Get ahead of the Group Chat thanks to our new regular column from FPL expert Jonas Sand Låbakk.
By Graham Ruthven, in conversation with Jonas Sand Låbakk
Introducing our expert
Jonas is a 21 year old student who, like FotMob, hails from Norway. He was Fantasy Premier League champion for the 2023/24 season, finishing ahead of 11 million other managers. So who better to provide expert advice?
Read his expert advice every week.
*Don’t forget the FPL deadline for this round – make your transfers and get your team sorted before 18:30 GMT on Friday 14 February*
The Eye Test vs. The Stats
Bournemouth have been one of the biggest surprise packages of the Premier League season so far.
Indeed, Andoni Iraola’s team are flying high in the table, chasing European football from their current position of seventh. There’s just three points between Bournemouth and Chelsea in fourth place.
From a FPL point of view, this is a good time to buy Bournemouth assets with the Cherries set to face Southampton and and Wolves in the next two gameweeks. In fact, their favourable run of fixtures could stretch until GW28.
Antoine Semenyo (5.7m) has registered five goal involvements in his last five league appearances while Justin Kluivert (5.9m) and Dango Ouattara (5.1m) are also viable options. Semenyo, however, edges it due to the number of minutes he is likely to secure in the longer term.
Bournemouth suffered a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in GW24, but were competitive against the Premier League leaders. The Cherries are capable of holding their own against the very best.
Semenyo posed a threat against Liverpool and was a handful for Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Ghanian recorded 0.77 Expected Goal Involvements (xGI) and contributed two goals and two assists in the three matches prior to meeting the Reds.
Averaging 4.1 shots per game, Semenyo is a prolific shooter. This ranks him above any other player receiving regular minutes in the Premier League this season (see graphic above).
Southampton face the Cherries in GW25 with the Saints the worst defensive team in the division, conceding an average of 2.3 goals per game this season. Wolves, who have the third-worst defensive record, await in GW26. Bournemouth assets could be extremely valuable.
Ollie Watkins (8.9m) should be another player on your radar ahead of a double gameweek in GW25.
Short term, Aston Villa have some challenging fixtures to come with games against Liverpool and Chelsea on the horizon. They will also blank in GW29 due to Liverpool playing in the Carabao Cup final.
However, Watkins could still be a good differential if you have the budget to afford him with Aston Villa at home to Ipswich Town this weekend.
This season, Watkins hasn’t reached the heights of the 2023/24 campaign when he notched 19 league goals, but the England international still has 10 goals and five assists from 12.6 xGI. He is still delivering as Villa’s first-choice centre forward.
Watkins is yellow-flagged for the GW25 match against Ipswich, meaning he has only a 75% chance of playing due to injury. Unai Emery will hopefully provide more information on the fitness of his striker in his press conference on Friday. If fit, Watkins would be a good pick for the double gameweek.
Long shot
Ethan Nwaneri (4.5m) has shown glimpses of his ability for Arsenal this season, but he might now become a key figure.
Injuries have hit the Gunners hard. Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are all sidelined at the moment, opening up a spot for Nwaneri who has caught the eye with his sporadic performances.
Nwaneri found the back of the net in the six minutes he received off the bench against Manchester City in GW24, beating Stefan Ortega with an excellent strike from outside the box. Arsenal would take another one of those this weekend.
Arsenal have two favourable fixtures upcoming with games against Leicester City and West Ham in their next gameweeks. The Gunners also have a fixture in GW29 (unlike some of their rivals) and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Nwaneri play regularly until them.
Only 0.7% of FPL managers owners have Nwaneri in their team, making the teenager a potentially valuable differential.
Upcoming games to follow
There are several interesting games worth following in GW25 from a FPL perspective.
First up is the meeting between Leicester City and Arsenal in the early kick-off on Saturday with the Gunners hoping to close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table. I expect Arsenal to perform well, making Leandro Trossard (6.8m), Nwaneri (4.5m) and Gabriel (6.3m) worth monitoring.
Southampton host Bournemouth at 3pm on the same day with the aforementioned midfielders and left back Milos Kerkez (5.0m) on my radar. Kerkez could pose an attacking threat against the basement boys.
Liverpool have a double gameweek against Wolves and Aston Villa in GW25. Both matches will be interesting to watch with the game against Wolves one that could produce some big points hauls.
Mohamed Salah (13.7m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.4m), Cody Gakpo (7.6m) and Virgil van Dijk (6.4m) are players to target.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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