Last updated on December 9th, 2021
By Matthew Petersen @Matt_Petersen13
Gameweek 15 started off with Chelsea losing an exciting five-goal thriller against London rivals West Ham to drop to 3rd place. Meanwhile, Man City picked up a comfortable 3-1 victory over Watford with in-form Bernardo Silva (£7.6m) scoring twice to see them go 1stt and Liverpool relied on the big match temperament of Divock Origi (£4.8m), who scored a94th minute winner against Wolves, to see his side go 2nd. Ralf Rangnick started his Man United tenure off perfectly with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace while Newcastle picked up their first win of the season against Burnley to see all three sides in the relegation zone on 10 points. On the FPL front, there was a gameweek average of 43 points with three of last week’s picks returning points.
Gameweek 15 top 3 performers:
1. Ezri Konsa – 17 points (90 minutes, two goals, 3 bonus points)
2. Bernardo Silva – 15 points (90 minutes, two goals, 3 bonus points)
3. Ben Davies – 15 points (90 minutes, two assists, clean sheet, 3 bonus points)
Let’s take a look at the 6 picks for this week, reviewing their GW15 performance and previewing their GW16 points potential, based on recent form and favourable fixtures
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – £12.4m (FOR); 29.1% ownership
GW15 review – 2 points (90 minutes)
GW6 preview – Norwich (A)
Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly still Manchester United’s star man and he will be a key figure in spearheading Ralf Rangnick new tactics and style of play. He has scored six goals and notched a further two assists this season and has a run of six fixtures with FDRs of either 2 or 3 going into the new year. At 36, his hunger and desire has not diminished and he’s shown he wants to help Manchester United return to their glory days. He could be a key FPL asset during this busy December period.
2. Michail Antonio – £7.9m (FOR); 39.2% ownership
GW15 review – 5 points (90 minutes, one assist)
GW16 preview – Burnley (A)
Michail Antonio started the season like a house on fire notching five goals and assists in his first six games. He has since gone on a little bit of a dry spell with only one goal and assist in the next eight games but what cannot be ignored is West Ham’s tasty run of fixtures and the fact that Antonio remains the Hammers’ biggest goal threat. He is always running and causing problems for defenders with his physicality and it might only be a matter of time before he starts netting again.
3. Jamie Vardy – £10.7m (FOR); 26.1% ownership
GW15 review – 1 point (25 minutes)
GW16 preview – Newcastle (H)
It’s hard to ignore FPL’s leading striker and the Premier League’s 2nd top scorer this season, especially with a fixture against relegation-stricken Newcastle, and even more so after his presence in front of goal was missed in the game against Aston Villa this past weekend. Vardy has netted nine goals this season in a Leicester side that has not looked as confident as they were in the previous two seasons. This fixture could be a crucial turning point in their season as they hope to get some consistency and Vardy’s goal-scoring antics and know-how will be useful.
4. Ruben Dias – £6.0m (DEF); 23.5% ownership
GW15 review – 2 points (90 minutes)
GW16 preview – Wolves (H)
Dias is Man City’s premier centre-back and one of the other premium options alongside Joao Cancelo (£6.8m). He has become a mainstay and only gets rotated for rest rather than anything else. He will be key for City over this busy period as they will need to be defensively strong to fend off Liverpool and Man City behind them. Dias is part of a strong backline that usually keeps plenty of clean sheets and can offer a goal threat from set-pieces too. City have a good run of fixtures heading into the new year which will favour their assets heavily.
5. Emmanuel Dennis – £5.7m (FOR); 25.3% ownership
GW15 review – 2 points (90 minutes)
GW16 preview – Brentford (A)
Dennis is the form forward going into this gameweek and has already notched six goals, six assists and four double-digit hauls in FPL, including 14 points against Man United. They face Brentford this week who have been struggling defensively of late, while Watford have scored at least one goal in their last four games, with Dennis scoring in three of those games. Watford do not have the easiest run of games but Dennis is a brilliant budget option in the frontline and based on current form, he is a good option to have.
6. Thiago Silva – £5.6m (DEF); 5.7% ownership
GW15 review – 8 points (90 minutes, one goal, 1 bonus point)
GW16 preview – Leeds (H)
Thiago Silva seems to be defying the odds as at 36 years old, he is still so key to Thomas Tuchel’s defensive style of play and is a real leader at the back. He has been part of a backline that has kept seven clean sheets this season while Silva has picked up two goals and an assist so far. He is one of the cheaper options in the Chelsea backline and bar rotation, will play regularly too and his impact cannot go unnoticed.
*Prices and ownership statistics are correct as of 9 December 2021*
To see the picks from last week, click the link below:
