EPL Game-Week 25 FPL Player Picks

Manchester City is booming towards the title, sitting on 53 points and a game in hand while Leicester and arch-rivals Manchester United trail at 46. The Premier League has that race and more to offer, hitting us with another double game-week: Southampton and Leeds each play twice, so let’s ponder those players and pick who has the maximum potential to deliver points to our fantasy managers.

[ Alert: The GW-25 deadline is on Friday! Don’t miss it! ]

Goalkeeper

David de Gea (£5.3m, Manchester Untied v Newcastle)

He seems to have found his groove back, making important saves against West Brom, but he has struggled to keep clean sheets, conceding in his previous two fixtures. However, with Newcastle struggling to score goals, the Spaniard may find this fixture as the perfect opportunity to make his tally of clean sheets to nine.

Nick Pope (£5.5m, Burnley vs West Brom)

Pope leads the charts again on this list as the Englishmen has been the dominant force behind Burnley’s eight clean sheets so far in the campaign. Despite the Baggies snatching a point away at Old Trafford, this game will not see them sitting behind their own box. However, they lack finishing when moving forward, which puts Sean Dyche’s men solid at the back, giving Pope another chance to deliver a clean sheet.

Defenders

Matt Cash (£4.9m, Aston Villa v Leicester)

Despite Aston Villa’s struggles, Matt Cash has been consistent, putting up impressive scores and keeping three clean sheets in previous four games. This choice is based solely on recent performance at a cheap price, but it carries risk as Jamie Vardy comes to town for the Foxes.

Luke Shaw (£5.0m, Manchester United v Newcastle)

He’s having his best season as a United player; he is one of the most in-form left-backs in the league. The 25-year-old has the most assists in Premier League since New Year’s, four in the last three fixtures. His ownership of corners and crosses makes him a strong option.

Joao Cancelo (£6.1m, Arsenal v Manchester City)

Cancelo is pretty much playing as another creative midfielder in the center of the park for Pep Guardiola, amassing monster scores. His forward threat plus defenders’ clean sheet points puts him at the intersection of must & have. Caveat: Guardiola has confirmed Ruben Dias starting against Arsenal in the weekend, so count the consecutive games that Cancelo has started, and then look at the upcoming Champions League fixture while reading Pep’s rotational tea leaves.

Midfielders

Raphinha (£5.3m, Wolves v Leeds) + (Leeds v Southampton)

He has recently impressed with deadly returns. The Brazlian international has two goals and four assists in five matches. Plus, in Kalvin Phillips’ absence, Raphinha has been in charge of corners and indirect free kicks and has become a threat moving forward. Bonus: Jack Harrison is another Leeds player to think about.

Harvey Barnes (£6.8m, Aston Villa v Leicester)

Barnes played a vital role in his team’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool, both scoring and assisting. He has shown Brendon Rodgers that he is now the Foxes’ best winger despite a dull ‘Project Restart’ campaign last summer. The youngster is looking to make threatening runs behind the opposition defense and sharpen his finishing. Also, the up-coming schedule list for Leicester is relatively friendly.

Bruno Fernandes (£11.5m, Manchester Untied v Newcastle)

You already have him right? Bruno has 14 goals and 11 assists this term, with three goals and two assists in his last four fixtures. The Portuguese phenom has consistently provided impressive performances, and now he faces a Newcastle side that has kept only one clean sheet in its last four matches, conceding six in the other three. The Magpies may face trouble from the United playmaker.

Forwards

Patrick Bamford (£6.8m, Wolves v Leeds), (Leeds v Southampton)

Double-gamer and star striker Bamford is a great candidate for anyone’s captaincy spot. He has been in great form, netting twelve goals and providing eight assists this season. Compared to Southampton, Leeds has the better fixtures (Wolves and Southampton itself), and the Saints’ form has not been great, conceding too many goals. Bamford is in top-form too, with 12 shots and creating seven chances in his previous four fixtures.

Danny Ings (£8.4m, Southampton v Chelsea); (Leeds v Southampton)

Ings has not faced the smoothest season so far, suffering injuries that kept him away for a while. But he has still managed to score eight goals. With the double-week, Ings could test Tuchel’s recently impregnable Chelsea defense, and front-footed Leeds is always vulnerable at the back. The striker has eight shots in his previous four games, most of them being phantom-tight off-side calls. Momentum is building toward Ings finding the net as he did last season.

Jamie Vardy (£10.1m, Aston Villa v Leicester)

Vardy has scored 12 goals, including one against Liverpool last week. He has also created eight assists to help Leicester climb to third in the table. It really does not seem as if he has just returned from surgery; his energy and hunger for goals is undiminished, and the Foxes’ are better for having him back in the team. He has a brilliant record scoring against the ‘Big Six’, but against teams like Aston Villa the Englishmen really makes a difference. The striker takes 2.5 shots per game with 49% accuracy, which makes him a vital asset to have. The Vardy Party is on!

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What do you think of our picks this week? On which Leeds or Southampton double-gamers are you taking a chance? Whom are you planning to captain for this two-team DGW? Which player will shine this week? Please let us know in the comments section below!

And please come back for our pre-deadline and live chat on FRIDAY.

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