Fantasy Premier League: All eyes on Manchester City and Liverpool ahead of double Gameweek
We are starting with a very important fact: Manchester City and Liverpool are playing two games during this Gameweek - matches where they are big favourites. This means we should have a number of players from both clubs in our line-ups.
Who to captain?
Manchester City will play two home games this round - against Chelsea and Brentford. This, of course, means that the focus should be on Pep Guardiola's players when choosing the captain.
Erling Haaland therefore comes to the fore, followed by Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden. This is also one of those occasions where it is worth thinking about the use of the Triple Captain, as better opportunities may simply not exist.
What doubts are there about Haaland's selection as captain? Well, news was circulating the internet that the Norwegian's grandmother had passed away in recent days. Some of the sites analysing everything in terms of Fantasy Premier League have started to report on the date of her funeral and the impact of the whole situation on the Manchester City striker's game.
I, however, recommend thinking twice and humanely about Haaland's hard times.
Let's not approach FPL like it's the most important thing in the world, because it's far from that. It's just a game based on real life. Let's not cross the line and get into the players' private lives. If a FPL player doesn't pick up many points because of drama in a footballer's life then he really shouldn't resent anyone for it and shouldn't be bothered one bit about such a trivial matter.
Manchester City play two games at the Etihad this round - against Chelsea and Brentford. Any analysis of this issue should end there. These will not be easy matches, but the Citizens will be favourites in them. Of course, that suggests that the prime figure in their offensive line-up and in our line-up should be Haaland. If you are looking to be different, however, you could go for De Bruyne or Foden, who have been in great form recently.
All other choices will be controversial. That still leaves possible Liverpool players who will also be playing two games - against Brentford away and Luton at home. The situation at Anfield, however, is more difficult to predict from an FPL angle.
At the same time, I would like to remind you about the Triple Captain option. Once a season you can make your captain's points triple rather than double. This is, of course, a great option and should be used at the perfect time. Manchester City's schedule in this round may well be the best opportunity this season to use this chip. There will, of course, be other double-rounders, but will any team have such an attractive set of games?
Significant returns
We are entering a time in the FPL in which several very important players are returning to the game. Already in the previous round, Heung-Min Son, who spent the last few weeks in Qatar with the South Korean national team at the Asian Cup, came off the bench in Spurs' Premier League match. Now he is back in action and even managed to record an assist in the match against Brighton. This is obviously important news, as the Korean is the main man in Tottenham's attack.
The other, arguably even more important return, is that of Mohamed Salah. The last few weeks have been very tame in FPL from a financial point of view. The Egyptian was away at the Africa Cup of Nations and then suffered with an injury, while Haaland spent almost two months treating an injury.
The most expensive striker in the game returned, and now Jurgen Klopp has announced that the most expensive midfielder in the game is also returning to the matchday squad for this weekend. Again, we will be wondering how to stuff them into our line-ups.
In addition, it is also worth noting the return to form of Bukayo Saka. His name has probably appeared in every text of this series, yet the Englishman hasn't always put up the best numbers. Now, however, he is in his best form of the season.
He has scored three goals in his last three appearances, and in his last game against West Ham, he bagged a brace. That makes it hard to get rid of him from the squad.
All of which makes it not long before using a Wildcard becomes a possibility. If anyone still has the luxury of it, of course. Having all the expensive and high-scoring players in the game is simply impossible.
Who to buy?
We're guessing you have a lot of obvious Manchester City and Liverpool players in your squads, so not all the players we're recommending will be from those two teams.
Rasmus Hojlund - I wanted to recommend him to you already a week ago, but at the time I opted for Cunha, who has unfortunately suffered an injury. The Dane, on the other hand, has hit the net again and is still worth bringing into your squad. Manchester United have been recording a surprisingly good run of results recently, with Hojlund himself getting involved. In the Premier League alone, he has scored in his last five appearances. He will face Luton this weekend, and also has games against Fulham, Everton and Sheffield in the coming rounds. So he will have the opportunity to fill his bag.
Gabriel - Arsenal have had a spurt of really good form and Gabriel himself has also been impressive. The Brazilian has already scored three goals in the league this season, including two in the last four rounds. Arsenal won't miss any matches in the coming weeks, and will face teams that are weaker on paper. The defender's next opportunity for points comes this round when Arteta's team play against Burnley.
Nathan Ake - Pep Guardiola has two players for each position in defence this season. When they are all healthy, it is impossible to pick which one will actually play and which one will sit on the bench. This time, however, Josko Gvardiol is injured, so it is easy to predict that Ake should play in both games of the double-header. With the Spaniard, however, nothing is certain, so don't be surprised if he does something a little surprising.
Radim Horák (one of the best Czechs playing in the FPL)
Virgil van Dijk - Liverpool face a double-header in which The Reds play against Brentford and Luton, while a week later they do not play. This should be taken into account when making transfers. Trent Alexander-Arnold is out with a knee injury, but it is the Dutchman who I now see as the obvious choice from their team. He is the one who should play both games, something we are not sure about when it comes to Liverpool's other defenders. Andy Robertson, after all, has recently returned to action after a prolonged injury and his minutes aren't guaranteed. I believe Van Dijk will also prove his mettle offensively and could give us the points even offensively.
Nathan Ake - another team to play two games is Manchester City. However, predictions of their starting line-up should be taken with a pinch of salt. The chances of Ake in the line-up is only increased by the injury to Josko Gvardiol. The Dutchman has started the last eight Premier League games in the starting line-up and is performing very well, with Guardiola preferring left-footed players on the left side of defence. The English champions face home games against Chelsea and Brentford, and will also play next weekend - against Bournemouth. Ake, costing five million, is an excellent short-term option for the FPL squad.
Bukayo Saka - although we have a double-header ahead of us, we mustn't forget about players who will only play one game but will still be extremely valuable in our line-ups. Saka is one of them, as Arsenal play against Burnley this weekend, and the Englishman has been in fine form in recent weeks. His numbers, as well as those of his entire team, have improved significantly after the winter break. Mikel Arteta's team are not only performing well defensively, but have also significantly improved their play up front. The next few games see Arsenal face Newcastle, Sheffield United and Brentford, teams that have been at the bottom of the Premier League table in terms of xG against in recent months.
