FPL tips: Market goes local as England players dominate

Ahead of the 20th gameweek of the Fantasy Premier League season, English footballers are dominating the market with hundreds of thousands of managers opting to bring in a local player.

From defence to attack, some old hands as well as new kids on the block are making their mark in the marketplace – should you follow suit?

Roll with Stones

John Stones‘ brace against Crystal Palace has brought him to the attention of the masses, but his clean sheets have been turning heads in some corners for a while now.

Since his return to the side, Stones has helped Manchester City earn seven clean sheets in his last eight appearances, with Pep Guardiola’s side achieving five wins from their five most recent fixtures.

A net total of more than 200,000 managers have added the England defender to their squads ahead of gameweek 20 – with four winnable fixtures for City to come, what better time than now to do so?

Elsewhere, Tyrick Mitchell is enjoying popularity having achieved 90 minutes in Crystal Palace’s last four fixtures despite his £3.9m price tag.

Mitchell has earned 16 FPL points in that time thanks to two clean sheets and, with no games against the traditional top six until March, he may well add a few more points yet.

Far from the Maddison crowd

James Maddison is quickly positioning himself as one of England’s most threatening midfielders, his ability to score goals and make them helping Leicester to the top of the table.

Maddison has three goals in his last three league games, but posts more impressive numbers in the FPL’s Creativity metric, currently ranking eighth among midfielders.

Elsewhere, Arsenal’s 19-year-old sensation Bukayo Saka ranks ninth for Threat among midfielders, having notched a Threat score of 50 or more in five of his most recent eight games.

Saka has three goals and two assists in his last five, meanwhile, and his underlying numbers suggest he will continue to convert chances into FPL points if his performances remain consistent.

At just £7.1m for Maddison and £5.3m for Saka, an English midfield makes sense in more ways than one.

Home-grown goals

Do you remember England’s forward options in the 1990s? Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler, Alan Shearer et al? Well maybe the 2020s are going the same way…

That’s if you believe the FPL market, which, ahead of GW20, has opted for a trio of English forwards in Michail Antonio, Harry Kane and Patrick Bamford.

A net total of almost 50,000 bosses have brought in Kane, who currently ranks number one for Creativity among strikers, and number two for Threat among the same group.

Bamford, meanwhile, is quietly accumulating very impressive numbers at Leeds – with 10 goals and five assists, he is the top ranked forward for Threat, and has already broken the 100-point barrier despite his £6.7m price tag.

Last but by no means least, a net total of almost 100,000 have brought West Ham goal machine Antonio back into their squads after his return from injury.

Antonio has two goals in his most recent two games, and 18 FPL points in the same period – West Ham, meanwhile, are unbeaten since Christmas.