Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 20 Preview – Wildcard Edition

It’s a very quick turnaround, so in this FPL Gameweek 20 Preview I’m going to do things a little differently. I’m on wildcard and looking at everyone so we will do the normal fixture tickers and then I’m going to get into the players who are on my mind as I tinker my life away.

Top Talking Points

AFCON and The Asian Cup

But! Before we get into it…

This is the last gameweek before the start of the African Cup of Nations and The Asian Cup in January. It’s time to start thinking about this. Fortunately for you, we have written a comprehensive guide include dates and players that we think will play. You can find it here. Think about the transfers you need to make!

The EFL Cup

And, to add extra complexity, if Chelsea and Liverpool win their semi-finals (which seems likely) they are likely to blank in gameweek 26.

Ignore the Double

There is basically nobody from Brentford/Luton that is worth owning, the City assets are good anyway and Solanke is really the only one you might want for Bournemouth. Finally, we don’t know for sure when it is. Just deal with it when it comes.

Fixture Tickers

This is a regular stalwart of our pieces throughout the year. We will look at which teams have the best fixtures over the next five gameweeks to help you plan your transfers.

Teams in capitals are home fixtures and teams in lowercase are away fixtures.

Defensive Fixture Ticker

 We can ignore Fulham assets. They’ve been woeful recently and there are just better players out there.

Chelsea and Villa have solid defences and I think they offer great value for clean sheets.

Man United are just not trustworthy and you never know which team will show up. And Brighton are still yet to record a clean sheet so only Estupinian can be on your mind – that’s because he’s a good attacking defender.

Attacking Fixture Ticker

 Again, Estupinian is the only Brighton option to consider with their injury crisis.

Villa, Chelsea and Arsenal all have fun options in attack.

But again, again, Fulham suck and only have Raul to consider but there are better options out there.

The Wildcard Bunch

There’s two key elements to the gameweek 20 wildcard in my mind.

• Mo Salah and Heung-Min Son

They both leave for international duty after gameweek 20 so you need to sell them before 21. In my mind, that means, at most you can keep one. Because you need to get Haaland back when he is fit and you don’t want to book in too many transfers. Personally, I will be going without both – I prefer the clean break but recognise gameweek 20 will be bad for me without either of them.

• Money, Money, Money

Because you are selling one or both of the above and Haaland and De Bruyne are still not fit then you have loadsa money. They key though, is to not get carried away. You will have to live with this team structure for a while so keeping money in the bank to get Haaland is a good idea. But more importantly, keeping a cheap playing bench will remain important so you can easily get back to Salah and Son.

Goalkeepers

I can’t believe I’m starting with this guy but… Pickford is a good pick. His near term fixtures aren’t great but you want to hold your keeper until your next wildcard in probably like 10-12 gameweeks. He’s currently the sixth highest scoring keeper on 66 points and only costs 4.4.

Neto is another cheaper (get it? He’s a cheap, keeper! I’m so funny). He’s averaging over 3 saves a game (which gets him save points) and he has 10 bonus points for the season. Bournemouth are looking better than ever right now. What’s not to like?

Raya is a bit pricier but plays on the second best defence in the league. He’s less likely to get bonus and save points but he will get the cleans and Arsenal’s next 10 fixtures are probably the best in the league. The only trouble is that he cannot play against Brentford in gameweek 28 so you need a playing bench keeper. Fortunately, Areola plays Burnley in 28…

Martinez is the other pricier one on my mind. He’s the most expensive on this list. Again, this defence is solid but not as good as Arsenal’s. Personally, I hate Martinez with a passion so that’s a good enough reason to swerve him for me.

I’m not interested in anyone else. The likes of Alisson and Ederson are too much money for me. Dubravka is risky. Newcastle look dreadful and he might get replaced in the January transfer window.

Defenders

Trent Alexander Arnold is just a given for me. I thought I wouldn’t have him if De Bruyne and Haaland were fit by now but they aren’t. And, as I am dropping both Salah and Son today, I have far too much money not to buy him. He started the season slow but the last time he scored 2 points or less in a gameweek was game week 11.

The Arsenal gang are good too. I like Gabriel as the cheapest and Zinchenko as the most explosive (though possibly rotation prone). The second best defence in the league and all affordable. The other good defence I am considering is Chelsea. Colwill is still pretty cheap but Gusto could be the bargain buy. He is a risk because he is second choice, but the first choice Reece James is basically permanently injured. I also like Pau at Villa though he isn’t fit to start this week.

However, I’m not looking at anyone else for clean sheets per se. They will come, but I’m mainly focused on attacking output. So, players like Porro, Estupinian and Moreno are all at the forefront of my mind.

Someone like Charlie Taylor is a good cheap enabler.

I’ve no interest in Man City’s rotation or Newcastle’s piss poor fixtures. Having said that, if you held Trippier, I wouldn’t call you crazy. He’s a great player and I still have faith that they are good.

Midfielders

There isn’t that much to pick from. I want no AFCON or Asian cup players so Salah, Son, Hwang, Mbeumo (also injured), Mitoma (also injured) and Kudus are all out.

So, Saka is a given. A great fixture run and a great FPL asset. 4^th highest scoring midfielder right now and I think he will keep going. I’m also considering Odegaard and Martinelli. Odegaard is more interesting to me as Martinelli is nowhere near his best. Odegaard had a slow start to the season, possibly because of an underlying injury but I like the idea of doubling up on Arsenal attack for these good fixtures.

Bowen is the next best one as far as I am concerned. Nobody in his team comes near to him and his xGI per 90 is 0.55. So, you should expect a return every other week. He plays Brighton and Sheffield United next which are great fixtures.

Palmer is my next best. I’m slightly nervous about Nkunku coming into the squad and taking pens off him. But, regardless, he’s just offering incredible value. You could go Sterling but he’s just so much more expensive and his returns are often huge but far between.

And my secret cheap one is Garnacho. The guy is only 4.7 and whilst United are dreadful the value is mental. If he starts… Otherwise I’d consider an enabler like McAtee at Sheffield United.

I have toyed with Foden. It feels fine but I don’t love the minutes risk. I’ve sold Gordon already and have no interest in going back there until Newcastle’s fixtures turn. I might consider Kulusevski but he is suspended, I toyed with Richarlison but I don’t know whether he will offer value for money. Bailey and Diaby are too rotation prone for my tastes and I’m not willing to pay for Rashford or Fernandes.

Forwards

Ollie Watkins is the first name in all my drafts. He’s the highest scoring forward in FPL and been in my team since gameweek 1. ‘nuff said.

Solanke is in excellent form with 9 returns in the last 10 gameweeks. The fixtures aren’t excellent but I can’t see anyone else at 7.0 offering the same value.

Alvarez v.s. Nkunku is the big debate for me at the moment. I think I am backing Alvarez because I always said if Haaland gets injured we should just buy him. I will leave money in the back to straight swap him to Haaland when I need to. I do like Nkunku though.

I would also be tempted to keep Jesus but he’s not prolific and I favour the Arsenal mids over any others.

If I was considering a cheap 3^rd striker I would take Chris Wood or Cameron Archer. Wood is better but more expensive. Though, its worth noting that Awoniyi should be back in a couple of weeks.

I’m not considering Darwin. He’s too frustrating to own and watch for me. He is incredible and then he is dreadful. I just can’t do it.

Captaincy Corner

I like Salah if you own him still. For non-owners like myself, I think Bowen, Alvarez and Watkins all have good fixtures at home. I’m not sure I love any of them but I’m currently capping Alvarez and vice is on Watkins.

That’s it!

Good luck in FPL Gameweek 20! Hope you all do well and I do better 😊