Christmas is here and while most footballers are taking a day off (or weekend, rather), the Premier League doesn’t afford its players that luxury and the same applies for all the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers out there.

Must read: Combined Premier League team of the season so far: Manchester City players dominate

Ahead of the Boxing Day clashes, there is plenty of trepidation among the FPL addicts, for one doesn’t need to be an expert to expect the unexpected.

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To assuage those selection dilemmas all the wannabe Jurgen Klopps might have, The Statesman is at hand with an incisive article ahead of the gameweek.

The indicators are:

Teams in BOLD are top 4 contenders.

Prices (in £ million) marked in Green indicates a rise in Base Price.
Prices (in £ million) marked in Red indicates fall in Base Price.

Goalkeepers

Thibaut Courtois

Team: Chelsea
Fixtures: Brighton (H), Stoke (H), Arsenal (A), Leicester (H) and Brighton (A)
Price: 5.5
Score: 80
Ownership: 13.4%

Why yes: Chelsea’s defence has improved in recent weeks and Courtois is a lock to accumulate clean-sheets, with the Blues having largely routine fixtures, barring the Arsenal one, ahead.

Why no: Cesar Azpilicueta (£6.9m) and Andreas Christensen (£5.7m) are excellent FPL options and while it’s tempting to stack up on several Blues’ defenders (and their goalkeeper), you would exhaust your quota of three from a club. Plenty of cheaper alternatives to Courtois around.

Defenders

Andy Robertson

Team: Liverpool
Fixtures: Swansea (H), Leicester (H), Burnley (A), Man City (H) and Swansea (A)
Price: 4.6
Score: 31
Ownership: 1.4%

Why yes: With Alberto Moreno injured, Andy Robertson has been thriving in the Spaniard’s absence and his excellent crosses make him a likely candidate to pick up points on both ends of the pitch. Manager-less Swansea are tottering and, with the Reds set to take out their frustration of that draw with Arsenal, look primed for a battering at Anfield.

Why no: Taking any Liverpool defender while they have Simon Mignolet is straddling the fine line between FPL genius and FPL suicide. Definitely a wildcard pick.

Danny Rose

Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Fixtures: Southampton (H), N/A, Swansea (A)-West Ham (H), Everton (H) and Southampton (A)
Price: 6.4
Score: 13
Ownership: 0.3%

Why yes: After being rested for the Burnley game, Rose is set to start against a Southampton side that haven’t won a game in forever. With Harry Kane chasing Alan Shearer’s record, expect the Lilywhites to press forward for a resounding win when the goal-shy Saints come visiting.

Why no: Spurs’ home record isn’t exactly impressive and Rose is an extremely pricey option. The Lilywhites don’t play in Gameweek 21.

Midfielders

Jesse Lingard

Team: Manchester United
Fixtures: Burnley (H), Southampton (H), Everton (A), Stoke (H) and Burnley (A)
Price: 6.0
Score: 63
Ownership: 4.6%

Why yes: While the majority of FPL managers are flocking towards Paul Pogba, Lingard has been quietly plugging away. The United Academy graduate is excellent value in FPL and with a favourable run of fixtures ahead, definitely worth a dekho. As a bonus, Lingard’s differential potential is immense.

Why no: Along with Pogba (£7.9m), Romelu Lukaku (£11.4m) is in great form as well and while having several United attackers is an intriguing stratagem, the Red Devils haven’t exactly been free-scoring of late. Burnley are an impressive unit and the Clarets will not go down easily at Old Trafford.

Riyad Mahrez

Team: Leicester City
Fixtures: Watford (A), Liverpool (A), Huddersfield (H), Chelsea (A) and Watford (H)
Price: 8.5
Score: 99
Ownership: 7.2%

Why yes: Mahrez has actually been quite consistent this season and while’s not quite replicating the form that saw Leicester storm to the title, the Algerian could be a huge differential in weeks to come. After securing a last-gasp draw against Man United, expect the Foxes to get back to winning ways against an under-confident Watford unit.

Why no: The Hornets are hurting and on their home turf, will look to bounce back. While the game may be an entertaining one, there’s no guarantee the Foxes will find much joy. Jamie Vardy’s (£8.6m) banging in the goals at the moment and is an excellent attacking option.

Forwards

Alvaro Morata

Team: Chelsea
Fixtures: Brighton (H), Stoke (H), Arsenal (A), Leicester (H) and Brighton (A)
Price: 10.6
Score: 86
Ownership: 16.5%

Why yes: After serving a one-game supsnsion for yellow card accumulation, Morata will start against Brighton and expect the Spaniard to fire the Blues to an emphatic win. Without him, Antonio Conte’s men look blunt in attack and the lanky forward is a safe bet in FPL.

Why no: Morata is quite expensive and teammate Eden Hazard’s (£10.9m) form warrants an inclusion as well. Having both Blues players would be a high-risk strategy as you would be spending over 20% of your team budget on two players from a team that haven’t been prolific.

Wayne Rooney

Team: Everton
Fixtures: West Brom (A), Bournemouth (A), Man United (H), Spurs (A) and West Brom (H)
Price: 7.6
Score: 91
Ownership: 20.0%

Why yes: Rooney missed the Chelsea clash due to ilness, but the veteran looks set to come back into the lineup for a trip to struggling West Bromwich Albion. Under ‘Big Sam’, the Toffees have been resurgent and finally look like a cohesive unit, with their academy graduate pulling the strings like only he can.

Why no: Rooney effectively plays in midfield, with young Dominic Calvert-Lewin playing up top. Gylfi Sigurdsson is in excellent form as well. Everton will grind out results with Sam Allardyce at the helm, so don’t expect them to smash teams four, five nil anytime soon.

PS: The Gameweek deadline is 11.30 am GMT/5 pm IST.

Previous articles in this series:

Fantasy Premier League Pundit Picks: Gameweek 19

Fantasy Premier League Pundit Picks: Gameweek 18

Fantasy Premier League Pundit Picks: Gameweek 17

Fantasy Premier League Pundit Picks: Gameweek 16