Premier League 2020/21: FPL Gameweek 28 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 28 Fixtures
Premier League 2020/21: FPL Gameweek 28 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 28
Newcastle 0-2 Aston Villa
Leeds 0-2 Chelsea
Crystal Palace 1-0 West Brom
Everton 2-0 Burnley
Fulham 0-3 Man City
Southampton 2-1 Brighton
Leicester 2-0 Sheffield United
Arsenal 1-1 Spurs
Man United 2-1 West Ham
Wolves 2-1 Liverpool
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 28
Top FPL player targets ahead of the upcoming Gameweek:
GK: Emiliano Martinez (AVL, GK, £5.4mil, 40.5% ownership)
DEF: Luke Shaw (MUN, DEF, £5.2mil, 11.9% ownership)
MID: Kevin De Bruyne (MCI, MID, £11.8mil, 17.6% ownership)
FWD: Harry Kane (TOT, FWD, £11.3mil, 38.6% ownership)
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Newcastle (Avoid): What on earth is going on at Newcastle? Well, briefly put Steve Bruce is on a next power trip. He and Matt Ritchie are in dispute, and then a reporter leaked it, which Bruce then declined, and turned out to be true. All of their major players that can score goals are injured, and they are teetering above the relegation zone. Bruce legitimately believes he is a top tier manager, but after pretty much stripping the Rafa team down to being relegation fodder I can see them going down, and he’ll defend himself the entire way. I have an affinity to Newcastle, but Bruce deserves to get relegated. Aston Villa are clear favourites in this game.
Chelsea (Watch): The Blues are thriving under Tuchel, and Leeds have forgotten how to score goals, and are completely useless at home. It is simply put Chelsea’s game to lose.
Arsenal vs. Spurs (???): This week’s uncertain fixture is the North London derby. Typically, the game at The Emirates ends up in a draw, and I believe it will be a draw. Arsenal and Spurs are both in spaces where they are scoring goals and picking up points, so it is most likely that this game end up completely predictable. However, Spurs have found that scoring groove again, and if there is going to be a surprise, it’ll be Spurs taking the points. This is a very conflicting fixture. I do recommend Son and Kane though for this game.
Liverpool (Avoid): After the midweek Champions League game I know nothing more than what I did in their other 2-0-win against Leipzig, which leaves me immensely concerned. Why? Well, did you know that the Reds have never lost a competitive game against a German club? It is a crazy long run, and one of the fewest records that Liverpool haven’t tarnished this year. The last time Liverpool lost after a European game, and I am concerned it is going to happen again. Liverpool in Europe, and Liverpool in the Premier League are separate things. Until they turn over their abysmal league form, I won’t believe things have changed.
Gameweek 28 – FPL Differential Picks:
NEW/AVL: Ezri Konsa (AVL, DEF, £4.6mil, 6.8% ownership)
LEE/CHE: César Azpilicueta (CHE, DEF, £5.7mil, 5.6% ownership)
CRY/WBA: Christian Benteke (CRY, FWD, £5.5mil, 0.8% ownership)
EVE/BUR: Jordan Pickford (EVE, GK, £4.8mil, 5.3% ownership)
FUL/MCI: Riyad Mahrez (MCI, MID, £8.1mil, 6.2% ownership)
SOU/BHA: Jannik Vestergaard (SOU, DEF, £4.7mil, 3.5% ownership)
LEI/SHU: Kelechi Iheanacho (LEI, FWD, £5.6mil, 0.8% ownership)
ARS/TOT: Gareth Bale (TOT, MID, £9.4mil, 6.4% ownership)
MUN/WHU: Anthony Martial (MUN, FWD, £8.6mil, 3.8% ownership)
WOL/LIV: Diogo Jota (LIV, MID, £6.6mil, 3.2% ownership)
Differential Captain: Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester)
Leicester’s Nigerian forward has been getting regular minutes lately and has two goals in his last two games against Burnley and Brighton. The Foxes face bottom of the table Sheffield United, and it has everything that makes Iheanacho a good option this week. The forward has the fixture and the form to be a great option, especially as Leicester are in one of their purple patches.
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 28
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Emiliano Martinez (AVL)
DEF: Luke Shaw (MUN)
DEF: Ruben Dias (MCI)
DEF: Cezar Azpilicueta (CHE)
MID: Bruno Fernandes (MUN) (VC)
MID: Hueng-Min Son (TOT)
MID: Mohamad Salah (LIV)
MID: Riyad Mahrez (MCI)
FOR: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (EVE)
FOR: Harry Kane (TOT) (C)
FOR: Kelechi Iheanacho (LEI)
Substitutes
GK: Jordan Pickford (EVE)
MID: Gareth Bale (TOT)
DEF: Ezri Konsa (AVL)
DEF: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (MUN)
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 28
Newcastle 0-2 Aston Villa
Leeds 0-3 Chelsea
Crystal Palace 0-1 West Brom
Everton 2-1 Burnley
Fulham 0-6 Man City
Southampton 1-0 Brighton
Leicester 1-1 Sheffield United
Arsenal 2-0 Spurs
Man United 2-1 West Ham
Wolves 0-2 Liverpool
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 28
Formation: TBA
Starting 11
GK: Emi Martinez (AVL)
DEF: Cesar Azpilicueta (CHE)
DEF: John Stones (MCI)
DEF: Jannik Vestergaard (SOU)
MID: Kai Havertz (CHE)
MID: Bruno Fernandes (MUN) - (VC)
MID: Ilkay Gundogan (MCI)
MID: Mohamed Salah (LIV) - (C)
FOR: Dominic Calvert-Lewindowski (EVE)
FOR: Kun Aguero (MCI)
FOR: Ollie Watkins (AVL)
Substitutes
GK: Sam Johnstone (WBA)
MID: James Ward-Prowse (SOU)
DEF: Ezra Konsa (AVL)
DEF: David Luiz (ARS)
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 28
Newcastle 0-1 Aston Villa
Leeds 0-2 Chelsea
Crystal Palace 2-1 West Brom
Everton 2-0 Burnley
Fulham 0-3 Man City
Southampton 1-1 Brighton
Leicester 3-1 Sheffield United
Arsenal 2-2 Spurs
Man United 2-1 West Ham
Wolves 1-2 Liverpool
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 28
Top FPL player targets ahead of the upcoming Gameweek:
Right at the top of the hour, I’ll be that generic ‘basic bitch’ and pile on to the heavy number of transfers in for Spurs attackers, and will throw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the mix to as transfers to consider. Spurs and Arsenal tend to have a few goals in the locker in this fixture at The Emirates and with both clubs in the Europa League, this has the perfect recipe, at least on paper, for this game to be an open contest.
Jose Mourinho has already verbally cleared Harry Kane as fit for the game, whilst Gareth’s explosive 4 goals and 2 assists in 4 games is undeniable right now as the Welshman shows signs of life of the player that left for Real Madrid in 2013. On the red side of the fence, Aubameyang scored for Arsenal last time out at Burnley and have a degree of comfort in their Europa League tie having beat the Greek wall of Olympiacos 3-1 away from home last night – Auba could be the remedy if you’re not sold on Salah or Fernandes. Both teams feature in Gameweek 29 and any moves are virtually risk-free as you don’t have to manager your squad even further.
Outside of the North London derby, if you’re looking for a one-week fix you can’t go wrong with Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho (£5.6m) right now. Sheffield United have just parted with Chris Wilder and Kelechi has scored in back-to-back league games, and in general is looking the more likely scorer than Vardy right now as this Leicester team juggles several first-team injuries. There’s also the element that Leicester are being overlooked and the money on Kelechi is a tiny fraction, so you can move around other players for Gameweek 29’s reduced schedule.
Other interesting moves I would love to make if I had the capacity to do so would be bringing in Andreas Christensen (£4.7m) to double up on Chelsea defenders with fellow Bonus Points magnet, Cesar Azpilicueta, and would also be tempted by Mason Mount’s goal every other game, though rotation higher up the field, combined with an upcoming Champions League tie at home to Atletico Madrid, has put the brakes on that move (for now).
Are you planning for the reduced Gameweek 29?:
I’ve been talking about the upcoming 4-game Gameweek for a few weeks now and my initial judgement is that the tide of FPL players across the world will be taking masses of hits… Playing a Wildcard is not a good idea, neither is playing your Free Hit – I made a similar mistake a few sessions ago when Huddersfield graced the league and I opted for a trio of their options in an eventual 1-0 home loss to Crystal Palace (among 11 other bad ideas). That was the same Gameweek Mohamed Salah scored 4 and assisted 1 goal against Watford for Liverpool.
My gut feeling says we aren’t going to have a mammoth haul this time and it will be a low-scoring Gameweek so if you’re reading this with a couple of hours before the FPL deadline tonight on Friday, it’s best to not make any knee-jerk moves and just accept that a few players will have to do the job for you as you’ll be joined in this period of uncertainty by virtually everyone else, knowing that any Chips used will most likely not have their intended affects.
Gameweek 29 Fixtures:
Fulham vs. Leeds
Brighton vs. Newcastle
West Ham vs. Arsenal
Aston Villa vs. Spurs
Upcoming League Fixtures for Gameweek 29 Teams:
Fulham: Man City (H), Leeds (H), Aston Villa (A)
Leeds: Chelsea (H), Fulham (A), Sheffield United (H)
Brighton: Southampton (A), Newcastle (H), Man United (A)
Newcastle: Aston Villa (H), Brighton (A), Spurs (H)
West Ham: Man United (A), Arsenal (H), Wolves (A)
Arsenal: Spurs (H), West Ham (A), Liverpool (H)
Aston Villa: Newcastle (A), Spurs (H), Fulham (H)
Spurs: Arsenal (A), Aston Villa (A), Newcastle (A)
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid during Gameweek 28?:
Newcastle (avoid):
My beloved Magpies haven’t lost at home to Aston Villa since 2005 in the Premier League, which makes this another time for records to be reset. If you didn’t watch the West Brom game, without Almiron, Wilson and Saint-Maximin, we have virtually no firepower. Andy Carroll, Joelinton and Dwight Gayle just won’t fire in the goals, which makes Emi Martinez, the current 5th best player in FPL, an essential pick this week.
It's also worth pointing out this week that Steve Bruce has blamed Covid for derailing Newcastle’s momentum, not-so-subtly implying that we’re only in this sorry state due to the pandemic. Bruce pointed out that the club have been dealt a massive hit this season in their relegation battle due to their postponed game with Villa last year – the first game in the Premier League to be cancelled due to the virus – yet it is Aston Villa who have realistically been dealt the bigger blow after multiple cancelled matches and a relentless fixture list to begin the year. Bruce needs to take a page out of Villa’s book and not make excuses.
I’m expecting to turn on the TV tonight and watch Newcastle labour to a defeat, then I’ll go on social media afterwards and see every supporter will be blowing smoke out their ears over Bruce, the ownership scandal and impending relegation to the Championship.
Fulham (avoid):
Fortunately as a Newcastle supporter, Fulham have their hardest game of the season and nobody on planet earth sees Scott Parker’s side following up an excellent win at Anfield by dethroning the Champions elect. Then again, much more stranger things have happened this season.
Leicester (Watch):
Right Leicester off at your peril. A last-minute winner highlights the stubbornness of Brendan Rodgers’ side as they attempt to cross the hurdle and qualify for the Champions League. They’ve got the easiest game of the season in Sheffield United at home, who are now without a Manager after Chris Wilder’s tensions with the club’s hierarchy became too big a mountain to climb. Wilder only has himself to blame though, asks for big sums to sign Rhian Brewster from Liverpool, then benches him virtually all season.
Man United (Watch):
With West Ham chasing European football, and without Jesse Lingard at Old Trafford, I can just see what is going to happen. It’s going to be a tight score draw leading up to the 89th minute. United will win a set-piece and will steal it at the death.
Leeds (Avoid) / Chelsea (Watch):
It looks like the perfect week to bench any Leeds players you may have as Thomas Tuchel’s side roll through town. The Blues have been in robust form and will be a tough nut to crack – Cesar Azpilicueta has been my standout FPL player in the last few weeks and I am hoping these clean sheets keep on delivering.
Gameweek 28 - FPL Captaincy Picks:
Essential: Kevin De Bruyne (MCI)
Alternative: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (EVE)
Differential: Kelechi Iheanacho (LEI)
I’ve seen a lot of deliberation on Twitter about there being no real standout captaincy choices. All I’m seeing is the same old names – KDB, Salah, Fernandes – at the top of the pecking order, and players like Vardy and Calvert-Lewin behind. KDB is the runaway pick against Fulham, probably followed by Raheem Sterling if you can stomach another potential blank at the risk of trying for an explosive return. If you don’t have them, Gundogan, Salah or DCL should get you by.
Other Gameweek Comments:
After nearly 30 weeks of the season, I can outright say that the fixture list has broken me. Fixtures desperately need to be condensed and having all 10 games on to absorb your entire weekend and Monday is not a good look. If the Premier League were a cake, it’d be triple chocolate fudge, and us the viewers would be obese. Too much of a good thing is bad thing – in turn the extended and at times exhausting coverage is killing my appetite for the beautiful game at the top level.
This trickles down to FPL related matters too and has me completely apathetic about selections, transfers, statistics and so on. I can’t be alone in hoping and wishing that the season ends swiftly at this point too as the level of drama and excitement has been waning in recent months, especially as everyone has to suffer with other matters such as VAR, European and international football.
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 28
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Emi Martinez (AVL)
DEF: Andreas Christensen (CHE)
DEF: Cesar Azpilicueta (CHE)
DEF: Ruben Dias (MCI)
MID: Kevin De Bruyne (MCI) – (C)
MID: Ilkay Gundogan (MCI)
MID: Gareth Bale (TOT)
MID: Mohamed Salah (LIV)
FOR: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (EVE)
FOR: Ollie Watkins (AVL)
FOR: Kelechi Iheanacho (LEI) – (VC)
Substitutes
GK: Alex McCarthy (SOU)
MID: Bertrand Traore (AVL)
DEF: Mason Holgate (EVE)
DEF: Matt Targett (AVL)
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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.
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. We won both Goal of the Season Awards in the Berkshire and County FA regions, with Callum Parr-Jones winning the Berks & Bucks FA award, whilst Martin King won the PlaySport UK award.
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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