The new year presents a fresh opportunity for Fantasy Premier League managers to reset and go again if they endured troubles over the festive period.
The exit of Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min to the Africa Cup of Nations and Asian Cup respectively are two of the biggest talking points in FPL right now, and while they present headaches for many managers, they also throw open opportunities to sign up lesser owned picks and perhaps take a punt over the next few weeks while they are set to be away on international duty.
Here is a closer look at some options for gameweek 21:
Luis Diaz, Liverpool (7.3)
One benefit of Mohamed Salah’s departure is that other Liverpool players will see their minutes increased over the next few weeks. Salah could miss as many as four gameweeks from 21 to 24, so it is worth considering one of Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota or Darwin Nunez (a forward) while Salah is away.
We prefer Diaz, who is likely to start every game on the left wing and, without Salah, may find he plays 90 minutes more often too.
Richarlison, Tottenham (6.8)
The Brazilian is in good form, returning points in five or his past six games. His position as a striker is helping him find lots of chances and take plenty of shots on goal, and the results are obvious. With Son Heung-min now away with South Korea and expected to go deep into the Asian Cup, Richarlison may find those early substitutions (he is regularly being brought off just after the hour) are less frequent as other players rotate in and out of the side.
Pervis Estupinan, Brighton (4.9)
Estupinan returned to the Brighton side after an injury layoff and hit the ground running with a goal against Spurs, reminding FPL managers of his attacking threat. Brighton are nowhere near as defensively sound as they were last season and that will count against Estupinan’s points, but he remains one of the most potent attacking forces among FPL defenders. What’s more, Brighton’s fixtures are good for the foreseeable future, and his price is reasonable.
Pervis Estupinan scored against Tottenham— (REUTERS)
Leon Bailey, Aston Villa (5.7)
Aston Villa’s winger doesn’t have as many points this year as teammates Moussa Diaby or John McGinn, who play similar roles in the team, but his recent form has brought him within touching distance of them - and he’s 0.9m cheaper than the former. He has registered three goals and two assists in his last seven Premier League games and is playing 75+ minutes now on a much more regular basis. With Everton, an out-of-form Newcastle and Sheffield United to come in games next, there will be further opportunities to add to those tallies.
Erling Haaland, Manchester City (13.9)
Finally, have you considered this guy? Of course you probably had him in your team for a long time this season until his injury and City’s trip to the Club World Cup combined to make him far less desirable. Haaland was sold in droves, but the departures of Salah and Son should free up funds to bring him back. The good news is that Haaland is back in training, and with plenty of time until their GW21 fixture, on 13 January at Newcastle, there is a good chance he will play in that game.
NB – Erling Haaland has been ruled out of Gameweek 21 since this article was published.
