Fantasy EPL Gameweek 23: Hot or Cold Player Rankings

Our Hot or Cold Player Rankings are here to outline the current prospects of key Fantasy EPL Draft players. The ‘Hot’ or ‘Cold’ status will help take away your emotional attachment to certain Premier League players and bring in the players that you need to help you dominate your Fantrax Draft League!

Use these hints and tips to increase your chances of success! New kid on the block hitting good form? Early draft pick not performing? Use this article as an objective way to influence your transfer and trade activity!

🔥🔥🔥 Gameweek 23 Player Rankings: Hot List 🔥🔥🔥

These are Fantasy EPL Draft players that have risen in our rankings! These are potential free agents on good form or established players that you should be looking to trade-in. Keep an eye on these players, and bring them into your Fantrax squad if you can!

Reece James

Position: Defender

Team: Chelsea

Ownership: 61%

Form Last 30 Days: 12.92 PPG

Next 5 Fixtures: new (A), ARS (H), lei (A), MUN (H), TOT (H)

What’s Changed?: It is very clear that Lampard absolutely loves James and the energy he brings to the Chelsea side. Yes, defensively James has some flaws but it is his attacking prowess that all Fantrax managers should get excited by. In only 11 appearances James has registered two assists (not bad for a defender) and averages 8.18 points. The fixtures aren’t the kindest, but they certainly aren’t the worst. Our friends at Fantasy Football Geek rank Chelsea’s fixtures as the 8th toughest fixture schedule over the coming five weeks. So if you are in need of a second or third choice defender then certainly look no further than James who we think will be a mainstay in the first XI from here on.

Abdoulaye Doucoure

Position: Midfielder

Team: Watford

Ownership: 88%

Form Last 30 Days: 14.75 PPG

Next 5 Fixtures: TOT (H), avl (A), EVE (H), bha (A), mun (A)

What’s Changed?: We’re not the only Fantrax writers talking about Doucoure this week, our colleague Luke Wilkins has pointed out in this week’s Stats Corner article that despite Doucoure’s recent considerable rise in ownership, “some owners may still be looking at that 7.98 FP/G and be tempted to part ways.” If this is indeed the case in your Draft EPL league, with a rival manager happy to trade Doucoure out, we highly advise you get into negotiations; immediately. With Doucoure playing in the more advanced role, his attacking returns have rocketed; two goals and two assists have all come in the last three games! With Watford seemingly having quite the resurgence and Doucoure playing a pivotal role; we’d expect more decent returns with the upcoming fixtures looking rather promising!

Danny Ings

Position: Forward

Team: Southampton

Ownership: 98%

Form Last 30 Days: 16 PPG

Next 5 Fixtures: WOL (H), cry (A), liv (A), BUR (H), AVL (H)

What’s Changed?: Ings is an obvious choice. Whilst Ings has featured in our ‘more hot players’ list associated with these articles for weeks now, we haven’t pulled him out and spoken about him specifically since the Gameweek 10 edition of Hot and Cold player rankings. With five goals in the last five games, and now a season tally of 14 goals; Ings ranks joint second highest goal scorer in the Premier League, equal with the more fashionable Rashford and Aubameyang; and sits only three goals behind Vardy. The feat is all the more remarkable when you think about how poor Southampton was in the early part of the season.

Also just consider for a moment that unlike Rashford and Aubameyang, Ings does not have the likes of: Martial, Ozil, James, Lacazette et al to draw the attention of the defense away from him; instead, that job is shared by Redmond, Djenepo and of course Long! So all aboard the Danny Ings train (if a rival manager is crazy enough to trade him to you), next stop Wolves; whose last clean sheet came in Gameweek 15!

Gameweek 23 Player Rankings: More Hot Players!

Fantasy EPL Defenders

Trent Alexander-Arnold (100%, Liverpool) – Just a ridiculous talent. Top 5 overall player
Harry Maguire (96%, Manchester United) – Beast in Togga scoring, despite United being poor at the back
Dijbril Sidibe (81%, Everton) – Scoring very well, and established in the side
Reece James (60%, Chelsea) – Scores very well whenever he starts!
Charlie Taylor (21%, Burnley) – The left-back has put in some good performances in recent weeks, despite clean sheets being hard to come by
Jack Stephens (19%, Southampton) – Scoring very well at the moment, although Saints clean sheets are hard to predict!
Arthur Masuaku (11%, West Ham) – Played at left wing-back in the FA Cup and GW22… could be a beast under Moyes

Fantasy EPL Midfielders

Kevin De Bruyne (100%, Manchester City) – Continues to perform at the highest of levels!
Riyad Mahrez (100%, Manchester City) – Really upped his game in recent weeks
Joao Moutinho (99%, Wolves) – This chap just churns out those points. A great midfield option
Jack Grealish (99%, Aston Villa) – Continues to perform to a high standard
Gylfi Sigurdsson (98%, Everton) – Have we finally got the Siggy of last season back?! Looks like it
Emi Buendia (95%, Norwich) – On amazing form at the moment. A top, top player
Abdoulaye Doucoure (88%, Watford) – Playing as the number 10 under Pearson, and has four attacking returns in his last three games
Fred (56%, Manchester United) – Consistent scoring midfielder, and taking set pieces
Declan Rice (47%, West Ham) – Scoring surprisingly consistently in recent week
Bernard (42%, Everton) – Two great performances in a row, with 7 key passes and 6 successful dribbles completed!
Aaron Mooy (36%, Brighton) – On sensational form for Brighton. Mooy is their best player, and he’s guaranteed minutes. Hopefully, he’ll return from injury this weekend
Stuart Armstrong (5%, Southampton) – Playing well for The Saints, and gets forward surprisingly well

Fantasy EPL Forwards

Anthony Martial (100%, Manchester United) – Back from injury and scoring well!
Gabriel Jesus (100%, Manchester City) – Scoring very well at the moment, despite Aguero returning from injury
Richarlison (100%, Everton) – Having a very productive season!!
Willian (99%, Chelsea) – Really upped his game in recent weeks, adding attacking returns to his already decent scores!
Danny Ings (98%, Southampton) – Continues to score goals, and lots of Fantrax points!
Gerard Deulofeu (97%, Watford) – Actually scoring consistently well at the moment
Adama Traore (90%, Wolves) – A favorite of the chaps on the @fplkickaround; Traore has been a revelation this season!
Ismaila Sarr (61%, Watford) – We’ve featured Sarr a lot recently, as he’s finally settled into life in the EPL
Pedro Neto (20%, Wolves) – Keep an eye out for injury news about Jota. If he’s out for a few weeks, Neto is a really good option

❄️❄️❄️ Gameweek 23 Player Rankings: Cold List ❄️❄️❄️

These are Fantasy EPL players that have fallen in our rankings. This may be due to poor form, they have been dropped from the best 11, they have suffered an injury, or received a suspension. It’s time to consider dropping these players from your squads!

Ben Chilwell

Position: Defender

Team: Leicester City

Ownership: 100%

Form Last 30 Days: 2.81 PPG

Next 5 Fixtures: bur (A), WHU (H), CHE (H), wol (A), MCI (H)

What’s Changed?: Despite averaging 10.19 points per game for the season; the form of Draft EPL favorite Chilwell has been absolutely disastrous of late. We’ve certainly noticed an increase in the use of Chilwell for trades, which despite the poor form is somewhat surprising. Chilwell’s last double-digit score was only in Gameweek 21, and if it were not for being rested in Gameweek 20 and playing in the two heavy defeats in Gameweeks 18 and 19 to Manchester City and Liverpool; Chilwell would be going well. However, attacking returns have certainly become somewhat of a rare commodity for Chilwell, his last coming way back in October during the 9-0 humiliation of Southampton!

Recommendation: We suggest that you hold onto Chilwell. Leicester has some good fixtures, and Chilwell is integral to the side. Don’t rely on him for double-digit points haul that you may expect from an attacking full back in a good Leicester side though!

Ryan Fraser

Position: Midfielder

Team: Bournemouth

Ownership: 81%

Form Last 30 Days: 5.2 PPG

Next 5 Fixtures: nor (A), BHA (H), AVL (H), shu (A), bur (A)

What’s Changed?: We, along with the vast majority of the FPL Draft community have not exactly been impressed with Fraser this season. A season average of 6.02 points per game tells you everything you need to know about one of Bournemouth’s most creative players; who last season registered seven goals and 14 assists. When you compare those attacking returns to that of this year’s tally (one goal and three assists) you can’t help be feel totally dejected about Fraser.

Recommendation: We wouldn’t be against you holding onto Fraser; you’ve invested so much time in him so far you might as well see if he’ll come up with the goods for the easier fixtures coming up. But with Bournemouth playing so poorly and looking like serious candidates for relegation; we’d recommend searching for a trade. We’d use the upcoming fixtures as a potential draw for the rival manager to latch onto. With Fraser’s trade value at an all-time low, your only chance of getting this trade over the line is the potential of Fraser turning it on in these ‘easier’ fixtures.

Ashley Barnes

Position: Forward

Team: Burnley

Ownership: 63%

Form Last 30 Days: 0.75 PPG

Next 5 Fixtures: LEI (H), mun (A), ARS (H), sou (A), BOU (H)

What’s Changed?: Normally Barnes is a ‘go-to’ player in Draft EPL but it hasn’t been happening this season; averaging only six points per game over the season so far. The last of Barnes‘ six goals came way back in Gameweek 13 and since then playing time has also been diminishing. The final nail in the coffin for Barnes’ recent poor run is the injury sustained in Gameweek 21; which ruled him out of the Gameweek 22 defeat to Chelsea and looks to also be keeping him out until early February.

Recommendation: We’re not keen on keeping Barnes and suggest dropping him to the free-agent pool. The likes of Hudson-Odoi (70%) Sarr (61%), Saint-Maximin (47%), Neto (20%) and even @FPLKickaround favorite Tosun (14%) are much better options than Barnes. Looking at the current ownership statistics for these players we’d be highly advising picking up Sarr as a priority if available!

Gameweek 23 Player Rankings: More Cold Players!

Fantasy EPL Defenders

Ben Chilwell (100%, Leicester) – The ghost points, and attacking returns, have dried up
Jonny Otto (89%, Wolves) – Scoring very poorly and has very high ownership
Kyle Walker (86%, Manchester City) – Doesn’t score well, and hasn’t played the last two games
Toby Alderweireld (78%, Tottenham) – Scoring poorly and conceding goals
Victor Lindelof (49%, Manchester United) – Never scores well in Togga Scoring
Danny Rose (38%, Tottenham) – Not getting a look in under Mourinho
Ryan Fredericks (28%, West Ham) – Scored 28 points in GW21, but is now injured until February

Fantasy EPL Midfielders

Youri Tielemans (99%, Leicester) – Scoring very poorly – try and trade him out for a more reliable midfielder!
Paul Pogba (96%, Manchester United) – Injured again. Sigh
Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace) – Suspended for another two games, and has been scoring poorly anyway
Mesut Ozil (91%, Arsenal) – Starting every game, but scoring surprisingly low
Ryan Fraser (81%, Bournemouth) – What a nightmare he’s been this season. Scoring nowhere near last season!
Harvey Barnes (70%, Leicester) – Not starting much at the moment, although he can be explosive when he does start!
Giovanni Lo Celso (27%, Tottenham) – Nothing is going for him this season. Just drop him and forget about him!

Fantasy EPL Forwards

Harry Kane (100%, Tottenham) – Ruled out with a hamstring injury… massive blow for a big player. Look at trades if you’re struggling
Joshua King (91%, Bournemouth) – Ruled out for around 6 weeks. Try and trade him out if you can’t afford to bench him for that long!
Callum Wilson (86%) – Scoring very poorly, this Chap is frozen solid
Ashley Barnes (65%, Burnley) – The goals have dried up for Barnes, and he’s scoring poorly
Wesley (62%, Aston Villa) – The big man has been ruled out for the rest of the season
Christian Benteke (18%, Crystal Palace) – Unfortunately he’s injured, after some great displays!

Wondering who the best current Fantasy EPL players to target are? Look no further than our Top 125 ROS Player Rankings on Fantrax!!

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EPL Player Rankings