Fantasy Forecast 2019/20: FPL Gameweek 19
Ahead of each Gameweek in the Fantasy Premier League, The Hype Train's three front-men, Robert Austin, Sam Austin and Phil Jones, duel for FPL supremacy in predicting Premier League scores, as well as going head to head in picking a Scout Picks squad for each round of games. In addition, we provide general insight that we believe might be relevant for FPL players, such as our personal captaincy picks, differentials for the week, and more. Welcome to the Forecast. All aboard.
Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 19 Deadline
For the 2019/20 Premier League season, the FPL deadline will be one hour before the commencement of the week's first game. Our website provides a real-world countdown timer for the the upcoming Gameweek, whilst you can read our latest Fantasy articles from the season on our 2019/20 FPL weekly hype sub-section.
How does our Forecasting work?
For three years we invited guests from the FPL Community to tackle us with picks for the upcoming Gameweek in Fantasy Premier League. We'll be taking a break from inviting guests onto this article for a year, and have introduced a new feature, Fantasy 5's, which we'll be asking weekly guests their top pick in each position ahead of each Gameweek.
For the sake of respecting the rules of the Forecast, we have provided an example of what we're sending out to interested parties that will feature throughout the season.
Premier League Fixture Prediction: As pundits, we are testing our football acumen with PL predictions and will be providing regular updated tables and stats in each edition of the FPL Forecast. A perfect score is worth 3 points whilst a correct result is worth 1 point.
FPL Gameweek Forecasting: Answering the regular questions that come up every single week in the Fantasy Premier League community that helps with identifying captaincy picks, transfers, attacking options, clean sheet potential, teams to look our for and avoid, players to consider for the Draft game, the wildcard differential players, as well as general analysis and comments.
Scout Picks: Picking a squad of 15 for a single Gameweek, without any budget, using the rules of the FPL - formations, captains and vice captains, and the player limits of 3 per club (chips will not be feature of these weekly picks)
Each team must pick a Captain, labelled as (c) and a Vice Captain listed as (vc).
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 19
Spurs 3-0 Brighton
Aston Villa 2-1 Norwich
Bournemouth 1-1 Arsenal
Chelsea 2-0 Southampton
Crystal Palace 1-0 West Ham
Everton 2-0 Burnley
Sheffield United 1-0 Watford
Man United 2-1 Newcastle
Leicester 1-2 Liverpool
Wolves 2-1 Man City
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 19
Top FPL transfer targets for Boxing Day:
GK: Vincente Guaita (CRY, GK, £5.1mil, 3.3% ownership)
DEF: George Baldock (SHU, DEF, £4.9mil, 9.6% ownership)
MID: Anthony Martial (MUN, MID, £7.7mil, 7.5% ownership)
FWD: Raul Jimenez (WAT, FWD, £7.5mil, 17.5% ownership)
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
My Christmas present is to give you a heads up about all the teams to avoid this boxing day.
Man City (Avoid) – Last time around, Wolves beat City 2-0 at the Etihad. Jimenez and Traore combined for two identical goals, and this isn’t a fixture I would want for a defensively prone City team.
Leicester (Avoid) – Liverpool have 16/17 wins this season, and the beat Leicester 2-1 due to a last-minute penalty. After a Club World Cup win spirits are high on Merseyside, and that will be tough for the Foxes who are two games without a win.
Sheffield United (Avoid) – I have put the Blades down for a tight win this weekend, but Watford are a team on a mission to get out the relegation zone. They deserved to beat United, and there is a seed of doubt in my mind as Watford could use their momentum in this away trip up north.
Arsenal (Avoid) – Lol.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C) – Marcus Rashford (MUN): Man United have the most favourable fixture out of most ‘top’ teams. Wolves can stifle City, and Leicester will limit Liverpool. I don’t fancy Chelsea due to Southampton’s goalscoring form, so I am left with thinking that United will have a decent holiday fixture.
(VC) – Vincente Guaita (CRY): Screw it, I am going for Guaita for my vice-captaincy this week. It is the giving season, and I am giving a chance to one of the best differentials in the game right now. Still owned by a measly 3.3% ownership, I am one of the lucky few that have had him for the last few weeks and against West Ham I can seen Guaita getting another big point haul.
Other Gameweek Comments:
We are now amid rotation season, and this is when FPL managers will be cursing out Twitter when one of their players is dropped. Just make sure you have enough players on your bench for the inevitable soul crushing blow of the dreaded ‘R’ word.
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 19
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Vincente Guaita (CRY) (VC)
DEF: John Lundstram (SHU)
DEF: Marcos Alonso (CHE)
DEF: Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV)
MID: Willian (CHE)
MID: Sadio Mane (LIV)
MID: Anthony Martial (MUN)
MID: Jack Grealish (AVL)
FOR: Harry Kane (TOT)
FOR: Marcus Rashford (MUN) (C)
FOR: Raul Jimenez (WOL)
Substitutes
GK: Dean Henderson (SHU)
MID: Kevin De Bruyne (MCI)
DEF: Martin Kelly (CRY)
DEF: Serge Aurier (TOT)
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 19
Spurs 3-0 Brighton
Aston Villa 2-1 Norwich
Bournemouth 2-2 Arsenal
Chelsea 3-1 Southampton
Crystal Palace 2-1 West Ham
Everton 2-0 Burnley
Sheffield United 1-0 Watford
Man United 0-1 Newcastle
Leicester 1-2 Liverpool
Wolves 1-1 Man City
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 19
Top FPL transfer targets for Boxing Day:
I’m looking to get in a couple of utility players this week to strengthen my bench, though I’d suggest going for nailed on options that are indispensable. The likes of Wilf Zaha, Kevin De Bruyne, Vardy, Mane and Kane will be destined to play, so just play it safe.
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Newcastle (Watch): We’ve done quite well defensively against the league’s better sides this season and have limited opportunities quite a lot. I’ve just got that feeling that we might just nab the points at Old Trafford, especially with United playing like a pub team against Watford last weekend.
Sheffield United (Watch): Defensively solid. If you’re looking to double-down defensively this week, The Blades are probably your best bet. In my personal team I’ve got both Baldock and Lundstram.
Everton (Watch): The Ancelotti Effect will probably pay dividends straight away against a Burnley side who are struggling right now. It’s also worth watching what side the 3-times Champions League winner plays, so rotation might be a thing here.
Man City (Avoid): I just don’t think that City will have a plan for Adama Traore standing on the halfway line, waiting to sprint away from Fernandinho.
Arsenal (Avoid): Regardless of their Manager, they have one of the worst backlines in the Premier League. Can see quite an open affair against Bournemouth with attacks on top.
What teams are likely to rotate?:
Chelsea: Michy Batshuayi in for Tammy Abraham? Emerson and Alonso can switch too.
Man City: Ederson is the only lock if history has shown anything.
Leicester / Liverpool: No chance of rotation for either side in this huge game.
Southampton: It’s been made clear that Danny Ings can’t last the full schedule. Is it his time?
Everton: New Manager provides new opportunities.
Arsenal: See above.
Crystal Palace: They’ve got a small squad due to injuries, so will be safe on Boxing Day.
Spurs: Son’s suspension means that Lamela will come in, but others will keep their places.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C) – Tammy Abraham (CHE): As a standalone fixture, Chelsea have the best with the visit of Southampton. Chelsea have a good schedule and won’t probably need to rotate their team as much.
(VC) – Sadio Mane (LIV): The most likely backup this week will be arguably the best player in the league right now. Mane’s always got the potential, so will bank on him as a reverse.
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 19
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Martin Dubravka (NEW)
DEF: John Lundstram (SHU)
DEF: George Baldock (SHU)
DEF: Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV)
MID: Sadio Mane (LIV)
MID: Kevin De Bruyne (MCI)
MID: Wilfried Zaha (CRY)
MID: Willian (CHE)
FOR: Tammy Abraham (CHE)
FOR: Roberto Firmino (LIV)
FOR: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (EVE)
Substitutes
GK: Dean Henderson (SHU)
MID: Adama Traore (WOL)
DEF: Martin Kelly (CRY)
DEF: Bjorn Engels (AVL)
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in Fantasy sports reporting, starting with Fantasy Premier League (FPL), before expanding to MLS Fantasy coverage in 2018.
We pride ourselves in providing beautiful graphics, statistics, in-depth analytical reporting and free weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb rankings tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review games, live sport, and professional wrestling.
In 2019, Hype Train Football Club was formed, becoming the first Fantasy Football website to take to the field. HTFC is a socially active team across social and web channels, providing regular match highlights, match reports, comprehensive player statistics and unique player profiles.
The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog' in 2016 by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), and were again shortlisted as a finalist in 2019 in the 'Best Fantasy Football Blog' category.
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All aboard.
