With the final international break of 2024 done and dusted, we now have almost four months of uninterrupted Fantasy Premier League action to get stuck into. Strap in, it’s going to be hectic.
Since the last round of Premier League fixtures, the news agenda has been dominated by familiar talk of injuries, player welfare concerns and a chock-a-block calendar. Besides the David Coote stuff, obviously.
When you log back into your FPL app this week you may notice that a few of your squad members have ominous yellow or orange flags hovering over their digitised shirts ahead of this weekend, particularly if you’ve selected a few Englishmen…
There’s no reason to be alarmed just yet as a fortnight off may do some of the walking wounded a world of good. Some of those who missed international duty will probably play for their clubs this weekend, a scenario that would presumably irk Harry Kane.
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On to this weekend where Manchester City vs Tottenham is the headline act. Pep Guardiola’s side endured an unprecedented four-game losing streak before the break, while Ange Postecoglou’s team had been going pretty well until slumping to a shock defeat at home to Ipswich.
Elsewhere, Manchester United’s first game under Ruben Amorim is also bound to attract intrigue and attention particularly as it is in the primetime Super Sunday slot. Other match-ups of note include 20th-placed Southampton facing first-placed Liverpool in Sunday’s earlier game and Arsenal in 4th hosting Nottingham Forest in 5th on Saturday.
This week’s deadline is at 11am on Saturday 23 November:
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Gameweek 12 fixtures
Saturday 23 November
*3pm unless otherwise stated
- Leicester vs Chelsea (12.30pm)
- Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest
- Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace
- Bournemouth vs Brighton
- Everton vs Brentford
- Fulham vs Wolves
- Man City vs Spurs (5.30pm)
Sunday 24 November
- Southampton vs Liverpool (2pm)
- Ipswich vs Man Utd (4.30pm)
Monday 25 November
- Newcastle vs West Ham (8pm)
Alexander Isak (Newcastle)
While everyone has been preoccupied with in-form budget strikers and a misfiring premium one, Alexander Isak has quietly gone about his business after returning from injury after the last international break.
The Swede drew a blank against Brighton in Gameweek 8 but has since scored in three consecutive appearances, the high point of which was an 11-point score in Newcastle’s impressive dismantling of Nottingham Forest last time out.
FPL managers are spoiled for choice in attack right now, but squeezing Isak into your frontline could pay dividends in the coming weeks given the Magpies face four of the six leakiest defences in their next six matches.
That run begins at home against West Ham, a team that has already shipped three or more goals on four separate occasions under the beleaguered Julen Lopetegui. Isak is arguably in the captaincy conversation this week.
Price: £8.5m Points: 47 Gameweek 12 fixture: West Ham (h)
Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
Arsenal have frustrated their FPL backers recently after going seven Premier League matches without a clean sheet dating back to a 1-0 win over Spurs in Gameweek 4.
While it may be tempting to discard your Arsenal defenders or avoid buying them given their recent wobbly form, now could be precisely the time to keep the faith or invest instead.
The club’s fixture list is starting to clear up and while Nottingham Forest are tricky next opponents, it is the type of match Arsenal simply have to win if they are to galvanise their title ambitions.
Gabriel remains the standout option from their backline. Josko Gvardiol is the only defender to have attempted more shots from inside the box than the Brazilian (with 12 to 11), while Gabriel also ranks top for big chances (five) compared to his positional rivals.
Price: £6.1m Points: 45 Gameweek 12 fixture: Nottingham Forest (h)
Luis Diaz (Liverpool)
As Jurgen Klopp was eager for everyone to know, Liverpool routinely got shoved into the early Saturday kick-off slot in the first game after an international intermission, however, Arne Slot’s side have been given a much gentler 2pm start on Sunday this time.
That should work in Luis Diaz’s favour, giving him some extra rest after returning from Colombia. Mo Salah is obviously the go-to Liverpool asset for their game at Southampton, but pairing him with Diaz could be a savvy move given their opponent’s struggles.
Although 79.6 per cent of Diaz’s 64 points were scored in the first five gameweeks of the campaign, he has shown signs of returning to form over the past few weeks, albeit mostly in Europe.
The 27-year-old scored a hat-trick as the Reds thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 in the Champions League earlier this month and has regained his starting place under Slot after a spell of reduced minutes.
Price: £7.7m Points: 64 Gameweek 12 fixture: Southampton (a)
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
There are so many great budget-friendly forwards to pick from at the moment – Matheus Cunha, Chris Wood, Yoane Wissa, Danny Welbeck, to name a few – that FPL managers may struggle to afford both Isak and Ollie Watkins.
It could be a powerful differential play, though, considering Watkins also has some eye-catching fixtures in the imminent future particularly at Villa Park.
Three of Villa’s next four games are at home and they all look pretty promising from an FPL perspective: Crystal Palace this weekend, followed by Brentford and Southampton in gameweeks 14 and 15.
Unlike Isak, Watkins has struggled for goals of late having drawn a blank in his last five appearances for Villa, however, he was on the scoresheet for England in Greece which should provide a timely confidence boost.
Price: £9m Points: 55 Gameweek 12 fixture: Crystal Palace (h)
Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
You know earlier when we said don’t sell your flagged players as there’s a reasonable chance they may play? That applies to Cole Palmer who pulled out of England duty for the Nations League double-header against Greece and the Republic of Ireland.
As ever, err on the side of caution and wait to hear what Enzo Maresca has to say about Palmer’s fitness before splashing out just shy of a tenth of your budget to bring him in. Palmer has been carrying a knock, after all.
If he is given the all clear, however, he should shoot towards the top of your FPL wishlist. Palmer is in good form, Chelsea are in good form, and Leicester have the fourth-worst defensive record in the league. The Blues have great long-term fixtures making Palmer a nice set-and-forget pick for the foreseeable future.
Palmer is third among midfielders for both shots and chances created while only Salah can better his overall points output.
Price: £10.9m Points: 84 Gameweek 12 fixture: Leicester (a)
