The Scout takes a close look at players ranked highly over the last four Gameweeks in the ICT Index.
The Index helps Fantasy Premier League managers look beyond points to determine players' values as FPL assets through their Influence, Creativity and Threat.
Ashley Barnes (£5.6m)
The Burnley striker has been a key figure in their recent seven-match unbeaten run.
Barnes has scored four goals and provided two assists in that period, yet is owned by a mere 1.7 per cent of FPL managers.
His underlying statistics over the last four Gameweeks showcase Barnes’ major goal threat.
Top five forwards for ICT Threat (GW23-26)
| Player | ICT Threat | Shots | Big chances | Shots on target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aguero | 263 | 17 | 8 | 9 |
| Barnes | 229 | 14 | 7 | 8 |
| Jimenez | 224 | 16 | 3 | 5 |
| Firmino | 192 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
| Rondon | 170 | 10 | 0 | 3 |
Matching the best
His total of 13 shots inside the opposition penalty area is just one fewer than the 14 of Sergio Aguero (£11.5m), Raul Jimenez (£6.7m) and Fernando Llorente (£5.7m) at the summit.
Barnes’ numbers are all the more impressive given that he played only four matches during this recent period, compared with the five of Aguero.
They also fare well when assessed against his previous displays.
Massive improvement
His average of 3.2 shots inside the penalty area is up from 1.0.
Similarly, Barnes has almost tripled his rate of shots on target, rising from 0.7 to 2.0 per appearance over Gameweeks 23-26.
That helped him to three goals, an assist and 24 FPL points in that recent period.
Burnley’s upcoming schedule suggests he can maintain his form.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Rankings (FDR), six of their seven opponents over Gameweeks 28-34 score no more than three.
Burnley’s opponents GW28-34
| GW | Opp | FDR | GW | Opp | FDR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | NEW (A) | 3 | 32 | WOL (H) | 3 |
| 29 | CRY (H) | 2 | 33 | BOU (A) | 3 |
| 30 | LIV (A) | 5 | 34 | CAR (H) | 2 |
| 31 | LEI (H) | 3 | |||
That hands Barnes the platform to plunder more goals and offer FPL managers a cut-price source of points up front.
Also in this series
Part 1: ICT Analysis: Unbeatable value given by Etheridge
Part 2: ICT Analysis: Van Aanholt creativity on the rise
Part 3: ICT Analysis: Chambers offers cut-price solution
Part 4: ICT Analysis: Gross can profit from run-in
Part 5: ICT Analysis: Mane goal threat growing
Part 6: ICT Analysis: Zaha's influence on the rise