Fantasy Premier League: What we learned from Gameweek 22 – target Bournemouth plus Saliba, Solanke worries

Arsenal dropped points again this weekend as Liverpool furthered their lead at the top of the table with a late win against Brentford. 

Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) blanked for the second game in a row and now has one open-play goal in his last four matches.

The Arsenal defence disappointed again and they haven’t kept a clean sheet in their last four games; Fantasy Premier League managers will now be wondering what to do with their assets.

With Gameweek 22 concluding tonight (Monday) with Chelsea hosting Wolves (kick-off 8pm GMT; 3pm ET), we will review the main FPL talking points from the weekend’s action. 

Keep an eye on Bournemouth assets 

The result of the weekend was Bournemouth’s 4-1 away win at high-flying Newcastle United. 

Andoni Iraola’s side are having a great season as they sit seventh in the league. They have scored 36 goals (the eighth-most in the league) with an xG (expected goals) total of 42.4 (second-best), so their underlying numbers have been impressive, too. 

Therefore, Bournemouth’s attacking assets should be on your radar soon as their fixtures pick up in a few weeks. 

Bournemouth assets are flying thanks to Iraola (George Wood/Getty Images)

From Gameweek 25 onwards, they play Southampton (A), Wolves (H), Brighton & Hove Albion (A), Tottenham Hotspur (A), Brentford (H) and Ipswich Town (H). 

Justin Kluivert (£5.5m) scored his second hat-trick of the season this week, registering a massive 22-point haul. He has been great value and now has 10 goals and three assists for the season. He is also Bournemouth’s first-choice penalty taker and, at his price, should be easy to acquire. 

GO DEEPER

Dissecting Justin Kluivert’s incredible performance and hat-trick against Newcastle

Antoine Semenyo (£5.6m) and Dango Ouattara (£5.0m) also look like great-value options. With both Evanilson (£5.7m) and Enes Unal (£5.4m) out long term, Outtara has started as the No 9 in the last two games, so could potentially be a steal considering his team’s fixtures coming up. 

Semenyo, meanwhile, has six goals and four assists and has played the most minutes (1,836) among the Bournemouth attackers. He is nailed to start and is the one who will play the most long-term.

With the injuries Bournemouth have in attack, Kluivert, Semenyo and Ouattara will all see a boost in their expected minutes. They are also cheap enough to be enablers to help bolster other areas of your squad. 

Consider offloading Arsenal players…

Arsenal have dropped points in two of their last four games, and have also kept no clean sheets in that period. Barring their game against Manchester City in Gameweek 24, their fixtures are reasonable in the next five.

But with Liverpool’s double gameweek coming up in a few weeks, you might be tempted to move your Arsenal defenders on.  

Also, William Saliba (£6.2m) might be set for a spell out of action judging by Mikel Arteta’s comments. If you own him, then I think it’s an easy switch to Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m), Ibrahima Konate (£5.1m) or even Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) if you can afford him. 

This is pretty much a perfect entry point for Liverpool’s next gameweek (against Ipswich at home), and then they have their double gameweek the week after. 

If you own David Raya (£5.6m) or Jurien Timber (£5.6m), I would also be looking to move them to their Liverpool counterparts. The only one I think is worth keeping right now is Gabriel (£6.4m) due to his goal threat, and I do think the Arsenal defence will come good again soon. 

Arsenal themselves have a winnable fixture this week against Wolves, so you could possibly delay the move one more week. However, Liverpool have the best defensive record in the league, conceding the least goals (20) with an xGC (expected goals conceded) of 18.8 (first).  

They will also be tipped to keep a clean sheet in Gameweek 23. 

Is it time to invest in Everton? 

David Moyes’ Everton also double in Gameweek 24. They picked up their first win under their new manager in a 3-2 win against Spurs. 

The early signs are that they do look a bit more attacking — but I would still prioritise their defence if you are looking to invest.

Jordan Pickford (£5.0m) is the second-highest scoring goalkeeper in the game and with Brighton (A) next and then Leicester City (H) and Liverpool (H) in the double, I do think he is worth investment. He has also made the third-most saves (66), so should pick up plenty of points. It’s a bonus if he keeps a clean sheet. 

Pickford could be a smart pick for Gameweek 24 – when Everton play twice (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.3m) would be my pick if you are after an Everton defender. He is cheap and can be used as your fourth or fifth defender. He has a double coming up and then can be easily rotated for the upcoming tough fixtures. 

In the attack, the only two I would consider are Iliman Ndiaye (£5.4m) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.4m). Both are nailed to start, with the latter on penalties. I would only pick them if you have a third forward spot available and have a good eight-man attack as you will probably want to bench them for quite a few of the upcoming fixtures. 

If you have Joao Pedro (£5.6m), Matheus Cunha (£6.9m) or Raul Jiminez (£5.7m), for example, I would be tempted to gamble on one of them.

Possible Solanke replacements 

Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) missed the Everton game after twisting his knee in training, according to Ange Postecoglou.  

The Tottenham manager stated he didn’t know the extent of Solanke’s injury but unless he is back next gameweek, then the striker is quite an easy sell. 

If you own him, I would be looking at one of the Everton forwards or even Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo (£7.4m), who has Ipswich next and then plays Bournemouth (A) and Everton (A) in Double Gameweek 24. 

Although there is always a chance he gets rotated, I think he is pretty safe for the short term at least. He has been one of Liverpool’s best attackers and has now started the last 10 games, with five goals and an assist in that period. 

He is the only attacker I would consider from Liverpool outside Salah. Arne Slot’s side have quite a packed schedule on the horizon, so this is something to consider if you are keen on the Dutch forward. 

If you don’t fancy any forwards from Liverpool or Everton, then I would look at Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.3m) and Brentford’s Yoane Wissa (£6.2m), who both have great fixtures coming up. 

(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)