FANTASY FORECAST 2018/19: FPL Gameweek 20
Ahead of each Gameweek in the Fantasy Premier League, The Hype Train invites a special guest onto its Fantasy Forecast, where the three members of the Hype Team and its Special Guests will duel for FPL supremacy in predicting Premier League scores, as well as going head to head in picking a Scout Picks squad for the relevant Gameweek. In addition, we give our insight into who are the players to watch and those to drop, both for traditional FPL leagues and the Draft mode, as well as providing insight into captaincy picks, differentials for the week, and more. Welcome to the Forecast. All aboard.
Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 20 Deadline
For the 2016/17 Premier League season, the FPL deadline will be one hour before the commencement of the week's first game. The Premier League website lists each FPL deadline, you can always ask on social media, and you can also view a real time countdown on our Weekly Hype page.
How does our Forecasting work?
We have taken to our Hype Team, and the FPL Community, to compete in a weekly head to head dual of wits. We ask the questions that dominate each week in the Fantasy Premier League: who to pick, who to avoid, who to captain, and who may surprise. The three members of the Hype Team, and a Guest, will provide weekly insight for the Gameweek ahead.
For the sake of respecting the rules of the Forecast, we have provided an example of what we're sending out to interested parties that will feature throughout the season.
Premier League Fixture Prediction: As pundits, we are testing our football acumen with PL predictions and will be providing regular updated tables and stats in each edition of the FPL Forecast. A perfect score is worth 3 points whilst a correct result is worth 1 point.
FPL Gameweek Forecasting: Answering the regular questions that come up every single week in the Fantasy Premier League community that helps with identifying captaincy picks, transfers, attacking options, clean sheet potential, teams to look our for and avoid, players to consider for the Draft game, the wildcard differential players, as well as general analysis and comments.
Scout Picks: Picking a squad of 15 for a single Gameweek, without any budget, using the rules of the FPL - formations, captains and vice captains, and the player limits of 3 per club (chips will not be feature of these weekly picks)
Each team must pick a Captain, labelled as (c) and a Vice Captain listed as (vc).
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 20
Brighton 1-3 Everton
Fulham 1-0 Huddersfield
Leicester 2-0 Cardiff
Spurs 3-0 Wolves
Watford 2-0 Newcastle
Liverpool 3-0 Arsenal
Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea
Burnley 1-2 West Ham
Southampton 1-2 Man City
Man United 3-2 Bournemouth
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 20
Best GW Attacking Options:
Everton (A) vs. Brighton
Leicester (H) vs. Cardiff
Spurs (H) vs. Wolves
Watford (H) vs. Newcastle
Liverpool (H) vs. Arsenal
Chelsea (A) vs. Crystal Palace
West Ham (A) vs. Burnley
Man City (A) vs. Southampton
Man United (H) vs. Bournemouth
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential:
Fulham (H) vs. Huddersfield
Leicester (H) vs. Cardiff
Spurs (H) vs. Wolves
Watford (H) vs. Newcastle
Liverpool (H) vs. Arsenal
Who are the teams to look out for?:
Liverpool: Six points clear at the top of the table, and having only conceded seven goals you wouldn’t put it past them to continue their run and brush aside Arsenal who have recently shown their weak underbelly.
Man United: ‘OSG’ has got them scoring goals, and Bournemouth have been capitulating against teams from the top six. Expect another underwhelming Cherries performance.
Who are the teams to avoid?:
Man City: Two losses on the road and facing a new manager at Southampton who could make it three in a row. Liverpool fans can dream.
West Ham: Because the Hammers have the tendency to randomly shut off and just become a bunch of b-class Dave’s again. I want them to do well for the sake of my team, but it is West Ham.
GW Differential Picks:
Dejan Lovren made a huge impression against Newcastle.
Gylfi Sigurdsson is back to his best.
Hugo Lloris could have an easy game.
Christian Eriksen could continue his great form.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C) Mohamad Salah – Why change something that isn’t broken?
(VC) Harry Kane – Why get rid of the spare when the main one isn’t broken?
Other Gameweek Comments:
Rotation season, and only after a few days from the last gameweek. Prepare for plenty of players to come back in-and-out of your favourite teams.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 20
Formation: 3-5-2
Starting 11
GK: Alisson
DEF: Andrew Robertson
DEF: Toby Alderweireld
DEF: Marcos Alonso
MID: Richarlison
MID: Eden Hazard
MID: Mohamad Salah (C)
MID: Christian Eriksen
MID: Paul Pogba
FOR: Harry Kane (VC)
FOR: Jamie Vardy
Substitutes
GK: Lukasz Fabianski
FWD: Marcus Rashford
DEF: Ricardo Pereira
DEF: Kiko Femenia
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 20 Brighton 0-2 Everton Fulham 1-2 Huddersfield Leicester 3-0 Cardiff Spurs 3-1 Wolves Watford 1-2 Newcastle Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal Crystal Palace 0-2 Chelsea Burnley 1-3 West Ham Southampton 1-2 Man City Man United 3-0 Bournemouth
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 20 Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Jordan Pickford
DEF: Lucas Digne DEF: Marcos Alonso DEF: Harry Maguire
MID: Heung Min Son (VC) MID: Felipe Anderson MID: Paul Pogba MID: Eden Hazard
FOR: Jamie Vardy FOR: Sergio Aguero FOR: Harry Kane (C)
Substitutes
GK: David De Gea MID: Richarlison Andrade DEF: David Luiz DEF: Kieron Trippier
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 20
Brighton 1-1 Everton
Fulham 0-0 Huddersfield
Leicester 2-0 Cardiff
Spurs 3-1 Wolves
Watford 2-0 Newcastle
Liverpool 3-0 Arsenal
Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea
Burnley 1-3 West Ham
Southampton 1-2 Man City
Man United 2-0 Bournemouth
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 20
Best GW Attacking Options:
Leicester (H) vs. Cardiff
Spurs (H) vs. Wolves
Watford (H) vs. Newcastle
Liverpool (H) vs. Arsenal
Chelsea (A) vs. Crystal Palace
West Ham (A) vs. Burnley
Man City (A) vs. Southampton
Man United (H) vs. Bournemouth
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential:
Fulham and Huddersfield
Leicester (H) vs. Cardiff
Watford (H) vs. Newcastle
Liverpool (H) vs. Arsenal
Man United (H) vs. Bournemouth
Who are the teams to look out for?:
Watford: The Hornets have been half-decent in recent weeks and begins a run of decent fixtures to bank on. Foster, Femenia, Pereyra, Deulofeu and maybe even Deeney, have become very good differential options.
West Ham: Burnley bad, West Ham good. That's the logic, right?
Leicester: See above.
Liverpool: Undefeated, at home against a side that is slowly losing its early season swagger. Wouldn't be surprised if Liverpool can go the season undefeated at this point.
Who are the teams to avoid?:
Newcastle: Terrible fixtures for Newcastle from now for the foreseeable future was kicked off with a 4-0 thumping at Liverpool.
Arsenal: One to avoid at Anfield, especially with many conflicting Auba owners, though Fulham next week will massively turn the tide in The Gunner favour for a week.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C) Harry Kane – 8 returns in a row when starting matches. Mr. Consistent is Harry Kane right now.
(VC) Mohamed Salah – Big returns, in form, at home against a leaky defence. Points incoming.
Other Gameweek Comments:
I'm just glad last week is over. Can't wait for heartbreak this week.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 20
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Alisson
DEF: Andrew Robertson
DEF: Kiko Femenia
DEF: Marcos Alonso
MID: Eden Hazard
MID: Mohamad Salah (VC)
MID: Richarlison
MID: Roberto Pereyra
FOR: Harry Kane (VC)
FOR: Jamie Vardy
FOR:
Substitutes
GK: Kasper Schmeichel
MID: James Maddison
DEF: Kieran Trippier
DEF: Lucas Digne
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 20
Brighton 1-1 Everton
Fulham 2-1 Huddersfield
Leicester 2-0 Cardiff
Spurs 3-0 Wolves
Watford 2-1 Newcastle
Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal
Crystal Palace 1-3 Chelsea
Burnley 1-2 West Ham
Southampton 0-3 Man City
Man United 3-1 Bournemouth
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 20
Best GW Attacking Options:
Kane, Son, Erikson, Hazard, Sterling, Sane, KDB, Aguero, Pogba, Rashford.
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential:
Schmeichel, Schmeichel, Chilwell, Pereira, Lloris, Trippier, Alisson, Robertson, Ederson, Laporte.
Who are your essential Gameweek player picks?:
I think having Spurs, Man City, Man UTD and Chelsea cover this week is essential. The likes of Kane, Eriksen and Son could cash in on some recent shaky defence of Wolves at home. I’m expecting a bounce back of sorts from Man City attacking options and depending on Rotation Sterling/Sane, a refreshed and rejuvenated KDB and Aguero could shine away at Southampton.
Man UTD assets have become appealing with the likes of Pogba and Rashford scoring well under new management but I fear rotation will play a factor with the stacked midfield options and perhaps a resurgent Martial.
Although I’m expecting a Liverpool home win to Arsenal I wouldn’t count any of their assets essential this week.
Who are the players that might make the difference this Gameweek in the Draft?: When scouting draft waivers look for favourable matchups. A few I’ve chosen to highlight are potential free agents within Man Utd midfield and defence who come up against a shaky Bournmouth outfit that conceded 5 goals to Spurs last GW. The likes of Herrera and Shaw who have shown attacking potential over recent weeks, and also potentially Lindelof who may snag a clean sheet with potential bonus.
The next matchup is Watford who face a Newcastle side at home who just shipped 4 goals away to Liverpool. With this matchup the likes of Holebas and Deulofeu may be free, and the later has come into form with 3 attacking returns in the last 3 gameweeks.
Who are the teams to look out for?:
Man UTD, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs.
Who are the teams to avoid?:
Cardiff, Wolves, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Southampton.
GW Differential Picks:
Shaw 4.9m (5.7%), Lindelof 4.8m (1.2%), Herrera 5.0m (1.0%), Deulofeu 5.4m (1.3%)
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C): Kane
(VC): Hazard
Other Gameweek Comments: As we have all come to know rotation is rife throughout the Christmas period but my advice is to hold strong, reduce hits and trust your gut. Saving a transfer this week on a fit player like Sterling, Sane or Richarlison may come in handy in the coming weeks.
Man United are a popular team to target after their recent form under new management however we have to be aware that Martial, Sanchez and Lukaku are waiting in the wings and popular picks such as Lingard and Rashford may be rotated. I’d expect Pogba to be as close to nailed on in that midfield as possible and stretching the budget to target him over the others may be your best bet.
Lastly, Man City are too good of a team to continue the dismal form they have been in over the recent gameweeks. KDB is back and Fernandinho will be available soon which should restore some of the control and spark that has been missing. In saying that, those that have doubled up on Sane/Sterling in the midfield may look to move one on to Hazard or Pogba to reduce the risk of blanks/rotation and to cash in on some favourable fixtures.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 20
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Hugo Lloris
DEF: Andrew Robertson
DEF: Kieran Trippier
DEF: Marcos Alonso
MID: Raheem Sterling
MID: Eden Hazard (VC)
MID: Mohamed Salah
MID: Paul Pogba
FOR: Harry Kane (C)
FOR: Sergio Aguero
FOR: Marcus Rashford
Substitutes
GK: Kasper Schmeichel
MID: Leroy Sane
DEF: Ben Chilwell
DEF: Luke Shaw
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in the Fantasy Premier League (#FPL), providing beautiful graphics and weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb ranking tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review movies, live sport, and professional wrestling.
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The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog 2016' by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), with the final presentation held at Old Trafford in Manchester.
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All aboard.
