In our Fantasy Premier League newsletter you will find lots of our essential articles in the lead up to the deadline. We also share our ‘big hitter’ EXCLUSIVE from Two-time Indian Fantasy Premier League (FPL) champion Lateriser

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With the international break serving as the right time to recharge our batteries, I’ve switched off since last Tuesday and only got to rebooting today. The next six weeks are going to be brutal and things are quite hectic in Mumbai (where I live).

On a personal level, this is the peak season not just for FPL but also for my business. In addition, it is wedding season in India and I have a close family member’s wedding to help plan and attend. Last but not least, due to the Christmas holidays, a lot of my family living in Europe or the United States are always visiting during December. Things are going to get chaotic, to say the least! But as our friend Littlefinger says, “Chaos is a ladder”.

The international break was a good time to update my ‘Big Hitter Table’. So, in this article, I thought I’d look at that alongside Legomane’s brilliant fixture schedule image. It is a good time to take stock of the data and combine that with the schedule to give us a relevant picture for the festive fixture frenzy.

THE BIG HITTER TABLE + FIXTURE OVERVIEW

I’m just going to state my observations with both these images. I took feedback from the last time I posted the ‘Big Hitter Table’ and one of the suggestions was to add last year’s data to the current year, which I’ve done. I’m open to any other suggestions you guys might have as well.

Without wasting any further time, let’s get into it.

HAALAND

Let’s talk about the big man first. Owning and captaining Erling Haaland (£15.2m) has been frustrating and rather unlucky. He’s had below par xG only in the Wolves away game. In fact, he’s posted an xGI of above 1.0 in five out of his 11 starts, taking his average xGI to 1.0 this season. That is the highest among all big hitters.

The Norwegian has massively underperformed his xG and you would think this would return to the norm soon. He’s averaging the highest points per game (9.4) and xGI (1.3) at home amongst all the big hitters, which makes him a juicy captaincy option for Gameweek 12 – especially if the Tottenham Hotspur centre-backs are injured.

While he has no ‘green fixtures’ in his next six, there’s a good chance you will want him in Gameweek 18 for the run of EVE-lei-WHU. He’s done well in the green as well as yellow fixtures, with healthy points returns and underlying data. Manchester City should also soon get some players back from injury who might have an impact on their form. None more so than a certain Kevin De Bruyne (£9.4m).

The question is whether Haaland is worth the investment. With Cole Palmer (£10.9m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.9m) covering captaincy in the near future, the answer is probably not.

In terms of schedule, it is quite brutal for Man City. Gameweek 13 to 15 is a Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday turnaround (just like it is for Liverpool and Aston Villa). Gameweek 18 and 19 is also a Thursday-Sunday turnaround. One of the big factors with Haaland is the large pool of mid-priced and expensive strikers available, such as Nicolas Jackson (£7.9m), Alexander Isak (£8.5m), Evanilson (£5.9m), Kai Havertz (£8.0m), Matheus Cunha (£6.8m) and Joao Pedro (£5.4m).

SALAH

Arguably the best FPL asset on current form, Salah has had a staggering seven double-digit hauls so far this season. The next best is Palmer with three. He’s behind only Haaland for xGI average this season and has the highest points-per-game average amongst all big hitters.

Looking deeper into his data, his underlyings are consistently good – and so are his minutes. He’s in fact done better away this season compared to home when it comes to points as well as underlying stats (and it’s Southampton away next…).

He’s seemingly fixture-proof, as well, with him having pretty much the same points-per-game mean against all calibre of opposition. That said, his xGI drops from 0.9 (vs green) to 0.7 (vs yellow) to 0.5 (vs red).

It’s worth noting that he was the most fixture-proof of all big hitters last year. Not only is he a big game player but he is also the best outlet on a counter-attack.

He has two greens and two reds in his next nine fixtures but the schedule is definitely tricky if you look at Legomane’s chart. Two days after the game against Southampton, Liverpool have a home tie against Real Madrid. Between Gameweek 14 and 16, the Reds have MCI-new-eve in a Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday turnaround – which isn’t the healthiest for relatively tough fixtures. In fact, their schedule right until Gameweek 19 is pretty cramped.

However, their healthy position in the UEFA Champions League should help them. They are sitting atop the Champions League group, with another four or six points from their remaining four fixtures likely to ensure a top-eight spot. Arne Slot may be in a better position to rest and rotate in Europe, then.

PALMER

Palmer has the best fixture schedule ahead with no Europe and four greens coming in his next nine games. More importantly, he has zero red fixtures. That should put him right at the summit of your big hitter list. In fact, it has me wondering and thinking about a certain Mr. Jackson as well.

Palmer was an absolute flat-track bully last year and that trend has continued this season. He had the highest average in green games in 2023/24 and in the current campaign, he averages a staggering 16 points per match and 1.6 xGI per fixture in those easier tests. This is largely due to his quad-return games against Wolves and Brighton. Captaincy against Leicester City anyone?

He’s not done well in red fixtures this season, which wasn’t quite the case last year. In terms of schedule, Chelsea has a tight turnaround between Gameweek 13 and 14 but outside of that, Palmer should be fine given his non-involvement in Europe.

SAKA

For Bukayo Saka (£10.1m), fixture difficulty is nicely co-related with his points and underlying data. The same applies to Havertz. That combined with the fact that Arsenal have two greens, no reds and Martin Odegaard (£8.2m) back should mean an upturn in fortune.

It is worth noting that the really good fixtures don’t start before Gameweek 16, so you don’t need to hurry with adding your Arsenal assets. They are also sitting 12th in the Champions League table, which means those games matter to them more than Liverpool for instance.

Between Gameweeks 14-16 though, they have a Saturday-Wednesday-Sunday turnaround, which is better than Liverpool and Manchester City.

ISAK

A big target for a lot of FPL managers, Isak has three green fixtures in his next nine and only one red match. He has accumulated 26 points in his last three appearances, all of them red, indicating an upturn in form. This has also been visible in the international break.

So far this season, he hasn’t shown a correlation with fixtures but that was very much the case last year. A lot of that can be down to Newcastle United finally finding their feet with playing Joelinton (£6.0m) and Joe Willock (£4.8m) on the left. If you are not getting Isak against West Ham United at home this week, perhaps you can delay the decision until after he faces Liverpool in Gameweek 14.

Newcastle United have no European commitments and hence have a relatively easier schedule. It is important to note that there are just two days between their Gameweek 14 and 15 games against Liverpool and Brentford. It is also worth mentioning that Callum Wilson (£6.9m) could be back to fitness soon.

FERNANDES

Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) has finally announced himself in 2024/25 – and how. He’s done well in green games this season and he has another four of those in his next nine fixtures.

United’s schedule is a bit Jekyll and Hyde. The Red Devils face away trips to Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in the next nine games but also enjoy some incredibly good fixtures. If you are to invest in Bruno you either do it now or delay it to Gameweek 17.

He could be even better under Ruben Amorim if he plays as one of the two 10s behind the striker. In a similar position, Pedro Goncalves is the top chance creator in the Primeira Liga this season. He’s also racked up excellent numbers under Amorim, scoring 81 goals and providing 56 assists in 187 games in all competitions.

The calendar is pretty brutal for Manchester United, with four games in ten days around Gameweeks 13 and 15. Bruno has always been a minutes-and-fitness monster, however.

WATKINS + SPURS ASSETS

Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) has largely been ignored in the FPL community this season. However, he and Aston Villa have the most greens out of anyone in this article in the next nine games.

He’s had a healthy 7.4-point average and 0.7 xGI/game against green opposition, too, so perhaps we should be paying more attention to him. The problem is minutes, Jhon Duran (£6.0m) and an intense schedule for Aston Villa. Before their Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday turnaround between Gameweek 13 and 15, they have a home tie against Juventus.

Expect some early subs and minutes management.

Spurs have three red fixtures in their next seven games which have taken them slightly off the radar compared to other teams.

We answer some of the biggest questions in the community ahead of Gameweek 12:

We look at which players are a buy sell and keep for Gameweek 12 here:

You can also find the top 10 predicted player points for the round ahead here:

We highlighted the best teams and players to invest in for the rounds ahead:

It’s Fouls week in FPL Challenge, so here are our top tips and an expert team reveal to help you come out on top:

Be sure to check out all of our latest articles over at Fantasy Football Community.