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 25 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 25 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 25 Start and Sit contenders!
Starts of the Week XI
| Player | Pos. | Team | Opponent | % Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Pickford | G | EVE | AVL/@ARS | 56% |
| Vladimir Coufal | D | WHU | NOT | 34% |
| Craig Dawson | D | WOL | @FUL/@LIV | 28% |
| Jan Bednarek | D | SOU | @LEE | 3% |
| Liam Cooper | M | LEE | SOU | 24% |
| Matheus Nunes | M | WOL | @FUL/@LIV | 35% |
| Tomas Soucek | M | WHU | NOT | 66% |
| Amadou Onana | M | EVE | AVL/@ARS | 31% |
| Kamaldeen Sulemana | M | SOU | @LEE | 19% |
| Gianluca Scamacca | F | WHU | NOT | 38% |
| Paul Onuachu | F | SOU | @LEE | 19% |
Average % Rostered: 32%
Between the sticks, we’re going with Jordan Pickford, solely for the double saves. DGWs are usually great for GKs that get a fair amount of saves. Don’t expect a cleansheet in either matchup – Villa’s attack is humming & Arsenal away is Arsenal away (regardless of the previous result). But there should be saves.
In defense, we’re going with a back 4: Vladimir Coufal, Craig Dawson, Jan Bednarek, & Liam Cooper. Coufal has consistently proven that he can accumulate ghost points & has a tasty matchup at home with Forest. Dawson has a double gameweek and while the matchups aren’t great, his ghost points should get you close to 15 over the two games. Big Bednarek is back in the mix after scoring double digits again – a decent matchup against a struggling Leeds could keep the momentum going. On the other side of that is Liam Cooper, who should be back fit, scores well, and faces a similarly struggling Saints side.
Meanwhile, the engine room consists of Matheus Nunes, Tomas Soucek, Amadou Onana, & Kamaldeen Sulemana. Nunes has a nice floor of around 7 points with some decent upside – a perfect player for a double gameweek. Soucek is experiencing a mini-renaissance, scoring 14.5 ghost points last time out, and as mentioned above West Ham hosts Forest. Onana is in a similar boat with Nunes – a solid player with upside and a double gameweek. He picked up a minor knock in the last game but should be back fit for the DGW. Last but not least, Sulemana is quietly picking up points and acclimating to the EPL, and a date with Leeds shouldn’t hinder that.
Up top, we have Gianluca Scamacca & Paul Onuachu. Scamacca, a very streaky player, is back fit and will be looking to get on the scoresheet in a must win game for the Hammers. Meanwhile, Onuachu is still looking for his first goal and a leaky Leeds defense could oblige. If not, his ghost point ability will compensate.
Sits of the Week XI
| Player | Pos. | Team | Opponent | % Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ederson | G | MCI | @BOU | 90% |
| Kyle Walker | D | MCI | @BOU | 76% |
| Conor Coady | D | EVE | AVL/@ARS | 32% |
| Marc Cucurella | D | CHE | @TOT | 82% |
| Joel Matip | D | LIV | @CRY/WOL | 46% |
| Harvey Barnes | M | LEI | ARS | 98% |
| Mykhailo Mudryk | M | CHE | @TOT | 76% |
| Fabinho | M | LIV | @CRY/WOL | 30% |
| Kiernan Dewsbury Hall | M | LEI | ARS | 73% |
| Dominic Solanke | F | EVE | MCI | 54% |
| Richarlison | F | TOT | CHE | 76% |
Average % Rostered: 67%
For the 3rd week running – even during a DGW two weeks ago – Ederson is in goal. That’s because he doesn’t make any saves. It’s 8 points with a cleansheet or bust. Even against lowly Bournemouth, we don’t trust him, and neither should you. In fact, drop or trade him. Good riddance.
Kyle Walker is the defender version of Ederson – nothing without a clean sheet and still nothing to write home about with one. Accompanying him in defense is Conor Coady, Marc Cucurella, & Joel Matip. Coady just doesn’t score well, unlike his colleague Tarkowski, and neither of their two matchups is likely to result in a clean sheet. In short, he’s a DGW trap, as is Matip for similar reasons. Cucurella simply doesn’t score well & is playing in the last game & likely supplanted in the starting XI by Chilwell. Do not depend on him this GW – or any other one for that matter.
In the middle of the park, we’re avoiding Harvey Barnes, Mykhailo Mudryk, Fabinho, & Kiernan Dewsbury Hall. Barnes is pretty dependent on attacking returns and while Arsenal’s defense can be vulnerable, Leicester won’t have much of the ball. He’s a bench for us if you have better options. Mudryk is in the last game, has been ice-cold, and is not guaranteed to start. Fabinho is yet another DGW fraud – even over two games, his form is unlikely to yield more than 6 points. Ouch. And KDH, like Barnes, won’t have much of the ball against Arsenal and, unlike Barnes, isn’t that much of a goal threat.
Dominic Solanke & Richarlison lead the line & round out the XI. Solanke is up against Man City. He would have to score a goal to be viable, and while City is far from a clean sheet machine, it’s a bet we’d avoid making if possible. And where to begin with Richarlison? Over sixty million pounds and zero EPL goals to show for it. He got a rare start last week & did nothing with it. Son should come back into the lineup to replace him – and, again, Spurs play in the late game. He isn’t deserving of your trust this GW.
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!