While the Premier League may continue to be dominated by one team in an unforeseen manner, the English top-flight’s virtual counterpart—Fantasy Premier League (FPL)—has retained its competitiveness as managers give no quarter.

The second-half of the season takes things up a notch, for this is the time the men separate themselves from the boys and for all FPL managers, there is a conundrum as they struggle to pick the best bet from the multitude of available options.

Fortunately, The Statesman is at hand to shine light in the dark with an incisive article ahead of every gameweek.

The indicators are:

Teams in BOLD are top 4 contenders.

Prices (in £ million) marked in Green indicates a rise in Base Price.
Prices (in £ million) marked in Red indicates fall in Base Price.

Goalkeepers

Adrian

Team: West Ham United
Fixtures: Bournemouth (H), Crystal Palace (H), Brighton (A), Watford (H) and Liverpool (A)
Price: 4.4
Score: 33
Ownership: 3.5%

Why yes: Unbeaten in their last four, the Hammers aren’t exactly relegation-battlers anymore, far from it. Under David Moyes, their renaissance continues and there’s a reason why Adrian has kept the fancied Joe Hart out of the starting XI of late. The Spaniard is an underrated shot-stopper, has decent fixtures ahead and is very reasonably priced (for now).

Why no: The Hammers are up against a resurgent Bournemouth in Gameweek 24 and there are no clean-sheet guarantees in the Premier League for even the best of teams. Left-back Aaron Cresswell (£5.1m) has come into his own and if you already have him, Adrian can be skipped.

Defenders

Danilo

Team: Manchester City
Fixtures: Newcastle (H), West Brom (H), Burnley (A), Leicester (A) and Arsenal (A)
Price: 5.0
Score: 54
Ownership: 2.6%

Why yes: A Manchester City defender who won’t break the bank? Danilo will fit the bill for many a FPL manager, especially as the two players who were above him in the pecking order are out of action indefinitely (Benjamin Mendy and Fabian Delph). Pep Guardiola may love to rotate, but now the Catalan manager has no choice but to start the Brazilian week in, week out.

Why no: City’s defence isn’t the best, as proved by Liverpool in Gameweek 23 and Danilo is not a natural left-back. If you can afford him, then Kyle Walker is an outstanding option for his propensity to bomb forward will likely see him rack up assists. Having multiple City defenders is, to put it mildly, an ill-advised FPL move for a plethora of reasons.

Mason Holgate

Team: Everton
Fixtures: West Brom (H), Leicester (H), Arsenal (A), Crystal Palace (H) and Watford (A)
Price: 4.3
Score: 33
Ownership: 1.9%

Why yes: Holgate’s confrontation with Roberto Firmino may have dominated headlines, but there can be no denying that the young fullback has been seriously impressive at the back for the Toffees. Bolstered by attacking reinforcements, Sam Allardyce’s men are expected to snap out of their funk against relegation-threatened West Brom.

Why no: The Baggies did win a game after long last in Gameweek 23 and can’t be taken lightly. Seamus Coleman is on the verge of returning to first-team action and Holgate’s starting spot is not exactly fixed at the moment.

Midfielders

Xherdhan Shaqiri

Team: Stoke City
Fixtures: Huddersfield (H), Watford (H), Bournemouth (A), Brighton (H) and Leicester (A)
Price: 6.0
Score: 83
Ownership: 5.4%

Why yes: Among the only Stoke players to have caused Manchester United’s defence some discomfort in Gameweek 24, Shaqiri is primed to explode with a run of favourable fixtures ahead. New managers generally provide a boost in the short-term and surely the Potters can only improve under Paul Lambert?

Why no: If the Potters revert to the ‘lump it’ approach, Shaqiri’s productivity may suffer.

Marko Arnautovic

Team: West Ham United
Fixtures: Bournemouth (H), Crystal Palace (H), Brighton (A), Watford (H) and Liverpool (A)
Price: 7.0
Score: 75
Ownership: 11.3%

Why yes: Another mid-priced midfielder who’s hit a rich vein of from is Marko Arnautovic. The mercurial Austrian is simply a must-have and a much more cost-effective option than the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah et al. The revitalised Hammers have inviting fixtures and there’s simply no reason not to pick him.

Why no: While’s not really a wildcard, Arnautovic has been known to go missing in games from time to time.

Forwards

Jamie Vardy

Team: Leicester City
Fixtures: Watford (H), Everton (A), Swansea (H), Man City (A) and Stoke (H)
Price: 8.5
Score: 99
Ownership: 15.5%

Why yes: Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have rediscovered the form of their famed title-winning campaign and it’s largely down to the duo that the Foxes have been so impressive this season. Watford have a leaky defence and don’t be surprised if Vardy has a double-figure haul this gameweek. Overall, Claude Puel’s men have pretty routine games ahead. At this stage, picking both the Algerian winger and the English forward doesn’t seem like the worst strategy.

Why no: Most FPL managers already have Mahrez and a vast majority of them would not want to pick Vardy as well.

Cenk Tosun

Team: Everton
Fixtures: West Brom (H), Leicester (H), Arsenal (A), Crystal Palace (H) and Watford (A)
Price: 7.5
Score: 2
Ownership: 0.7%

Why yes: This gameweek’s wildcard pick is Everton’s new signing, who had a bright debut against Spurs. While the German-born Turk didn’t score, he was a handful for the likes of Jan Vertonghen and co. Had he got better support, the scoreline could well have been different. With Theo Walcott’s acquisition this week, the Toffees now have some pace in attack and you can expect Tosun to benefit. On paper, Sam Allardyce’s men have routine games ahead.

Why no: Walcott may not have played much this season, but he remains a pretty decent pick in midfield, especially at his reduced price. Everton aren’t in the greatest shape at the moment.

PS: The Gameweek deadline is 11.30 am GMT/5 pm IST.

Previous articles in this series:

Fantasy Premier League Pundit Picks: Gameweek 23

Fantasy Premier League Pundit Picks: Gameweek 21

Fantasy Premier League Pundit Picks: Gameweek 20

Fantasy Premier League Pundit Picks: Gameweek 19