Fantasy Premier League 2021/22 | Who’s hot, who’s cold and who to stay away from

Who’s hot?

Come on people, just pick Mohamed Salah and be done with it. That’s right, I’m talking to the 18.9% of FPL managers, at the time of writing, who haven’t used that little squishy thing inside their rock-solid heads and brought in the best FPL asset that the new decade has given us.

That run did include the Champions League until he blanked against Atletico Madrid earlier this week. So go on because even at his current price of £12.9m, Mohamed Salah is a bargain and a guaranteed chance of goals plus you risk losing out since he is owned by 71.1% of managers in the game.

Still the Chelsea defense

But – and this is a sensational kicker although not quite as sensational as what’s about to come after this – they’ve only conceded three goals. That’s right, three Premier League goals in 10 league games which is unprecedented by any standards. Manchester City have had six and West Ham have had 11 put past them while Liverpool, fifth-best xGA, have had 8 goals fly into their net. And yet – yup there’s another one – that’s not even the best part about the Chelsea defense.

Because over the last few gameweeks, with Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner injured, Tuchel’s side have found goals coming from other locations, mainly their wing-backs. Last week, I mentioned Ben Chilwell as one to have and while he didn’t score over the weekend, Reece James did, twice. And in the words of the Chelsea left wing-back “He (Tuchel) wants defenders to score goals and attackers to do the defensive side,” and it’s exactly why their touch map has transformed.

Who’s lukewarm?

Conor Gallagher

A very impressive tally for the young midfielder and it continues his uptick of recent form with Gallagher doing very well. So far, the on-loan Chelsea midfielder has taken the most shots of any Crystal Palace player, with 21, and has put nine of them on target, scoring thrice this season. Not only that, he has two assists to his name, has the most key passes for any Eagle and an xA of 1.6.

All very impressive numbers but if you place him amongst the league, Gallagher ranks a paltry 30 for G+A per 90 at 0.57 behind a slew of players. However, changed that to players who have played 600 plus minutes and Gallagher shoots up into the top 16, which places him in a better light. His form ranking, according to the FPL’s website, also places the midfielder amongst the top ten. It’s why he is placed in the lukewarm category which means you can either take the punt or watchlist him.

Manchester City’s forwards

Now Manchester City’s defenders are definitely ones to have and that’s despite the fact that they conceded twice to Crystal Palace and once to Club Brugge over the last week. Yet, their forwards are a different question altogether especially in the league with the club struggling to find the net. Phil Foden’s double the weekend before last does place the youngster in good light but nobody else is in the same bracket.

The Cityzens have the second best xG behind Liverpool, with only the Reds and Chelsea outscoring Pep Guardiola’s side this season, although the Reds have managed nine more goals than City’s 20. It’s most definitely a problem for FPL managers and Pep although having said that, they could go on and score 20 goals over the next five gameweeks and send this article into the dirt. There’s that as well.

And who to stay away from

So, who said buying three good quality players makes up for losing one superb and majestic star in the form of Jack Grealish? Absolutely nobody and Aston Villa are proving that with their struggles ten games into the new league season. The fact that Leon Bailey has struggled with injuries and that Emiliano Buendia is yet to adapt has many fans worried, especially with Danny Ings the lone man doing well.

The forward has netted three goals and added two more assists, which is the best from those at Villa Park, but the concern is how they’re struggling to do little else. Dean Smith is definitely struggling, but even then, Villa have netted 14 goals at an xG of 11, which isn’t great either. It’s also a problem when the FPL’s official website has John McGinn at the top of their form guide, for Villa players, ahead of Emi Martinez and Ollie Watkins.