Premier League 2020/21: FPL Gameweek 23 Fantasy Forecast
Ahead of each Gameweek in the Premier League, The Hype Train's team, Robert Austin, Sam Austin and Phil Jones, duel for FPL and league supremacy in predicting Premier League scores, as well as going head to head in picking a Scout Picks squad for each round of games. With the 2020/21 Premier League season starting tomorrow, we provide our Gameweek Forecast predictions, speculating how we think the latest round of games will be played out. Welcome to the Forecast. All aboard.
Premier League 2020/21: Gameweek 23 Fixtures
Premier League 2020/21: FPL Gameweek 23 Forecast
Enjoy our FPL Forecast article, with each of our team forecasting how we think the Premier League will shape up this upcoming Gameweek. If you agree or want to challenge us on our point of view, get in touch with us on our main Twitter account, @RealHypeTrain.
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 23
Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal
Burnley 1-2 Brighton
Newcastle 0-2 Southampton
Fulham 1-2 West Ham
Man United 3-0 Everton
Spurs 1-0 West Brom
Wolves 1-2 Leicester
Liverpool 0-0 Man City
Sheffield United 1-1 Chelsea
Leeds 1-2 Crystal Palace
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 23
Top FPL player targets ahead of the upcoming Gameweek:
GK: Robert Sánchez (BHA, GK, £4.4mil, 2.0% ownership)
DEF: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (MUN, DEF, £5.5mil, 13.4% ownership)
MID: James Maddison (LEI, MID, £7.3mil, 15.9% ownership)
FWD: Michail Antonio (WHU, FWD, £6.7mil, 21.5% ownership)
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Arsenal (Avoid): With Bernd Leno out of the game, and Luiz’s red card not overturned (which is an absolute joke) I can see Villa rising to the challenge in this game. Villa have been a surprise package this season, and I can see this being a hotly contested encounter.
Leicester (Watch): The Foxes are back after yet another blip, and with Maddison on red hot form, Barnes scoring goals, Justin stepping up, and Fofana constantly improving, this will be a game Nuno doesn’t want right now given the injury and form concerns facing Wolves. I can see Leicester getting a one goal win in this game.
Leeds (Avoid): Leeds bad at home. Leeds good away.
Man United (Watch): After blitzing Southampton the confidence must be high for OGS’s team, and can I see Everton fold like a bad hand of cards? Yes. Luke Shaw has turned into a brand new player, Bruno is contributing once again, Cavani is now an utter unit up front, Rashford had a good game, and with Pickford out for Everton I think Carlo is worrying about the game.
Liverpool vs. Manchester City (???): On paper, City should win. They have the form, the momentum, and most of their players fit. Liverpool have absolutely none of that. Why is it my Pandora’s Box game of the week then? With two defenders who could walk into Liverpool’s team now available I can see a reshuffle that might finally see Henderson back in midfield, and Liverpool have a knack of performing against better teams this season. This fixture is always a strange encounter, so you never know what to think. City will take a point in this game, and I can see a Liverpool reaction after a bad run of form at home.
FPL Differential Picks (GW23):
AVL/ARS: Ross Barkley (AVL, MID, £5.9mil, 0.9% ownership)
BUR/BHA: Robert Sánchez (BHA, GK, £4.4mil, 2.0% ownership)
NEW/SOU: Miguel Almirón (NEW, MID, £5.6mil, 0.4% ownership)
FUL/WHU: Jesse Lingard (WHU, MID, £6.0mil, 2.3% ownership)
MUN/EVE: Luke Shaw (MUN, DEF, £4.9mil, 4.0% ownership)
TOT/WBA: Carlos Vinicius (TOT, FWD, £6.9mil, 0.2% ownership)
WOL/LEI: Willian José Da Silva (WOL, FWD, £7.0mil, 0.2% ownership)
LIV/MCI: Ozan Kabak (LIV, DEF, £5.0mil, 0.1% ownership)
SHU/CHE: Callum Hudson-Odoi (CHE, MID, £5.7mil, 0.9% ownership)
LEE/CRY: Eberechi Eze (CRY, MID, £5.8mil, 1.1% ownership)
Differential Captain: Carlos Vinicius (Spurs)
The Spurs forward is now needed by his club, especially with injuries with Kane to contend him. Mourinho has no choice than to trust the Brazilian up front this weekend, and the good news for Spurs is that they have a very winnable fixture against West Brom at home, and the perfect time for Vinicius to grab his first Premier League goal. Barely owned, and massively overlooked for the Gameweek, I am rolling the dice on Spurs actually winning a game this weekend.
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 23
Formation: 4-4-2
Starting 11
GK: David de Gea (MUN)
DEF: Ruben Dias (MCI)
DEF: Luke Shaw (MUN)
DEF: Aaron Cresswell (WHU)
DEF: Marcos Alonso (CHE)
MID: Hueng-Min Son (TOT) - (VC)
MID: Bruno Fernandes (MUN) - (C)
MID: James Maddison (LEI)
MID: Callum Hudson-Odoi (CHE)
FOR: Michail Antonio (WHU)
FOR: Carlos Vinicius (TOT)
Substitutes
GK: Nick Pope (BUR)
MID: Mohamad Salah (LIV)
FWD: Callum Wilson (NEW)
DEF: John Stones (MCI)
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 23 Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal Burnley 1-0 Brighton Newcastle 0-4 Southampton Fulham 1-3 West Ham Man United 2-0 Everton Spurs 3-1 West Brom Wolves 2-1 Leicester Liverpool 0-2 Man City Sheffield United 0-2 Chelsea Leeds 3-2 Crystal Palace
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 23 Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Emiliano Martinez
DEF: Cesar Azpilicueta DEF: Joao Cancelo DEF: Luke Shaw
MID: Jack Grealish MID: Callum Hudson-Odoi MID: Heung Min Son (C) MID: Bruno Fernandes (VC)
FOR: Patrick Bamford FOR: Timo Werner FOR: Michail Antonio
Substitutes
GK: David De Gea MID: Mo Salah DEF: Jan Bednarek DEF: John Stones
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 23
Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal
Burnley 0-0 Brighton
Newcastle 0-2 Southampton
Fulham 1-3 West Ham
Man United 2-1 Everton
Spurs 2-0 West Brom
Wolves 0-1 Leicester
Liverpool 0-0 Man City
Sheffield United 0-2 Chelsea
Leeds 1-1 Crystal Palace
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 23
Upcoming Double Gameweek Fixtures:
GW24 - Man City: Spurs (H), Everton (A)
GW24 - Everton: Fulham (H), Man City (H)
GW24 - Burnley: Crystal Palace (A), Fulham (h)
GW24 - Fulham: Everton (A), Burnley (A)
GW25 - Leeds: Wolves (A), Southampton (H)
GW25 - Southampton: Chelsea (H), Leeds (A)
Top FPL player targets ahead of the upcoming Gameweek:
You can’t really talk about transfer targets unless you’re making reference to the above Double Gameweek offerings in a few short Gameweek’s. My only clear suggestion is a Man City triple-up, but many (if not most of you) should already be occupying a trio of your squads spots to Pep’s ever-rotatable players.
Elsewhere, Nick Pope is the only serious contender from Burnley, whilst the hot-and-cold Dominic Calvert-Lewin might (and I stress MIGHT) be good for the game against Fulham. Everything else looks throwaway with players you don’t want in your squad, so don’t stress over it.
Chelsea and West Ham have better fixtures and are ripe in form, so that’s where I started. I stuck in Pope (BUR) for the suspended Leno (of course I had to own him when he put on his big green wig and red nose), Antonio (WHU) for Firmino and Azpilicueta (CHE) for Alexander-Arnold. I’ve gotten into a black-hold of dropping points on a weekly basis as major surgery has been needed due to injuries and suspensions and I’ve crossed the line where I’ve stopped caring about sacrificing four and eight points here and there.
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Leicester (Watch):
Wolves struggled at times against 9-man Arsenal and in no way have passed my eye-test. They’re missing a presence in the penalty area, with Neto being the outing creative outlet. Slow in midfield and not defensively solid, I am expecting that Leiester keep a clean sheet in this one and snatch the win. The Foxes have the second most away points in the Premier League (26 points – 8 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss), so know how to dance the dance in tricky away games, so should be fine. Also helps they have in-form FPL assets (Barnes, Maddison, Justin) to further their argument.
Aston Villa (Watch):
The Villains tore Arsenal to shreds 3-0 at The Emirates earlier this season and have been playing with a good tempo. Bernd Leno’s out for a blooper of a handball at Wolves so can’t bail Arteta’s men out of a potentially high score if Dean Smith’s men attack them as they did last time out. It just looks like another Gameweek with potential points for the Assist leader, Jack Grealish, and frontman Ollie Watkins.
Liverpool (Avoid):
The Reds need a Champions League second-leg style performance against Man City at Anfield or the title race is over – I already think it is. City will be smelling blood and can bank on the fact that they’ve conceded the fewest goals away from home this season (6 goals conceded in 11 away games) to build on, and combining that with Liverpool not scoring at Anfield in three games, which is crazily bizarre given Klopp’s attacking options, it’s all leaning one direction… These games are Anfield have been lacking goals as of late, so don’t drop your defensive assets due to the occasion.
Spurs (Watch):
A default win this weekend is the remedy Jose Mourinho sorely needs. I couldn’t believe how Chelsea dominated Spurs in both games this season – if Jose had played the Blues 38 times this season I highly doubt that his Spurs side would have scored. They’ve been woeful to watch at times, with and without Kane, so I’d suggest keeping hold of Heung-Min Son for one week, but if like me you’ve already dumped him shortly after Kane, you won’t regret any potential points hauls.
Chelsea (Watch):
I was ever so close to putting my faith in Timo Werner this week. There is something there in his recent performances that suggest goals are just around the corner – games against Sheffield United (A) and Newcastle (H) next up are just irresistible given Tuchel’s start at the club. I’ve opted for Azpilicueta in my actual team at the expense of Trent Alexander-Arnold and with Thiago Silva out, Azpi is a lock at the right side of a back three – I’d have loved to gamble on Marcos Alonso again as he’s virtually playing as a second forward behind Werner, but due to Ben Chilwell being fit I just don’t want and/or need the hassle of even more rotation.
West Ham (Watch):
Captain obvious here to tell you that Michail Antonio might enjoy games against Fulham (A) and Sheffield United (H), especially having claimed 33 FPL points in his last five outings. Across the pitch The Hammers look good for points, so take your pick of Cresswell, Coufal, Lingard (believe it or not) and the big man up top.
Newcastle (Avoid):
They did it. They just dangled that carrot after a big win at Everton and made my younger self believe again in a slightly better world, but then I watched the first-half of the loss to Crystal Palace in midweek. Reality sank back in to my every conscious thought about the club’s continued, never-ending downfall resurfaced. My beloved Magpies now must host an angered Southampton side that will be looking to prove a point after their 9-0 drubbing at Man United and it looks like Newcastle don’t have many defensive options to stop the spread of potential defeat – Lewis, Fernandez, and Lascelles are definitely out, whilst Clark is a doubt, leaving Krafth, Manquillo, Schar and Dummett as our only defensive options. It looks like Isaac Hayden will be doing a job in the heart of defence. It’s going to be a tough game for the Toon, and probably a tougher watch for us supporters.
Gameweek 23 - FPL Captaincy Picks:
Essential: Bruno Fernandes (MUN)
Alternative: Michail Antonio (WHU)
Differential: Ollie Watkins (AVL)
Bamford is a no-go for me this week and I’ll just dump the armband on Bruno as there are a shortage of any real contenders. Michail Antonio is worthy of a vice-captaincy but is more flammable than the Portuguese international. It’s a safe pick, but that’s not a bad thing when Ole’s team should be on a high after a big win against The Saints.
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 23
Formation: 4-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Nick Pope (BUR)
DEF: Cesar Azpilicueta (CHE)
DEF: Ruben Dias (MCI)
DEF: Joao Cancelo (MCI)
DEF: James Justin (LEI)
MID: James Maddison (LEI)
MID: Bruno Fernandes (MUN) – (C)
MID: Heung-Min Son (TOT)
FOR: Timo Werner (CHE)
FOR: Michael Antonio (WHU) – (VC)
FOR: Ollie Watkins (AVL)
Substitutes
GK: Edouard Mendy (CHE)
MID: Ilkay Gundogan (MCI)
MID: Bukayo Saka (ARS)
DEF: Lewis Dunk (BHA)
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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.
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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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