeping only one clean sheet. Only Everton (14) and Southampton (17) shipped more goals over this period. A bargain at £8.5 million.

2. Jamie Vardy (AVL)

Leicester City v Watford FC - Premier League

The top point scorer in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) with 115 points, Vardy has had an incredible season thus far racking up 14 goals and four assists. He has the underlying statistics to support it too. The Foxes’ man is top amongst forwards for SoT (22) and ‘big chances’ (20). He has played every minute of every game for Leicester this season, racking up a total of 1350 minutes.

This is a huge advantage in the busy festive period as unlike other premium assets, he will not be rotated and can be trusted with the armband. Leicester have scored 35 goals thus far, only Liverpool (37) and Man City (43) have scored more. They are also fifth for SoT with 78, only Man Utd (79), Liverpool (92), Chelsea (96) and Man City (106) have fared better.

They are also fourth for ‘big chances’ (41), trailing only Chelsea (45), Liverpool (48) and Man City (64). Their opponents Villa have conceded 24 goals this season, only six teams have been conceded more. They allowed the opposition 282 shots, more than any other team in the league. Only seven teams conceded more ‘big chances’ than their 33.

3. Tammy Abraham (EVE)

Chelsea FC v Aston Villa - Premier League

Abraham scored and assisted on his return to the Chelsea team in Gameweek 14 and only Rashford (five) and Vardy (eight) have scored more goals than his three over the last six matches. Despite missing one match, he is ranked seventh for SiB amongst forwards with 12 and only Ashley Barnes (seven), Wood (eight), Rashford (nine) and Vardy (13) have been afforded more ‘big chances’ than his five.

Chelsea have scored 11 goals over the last six matches, only Man Utd (13), Man City (14), Liverpool (16) and Leicester (19) have scored more. They landed 39 SoT with only Liverpool (40), Man Utd (44) and Leicester (47) faring better. Everton have conceded 14 goals over the last six gameweeks, keeping no clean sheets.

Only Southampton (17) conceded more goals. They conceded 15 ‘big chances’ with only Brighton (16), Norwich (17), Southampton (21) and West Ham (22) more obliging. Even though he went off with a knock, Lampard eased concerns about his fitness for gameweek 16 – “It doesn’t seem too bad in there, so I’m presuming that he’s alright.”

3 Players to drop

1. Lucas Digne (CHE)

Liverpool FC v Everton FC - Premier League

Everton parted ways with Marco Silva after their defeat to Liverpool, appointing Duncan Ferguson as caretaker manager. The Toffees have endured a difficult season so far, sitting at 18th in the table with just 14 points after 15 matches. They have shipped 27 goals, only Watford (30), Norwich (32) and Southampton (33) have conceded more.

Their next three fixtures are against Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal, so clean sheet prospects look bleak. With budget defenders such as Kelly, Rico, etc racking up points, an outlay of £5.8 million on Digne is simply too much.

2. Anthony Martial (MCI)

Manchester United v Aston Villa - Premier League

Martial missed Manchester United’s midweek game against Tottenham with a muscle injury and is expected to be out for a longer period. With the December schedule so busy, even a two-week injury could see him miss three to four games, which is not acceptable for a player at his price point.

Nearly 100,000 managers have already sold the Frenchman ahead of the Gameweek 16 deadline, and more price drops are imminent. With plenty of great options such as Maddison and Pulisic around that price point, Martial has to go.

3. Nick Pope (TOT)

Burnley FC v Manchester City - Premier League

Pope has had a decent season for Burnley so far, keeping five clean sheets. He has racked up 56 FPL points, sixth-highest among keepers. However, Burnley’s best fixtures are behind them and over the next four matches, they play only one match at home.

Six of their next 10 matches are rated at four on the FPL Fixture Difficulty rating and only two of them have a rating of two. As the Man. City game showed, owners will be relying largely on save points for those fixtures and it’s a great time to shift to Henderson or Guaita given their kind run of games.

Also check out: Premier League Premier League Table Champions League table