Fantasy Premier League: Fulham Players Recommended Against Southampton, Weekly Tips and Team Selection

The Premier League schedule this week presents a favorable opportunity in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) terms, with Fulham playing at home against a Southampton side described as being in complete disarray. The omission of Tottenham players against Southampton last week was noted as a significant error in hindsight, a mistake to be avoided. Fulham is also entering a period of appealing fixtures, making their assets attractive for FPL managers. The FPL team of the week is selected based on current FPL prices to fit within a £100m budget, simulating a Free Hit. Many FPL managers, including this team, experienced disappointment from Mohamed Salah, Cole Palmer, and Bukayo Saka, who each scored five points or fewer. Strong performances from Alexander Isak (11 points) and Nicolas Jackson (9 points) contributed to the team’s average score of 48 points. Jacob Murphy’s 13-point haul remained on the bench. The latest Fantasy 606 podcast is available on BBC Sounds. **Recommended Players for the Week:** **Andre Onana, Manchester United, keeper, £5.2m** – home to Bournemouth Despite conceding three goals in their last home game and Onana making an error, this selection is justified by Bournemouth’s inefficiency in front of goal. Only Manchester City has registered more shots, including shots in the box, yet Bournemouth has scored a relatively modest 24 goals in 16 games. They average over 11 shots per goal, suggesting Onana has potential for save points in addition to a reasonable chance of a clean sheet. **Malo Gusto, Chelsea, £4.9m** – away at Everton The French defender carries a slight risk regarding playing minutes but is considered Chelsea’s defender with the highest potential for an attacking return, especially with Marc Cucurella suspended. Everton has failed to score in five of their last six games, making a Chelsea defensive asset a crucial inclusion. **Gabriel, Arsenal, £6.2m** – away at Crystal Palace In a week where predicting multiple clean sheets is challenging, selecting FPL’s top-scoring defender is a sound strategy. Arsenal possesses the capability to shut out any opponent, and their proficiency from corners is well-known. **Antonee Robinson, Fulham, £4.8m** – home to Southampton A highly popular FPL player currently, Robinson meets all criteria for a budget defender. He has demonstrated assist potential with six assists already this season. While Fulham has only two clean sheets this season, their fixtures until the end of January are among the most favorable. Priced under £5m, he is considered a valuable acquisition. Antonee Robinson provided two assists at Liverpool last week and effectively contained Mohamed Salah. **Mohamed Salah (captain), Liverpool, £13.4m** – away at Tottenham The Egyptian forward is designated as captain this week. Last week marked his first failure to score since gameweek seven, though he still registered an assist. A scenario similar to Tottenham’s 3-4 loss to Chelsea a few weeks prior is envisioned for Sunday’s match. Tottenham’s defensive vulnerabilities and injury issues at the back create an ideal environment for Salah. **Cole Palmer (vice captain), Chelsea, £11.2m** – away at Everton Everton delivered a strong defensive performance against Arsenal in their last outing, but on another occasion, they could have been decisively beaten. They managed less than a quarter of the possession and conceded 13 shots. If a similar pattern unfolds against Chelsea, who are in excellent form, Palmer and his teammates could capitalize significantly. **Amad Diallo, Manchester United, £5.2m** – home to Bournemouth Diallo previously delivered FPL returns when included in the team of the week and showcased his abilities in the Manchester derby. He is emerging as a notable player and is available at a favorable price. Excluding players with limited playing time, only Saka (0.79) surpasses Diallo (0.71) in assists per 90 minutes this season. **Noni Madueke, Chelsea, £6.3m** – away at Everton The England winger was unfortunate to secure only an assist against Brentford last week. He recorded seven shots, six inside the box, and one big chance. Chelsea is anticipated to perform strongly against Everton this week, and Madueke is considered the midfielder, apart from Palmer, with the highest probability of achieving a double-digit FPL haul. He has three such hauls this season, two of which occurred in away games. Noni Madueke scored 13 points on his last away start in the league. **Emile Smith Rowe, Fulham, £5.5m** – home to Southampton The choice between Alex Iwobi and Smith Rowe for this team was narrow, given their similar budget prices. Smith Rowe has three goals from an expected goals (xG) of 2.2, whereas Iwobi has significantly over-performed with five goals from 1.9xG. This statistical difference supports the selection of Smith Rowe. **Raul Jimenez, Fulham, £5.5m** – home to Southampton A third Fulham player is included this week. The expectation is that Southampton’s performance may not immediately improve following Russell Martin’s dismissal. Jimenez is likely to start, though he may not play the full 90 minutes, and has a respectable five goals this season. Fulham is projected to score multiple goals against Southampton, making Jimenez a key selection. **Alexander Isak, Newcastle, £8.7m** – away at Ipswich Over the past five weeks, Isak has been the top-scoring FPL striker with 33 points. He is currently in a period of strong form, having scored three goals in the last three games, making him almost essential. Ipswich’s defense is not considered a deterrent. **Bench Options:** **Danny Ward, Leicester City, £4m** – home to Wolves Ward could become a viable £4m option if Mads Hermansen’s injury persists. While Leicester may not secure many clean sheets, a home game against Wolves this week presents a better opportunity than usual. **Jamie Vardy, Leicester City, £5.6m** – home to Wolves Although difficult to fit into the starting XI this week, Vardy is a strong first substitute option against a Wolves side experiencing inconsistencies. **Aaron Wan-Bissaka, West Ham, £4.6m** – home to Brighton The right-back is currently adopting very attacking positions, despite having only one assist to show for it. **Leif Davis, Ipswich, £4.5m** – home to Newcastle The full-back has recorded 10 more key passes (36) than any other defender and more crosses than anyone except Tottenham’s Pedro Porro. The total cost of the team is £95.6m. **Additional FPL Considerations:** **Rasmus Hojlund, Manchester United, striker, £6.9m** Rasmus Hojlund faces struggling Wolves and Southampton in his next five games. The Dane appears to be Ruben Amorim’s preferred centre-forward and has scored three goals in his last three games across all competitions. At £6.9m, he offers good value for managers considering alternatives to popular Wolves striker Matheus Cunha, who faces a potential ban and difficult fixtures after this week. Hojlund demonstrated his capacity for scoring streaks last season, with seven goals in a six-game period. **Aston Villa Fixtures** Managers may consider Aston Villa players from the Brighton home game onwards, after their matches against Manchester City (h) and Newcastle (a). Following Brighton, they have Leicester (h), Everton (a), and West Ham (h) within a four-game span. Antonee Robinson’s inclusion in the team of the week aligns with a transfer strategy adopted by Statman Dave and the author, who moved to acquire him shortly after Rayan Ait-Nouri received a red card following Wolves’ defeat to Ipswich last weekend. For managers looking to sell Ait-Nouri and bench his replacement this week, Crystal Palace’s full-back Daniel Munoz is suggested. He is similarly priced to Robinson but is suspended for the upcoming game against Arsenal on Saturday. Crystal Palace’s fixtures improve significantly from gameweek 19, potentially allowing the Colombian to deliver attacking returns, which could lead to substantial points if combined with a clean sheet. Consideration should be given to integrating a Liverpool defender into squads soon, if one is not already owned, but it is advised against rushing this transfer for the current week’s trip to Tottenham. The manager of the listeners’ team has opted to sell Erling Haaland. However, for managers who have retained him thus far, it is suggested to consider keeping him for the upcoming sequence of games against Everton, Leicester, and West Ham, which follow Saturday’s match at Aston Villa. The competition at the top of the mini-league is currently very close. Listeners interested in contributing to the listeners’ team for a week are invited to send an e-mail to fantasy606@bbc.co.uk. © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.