FPL Double Gameweek 23 – The Fixtures
Double Gameweek 22 saw plenty of drama take place, culminating in Spurs' dramatic 2-3 victory away at Leicester despite losing 2-1 heading into the 95th minute. Friday night action saw fierce rivals Brighton and Crystal Palace each forced to settle for a 1-1 draw, although most managers with an interest in this fixture from an FPL standpoint will have been happy as the over 17% owned Conor Gallagher (£6.1m) netted for the Eagles. The following lunchtime saw Man City triumph 1-0 over Chelsea thanks to a wonderful Kevin De Bruyne (£12.1m) winner, his sixth league goal of the season whilst defender Joao Cancelo (£7.0m) recorded his eighth Premier League assist of the campaign.
The relegation six-pointer between Newcastle and Watford ended 1-1 with the second draw to take place on Saturday coming at Villa Park. A Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m) brace put Man Utd two goals up away at Aston Villa, before they were pegged back courtesy of Jacob Ramsey (£4.6m) and a Philippe Coutinho (£7.0m) goal on debut for Steven Gerrard’s side. Only two games took place on Sunday following the postponement of the North London Derby as Liverpool brushed aside Brentford 3-0 and Leeds defeated high-flying West Ham 2-3 in a thrilling contest that saw Jack Harrison (£5.5m) net a hat-trick for the visitors.
We've got plenty of FPL related talking points going into this coming weekend. So, without further ado we dive into Double Gameweek 23 which sees plenty of intriguing fixtures taking place. We examine those matches that in our opinion appeal most to FPL managers, along with those players who could take centre stage.
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 23 FIXTURES
Friday 21st January
Watford vs Norwich (20:00)
Saturday 22nd January
Everton vs Aston Villa (12:30)
Brentford vs Wolves (15:00)
Leeds vs Newcastle (15:00)
Man Utd vs West Ham (15:00)
Southampton vs Man City (17:30)
Sunday 23nd January
Arsenal vs Burnley (14:00)
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool (14:00)
Leicester vs Brighton (14:00)
Chelsea vs Spurs (16:30)
Saturday 5th February
Burnley vs Watford (18:00)
LOOK AT WHAT YOU COULD’VE WON
Safe to say the phrase above certainly applies to those FPL managers yet to bring Jarrod Bowen (£6.8m) into their respective teams for one reason or another. Three goals, five assists and 46 FPL points sets Bowen out as arguably the most attractive FPL asset in the game currently. He’s not the only West Ham player well worth keeping an eye on ahead of Gameweek 23, which sees the Hammers aiming to bounce back away to Man Utd following their surprise loss at the hands of Leeds.
Both these two teams contain players capable of accruing significant FPL point-hauls here. From the Man Utd side, you have Bruno Fernandes, fresh from his two goals in Double Gameweek 22, whilst forward Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) will no doubt prove a constant attacking threat as ever, the Portuguese star having already netted against West Ham in the reverse fixture. For David Moyes’ side, Michail Antonio (£7.9m) comes to Old Trafford on the back of an attacking return in four of his last five league appearances, although left-back Aaron Cresswell (£5.3m) provides more of a differential option, recording successive FPL scores of 6 points since returning from injury.
COUTINHO THE VILLAIN AS GERRARD’ MEN FACE EVERTON
No doubt ex-Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho will get a less than pleasant reception from the Everton fans, although that’ll be nothing compared to the reaction served up for his manager as Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa travel to Goodison Park in Gameweek 23. The Toffees are without a manager after disposing of Rafael Benitez following their 2-1 defeat against lowly Norwich with Duncan Ferguson expected to take the reins for this one. When considering this from an FPL perspective, it could mean that a positive reaction from Everton may on the cards.
Attacking midfielder Coutinho started from the bench against Man Utd last Saturday and it would be no surprise if Aston Villa’s new star signing was fielded from the start here, making him a hugely enticing player to sign if you’re an FPL manager at just £7.0m. Villa forward Danny Ings (£7.7m) found the net against Brentford in their last away match and is also worth serious consideration. For Everton, Richarlison (£7.4m) marked his return to action in DGW22 with a goal off the bench and both him alongside fellow forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.9m) are expected to link up here as they did so successfully earlier in the season before the latter was ruled out through injury.
SALAH’S ABSENCE MO PROBLEM FOR LIVERPOOL
Following their 0-0 draw against ten-man Arsenal in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, Liverpool fans were rightly concerned over the attacking potency of their side without the presence of Mo Salah or Sadio Mane through international duty. Thankfully for them, they needn’t have worried as the Reds comfortably overcame Brentford by three goals to nil at Anfield and they’ll be looking for a similarly emphatic result in Gameweek 23 away at Crystal Palace, a fixture they won 0-7 last season.
As you would expect from a Liverpool side managed by Jurgen Klopp, the starting full-backs remain a huge part of their attacks, making them the ideal players to own for an FPL manager. Both Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.4m) and Andy Robertson (£7.0m) gained an assist against Brentford and each will no doubt be roaming forward at will from their respective flanks once again in this one. Klopp is expected to retain the front three of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain(£5.8m), Roberto Firmino (£8.7m) and Diogo Jota (£8.4m). Whilst it was Oxlade-Chamberlain and Firmino who each acquired an attacking return in DGW22, Jota is by far the most owned FPL asset of the three and the midfielder will be desperate to add to his tally of 10 Premier League goals already scored in this campaign.
