Fantrax EPL GW-20 Player Picks: Thursday Deadline

Fantrax EPL GW-20 runs Jan 12-19, so we have a Thursday deadline, a DGW for six teams, and confirmed lineups for two of them.

Good news for the Fantrax manager who is looking for extra points: Fulham, Chelsea, Palace, Man United, Man City and Tottenham play twice each (barring snow etc — keep a weather eye out). However, most have relatively tough fixtures, with Chelsea’s matches against Fulham and Palace being the smoothest sailing. So managers will have to weigh rotation risk and match-strength before dropping discounted single-gamers for DGW players.

Here is the updated list of new injuries and suspensions from GW-19. More may yet follow the weekend’s FA Cup matches. Do not forget to tune in for NMA’s GW-20 Pre-Deadline and Live Chat for confirmed lineups on the Chelsea/Fulham match in the countdown hour.

• Aleksandar Mitrovic (Forward, Fulham) - Suspended 1 (5YC)
• Adam Smith (Defender, Bournemouth) - Suspended 1 (5YC)
• Christian Pulisic (Midfielder, Chelsea) - Injury
• Raheem Sterling (Forward, Chelsea) - Injury
• Mason Mount (Midfielder/ Forward, Chelsea) - Injury
• Alex Iwobi (Midfielder/ Forward, Everton) - Injury
• Adam Forshaw (Midfielder, Leeds) - Injury
• Boubakary Soumare (Midfielder, Leicester) - Injury
• Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Midfielder, Leicester) - Injury
• Virgil van Dijk (Defender, Liverpool) - Injury
• Donny van de Beek (Midfielder, Man United) - Injury
• Taiwo Awoniyi (Forward, Nottingham Forest) - Injury
• Yves Bissouma (Midfielder, Tottenham) - Injury
• Daniel Podence (Midfielder/ Forward, Wolves) - Injury

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Keepers

Kepa Arrizabalaga ($9.15, Fulham vs Chelsea, Chelsea vs Crystal Palace)

Productive yet underpriced enough to be recommended in a single-game-week, he’s practically a must have when he will almost certainly play twice.

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Bernd Leno ($12.26, Fulham vs Chelsea, Newcastle vs Fulham)

Leno is having good runs of points in Fantrax, and the injury of Chelsea’s first choice attackers increase his chance of keeping a clean sheet. Moreover, Fulham will have a second game against Newcastle this week.

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Defenders

Kenny Tete ($9.03, Fulham vs Chelsea, Newcastle vs Fulham)

Kenny Tete has scored an average of 14 points in Fantrax over the last three game-weeks even without scoring any goals. His points are gained in balance of both defensive and offensive side of the game play.

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Marc Cucurella ($7.22, Fulham vs Chelsea, Chelsea vs Palace)

Given his teammates in the same position are having long term injuries, it is almost certain that Cucurella will be starting in both games in this double game week (and he got a full rest in the FA Cup loss to Man City). Fulham and Crystal Palace are quite good fixtures for Chelsea.

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Serge Aurier ($8.72, Forest vs Leicester)

Serge Aurier has finally shown how good he was as a side back in the good old days. He is playing an important role in Nottingham Forest’s defense since he joined the club in September as a free agent. He has averaged more than 14 points in Fantrax for the past three games.

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Willy Boly ($3.90, Forest vs Leicester)

Here’s another player from Nottingham Forest, but he is a lot cheaper. Boly has recently nailed down a starting position in the team. He is a player you can secure now before his salary increases.

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Luke Shaw ($9.19, Man City vs Man United, Palace vs Man United)

Seemingly match-proof, the late addition of Man United’s make-up match v Palace makes Shaw a double-gamer too.

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Honorable mention: Ethan Pinnock ($10.84, West Ham United vs Brentford), Joel Ward ($8.16, Chelsea vs Palace, Palace vs Man United)

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Midfielders

Christian Norgaard ($6.55, Brentford vs Bournemouth)

Christian Norgaard is having good run of points in Fantrax together with teammates at Brentford. With his salary, he is worth a punt to continue his performance against Bournemouth at home in this game-week.

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Kaoru Mitoma ($6.15, Brighton vs Liverpool)

Mitoma has scored three goals in four matches. Although his opponent is Liverpool, he is still a good candidate as an enabler.

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Willian ($6.23, Fulham vs Chelsea, Newcastle vs Fulham)

Willian provided an assist in the last match against Leicester, and now he has a double game-week. With Mitrovic suspended, Willian might step up to first choice penalty taker for Fulham.

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Marcus Rashford ($12.34, Man City vs Man United, Palace vs Man United)

Rashford is one of the most improved players under the new manager Ten Hag starting this season. He has scored in all 3 EPL matches after the World Cup break. Besides, from the FA cup fixture last weekend, Rashford seems now to be the first penalty taker in the team.

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Honorable mentions: Andreas Pereira ($11.51, Fulham vs Chelsea, Newcastle vs Fulham), Hakim Ziyech ($1.89, Fulham vs Chelsea, Chelsea vs Crystal Palace), Bruno Fernandes ($12.26, Man City vs Man United, Palace vs Man United)

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Forwards

Harry Kane ($22.52, Tottenham vs Arsenal, Man City vs Tottenham)

Nothing needs to be said about how good Harry Kane is, but he comes with a very high price and two very difficult opponents. He is offered this week because he’s a double-gamer and because big players bring big performances to big games. Expect him to continue his good run of points (five goals in five games) even against the big boys.

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Erling Haaland ($22.91, Man City vs Man United, Man City vs Tottenham)

But you probably already have him at a deep discount, so sit back and hope he plays both matches despite Julian Alvarez finally becoming available. Speaking of whom, the much more affordable Alvarez could be worth a punt if late news suggests that he’s in line for more than a seat on the bench. In FA Cup action on the weekend, Alvarez played the full 90 and scored while Haaland stayed on the bench resting up for the DGW.

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Kai Havertz ($7.97, Fulham vs Chelsea, Chelsea vs Palace)

Chelsea faces a huge injury crisis, especially among attacking players, so Havertz looks like the starting striker in both games this week. With his relatively low salary and mediocre opposition, Havertz should be a good option for managers looking for an affordable DGW forward.

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Honorable mentions: Anthony Martial ($4.61, Fulham vs Chelsea, Newcastle vs Fulham), Jordan Ayew ($8.91, Chelsea vs Palace, Palace vs Man United)

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How many DGW players are you loading up this game-week? Which players do you think will shine despite tough opponents? Please log in and share your DGW strategy in the comments below!

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

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