In this blog, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 23's numbers are analysed to determine the best players and teams to target going forward.

xFPL review

Cunha tops the Custom Stats xFPL table for Gameweek 23, the Brazilian international took four shots in the box (SiB), two of which were 'big chances' (BC) and also created a BC, leading to an xFPL score of 11.8. The Gameweek's highest FPL scorer Foden (20) notched an xFPL score of 9.1, he scored from all three of his SiB, two of which were BC and attempted three assists. Watkins (18) also went big, the England international registered an xFPL score of just 8.7 with his two SiB deemed BC and he also created a BC. Andreas was the Gameweek's most creative player with six attempted assists but the 28-year-old had no BC involvements which meant a low xFPL score of just 3.6. Barkley caught the eye once again ahead of Luton's Double Gameweek in 25, the midfielder had two BC involvements and attempted four assists while registering an xFPL score of 10.1.

Early Transfer Activity Analysed

As the above image from our Transfer Analytics feature shows, Richarlison tops the transfers in for Gameweek 24 on the back of his brace against Everton. Haaland is in second after his first start in two months while Diogo J. is in third with Liverpool's Double Gameweek 25 confirmed. Gordon is currently a doubt for the weekend, which has seen nearly 150,000 FPL managers transfer him out while Bowen and Solanke have also lost owners after their blanks. Amongst forwards, Haaland accounts for six of the top 10 transfer combinations with Álvarez, Solanke, Watkins, Archer and Isak making way. The transfers in midfield are more scattered with Diogo J. taking up four of the top 10 combinations but Richarlison, Foden, De Bruyne and Garnacho are popular as well. In defence, all the traffic is going to Trippier with the right-back occupying six of the top 10 transfer combinations. Porro, Estupiñan, Colwill and Alexander-Arnold are the ones making way.

Bowen vs Richarlison

As the above image from our Opta Player Heatmaps feature shows, both Bowen and Richarlison have been playing up top for their respective sides, but the Brazilian international has scored over double (22 vs 47) the FPL points over the last six Gameweeks at an average of 7.8 FPL points per game.

Although both players have taken a similar number of shots (14 vs 18), Richarlison has landed far more on target (four vs 10) and has found the back of the net five more times (one vs six) despite a small xG difference (1.93 vs 2.94). He has also taken more SiB (12 vs 15) while also being marginally ahead for attempted assists (four vs five). The above numbers would indicate that it makes sense to swap Bowen for Richarlison over the next few weeks.