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This article provides a preview of what Gameweek 14 has in store for fantasy managers, including top captain selections and strong picks for the weekly FPL Challenge game.
Liverpool's 2-0 victory against Man City tipped the scales of the title race, as the Reds are now major favorites to win the Premier League. Mohamed Salah, Cole Palmer, and Bukayo Saka contributed double-digit hauls, rewarding FPL managers handsomely. But what surprises does Gameweek 14 have in store for us? Let's dive in!
The FPL Challenge --- Goal Diggers series introduces this week's new task titled "Red Hot Deal," where Man United players are set to earn double points. As always, we’ll offer weekly breakdowns of the top assets to target and help you maximize your points potential.
The Gameweek 14 deadline for the 2024-25 Fantasy Premier League season is Tuesday, December 3, at 1:00 p.m. EST, when Ipswich hosts Crystal Palace. 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.
Liverpool go 9 points clear at the top of the Premier League, and 11 points clear of Man City 💪#LIVMCI pic.twitter.com/srZVBVpQ7M
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 1, 2024
Gameweek 14 Tips
Invest in Aston Villa and Arsenal Attack
Arsenal is second in the league, chasing league leader Liverpool by nine points. A win over rival Manchester United is quite necessary. Meanwhile, Aston Villa will look to break its winless league streak, which began in late October, when the Villans host Brentford.
With this in mind, FPL managers are advised to prioritize bringing in assets from Aston Villa and Arsenal for Gameweek 14. According to goal projections, Aston Villa and Arsenal are expected to produce 2.05 and 2.20 xG (expected goals), respectively, in their upcoming fixtures.
💹 #FPL GW14 matchups
First look at projected goals and clean sheet odds for the midweek round of Premier League games, via spread betting markets pic.twitter.com/D2k5UHAwi2
— Rob T (@robtFPL) December 1, 2024
This week's recommended players for FPL attacking returns include Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard, and Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers.
New Manager Bounce -- Eyes On Leicester FPL Assets
With only four wins, placed 16th in the league, and a poor start to the 2024-25 season, Leicester City decided to change the helm of leadership, sacking Steve Cooper and bringing in Ruud van Nistelrooy.
In charge of the Blue Army 🫡 pic.twitter.com/iew0TTBiIW
— Leicester City (@LCFC) November 29, 2024
One aspect that impressed Leicester about Van Nistelrooy was his success at PSV Eindhoven, where he secured a second-place finish in the 2022-23 Eredivisie season and lifted the KNVB Cup. His most recent contribution came during his brief interim tenure, during which he guided United back to winning ways.
It may be too early to invest in Leicester FPL assets, but there is a run of games coming up this holiday season. Van Nistelrooy might be the savior figure that can turn the Foxes' fortunes around and obtain those results to avoid relegation. A new manager bounce could be in motion!
"I'm proud to be able to get the opportunity" - Ruud van Nistelrooy 💙
— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 2, 2024
FPL managers should keep an eye out for key fantasy assets such as Jamie Vardy, Stephy Mavididi, and James Justin, who are the usual assets to rely on for potential attacking returns.
Struggling Cityzens: Pep's Hunt for Winning Ways
With no wins in over 30 days, Manchester City's slump in form could cost it another Premier League crown; yet, this cannot be attributed only to injuries, but rather to the manager's inability to establish a winning system that scores more goals and concedes less.
Latest after today's games pic.twitter.com/wb6Cik6Roe
— Rob T (@robtFPL) December 1, 2024
Despite the disappointing performances, Manchester City assets could return to the menu in Gameweek 14, with a favorable home game against Nottingham Forest. According to our projections above, Manchester City leads with an expected goal of 2.50 xG and has a 46% probability of keeping a clean sheet this midweek.
If you have kept faith in Man City FPL assets such as Erling Haaland, Rico Lewis, or Josko Gvardiol over a difficult period of form, now is a good time to believe the results will come, as Pep Guardiola assures Man City will be back to winning ways soon.
PEP 💬 Three or four players came back [from injury] and the feeling from here is we started to build something.
From here we’re going to try to build, win games and regain our confidence. pic.twitter.com/c3pYf5IhQM
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 1, 2024
Gameweek 14 Top Captain Picks
The weekend fixtures present a list of fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Erling Haaland facing Nottingham Forest, Ollie Watkins at home to Brentford, and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka against Man United all present strong cases. However, my top two picks would be:
Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) - Liverpool
Topping the FPL rankings with 133 points, averaging 10.2 points per match, and delivering yet another attacking return for six consecutive gameweeks, it's almost impossible to bet against a man like our Egyptian King -- Mohamed Salah.
With a record of eight goals scored and six assists provided against in his last 15 outings against Newcastle, the in-form Mo Salah emerges as our RotoBaller top captain pick for Gameweek 14.
All hits, no misses 🎯#FPL pic.twitter.com/QmrfgpVabd
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) December 2, 2024
Cole Palmer (£11m) - Chelsea
Chelsea talisman "Ice Cold" Cole Palmer snapped his temporary goal drought after collecting 14 FPL points against Aston Villa last weekend. The Englishman has joined the 100 FPL club and is Chelsea's joint-leading scorer.
With the next match against bottom-of-the-table Southampton, Gameweek 14 provides an excellent opportunity for Palmer to score against the Saints, and he is well-positioned to help Chelsea continue its winning streak.
Cole Palmer is the second addition to this season's 100-point club 💯#FPL pic.twitter.com/PlMtBOhOlu
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) December 1, 2024
FPL Challenge: Goal Diggers
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 13th challenge, "Haaland or Salah?", focused on selecting a team of five players with an unlimited budget, where Liverpool and Man City players earn double points. This week, we have a new task, and our objective is to help you maximize points for each task presented.
In case you missed it, here's a summary of what to expect from the FPL Challenge: Goal Diggers event.
Fantasy Challenge is LIVE for 2024/25 🚨
Build your squad for Gameweek 1 now 👇#FPLChallengeAccepted
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) July 24, 2024
The Goal Diggers is a five-gameweek run that pushes fantasy managers to research bargain hunters and super savers. This series covers five tests focusing on earning points through different players and play styles.
- Gameweek 12: Economize - The budget is set to only £45m.
- Gameweek 13: Haaland or Salah? - Liverpool and Man City players earn double points.
- Gameweek 14: Red Hot Deal - Man United players earn double points.
- Gameweek 15: Big Spender - Players costing over £9m earn double points.
- Gameweek 16: Bargains - Players costing under £6m earn double points.
Goal Diggers FPL Challenge: Red Hot Deal - Players to Target
Week 14 of the FPL Challenge highlights selecting a team of 11 players with a budget limit of £75m. The task this week is to stay within our budget constraints while fitting in Man United assets who will earn double points.
RotoBaller's top picks for this week's Challenge are:
- In goal, Robert Sanchez presently ranks third among goalkeepers with 52 points, boasting three clean sheets in the league, and has a strong likelihood of keeping a clean sheet against Southampton.
- In defense, Rico Lewis, Ezri Konsa, and Leif Davis are cheap budget enablers who are likely to offer attacking returns against their respective opponents this midweek.
- In midfield, Arsenal starboy Bukayo Saka comes in as one of our recommended Arsenal assets to target. A Red Devils trio of Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo, and Marcus Rashford are key to this week's challenge, as United players are set to earn double points, while Cole Palmer takes the spotlight as our captain of the week.
- For the forwards, Ollie Watkins and Joao Pedro complete the attack, forming a dynamic duo to round off our lineup in a 3-5-2 formation.
Feel free 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, then 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!
