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Despite some controversy over how to handle the rise in positive COVID-19 test results amongst players and staff, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) continues for Gameweek 19 as of now.
Two games have already been postponed on the Boxing Day slate - Liverpool-Leeds and Wolves-Watford- and will likely not be the last. According to cnn.com, 90 new positive cases have been reported amongst players and staff in the EPL from December 13 to December 19. Nearly doubling the number of positive tests the week prior (42).
Similar to the advice I provided last week, with news changing so quickly about the status of matches and which players are under the protocol, do not set your fantasy lineups as close up to the deadline as possible. That said, there are a few “safer teams” to target at the moment. Manchester United had 25 field players and practice on Thursday. Apart from Paul Pogba (injury), Ralk Rangnick says that everyone is in contention to be selected for the starting XI against Newcastle United. Manchester City also seems to have a fully fit squad and very few players who returned a positive covid-test. However, due to the off-the-field antics that Pep Guardiola refused to go into, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden may be on the bench for Sunday’s fixture.
You can keep up with all Premier League news on the NBC Sports Edge site HERE.
Taking a look at our NBC Sports league, congratulations to Shawn E, manager of Crowhaul FC, for being the Manager of The Week, scoring a total of 106 points. Shawn made a remarkable triple captain choice by giving the armband to Joao Cancelo, who rewarded them with a whopping 54 points. They also received double digits from another Manchester City defender, Rúben Dias, who earned 12 points.
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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:
Sunday, December 26
Burnley v Everton
Manchester City v Leicester
Norwich v Arsenal
Tottenham v Crystal Palace
West Ham v Southampton
Aston Villa v Chelsea
Brighton v Brentford
Monday, December 27
Newcastle v Manchester United
No explanation needed (40 percent or more rostered):
With the Liverpool match being suspended, no player has over 40% ownership this Matchweek. In fact, with Michail Antonio also being unavailable, the top three players with the highest ownership will all miss this round. Joao Cancelo is currently the most selected active player, appearing on 37.5% of FPL teams.
Don’t get caught out in the crowd (25-40 percent rostered):
Emile Smith-Rowe (MID Arsenal 6.1m, 27.5%): Emile Smith-Rowe has recorded six goals in the last seven goals for Arsenal. He has out-performed his xG more than any other player this season. The academy product has seven goals and an xG of just 2.72. While that could lead you to believe he has been lucky, it would be wise to stick with the midfielder this weekend. The Gunners have a favorable matchup against Norwich City. The Canaries concede two goals per game and have just one home win this season.
Worth your consideration (16-24 percent rostered):
Heung-Min Son (MID Tottenham 10.3m, 17.0%): Son is the leading goal contributor for Spurs this season with seven goals and three assists. He has a non-penalty xG of 5.2 (8th best in EPL) and is scoring on 21% of his shots this season, which is third-best amongst players who have a minimum of 30 shot attempts. Tottenham will be home against Crystal Palace on Sunday. This season, the Eagles have just one win at home and concede 1.88 goals per match outside of Selhurst Park Stadium.
Solid if not Steller (10-15 percent rostered):
Shane Duffy (DEF Brighton 4.1m, 13.2%): Shane Duffy will return from his one-game suspension this week. The center back has three goals this season and has helped lead Brighton to four shutouts. Duffy is in a good position to earn another shutout bonus this week as the Seagulls will be up against Brentford. Thomas Frank has stated that Brentford will not be getting back any of their injured players this week and that Ivan Toney is still questionable to start given fitness levels.
Rolling the dice (under 10 percent rostered):
Marcus Rashford (FWD Manchester United 9.4m, 0.7%): Marcus Rashford may be owned by less than one percent of all FPL managers, but he is one of my favorite transfer targets for the week. Under Rangnick, the 24-year-old placed up top with Ronaldo and is relied upon to use his pace for vertical passes. He has received 95 progressive passes in the last three games and has 11 shot-creating actions. Moreover, Rashford has had success against Norwich City, scoring in each of his last three appearances against them.
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