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 30 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 30 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.
Starts of the Week XI
| Player | Pos. | Team | Opponent | % Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Iversen | G | LEI | BOU | 4% |
| Felipe | D | NOT | @AVL | 45% |
| Tyrone Mings | D | AVL | NOT | 48% |
| Wesley Fofana | D | CHE | @WOL | 59% |
| Hamed Traore | M | BOU | @LEI | 41% |
| Jeffrey Schlupp | M | CRY | @LEE | 7% |
| Lucas Paqueta | M | WHU | @FUL | 66% |
| N'Golo Kante | M | CHE | @WOL | 39% |
| Evan Ferguson | F | BHA | @TOT | 43% |
| Luis Sinisterra | F | LEE | CRY | 32% |
| Raul Jimenez | F | WOL | CHE | 43% |
Average % Rostered: 39%
Hear us out, yeah, we are recommending a guy who was forced to sit on the bench for half a year by Danny Ward. Daniel Iversen (Leicester GK) was on for a monster score in the double had it not been for his unfortunate own goal. Our Fixture Difficulty Tracker has Bournemouth as a decent opponent for goalkeepers, so why not take a punt a low-rostered GK. He is definitely a one week punt though as they face Man City next.
The back line will consist of: Felipe (Nottingham Forest DEF); Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa DEF); Wesley Fofana (Chelsea DEF). Felipe has been a revelation (2nd in ghost point production, just behind top total point scorer Kieran Trippier). He had his first off day in the second game of the double, but even that 3.25 is masked by -4 for goals against and -2 for a yellow. We expect Forest to continue conceding, but even without a CS, he is likely on for a score close to double digits. Mings has been at the heart of the Emery-led midlands revolution and it is not like a Forest team in freefall will halt their ascendency. Fofana has finally started a game in what feels like forever and he looked like his old self. If he can stay healthy, despite the worst defensive schedule in all the land, he might provide some value ROS.
In the middle of park, we’re going with a mix of new and old: Hamed Traore (Bournemouth MID); Jeffrey Schlupp (Palace MID); Lucas Paqueta (West Ham MID); & N’Golo Kante (Chelsea MID). Jeff and Kante represent the old guard, both mister reliable when it comes to fantasy points. Kante’s role has slowly evolved into a more attacking one and Schlupp has lost a bit of his explosivity, but he keeps being a solid ghost floor option. The new boys this season have had very different routes to this week’s Start XI. Hamed has been one of the best, if not The best, January signing for fantasy purposes. although he had a disappointing double, we are ready to give him a chance once again. Paqueta came in with an amazing pedigree and we hyped him up very much when he first came in. fast forward 8 months and while he is still rostered in most leagues, he does not offer the upside we expected. He has, however, become somewhat of a defensive ghoster. Best evidenced by his industrious display against Southampton that included 8 tackles won (a record this season) and 12 ball recoveries.
Up front, we’re led by Evan Ferguson (Brighton FWD); Raul Jimenez (Wolves FWD) and Luis Sinisterra (Leeds FWD). Ferguson has also largely gone off the boil in the EPL (although he has been bagging in the FA Cup & for his international team); but he regained some form by scoring in the second leg of the DGW. Jimenez has not been the same since his head injury, but considering Wolves’ troubles at the 9 spot, he still represents the best chance they have of scoring. It took some time for our early-season darling to come of age, but he ended up being one of the top performers of DGW29 and will hopefully continue to lead the attack in Leeds’ fight for survival.
Sits of the Week XI
| Player | Pos. | Team | Opponent | % Rostered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Sa | G | WOL | CHE | 76% |
| Ben Mee | D | BRF | NEW | 86% |
| Cristian Romero | D | TOT | BHA | 75% |
| Oleksandr Zinchenko | D | ARS | @LIV | 99% |
| Virgil Van Dijk | D | LIV | ARS | 100% |
| Bruno Guimaraes | M | NEW | @BRF | 98% |
| Enzo Fernandez | M | CHE | @WOL | 79% |
| James Ward-Prowse | M | SOU | MCI | 100% |
| Mathias Jensen | M | BRF | NEW | 79% |
| Antony | F | MUN | EVE | 72% |
| Brennan Johnson | F | NOT | @AVL | 90% |
Average % Rostered: 87%
As much as we don’t necessarily expect Lampard to come in and have the magic touch, there is definitely a chance that some small flood gates, maybe flood doors, flood hatches are open. Anyway, Wolves have not been their usual solid self at the back, so we recommend shying away from Jose Sa (Wolves GK) this week.
A back 4 of Ben Mee (Brentford DEF); Cristian Romero (Tottenham DEF); Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal DEF); & Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool DEF) includes a bunch of big names who are likely to drop goose eggs this week. Who would have known that Ben Mee will be the third-best defender overall in GW30 in 2023. Strange, strange times indeed. This week, however, they are facing Newcastle on full throttle fighting for a top 4 spot. I expect 2+ goals conceded for Brentford. VVD has been very bad this season, just like Liverpool as a whole and facing title chasers Arsenal is no easy feat. Zinchenko needs an attacking return to score big and he could well get that, but based on his defensive projections, we would look to start someone else. The less said about Romero, the better. Deflated Spurs face buoyant Brighton in what promises to be a difficult afternoon for the London club.
Meanwhile, the engine room includes Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle MID); Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea MID); James Ward-Prowse (Southampton MID); & Mathias Jensen (Brentford MID). “Start your studs!” says our very own Joe Williams, the Podfather. Well, this may be one matchup where I would have to disagree with him. JWP as much of a stud as he is, is most likely to get a decent score if he gets a free kick from a decent position and curls one in. Otherwise, I, unfortunately, expect him to have most of his touches around the center circle taking kickoffs after multiple gals conceded. Bruno has been very disappointing for fantasy purposes this season and that 12.5-pointer against WHU might entice you to start him, we advise against it. Enzo’s ghosts have dropped off somewhat since his early exploits and guessing Lampard’s tactics and his role is a fool’s errand, so we wanna exercise some caution. Jensen has Janelt back to contend with and a 60′ sub is on the cards.
Here are the tips for the attackers to ride the pine: Antony (Man U FWD) and Brennan Johnson (Forest FWD). The ‘100 million man’ has been disappointing since his arrival for fantasy and IRL and Dyche’s low block seems like the absolute worst kind of defense for someone like him to face. Expect standing stepovers followed by lofted crosses toward Takrowski’s chest. Avoid. We have long been saying the BJ is a flat-track-bully (all of his 8 goals this season have come against Everton, Bournemouth, Leeds, and Leicester). Villa has been very very good and solid since Emery came in and I expect Forest to struggle for attacking returns this weekend.
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!