Burnley players may have left their Fantasy Premier League managers in the lurch this weekend after a late postponement but the data suggests you should keep the faith.
The Clarets’ snow day meant they and Tottenham were unable to pick up FPL points in gameweek 13, frustrating for example Son Heung-min‘s 1.8 million owners or the 140,000-plus who have transferred in Maxwel Cornet over the last three weeks.
But with the quick turnaround to Tuesday evening’s deadline, the PA news agency assesses how they may be able to set the record straight in a gameweek dominated by defence.
Lowton on a high
Full-back Matt Lowton‘s uncharacteristic attacking production this season has helped offset, in FPL at least, the loss of Burnley’s traditional defensive solidity.
Still riding the wave of his goal and two assists across gameweeks nine and 10, he trails only Chelsea’s red-hot Reece James among our defensive recommendations.
Combining form, cost, ownership and upcoming fixture difficulty rating, PA’s Transfer Score rates James at a league-high 83 out of 100 this week with Lowton next on 75.
The form of James – and to a lesser extent Crystal Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher – skews the figures slightly this gameweek, with Marc Guehi for example ranking joint fourth in that category but gaining only 71 towards his transfer score, but marks of 93 for cost (£4.5m) and 99 for ownership (0.8 per cent) lift Gallagher’s team-mate to 74 overall and third in the league despite a testing run of games.
Take it to the Max
Cornet has made an immediate impact on the Premier League and had scored four goals and 33 fantasy points in his last four games prior to Sunday’s whiteout.
He is owned by just 2.8 per cent of FPL managers and a favourable run of games helps lift him and his fellow Clarets, with the possibility of a quick rearrangement of the Spurs game for a double gameweek. Cornet’s transfer score of 73 leads all midfielders and ranks fourth overall.
Spurs’ Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been nearly as productive as Son at less than half the price, with Chelsea’s Jorginho completing the midfield podium as Gallagher’s spiralling ownership squeezes him down to fourth.
Knock on Wood
Chris Wood has been a perennial FPL bargain and after finding his form with two goals in his last three games – his second and third of the season – he is back on the radar with a transfer score of 66.
Norwich have shown signs of life under new boss Dean Smith, with Teemu Pukki (63) the likeliest FPL beneficiary.
Adam Armstrong is now Southampton’s top-scoring striker on 43 points after a goal and two assists in the three games prior to Saturday’s thumping at Liverpool, earning the £6m man a transfer score of 62 at a position short on depth.
Stick with the big guns in goal
One absentee from the Burnley dominance is keeper Nick Pope, who has just one clean sheet all season.
Instead, look closer to the top end of the table and be prepared to spend accordingly – David De Gea (£5m) leads the way with a transfer score of 67, with his 5.3 per cent ownership and FDR of 2.4 making the Manchester United stopper an unusual differential pick.
Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris (62) and Manchester City’s Ederson (61) will set you back £5.4m and £6m respectively, though City in particular have a friendly run of games.
