Headliner - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (BUR)

The Gabonese is the headliner for this week’s picks as he squares up against a Burnley defence that has allowed more shots at their goal than any team in the league. As the Custom Stats Builder table shows, over the last four gameweeks no forward has taken more shots in the box (SiB) than Aubameyang’s 11, and only Rashford has landed more shots on target (SoT) with seven, than the Arsenal forward’s six. In that time he has also scored two goals and only Chicharito has scored more (three) amongst forwards. Only Chicharito was afforded more ‘big chances’ than his five in this period, and he has also weighed in with five attempted assists. Arsenal will be looking to bounce back after their defeat at Southampton and only Liverpool (18), Chelsea (19) and Man. City (33) have scored more goals on home turf than the Gunners. Over the last four gameweeks, no team have allowed their opponents more SiB than Burnley’s 48, and only five sides have conceded more ‘big chances’ than their nine. Our Fix Algorithm expects the Gabonese man to get back on the scoresheet, and a point score of 6.2.

Leroy Sané (CRY)

Sané was left out of the matchday squad against Leicester in the Carabao cup, and the fully rested winger must be relishing the prospect of facing Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium in gameweek 18. The Fix Match Preview shows that Sané has been the Champions’ primary creative outlet over the last five gameweeks with 13 chances created, well ahead of second placed Gündoğan with nine. He has also landed more SoT than any team-mate in the same timeframe, beating Jesus seven to five. No Man. City player has been more involved in attacking play during this period, as he tops the stats for goals (three) and assists (four). Only Townsend (14) and Hazard (15) created more chances than the German’s 13, and he also ranks fifth amongst midfielders for SiB with nine. Only Liverpool (14) have scored more goals in the aforementioned period than the Champions (12) and the Palace defence should offer little resistance. The Eagles have conceded 15 goals in their nine away matches, the seventh worst in the league. Our Fix Algorithm predicts the German to continue his sparkling form, with a point score of 5.8.

Callum Wilson (BRI)

After an appearance off the bench against Wolves in gameweek 17 we would expect Wilson to start against a Brighton side that had the worst away record in the league last year. Despite only one point in the last two games, Wilson is still ranked second for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points amongst forwards with eight goals and eight assists. As our Fix Player Heatmaps feature shows, Wilson averages 5.9 points per home game. In the six-week period prior to his injury (gameweek 10 to 15), he scored five goals which was the highest amongst forwards and only Jimenez (16) took more SiB than his 15. Their opponents Brighton have kept just one clean sheet in nine away matches, conceded 14 goals and have allowed opponents 103 SiB, the third worst in the league. Bournemouth face away matches to Spurs, Man. United and Everton in the next four games after this weekend, so the Cherries are likely to go all out to get a win here given the difficulty of the upcoming run. Our Fix Algorithm expects Wilson to get amongst the points once again, with a projected point score of 4.3.

Felipe Anderson (WAT)

An assist against Fulham in gameweek 17 was Anderson’s seventh FPL involvement in as many matches, and the Brazilian is one of the form players in the game at the moment, averaging over 7.5 points per game over this period. As the Custom Stats Builder table shows, during this time no midfielder had more SoT than his 10, and nobody had scored more goals than his five. Only Liverpool (17) and Man. City (21) have scored more goals than the Hammers’ 16, and only Tottenham (38), Man. City (41) and Liverpool (46) have landed more SoT than their 37. After a strong start to the season, Watford’s defence has crumbled in the last seven matches. Only Fulham (14), Bournemouth (16) and Southampton (18) have conceded more goals than the Hornets’ 13, and they have also conceded 15 ‘big chances’ the seventh worst in the league. Our Fix Algorithm expects Anderson to get attacking returns, with a point score of 4.4.

Marcos Alonso (LEI)

The most owned player in FPL features as the standout defensive pick this week, as Chelsea welcome Leicester to Stamford Bridge. No defender has registered more FPL involvements than Alonso’s eight, and only Sterling (112), Salah (113) and Hazard (116) have notched more points than Alonso’s 100. Over the last six gameweeks, only Bellerin (eight), Van Dijk (nine), Van Aanholt (nine) and Chambers (12) have taken more shots amongst defenders versus the Spaniard’s seven, and he has also created two chances. The Chelsea defence has been resolute at Stamford Bridge, conceding only seven goals. Only Tottenham (six), Man. City (six) and Liverpool (two) have conceded fewer on home turf. Leicester have failed to score in their last two league games, and only Burnley (three) have scored fewer goals in the last six gameweeks than the Foxes’ four. Our Fix Algorithm predicts a 46% probability of a Chelsea clean sheet, and a point score of 5.2 for Alonso.