Az from FPL Blackbox returns with his latest set of Fantasy Premier League tips, as the expert analyses the best and worst attacks in the Premier League and how the stats could impact your teams ahead of Gameweek 15.
FPL Gameweek 15 Tips: Best and Worst Attacks
I hope you’re enjoying the current carnage of FPL and are managing to get some green arrows to help rise up the leagues.
Last week I looked at the best and worst defences in the league and as promised, I’m going to now look at the best and worst attacks and suggest some FPL tips on how we can use these stats to our advantage.
Best Attacks In Premier League (Top 5)
(all season; sorted by minutes per xG)
- Chelsea (45.9)
- Liverpool (46.4)
- Manchester City (48.9)
- Tottenham (50.7)
- Bournemouth (52.7)
Aside from Gameweek 1, Chelsea have scored in every game this season and have an unbelievable set of fixtures to come right up until mid February.
Those who drafted in Nicolas Jackson (£8.3m) will understandably be disappointed that he missed out in the rout of Southampton, but I’d advise keeping the faith, even with the threat of a 1-match ban coming due to him being on 4 yellow cards.
There’s too much rotation in the team generally, but a double up with Cole Palmer (£11.0m) looks close to essential and he will be the main man to rival Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) for the captaincy over the festive schedule.
Speaking of Salah, Liverpool aren’t far behind Chelsea, but in a similar vein, rotation to their assets means we aren’t really looking past the Egyptian.
Luis Diaz (£7.5m) had 3 double digits in 5 weeks to start the season, but now had 7 blanks in his last 9 games.
Coady Gakpo (£7.1m) has at least started the 4 of the last 5 and has received lots of praise from Arne Slot, but the potential return of Diogo Jota (£7.2m) in December may dent his appeal.
Manchester City are intriguing, with Erling Haaland (£15.0m) on an unthinkable goal drought, with just 1 goal in his last 5 matches.
Not good enough for FPL’s most expensive player and we’ll need to see more from him to consider freeing up funds to bring him back into our squads if, like me, you dropped him in recent weeks.
Do note it;s an unbelievable run for City from Gameweeks 18 – 22, and never write off the Norwegian. Jeremy Doku (£6.2m) is one to monitor if he can nail down that spot on the left but I can’t see too much appeal in anyone outside of Haaland.
In fourth place are Spurs, who have been extra Spursy this season, with recent big wins against Man City and Villa sandwiching a 2-1 loss to Ipswich.
It’s hard to know who to pick in the Tottenham Hotspur lineup, with Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) only scoring in one of his last six appearances.
Brennan Johnson (£6.7m) looks good value but missed out against City, with James Maddison (£7.6m) excelling in this game and pushing Dejan Kulusevski (£6.2m) wide.
It might actually be Kulu who is the man to get. While he also missed out against City, he has been one of the players of the season and is a cut-price alternative to the others.
Son Heung-Min (£9.9m) doesn’t feel worth his price tag with other premium options firing and the fixtures being a bit of a mixed bag going forwards.
Finally, a bit of a surprise potentially to see Bournemouth so high on the list. They’ve scored 20 goals which is in line with teams like Aston Villa (22) and Brighton (22) but also in keeping with teams like West Ham (18) and Leicester City (19).
According to xG stats this is quite a notable underperformance (-3.93) and with leaky defences on the horizon, investment in the likes of Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) and/or Evanilson (£6.0m) looks a shrewd investment.
Worst Attacks In Premier League (Top 5)
(all season; sorted by minutes per xG)
- Ipswich (105.1)
- Wolves (96.2)
- Leicester (90.7)
- Everton (89.8)
- Southampton (86.3)
I’ll keep this section relatively short, because I don’t think too many of us are invested in the attacks of these teams – with the notable exception of Matheus Cunha (£6.5m) and Strand Larsen (£5.6m).
Jamie Vardy (£5.5m) and Liam Delap (£5.6m) may have flirted with our teams this season, but I’d be surprised if many are planning to hold on to them.
Vardy could continue to surprise, but with the likes of Joao Pedro (£5.7m) offering an exit route, I can’t see many keeping the faith.
Investment in the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.5m) and Adam Armstrong (£5.1m) up top for Everton is surely non existent at this point.
Dwight McNeil (£5.5m) is a decent hold if you still have him, although his 9 points in Gameweek 13 were his only attacking returns in his last 6 games.
On Cunha and Strand Larsen, I think it’s fine to hold these players for the next three weeks given they play three of the worst defences in the league (see my previous article).
However, after this you really want to have an exit route planned as these turn sour very quickly. I wouldn’t want any Wolves player in my team for a run of 9 games that includes games against Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Newcastle, Spurs and Manchester United.
