Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season to Man. City in gameweek 21 but Salah produced double-figure returns in each of the previous three matches, netting three goals and providing three assists over the four gameweek spell, and the Egyptian features as the headliner for this week's picks. As the Custom Stats Table shows, across the last six gameweeks, no midfielder has taken more than the Egyptian’s 10 efforts on target (SoT) or been involved in more than his seven ‘big chances’, while his total of 13 attempted assists is only narrowly behind Sterling (14) and Hazard (15). Only Heung-Min Son (11 to nine) has been directly involved in more goals during this period amongst midfielders. Liverpool scored 19 goals in this period, the highest in the league, with Salah directly playing a part in nine. Only Man. United (47) fired more SoT than the Reds’ 42, and no team created chances at a better rate than their 5.8 minutes per chance. Their opponents Brighton have conceded eight goals in their last six matches, allowing opponents 24 SoT, at an average of four a game. Our Fix Algorithm projects a point score of 6.5 for the Egyptian.
Man. City secured a 2-1 win over Liverpool in gameweek 21 to reduce the gap to just four points at the top of the table, with Sané providing his seventh league goal of the season. As the Fix Heatmaps feature shows, the German has featured heavily since gameweek 13, starting in eight out of nine league matches and producing four goals and four assists, avveraging 6.3 points per game. Amongst midfielders, only Eriksen (nine), Salah (11) and Son (14) were directly involved in more goals over this period and Sane’s total of 11 SoT was beaten only by Hazard (12), Salah (14) and Son (16). Only Deulofeu and Salah (each with seven) created more ‘big chances’ than Sane’s five. Even though the Champions form has been patchy, they have still scored six goals in their last three matches and no team has scored more goals than their 37 on home turf, an average of over three goals a game. Our Fix Algorithm backs Sané to get attacking returns, with a point score of 5.3.
It was a hectic Christmas period for Everton, who only had six rest days between their four matches, the joint-fewest along with Spurs. As a result they failed to score in each of the last two gameweeks. But, Sigurdsson produced an impressive average of 5.3 points per game over this period; more than any other Everton player. As the Custom Stats Table shows, the Iceland international was directly involved in three of his team’s seven goals and no teammate produced more than his seven attempted assists or his three SoT, while only Richarlison (10) took more than his six shots inside the box (SiB). The Toffees have generally been good at home, scoring 18 goals in their 11 matches, the seventh highest in the league. The Cherries defensive stats offer plenty of cause for optimism, over the last six gameweeks no team has conceded more goals than Bournemouth’s 18, which is an average of three a game, and only Fulham (17) and Huddersfield (20) have conceded more ‘big chances’ than the Cherries 16. Our Fix Algorithm projects a point score of 5.4 for the Icelander.
Barnes has forced his way back into Burnley’s starting lineup, returning two goals and one assist in the last four gameweeks to score a respectable average of 5.0 points per game. No Fantasy Premier League (FPL) forward has been involved in more than his six ‘big chances’ during that period, while only Rashford (10) and Mitrovic (nine) have taken more than his eight SoT. Two ‘big chances’ created by the 29-year-old puts him joint-first amongst forwards, alongside Kane and Rashford. Burnley have improved their attacking threat, with 37 SiB in the last four gameweeks, the sixth-best in the league, scoring six goals. Even though Fulham have kept two clean sheets in the last four gameweeks, their defensive statistics are still quite poor, with 34 SiB conceded in that period, the seventh-worst in the league. Our Fix Algorithm backs Barnes to spearhead Burnley’s revival, with a point score of 4.0.
Back-to-back clean sheets for Chelsea in the last two gameweeks has seen Alonso maintain his place as the top points scoring defender this season (117), with the left-back offering an impressive average of 5.6 points per game. No defender has taken more than his 21 goal attempts or his five SoT during home matches this season, while only Holebas (seven) has provided more than his four goal involvements on home turf. Three ‘big chances’ for the Spaniard during this period also ranks joint top amongst defenders. Chelsea’s opponents Newcastle have only scored eight away goals this season, the third lowest in the league, with only Fulham (seven) and Cardiff (six) producing fewer. They took only 87 shots during this period and only Burnley have taken fewer attempts on the road (86). Our Fix Algorithm predicts a 63% chance of a clean sheet for Chelsea, and a point score of 5.3 for Alonso.
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