GW-17 Rate My FPL and Fantrax EPL Teams

EPL is lining up to restart after a six-week World Cup break! Some players have been resting, but some international stars finished their World Cup journeys just a week before the EPL Boxing Day restart. And on top of that, there were some midweek exertions, such as the Carabao Cup tie between Man City and Liverpool to knock the rust off some shooting boots.

I wonder how players will perform after six weeks away. How has their form and health status changed? Has the World Cup induced any chemistry positively or negatively within the clubs? And how will players feel about returning to chilly old England after weeks away in warmer climes?

Official FPL

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All FPL fantasy managers have a chance to utilize a special unlimited transfer window before GW-17 as mentioned in the FPL official page. Except for a few price changes (and their budget impacts), it’s like starting the season over. I am capitalizing on this opportunity to build a more long term competitive squad rather than looking at just GW-17.

Aleksandar Mitrović, Mohamed Salah and Miguel Almirón are three of my major changes in this game-week. Gabriel Jesus is out for months, so I’m replacing him with Anthony Martial.

Fantrax NMA-11

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The fixtures in GW-17 seem friendly to top-4 candidates, thus my picks in Fantrax this week are mainly focused on players from those top teams, especially players who sat out World Cup 2022.

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GW-17 Fixtures for top 4 candidates:

Arsenal ( 1 ) vs West Ham ( 16 )

Leeds ( 15 ) vs Man City ( 2 )

Leicester ( 13 ) vs Newcastle ( 3 )

Brentford ( 10 ) vs Tottenham ( 4 )

Man United ( 5 ) vs Nottingham Forest ( 18 )

Aston Villa ( 12 ) vs Liverpool ( 6 )

Southampton ( 19 ) vs Brighton ( 7 )

Chelsea ( 8 ) vs Bournemouth ( 14 )

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I have made major changes to the lineup with six players transferred. Of my eleven players, only Kevin De Bruyne played in the World Cup, and he still looked quite sharp in Thursday’s Carabao Cup tie. The other 10 players were either not selected or their nations did not qualify.

Since there was a long break, the performances of players prior to the World Cup are no longer reliable indicators of current form. But Haaland and Salah both showed that class is permanent, each scoring when their teams faced each other in Thursday’s Carabao Cup match (City won 3-2).

The fresh legs and bargain buys in my lineup include Alejandro Garnacho, Victor Lindelof and Anthony Martial from Manchester United, Saïd Benrahma and last but not least, Dejan Kulusevski. I am expecting them to start their games because their teammates at the same positions are fatigued or were injured during the Cup.

Which players do you think will shine on Boxing Day Football? Please share with us how you will utilize the ‘Unlimited Transfer’ in FPL. And what are your takes on Fantrax after the six-week World Cup break? Please log in and leave your comments below!

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Stats and info for this article were sourced from premierleague.com

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