Premier League fixtures are back in full swing after the postponement of the Aston Villa – Newcastle fixture last week. Additionally, the completion of the Champions League group stage means midweek Premier League fixtures are back as things intensify for the rest of the year. In a bid to stack the squads ahead of rotation in the busy period, Football Castle provides Game week 12 tips and squad picks.
Goalkeepers
Hugo Lloris(£5.5m)
The World Cup winner has been one of the better goalkeepers this season having kept the joint-most clean sheets (five) behind José Mourinho’s water-tight rearguard. He faces Crystal Palace with a real possibility for another clean sheet.
Caoimhin Kelleher(£4.5m) was the highest-scoring goalkeeper (seven points) on his Premier League debut and despite conceding a penalty in midweek, should keep another shut-out against Fulham.
Alex McCarthy (£4.6m) Faces low-scoring Sheffield who have five goals in 11 games and one in their last three games. The 31-year-old should get decent points on the board whilst making saves against the Blades’ misfiring strikers.
Defenders
Jannik Vestergaard (£4.8m) scored last time out against Brighton as his set-piece prowess is hard to ignore for the tallest outfield player in the League. James Ward-Prowse’s (£6.2m) immense technical ability with dead balls means Vestergaard is likely to add to his three goals this season. The likelihood of a clean sheet against Sheffield is a good double or triple-up with Southampton’s goalkeeper and captain. Simply put, he won’t be leaving my starting 11 soon.
Andy Robertson(£7.2m)
One of the few Liverpool defenders that have stayed fit this season comes up against low-scoring Fulham having registered 20 points in his last three game weeks. The Scot was handed only a 29-minute cameo in midweek and would be fresh for the trip to London.
Reece James(£5.3m)
Laid on the assist for Giroud’s opener last week and faces Everton who have fielded midfielder Alex Iwobi at left wing-back in the last three game weeks. The 21-year-old might fail to register a clean sheet against the league’s top-scorer, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but he is more than likely to register an assist for Giroud having been rested in midweek.
Midfielders
Jack Grealish(£7.6m)
After an unexpected rest in Game Week 11 following their fixture postponement. Grealish returns for a mouth-watering run of fixtures against Wolves, Burnley, West Brom, and Crystal Palace. The England International is in form after registering points in three of his last four games.
Sadio Mane(£12.0m)
Mo Salah may have returned with a bang in recent gameweeks but crucially the Egyptian played 90 minutes against Midjtylland in midweek. This points to Salah getting dropped against Fulham with Mane set to start. The Senegal International has not been at his high standards due to the turnaround of fixtures but he is set to notch points from the start against shaky Fulham
Christian Pulisic(£8.2m)
Hakim Ziyech’s hamstring injury is set to rule him out for a couple of weeks but as seen against Leeds, Pulisic is ready to step in and scored a confidence-boosting late winner. His first since his injury. The American looks set to kickstart his season having missed a chunk to hamstring injuries, he is hungry and faces an improvised Everton backline.
Jarrod Bowen(£6.3m)
West Ham’s topscorer is a huge differential at 2.7% ownership and faces a Leeds side focused on attacking rather than defending. The 23-year-old’s trickery and runs in-behind will hurt the Yorkshire side as his recent form suggests. Pertinently, he returns to the ground where he enjoyed one of his career highlights with a brace in the Championship in 2018.
Forwards
Olivier Giroud(£6.7m)
The Frenchman is bang in form after scoring five goals last week and given a rest in midweek. He faces an Everton side who have been out of form in recent weeks and Giroud’s habit of scoring the opening goal when starting for Chelsea makes him an exciting option. Everton’s use of unorthodox wingbacks means Chelsea’s threat from their fullbacks will increase, improving Giroud’s chances as a seasoned target man.
Harry Kane(£10.9m)
The form the Tottenham captain finds himself in makes him simply impossible to ignore. Having increased his tally in London Derbies last week, Kane is expected to deliver another huge points haul against Crystal Palace.
Do you have any Fantasy Premier League GW12 questions ahead of the deadline at 18:30 GMT on Friday 11 December?
Let us know in the Comments section below, Looking forward to what you have to say!
