FPL Gameweek 21 Preview - All You Need to Know

Greetings all, and welcome to your Gameweek 21 FPL preview. 

The gameweeks are coming thick and fast right now, and so are these previews. Without further ado, let’s crack straight on with your latest dose of seasonal, analytical FPL goodness.  

Best Upcoming FPL Fixtures – Gameweek 21

Our lovely, free fixture ticker is getting a good workout from me right now, as I (Joe) seek to arrest my own team’s decline. 

It’s also very useful for these previews, however, and decided these were the best fixture runs from Gameweek 21 onwards. 

Best Attacking Fixtures

• I wouldn’t be afraid to bring in Arsenal attackers this week – the current Liverpool defence just isn’t very good. And, after that, the fixtures are fine for ages. Saka remains the pick of the bunch, with Rice an excellent cheaper option 
• Man City’s attack has spluttered a bit recently, but that was in tough fixtures… which these aren’t. It’s hard to bring any of them in right now, since nobody is really performing except early season darling Reijnders. Speaking as a Foden owner, however, it’s also quite hard to bin them
• I don’t love Fulham away as the first of these Chelsea fixtures. After that though, this is a nice run, and it actually extends right up until Burnley in GW27. Obviously I’d love Palmer to start being Palmer again consistently, but Enzo is the safer pick right now
• I have no interest in any Bournemouth attackers, with Semenyo leaving and Evanilson having looked a bit rubbish all season
• Likewise, I’ve got no interest in buying into any Palace players at all until the team, as a whole, turns things around
• Newcastle’s attack has picked up recently, scoring two or more goals in three of their last four games. Leeds and Wolves have both looked quite solid recently, annoyingly. But frankly we don’t have many good attacking options right now, so Newcastle’s Bruno G, Gordon, and… maybe Wissa are relatively appealing 
• Spurs’ attack looks terrible right now, and they just sold one of their few players who could actually put the ball in the net. No thanks 

Best Defensive Fixtures

• I’m admittedly feeling less confident in my Arsenal triple-up than before, and might finally move off it this week. Only one clean in their last six games, and Liverpool – while they’re not actually very good – also doesn’t feel like a clean. I’d keep two out of Raya+defenders for the lovely defensive fixtures afterwards, though
• As with the attacking fixtures, I don’t love Fulham away for Chelsea. After that though, this is a very nice run of games indeed. Wait a week, then have a look at Chalobah et al
• Everton bizarrely imploded against Brentford at home, but I’m not panicking yet – they’re surely still one of the best defences in the league. These fixtures are a bit of a mixed bag, especially with those away games, but I’d have to guess there are at least one or two cleans sprinkled in there
• I’m still not ready to trust Newcastle’s defence, after one clean sheet against a struggling Palace side. They literally hadn’t cleaned since October 5th before that.
• Palace look very leaky, especially from set pieces. Until they get that under control, we can’t go near their defence
• City rode their luck a little against Chelsea in the second half, but the last minute equaliser was still annoying for FPL owners. I remain confident in their defence as a whole though, and any of the next four games could be cleans

Gameweek 21 Transfer Tips

Who to buy and who to sell? The age old questions, in FPL, and precisely the ones we’ll be tackling right now. 

Here are the most bought and binned players, heading into Gameweek 21, along with my definitely-correct takes on whether or not your should follow the crowd. 

Should I Buy?

• Gabriel – Yes. The best defender in FPL, by miles 
• Rice – Yes. Won’t score two goals every week, obviously, but has so many routes to points, so he’ll return consistently regardless
• Thiago – Maybe. Obviously it’s tempting to jump on board after a hat trick… but he hadn’t scored for six games in a row before that. He also plays Sunderland then Chelsea, with Villa and Newcastle away after Forest. That said, there are basically no reliable goalscorers apart from Haaland, so… he’s as good a pick as any, I guess!
• Watkins – Maybe. He’s been in great form for ages now, returning in six of his last seven matches. The fixtures are a mixed bag, but – as with Thiago – we’re not blessed with many options up top, so he’s about as appealing as it gets for non-Haaland forwards right now  
• Bruno G – Yes. He’s having a fantastic season, is nailed, and he has a solid run of fixtures coming up 
• Rogers – Maybe. As noted, I think Villa’s fixtures are pretty middling. He did immediately get back to returning after his two tough games against Chelsea and Arsenal, though, and we’ve seen he’s got enormous upside. I’m tempted, personally 
• Thiaw – No. I wouldn’t trust Newcastle’s defence until we’ve seen them put in at least a couple of good performances relatively close together
• Tarkowski – Yes. He (and Everton) was a bit crap against Brentford, but he remains one of the best defenders in FPL, on one of the best defences, with solid fixtures   
• Cherki – Maybe. He seems pretty nailed right now, and has suddenly started getting DC’s to keep getting points, even when he’s not scoring or assisting. I’d still take Rice or Bruno G over him though, for around this price 
• Roefs – Maybe. Personally I’d just spend the extra on Raya, Pickford, Donnarumma. Sunderland are a good defence, though, and they’ve got three excellent fixtures in a row after a so-so away trip to Brentford
• DCL – No. He and Leeds looked fine against Man U’s (not great) defence, but I wouldn’t bring him in before Newcastle away  

Should I Sell?

• Ekitike – Maybe. I’d wait for news on the injury first, and would be tempted just to bench and hold him for the Arsenal game. Let’s not forget he just got six returns in four games before blanking against Leeds, and even in that game he had an xGI of 1.33. If there’s a chance of starting him against Burnley, I’d want to take it

• Foden – Maybe. Personally I keep not being able to make myself do it… despite the four blanks in a row. His underlying stats have been fine. He’s so explosive on his day. I either like or really like all four of his upcoming fixtures. I think I’m trapped with Phil Foden on my team. Send help

• Woltemade – Yes. Maybe he gets his place back, maybe he doesn’t, but you just can’t own him right now

• Timber – No, unless you’re tripled up at the back and want to take that down to a double. Arsenal are still the best defence in the league, with a nice defensive fixture run after Liverpool 
• Semenyo – Yes. Good move to City any day now, and loses value in various ways when he does
• Raya – Maybe. Again, I’m fine with it if it takes you from a triple Arsenal defence down to a double, but I’m still confident he comes good sooner rather than later 
• Guehi – Yes. Palace defence is rubbish right now 
• Saka – No. Why on earth would you? He’s returned in seven of his last eight games! 
• Eze – Yes. Benched until further notice
• Virgil – Maybe. I’m going to try and hold him until that Burnley game, let him disappoint me one last time, then sell him 

Captaincy Corner

It’s Haaland, as usual. Came almost unbelievably close to scoring against Chelsea, and I’d back City to right the ship, from an attacking perspective, home to Brighton. 

Your fun alternatives are Bowen home to Forest, and Cunha away to Burnley. 

(But just captain Haaland). 

Final Thoughts

Well, that’ll do it for yet another seasonal FPL preview. The schedule has frankly been ridiculous, so give yourself a pat on the back if you’ve even managed to keep up with setting your team each gameweek. 

We’ve actually got an entire 9 days off after this, however, with FA Cup games at the weekend. What a luxury!

With that, I’ll sign off for mine and James’s mini-break. Best of luck out there in Gameweek 21, everybody, and thanks – as ever – for reading.