The theme of this week's Fantasy Challenge is once again "Assistant Manager". In this Gameweek, managers will have a £100.0m budget to spend on their 10-a-side team. They will also have to select an Assistant Manager. When deciding on which Assistant Manager to select, FPL managers will need to decide who they think will return the most points and whether to target the table bonus.
Here, FPL expert Tom Johnson reveals how he’s tackling Double Gameweek 25 (DGW25).
Pick your Fantasy Challenge team NOW!
This week’s FPL Challenge allows managers to use the Assistant Manager chip in a Double Gameweek. However, unlike the main game, selecting a double gameweek manager does not compromise your player selections because you can select up to five assets from each team. This means more opportunities to exploit the extra fixtures and pick up more FPL Challenge points to help you dominate your mini-league!
Goalkeeper
In goal, I’ve selected Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m). Liverpool's Alisson (£5.5m) was a consideration, however, I’ve gone with the Aston Villa goalkeeper due to the superiority of Liverpool’s defenders when compared to the Villa equivalents. Martinez's first opponents of the Double Gameweek, Ipswich Town, have scored just 22 goals in 24 matches; only Southampton have found the net on fewer occasions. In his second match against Liverpool, Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) and his Liverpool team-mates should provide the opportunity for Martinez to rack up the save points.
Defenders
Despite fitness concerns limiting Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.4m) to 29 minutes in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night, he’s one of the first names in my team. No defender has recorded a higher Expected Goal Involvement (xGI) than his total of 7.3, or created more big chances than the England international's 14 this season. Reassuringly, should the worst happen, and Alexander Arnold is benched again, FPL Challenge allows you to transfer out a player before their match kicks off. In this event, I’d look towards another Liverpool defender or Daniel Munoz (£4.8m). The Crystal Palace wing-back has amassed 27 points over the last four Gameweeks, picking up both attacking and defensive returns.
Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) makes it a Liverpool defensive double-up. The Reds’ underlying defensive numbers are hard to ignore. Over the season, only Arsenal boast a superior Expected Goals Against (xGA) than Liverpool’s 21.98, while no team has conceded fewer shots on target than the Reds' total of 80. With budget unlikely to be a problem in this week’s challenge, I’d opt for the Dutchman over the likes of Ibrahima Konate (£5.2m) or Andy Robertson (£5.9m) to be sure of two starts across DGW25.
Completing the back three, in my 3-4-2 formation, is Arsenal’s Gabriel (£6.3m). A trip to Leicester City, who have failed to score in six of their last nine league matches, represents a good chance of a clean sheet. At the other end of the pitch, the Foxes may prove to be an ideal opponent for Gabriel to register his sixth attacking return of the season. Only Southampton have conceded more goal attempts from set-pieces.
Midfielders
Into midfield and my first pick, Salah, needs no justification. The top-scoring player in FPL this season will also be my captain.
Jarrod Bowen (£7.3m) earns a spot in my midfield. On his return from injury in Gameweek 24 against Chelsea, the West Ham captain scored and picked up three bonus points. The Englishman faces a Brentford side with just two clean sheets all season ahead of their visit to London Stadium.
With a trip to bottom side Southampton, Justin Kluivert (£5.9m) makes the cut in midfield over his Bournemouth team-mates Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) and Dango Ouattara (£5.1m). Over the last six Gameweeks, Kluivert leads his team-mates for both FPL points and Expected Goal Involvement (xGI). Kluivert is by far and away the highest owned of the trio, currently sitting at 61 per cent ownership in FPL Challenge, compared to 11 per cent for Semenyo and six per cent for Ouattara. For FPL Challenge managers looking to take on the field, going for either Semenyo or Ouattara instead could be a good opportunity to go different.
Also benefiting from DGW25 is Morgan Rogers (£5.6m). Despite blanking last time out against Wolves, he comes into the weekend on the back of a UEFA Champions League hat-trick and a goal and assist against Spurs in the FA Cup. Encouragingly ahead of the Ipswich fixture, all three of Rogers’ double-digit hauls this season have come at Villa Park. Furthermore, despite the influx of attacking options at Villa during the January transfer window, his minutes should be secure; Rogers has started every Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup match he has been available for this season.
Forwards
Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) is the first of my two forwards. Before his injury-enforced withdrawal against Wolves in Gameweek 24, Watkins was showing signs of returning to his very best form. Between Gameweeks 19 and 23, he returned 35 FPL points from five starts. His first DGW25 opponents, Ipswich, have kept just one clean sheet away from home all season. Additionally, Watkins boasts a strong historical record against Liverpool, scoring five times in nine league starts versus the Reds.
Cody Gakpo (£7.6m) makes it four Liverpool players in my team. A second Liverpool attacker was always a given and when compared to his more popular team-mate, Luis Diaz (£7.5m), Gakpo comfortably comes out on top. Despite both players starting six times since Gameweek 20, the Dutchman has returned 33 points from an xGI of 3.06, compared to Diaz’s 13 points from an xGI of 2.13. But Gakpo has emerged as an injury doubt, so if he isn't named in the starting line-up and Diaz is, I'll make the switch to a 3-5-1 formation.
Assistant Manager
I’ve gone with Arne Slot (£1.5m), maxing out my five Liverpool slots in the process. This is simply a case of chasing the upside. Having opted for both a Liverpool defensive and offensive double-up, selecting Slot gives me more chance of a massive DGW25 score than picking Unai Emery (£0.8m) would. For example, his points would likely come at the expense of a Liverpool clean sheet. Make no mistake though, the Villa boss is not a bad pick given he has a winnable game against Ipswich followed by a table bonus opportunity against Liverpool. Aston Villa’s home form is imperious, losing just once at Villa Park in the league all season.
In Double Gameweek 24, David Moyes (£0.5m) showed the value of chasing table bonus as he outscored Slot by 22 points to 15. One final name worth considering is Marco Silva (£0.8m). Although Fulham don’t have a double, Silva has a chance of picking up a big haul against Nottingham Forest. The difference in league position means the opportunity for table bonus in the event of a draw or win.
