3 Players to pick and drop for Gameweek 25

The first double gameweek of the season has concluded and once again lady luck showed that she can be a cruel mistress. Lots of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers deployed their Triple Captain chip this week with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah heavily backed. The Senegalese was struck down by injury in the first half of Liverpool’s first game, a cruel blow but that’s just part of the luck factor in FPL.

With the next deadline only a couple of days away, there is no time to dwell on past events and now we must plan for the next twist to the fixture schedule – Blank Gameweek 28. Due to Aston Villa and Man. City’s progression in the Carabao Cup which is scheduled to take place on the same weekend as GW28, they will not have a Premier League fixture that gameweek along with their respective opponents Sheffield United and Arsenal. Do keep this in mind while making future transfers.

3 Players to Pick

1. Mohamed Salah (SOT)

West Ham United v Liverpool FC - Premier League

With Mané suffering an injury, the dependency is greater on Salah to provide the goals for Liverpool and the Egyptian tops the table for shots (72), shots in the box (SiB) (20) and shots on target (SoT) (nine) amongst midfielders for the last six gameweeks. Only Mané (six) has been afforded more ‘big chances’ than Salah’s five.

He has also created six ‘big chances’, no midfielder created more. Liverpool have scored 14 goals over the last six gameweeks, only Man. City (15) have been more prolific. They top the attacking metrics for both SiB (74) and ‘big chances’ (23). Southampton have tightened up defensively, only Watford (four) and Liverpool (one) conceded fewer goals than the Saints’ five over the aforementioned period.

They are also ranked fourth-best for SoT conceded (19). However, a trip to Anfield is one of the toughest fixtures in Europe given the Reds current form and after his gameweek 24 heroics, Salah is likely to be the popular captain option.

2. Sergio Agüero (TOT)

Manchester City v Manchester United - Carabao Cup: Semi-Final

The in-form striker in the league, Agüero has scored seven goals in the last six gameweeks, more than any other player. Although he is ranked ninth for SiB (13) amongst forwards, he is top for both SoT (10) and ‘big chances’ (seven) which shows his pedigree. No team has scored more goals than Man. City’s 15 over the last six gameweeks and the defending Champions are top for shots (104) and second for ‘big chances’ (19).

Only Leicester (39) and Liverpool (38) landed more SoT than their 36. Spurs have conceded six goals over the same period, keeping just one clean sheet. They are ranked eighth for shots conceded (69) and 10th for ‘big chances’ conceded (11). A slight risk of rotation given the minutes played in the Carabao Cup game midweek, but Guardiola has shown a preference for the Argentine in the big matches.

3. Anthony Martial (WOL)

Manchester United v Norwich City - Premier League

No midfielder has scored more goals than Anthony Martial (4) over the last six gameweeks and the Frenchman’s 12 SiB is beaten only by Mané (15) and Salah (20). Only Salah (nine) landed more SoT than his eight and only Mané (six) has been afforded more ‘big chances’ than his five.

Only Leicester (11), Liverpool (14) and Man. City (15) have scored more goals than the Red Devils’ 10 over the last six gameweeks and only Chelsea (95), Liverpool (99) and Man. City (104) have taken more shots than their 92. They trail only Man. City (36), Liverpool (38) and Leicester (39) for SoT with 35.

Their opponents, Wolves, have conceded 10 goals over the same period, keeping no clean sheets. Only Newcastle, Villa, West Ham and Bournemouth (all 12) shipped more goals. They allowed opponents 21 SoT and ‘big chances’ over that period. A differential option for the armband and could benefit from the service of Bruno Fernandes if the Portuguese is put straight into the starting lineup.

3 Players to drop

1. Sadio Mane (SOT)

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Liverpool FC - Premier League

Sadio Mane has been ruled out of Liverpool’s next game against Southampton with a hamstring injury. Klopp has been known not to rush players back from injury and with a hamstring, the risk of recurrence is very high. Even though there is a possibility that he’s back for their GW26 fixture against Norwich, it is worth mentioning that they play Norwich at 5:30 PM UK time on Saturday and then Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Tuesday night.

That’s the shortest turnaround possible between matches, so I don’t see Klopp starting Mane in both. 20-30 minutes against the Canaries followed by a start against Atletico seems more likely to me, given how difficult the Spaniards are to play against on their own patch. A switch to Salah if you don’t already own the Egyptian is a no-brainer.

2. Paulo Gazzaniga (MCI)

Tottenham Hotspur v Middlesbrough FC - FA Cup Third Round: Replay

Paulo Gazzaniga deputized well for the injured Lloris, rewarding his owners with 14 points in gameweek 23. However, with the return to fitness of the French international, Gazzaniga was dropped to the bench against Norwich and is unlikely to get his place back anytime soon.

A straight swap to Lloris doesn’t seem a great idea looking at their fixture list – they play Man. City and Chelsea over the next three matches. Moving to Alex McCarthy is probably the best bet, even though the Saints play Liverpool this week. Their fixtures after that are brilliant.

3. Tammy Abraham (LEI)

Arsenal FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League

At the time of writing, Tammy Abraham is a doubt for the Leicester game with an injury he sustained against Arsenal last weekend. His form has dipped of late with just two goals and two assists in the last nine matches. The last time he got a double-digit haul was as far back as GW15.

Chelsea face a testing run of matches in the next three – Leicester, Man. Utd and Spurs and the young striker has already been sold by over 300,000 managers this gameweek. A switch to Jimenez appeals at a similar price point given the Mexican’s red-hot form.

Edited by Vishal Subramanian

3 Players to pick and drop for Gameweek 25 | FPL Tips 2020