Getting your team selection correct in Draft Premier League is just as essential as your pre-season draft or your weekly waiver wire claims. And that’s exactly why we’re here to help with our Gameweek 19 Start and Sit article! We’re here to help you with some of the big Fantasy EPL decisions you may need to make for the upcoming fixtures.
Gameweek 19 Start and Sit
Whether you’re an obsessed EPL fan like our Fantrax HQ team, or a casual player new to the world of Fantasy EPL, you know to start your attacking players against relegation-threatened sides. We’re not going to waste your time dealing with the obvious! The goal of this article is to delve into notable players across each Fantrax position and let you know if you should be starting or sitting those players.
Our format is as follows: We will be choosing 2 different teams. One will be our starts of the week, made up of non-obvious, low-rostered players. The other will be our sits of the week, made up of highly rostered, normally started players.
Now let’s see the Gameweek 19 Start and Sit contenders!
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Happy New Year! The festive season in the EPL is in full swing and we barely get a break between GWs 18 & 19. There hasn’t been much rotation despite two games in a matter of days. But these next games may force managers’ hands to shuffle the deck. Now more than ever, it is critical to keep an eye on team sheet in these mid-week games. This GW, we’ll play the matchups (including the Double Game Week/DGW for two clubs) and we’ll take some punts. Let’s get to it.
Starts of the Week XI
| Player | Pos. | Team | Opponent | % Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernd Leno | G | FUL | @LEI & CHE | 51% |
| Liam Cooper | D | LEE | WHU | 24% |
| Mohamed Salisu | D | SOU | NOT | 21% |
| Kenny Tete | D | FUL | @LEI & CHE | 53% |
| Konstantinos Tsimikas | D | LIV | @BRF | 21% |
| Douglas Luiz | M | AVL | WOL | 41% |
| Ayoze Perez | M | LEI | FUL | 2% |
| Manuel Lanzini | M | WHU | @LEE | 5% |
| Cheick Doucoure | M | CRY | TOT | 16% |
| Bobby Decordova Reid | F | FUL | @LEI & CHE | 53% |
| Samuel Edozie | F | SOU | NOT | 13% |
Average % Rostered: 27%
Between the sticks, we have someone who will be playing two games this GW: Bernd Leno (GK; Fulham). In addition to having two bites of the apple, he is also one of the best goalkeepers this season in Draft EPL. Simple.
In defense, we’re going with Liam Cooper (DEF; Leeds United); Mohamed Salisu (DEF; Southampton); Kenny Tete (DEF; Fulham); & Konstantinos Tsimikas (DEF; Liverpool). These picks are also fairly straightforward. Cooper just dropped 17.5 points against a tough Newcastle United side and is facing a struggling West Ham United at home. Salisu can put in a shift on his day and Saints host relegation fodder, Nottingham Forest. Tete is performing and has a DGW with two decent matchups (Leicester & Chelsea). Finally, with the short turnaround and Robertson limping off last game, Tsimikas likely gets the nod against Brentford, and he is known to score well (like Robertson, he also takes some set pieces).
Our midfield consists of Douglas Luiz (MID; Aston Villa), Ayoze Perez (MID; Leicester City); Manuel Lanzini (MID; West Ham United); and Cheick Doucoure (MID; Crystal Palace). We’ve flagged Luiz for weeks and he just keeps doing the business. He’s coming off a 20+ performance against Spurs and we see no reason he can’t keep it going against Wolves at home. Perez came in for James Maddison and posted a solid 8.5 points; he can do a job if needed v Fulham at the King Power. Lanzini is a bit of a gamble. Moyes will likely need to freshen things up for their trip to Leeds and the Argentine could benefit. If not, Pablo Fornals could get the nod. Doucoure has been quietly delivering over the past few weeks – 8.5 & 9.5 in the last two outings – and is a decent streamer if needed.
Leading the line is Bobby Decordova Reid (FWD; Fulham) & Samuel Edozie (FWD; Southampton). BDR has a DGW – if you’re into the whole brevity thing. In short, while he’s not normally a player we’d fancy, he’ll likely start two games this GW and we like the odds. Meanwhile, Edozie has recently come into the Saints lineup and has posted a healthy amount of ghost points. Hopefully his minor knock doesn’t keep him out of a lovely matchup against Nottingham Forest at home this GW.
Sits of the Week XI
| Player | Pos. | Team | Opponent | % Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Ramsdale | G | ARS | NEW | 93% |
| Sven Botman | D | NEW | @ARS | 97% |
| William Saliba | D | ARS | NEW | 88% |
| John Stones | D | MCI | CHE | 75% |
| Cristian Romero | D | TOT | @CRY | 76% |
| Christian Pulisic | M | CHE | MCI | 69% |
| Miguel Almiron | M | NEW | @ARS | 85% |
| Anthony Gordon | M | WHU | @LEE | 86% |
| Joe Willock | M | CRY | TOT | 74% |
| Dominic Calvert Lewin | F | EVE | BRI | 83% |
| Dominic Solanke | F | BOU | @MUN | 79% |
Average % Rostered: 82%
Hitting the pine at the Goalkeeper position is one Aaron Ramsdale (GK; Arsenal). As you’ll see, we don’t like defensive assets in this Arsenal v Newcastle matchup as both teams can score. In this case, Ramsdale hasn’t been making too many saves to compensate for the likely lack of a clean sheet, so he’s not worth the risk here.
The back line is Sven Botman (DEF; Newcastle United); William Saliba (DEF; Arsenal); John Stones (DEF; Manchester City); and Cristian Romero (DEF; Tottenham). As noted above, we’re largely staying away from the Arsenal-Newcastle matchup other than the primary attacking studs, which relegates Botman & Saliba to the bench. Stones just posted less than 1 point at home to Everton; unless City can keep a clean sheet against Chelsea, he could be in for a similar score this GW. Last and most certainly least, Romero has a penchant for picking up yellow cards and his Tottenham team have been shipping goals for fun – not a good combo.
Our unfortunate engine room is composed of Christian Pulisic (MID; Chelsea); Miguel Almiron (MID; Newcastle United); Anthony Gordon (MID; Everton) & Joe Willock (MID; Newcastle United). While Pulisic & Chelsea have a DGW, this could be a trap. Pulisic could start the first game – a horrible matchup v Man City – and miss out on the more favorable 2nd matchup against Fulham. Almiron, meanwhile, finally stopped scoring this past GW and was only able to must just over 5 points. His reign of terror could be coming to an end, and he faces the league leaders away. Gordon is not reproducing his great form from last season and according to the Draft Society’s Fixture Difficulty Tracker, Brighton is not a favorable matchup for midfielders like him, likely because the Seagulls dominate possession. And while Willock would love to get one over on his old team, Arsenal, he is unlikely to see enough of the ball to do anything of note.
The underwhelming talismans up front this GW are: Dominic Calvert Lewin (FWD; Everton) & Dominic Solanke (FWD; Bournemouth). We’re so done with DCL – in addition to being very injury prone, he remains heavily dependent on goals. So if he doesn’t see the back of the net v Brighton, he’ll put up a nothing burger. Solanke is very similar in that way – and Bournemouth have really struggled in the past 2 games. We’re not backing him to find form in a tough matchup away at Manchester United.
Make sure you also check out our official EPL content partner, The Draft Society, for all the latest! Check out their Fantrax Weekly Player Projections page for more player evaluations for the upcoming week!