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This article provides a preview of what Gameweek 22 has in store for fantasy managers, including top captain selections and strong picks for the weekly FPL Challenge game.
With 30 goals scored during the week, Gameweek 21 delivered loads of points for FPL managers, with highlights of Alexander Isak and Amad Diallo finishing with double-digit returns. Less than 48 hours away till Gameweek 22 begins. Get ready as we share top insights in prepping your fantasy team for the weekend!
The FPL Challenge: Transfer Window Special introduces this week's new task, "Restricted Budget," where managers are expected to select a team of five players with a budget of £25 million. As always, we’ll offer weekly breakdowns of the top assets to target and help you maximize your point potential.
The Gameweek 22 deadline for the 2024-25 Fantasy Premier League season is Saturday, January 18, at 6:00 a.m. EST, when Newcastle welcomes Bournemouth. Also, check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every EPL and UCL slate with our EPL DFS lineup picks and betting picks.
FPL Gameweek 22 Tips
Target Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Man City Assets
Newcastle and Nottingham Forest have been in excellent form since the festive fixtures, scoring a combined 23 goals in their last five matches. The Magpies have everything to play for after defeating Wolves 3-0 in Gameweek 21, claiming fourth place in the table, while Nottingham Forest is third and ahead of Newcastle by three points.
Newcastle have won nine consecutive matches in all competitions, equalling their club record! 😱 pic.twitter.com/jJ9c0tIG0B
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 15, 2025
Man City's efforts to regain their league form were significantly hampered by a late draw with Brentford. However, the Cityzens will fancy their odds of returning to winning ways against relegation favorites Ipswich, who have only three wins all season.
With this in mind, FPL managers are advised to prioritize selecting attacking options from Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, or Man City for Gameweek 22.
💹 PL GW22 matchups
First look at projected goals and clean sheet odds for the weekend's round of Premier League games, via spread betting markets pic.twitter.com/PVe4jw9eV8
— Rob T (@robtFPL) January 17, 2025
According to goal projections, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, and Man City are expected to produce 2.15 xG, 2.20 xG, and 2.55 xG (expected goals) in their upcoming fixtures, respectively.
Defensively, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, and Man City have been projected to earn clean sheets, with a 31% likelihood for Newcastle, 46% for Nottingham Forest, and 40% for Man City.
Recommended players for attacking returns:
- Newcastle: Alexander Isak (on pens), Anthony Gordon, and Jacob Murphy.
- Nottingham Forest: Chris Wood (on pens), Anthony Elanga, and Morgan Gibbs-White.
- Man City: Erling Haaland (on pens), Phil Foden, and Savinho.
Recommended defenders/goalkeepers:
- Newcastle: Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento, and Martin Dúbravka.
- Nottingham Forest: Ola Aina, Nikola Milenković, and Matz Sels.
- Man City: Joško Gvardiol and Stefan Ortega.
FPL Gameweek 22 Top Captain Picks
The weekend fixtures present a list of fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Cole Palmer against Wolves, Chris Wood at home to Southampton, and Fulham's Raul Jimenez against Leicester all present strong cases. However, my top three picks would be:
Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) - Liverpool
Topping the FPL rankings with 211 points, averaging 10.6 points per match, Mohamed Salah ascends to the top of my captain picks this week. The Egyptian King has scored 11 of his 18 goals this season when playing away from home, with 61% of those goals arriving on the opponent's ground.
Blanking only once in the last 13 gameweeks, the 32-year-old is set to return to goal-scoring form when Liverpool visits Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.
A 4-1 win on our last visit to the Gtech Community Stadium 👏 #BRELIV pic.twitter.com/aX6B13HDIX
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 16, 2025
Alexander Isak (£9.4m) - Newcastle
Averaging a 0.87 goal per 90 and increasing his goal tally to 15 goals scored in the Premier League, Isak, "The Unstoppable Force," has proven himself to be a lethal striker and a must-have FPL asset to rely on.
The Swedish forward will fancy his chances of extending his goal-scoring streak against Bournemouth at St James' Park and is a compelling contender for the armband in Gameweek 22.
Will Alexander Isak break Jamie Vardy’s scoring record? 👀 pic.twitter.com/Bq6icNxWqD
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 15, 2025
Erling Haaland (£14.8m) - Man City
Braut Erling Haaland is nominated as one of our top captain picks this week, thanks to a favorable fixture against Ipswich. In Gameweek 2, the Norwegian scored a hat-trick against the Tractor Boys and will be eager to repeat the same performance.
The 24-year-old just got rewarded a 10-year contract at Man City, and this could serve as extra motivation for Haaland to get on the scoresheet this weekend.
Most Premier League goals scored since Erling Haaland joined Man City:
◉ 79 - Erling Haaland
◎ 55 - Mo Salah
◎ 46 - Alexander Isak
◎ 43 - Ollie Watkins
◎ 36 - Cole PalmerBad news defenders, he's just signed a new City deal until 2034!!! 🤖 pic.twitter.com/LL8IszvwV9
— Squawka (@Squawka) January 17, 2025
FPL Challenge: Transfer Window Special
The FPL Challenge section for the 2024-25 season is back, and RotoBaller remains your go-to source for valuable insights on selecting the right assets for any challenge.
The 21st challenge, "Legends," focused on selecting a team of five players with an unlimited budget, where double points were awarded to players who have been at a club for over five years. This week, we have a new task in the Transfer Window Special series, and our goal is to help you maximize points for each task presented.
In case you missed it, here is a breakdown of what is expected from the FPL Challenge: Transfer Window Special event.
Fantasy Challenge is LIVE for 2024/25 🚨
Build your squad for Gameweek 1 now 👇#FPLChallengeAccepted
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) July 24, 2024
The Transfer Window Special is a three-game week run that tasks fantasy managers to show off their managerial skills with transfer-themed challenges in the January transfer window. This series covers three tests focusing on earning points through different players and play styles.
- Gameweek 21: Legends - Players who have been at their club for 5+ seasons earn double points.
- Gameweek 22: Restricted Budget: Make a team selection with a limited budget of £25 million.
- Gameweek 23: Instant Impact - Players signed in the January transfer window earn double points.
Budget-Friendly Picks: FPL Assets to Target under £6 million
The 2024-2025 season has been a gold mine for less expensive FPL assets that are producing similar numbers to the premium assets.
A few scenarios include Matheus Cunha temporarily surpassing Erling Haaland for forwards and, more recently, Amad Diallo amassing 20 points after scoring his first career hat-trick for Man United.
On course for the maximum three bonus points, Amad becomes the sixth-player this season to take home 20 points from a single match 😮💨#FPL #MUNSOU pic.twitter.com/PhT1WmCilz
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) January 16, 2025
Let's look at a few players who are on track to surpass the premium assets by the end of the season:
- Lewis Hall - The Englishman has amassed 33 points in his last five matches for Newcastle, keeping four clean sheets. Hall's overall 85 points are on par with Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold and joint second in the FPL rankings for defenders.
- Ola Aina - The 28-year-old Nigerian currently leads the FPL defensive rankings with 97 points, having kept nine clean sheets and scored two goals for Nottingham Forest this season.
- Morgan Rogers - Playing 199 minutes ahead of teammate Ollie Watkins, Rogers has scored a total of 94 points for FPL managers, contributing 11 attacking returns (six goals, five assists) for Aston Villa.
- Anthony Elanga - Contributing five goal contributions in his last five outings, the 22-year-old Swedish attacker is in fine form, amassing a total of 39 FPL points in that timeframe.
- Liam Delap - The Tractor Boys star man has contributed 10 goal contributions (eight goals, two assists) this season and accumulated 81 points for FPL managers.
Transfer Window Special FPL Challenge: Restricted Budget - Players to Target
Week 21 of the FPL Challenge involves selecting a team of five players with a limited budget of £25 million. This week's task is to select budget-friendly assets to fit our budget constraints.
Based on the recommendations above, we have a plethora of options to select from. RotoBaller's top picks for this week's challenge include:
A double-up of Newcastle's Martin Dúbravka in goal and Lewis Hall in defense, a second double-up on Nottingham Forest's Murillo in defense with Anthony Elanga in midfield, while Fulham's forward Raul Jimenez leads the front line in a 2-1-1 formation.
Jimenez takes the spotlight as the captain of the week. Remember, you are at liberty to select any other top FPL Challenge alternatives that are not mentioned above.
Best of luck to everyone participating in this week's challenge!
Join the RotoBaller FPL League
Fancy pitting your wits against fellow RotoBallers? Then, join our free league to compete against the team and our dedicated FPL fans. Head to the official FPL site, click the leagues and cups tab, and enter the RotoBaller league code: b278pa.
Go head-to-head against your friends and family in mini-leagues 🏆
Pick your squad and compete for #FPL glory now! ⬇️
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) July 18, 2024
Stick around for more 2024-25 Fantasy Premier League content coming soon. Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
