FPL 2022-23: Best Fantasy Team for Gameweek 21

After consecutive double gameweeks, we're back to the standard 10 fixtures in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), with Gameweek 21 not too far away.

DGW 20 saw many FPL managers use their triple captain chip on Erling Haaland but the Norwegian couldn't deliver a double-digit haul for all his backers and neither could Harry Kane nor Kevin De Bruyne. It was Bruno Fernandes and Riyad Mahrez who stole the show, both picking up 19 points apiece.

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I saw my fourth consecutive green arrow as I finished with 77 points for the week but it could have been more had I not benched Kepa for Ward. Nevertheless, hauls from Martin Odegaard, Ivan Toney, and Marcus Rashford made the difference for my team.

With Arsenal and Manchester City confirmed to have another Double in GW 23, FPL managers have slowly started shifting their attention to that one. The good form and excellent fixture run ahead for Manchester United have also seen a rise in ownership of the likes of Rashford and Luke Shaw.

Whatever transfer decisions FPL managers make, they should do so ahead of the deadline on Saturday.

Gameweek 21 Deadline: Saturday, January 21; 11:00 am (GMT)/ 04:30 pm (Indian Standard Time).

FPL Gameweek 21 Fixtures

GW 21 kicks off with a clash between two struggling big-name sides. Liverpool hosts Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday afternoon (21 January). The Magpies travel to Selhurst Park later in the day.

Arsenal takes on Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in the marquee clash of the Gameweek on Sunday evening. The GW concludes with Spurs' trip to Craven Cottage on Monday night.

FPL Team suggested for the previous gameweek

Here's the suggested team for Gameweek 20:

Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga (CHE) (£4.5 m) and Danny Ward (LEI) (£4.1 m).

Defenders: Matt Doherty (TOT) (£4.6 m), Brandon Williams (MUN) (£3.8 m), Kieran Trippier (NEW) (£5.9 m), Luke Shaw (MUN) (£4.9 m), and Hugo Bueno (WOL) (£3.9 m).

Midfielders: Martin Odegaard (ARS) (£6.6 m), Kevin De Bruyne (MCI) (£12.5 m), Miguel Almiron (NEW) (£5.8 m), Andreas Pereira (FUL) (£4.6 m), and Marcus Rashford (MUN) (£6.9 m).

Forwards: Ivan Toney (BRE) (£7.5 m), Harry Kane (TOT) (£11.6 m), and Erling Haaland (MCI) (£12.2 m).

Captain/Vice-Captain: Erling Haaland/ Harry Kane.

GW 20 Transfers made: 3.

Points Scored (- hits): 77 (-4): 73.

Overall Points: 1084.

Overall Rank: 3,010,523.

Free Transfers available: 1.

Transfers

1) Miguel Almiron (NEW) (MID) (£5.8 m) - OUT | Kaoru Mitoma (MID) (BHA) (£5.0 m) - IN

While he found the back of the net in GW 17, Miguel Almiron has blanked in the next three gameweeks and hasn't looked like providing any attacking returns either.

With Brighton exhibiting some excellent attacking form under Roberto De Zerbi, I feel this is the right time to jump on a cut-price midfielder from the Seagulls in the form of Kaoru Mitoma. He's one of the most exciting players to watch in the league and his underlying stats suggest that he has some FPL hauls in him.

Mitoma has an xGI/90 of 0.72 and for a £5.0 m midfielder, that is insane value. Downgrading Almiron will also give me the funds I need to get Brandon Williams up to a playing defender. While I got him in so that I could accommodate Ivan Toney, I'm not pleased with having two sub-£4 m defenders on my team.

Best FPL Team for Gameweek 21

Gameweek 21 Bench: Danny Ward (GK) vs BHA (H), Andreas Pereira (MID) vs TOT (H), Hugo Bueno (DEF) vs MCI (A), Brandon Williams (DEF) vs ARS (A).

This is an interesting week in FPL because there are many managers planning for future blanks and double gameweeks. However, the majority of them will get confirmed only after the Carabao Cup semi-finals and the FA Cup 4th Round.

As for this week, Manchester United and Arsenal FPL assets will be up against each other. Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw, and Martin Odegaard are the players from my team who'll be impacted by that.

I'm having Kepa back in goal, especially after regretting not playing him over Ward in DGW 20. I feel he will pick up plenty of save points against Liverpool, if not keep a clean sheet.

Harry Kane and Matt Doherty are my FPL assets from Spurs and I'm hoping they can bounce back from a horrid second half against Manchester City to deliver against Fulham.

De Bruyne has netted four goals and provided two assists in Manchester City and Wolves' last two meetings. After being rested in the midweek fixture against Tottenham, expect the Belgian to be up for it.

Lastly, my team's two biggest differentials are Kaoru Mitoma and Ivan Toney. While Toney must be getting some new owners after returning to the scoresheet against Bournemouth in DGW 20, Mitoma has still continued to be overlooked by most FPL managers.

Both of them have away fixtures against sides who have conceded plenty of goals and I am hoping they can produce some attacking returns.

Gameweek 21 - FPL Captaincy

Four goals in five games might not sound like bad numbers for most FPL assets, but when you consider that it includes two blanks for someone like Erling Haaland, it is a slightly worrying sign.

Manchester City made an impressive comeback to win 4-2 against Spurs. However, it is visible that Haaland's impact on their play has reduced when compared to the first half of the season.

With him consecutively starting five games in a row, I feel he is a bit leggy at the moment. As a result, I'm weighing up an alternate captaincy move for Harry Kane or Kevin De Bruyne in GW 21, with the former my preferred pick at the moment.

Best FPL XI for Gameweek 21 - Summary

Starting XI

GK - Kepa Arrizabalaga (CHE) vs LIV (A).

DEF: Matt Doherty (TOT) vs FUL (A), Luke Shaw (MUN) vs ARS (A), and Kieran Trippier (NEW) vs CRY (A).

MID: Martin Odegaard (ARS) vs MUN (H), Kaoru Mitoma (BHA) vs LEI (A), and Marcus Rashford (MUN) vs ARS (A), and Kevin De Bruyne (MCI) vs WOL (H).

FWD: Ivan Toney (BRE) vs LEE (A), Harry Kane (TOT) vs FUL (A), and Erling Haaland (MCI) vs WOL (H).

Formation: 3-4-3

Bench: GK - Danny Ward (GK) vs BHA (H), 1st Sub: Andreas Pereira (MID) vs TOT (H), 2nd Sub: Hugo Bueno (DEF) vs MCI (A), 3rd Sub: Brandon Williams (DEF) vs ARS (A).

Chips activated: None.

Transfers made: 1.

Points Hits taken (if any): None.

Captain: Harry Kane. | VC: Erling Haaland.

FPL 2022-23: Best Fantasy Team for Gameweek 21 | FPL Tips