Premier League 2022/23 Season: FPL Fantasy Forecast - Gameweek 12
Ahead of each Gameweek in the Premier League, The Hype Train's team - Robert Austin, Sam Austin, and Phil Jones - provide a rundown of the upcoming round of games in the Premier League; predicting scores for every game, picking a budgeted squad of 15 players that we think are the top selections each week, whilst ee also comb over other relevant statistics, impressions and insight from around the game and the league to best navigate you through the world of fantasy football, all for free. Welcome to the Forecast. All aboard.
Premier League: Gameweek 12 Fixtures:
2022/23 Premier League Season: Fixture Predictions
Below, our score predictions pit the train's three members against one another. Let's find out how they think the Gameweek will shape up for teams.
2022/23 Premier League Season: Fantasy Forecast
The team go through a list of questions and insight to provide their predictions ahead of each Gameweek. None of the team pay for any subscription based FPL services, and the type of opinions here are based in both stats and analytical thinking where possible, as we tackle the latest round of games.
2022/23 Premier League Season: Gameweek Fantasy Forecast (Sam Austin)
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 12
Brighton 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Crystal Palace 1-1 Wolves
Bournemouth 2-2 Southampton
Brentford 0-2 Chelsea
Liverpool 3-0 West Ham
Newcastle 2-0 Everton
Man United 0-1 Spurs
Fulham 2-1 Aston Villa
Leicester 1-1 Leeds
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 12
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Liverpool (Watch): After Liverpool beat City on Sunday night in dramatic fashion the one noticeable thing about their performance was that they had that trademark defensive grit which kept De Bruyne and Haaland quiet. I can see West Ham very concerned that it may have been a catalyst result for the Reds.
Man United (Avoid): After struggling to break down the Newcastle defence, another tough defence is heading to Old Trafford. Antonio Conte’s Spurs are visiting in good form, and it will be another tight affair. I can see Spurs coming away with the win in a smash and grab type of performance.
Fulham (Watch): I think this will be the game that gets Steven Gerrard sacked as Villa manager, it has been an odd time for the Villains who have been playing decent football, but they are making too many sloppy mistakes and just cannot score. Fulham have a more rounded time in the moment and a potent goal scorer so this is a game where I can see Fulham dominating.
Top FPL player targets ahead of Gameweek 12:
GK: Alisson (LIV, GK, £5.4mil, 13.3% ownership)
DEF: Joe Gomez (LIV, DEF, £4.5mil, 1.3% ownership)
MID: Mason Mount (CHE, MID, £7.7mil, 9.1% ownership)
FWD: Aleksandar Mitrović (FUL, FWD, £6.7mil, 23.5% ownership)
Gameweek 11 - FPL Differential Picks:
BHA/NFO: Danny Welbeck (BHA, FWD, £6.5mil, 1.7% ownership)
CRY/WOL: Eberechi Eze (CRY, MID, £5.6mil, 2.8% ownership)
BOU/SOU: Dominic Solanke (BOU, FWD, £5.8mil, 3.3% ownership)
BRE/CHE: Ben Chilwell (CHE, DEF, £5.8mil, 4.8% ownership)
LIV/WHU: Joe Gomez (LIV, DEF, £4.5mil, 1.3% ownership)
NEW/EVE: Callum Wilson (NEW, FWD, £7.3mil, 2.7% ownership)
MUN/TOT: Cristian Romero (TOT, DEF, £4.9mil, 1.8% ownership)
FUL/AVL: Tim Ream (FUL, DEF, £4.5mil, 0.2% ownership)
LEI/LEE: James Justin (LEI, DEF, £4.3mil, 1.8% ownership)
Differential Captain: Dominic Solanke (BOU)
So, the nightmare continues for differential captains. You may remember that I said two Gameweeks ago that Luis Sinisterra (LEE) would be a great differential captain, and if you followed my advice, you would have gotten a -4pts. For GW10 I said that Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (CHE) would be a fantastic option as he picked up 0pts, and in GW11 it was Jarrod Bowen’s turn who racked up a gigantic 2pts. So, this week we are going even further down the differential rabbit hole and going for a team everyone has written off, and a player that not many people has what it takes to make it in the Premier League. His name is Dominic Solanke.
The Englishman has 20pts in his last two games, with a goal and three assists. Bournemouth haven’t been pushovers, and they face Southampton in the hotly anticipated South Coast Clash. Bournemouth host a Southampton team incapable of understand the concept of a defence, so everything points towards another big return for Solanke.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
Essential: Mohamad Salah (Liverpool)
Alternative: Mason Mount (Chelsea)
Differential (low ownership %): Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
Rest of the World XI Challenge Team:
What is Sam’s team all about?: For the 22/23 season, Sam’s latest challenge sees his actual squad only being comprised of players from outside of Europe, with players only from Asia, North and South America, Australasia, and Africa considered.
Target Points: 2330pts
Total Points: 446pts
22/23 Captaincy: 4/10
Ins: Alisson (LIV)
Outs: Ederson (MCI)
Transfer Thoughts: This one was simple, as Man City weren’t competing, I opted for a switch up of Brazilian Goalkeepers from Alisson to Ederson. Liverpool just beat City and Alisson recorded an assist for Salah’s winning goal, which makes me happier about this transfer as it might be the catalyst Liverpool needed right now.
I feel like dropping points is counter productive as there is so much rotation, so I am going to chance an eleven with one sub.
The Gameweek 12 team of the non-EU challenge includes:
22/23 Challenge: Rest of the World XI
GW11 Formation: 4-4-2
GK: Alisson (LIV)
DEF: Thiago Silva (CHE)
DEF: Kalidou Koulibaly (CHE)
DEF: Pervis Estupiñán (BHA)
DEF: Lisandro Martinez (MUN)
MID: Wilfried Zaha (CRY)
MID: Anthony (MUN)
MID: Mohamad Salah (LIV) - (C)
MID: Miguel Almirón (NEW)
FWD: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (CHE)
FWD: Darwin Nunez (LIV) - (VC)
Substitutes:
GK: Wily Caballero (SOU)
DEF: Mohammed Salisu (SOU)
FWD: Gabriel Jesus (ARS)
MID: Gabriel Martinelli (ARS)
2022/23 Premier League Season: Gameweek Fantasy Forecast (Robert Austin)
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 12
Brighton 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Crystal Palace 2-1 Wolves
Bournemouth 2-1 Southampton
Brentford 2-2 Chelsea
Liverpool 3-1 West Ham
Newcastle 2-0 Everton
Man United 1-2 Spurs
Fulham 2-1 Aston Villa
Leicester 1-2 Leeds
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 12
How bad was my Wildcard in Gameweek 10?:
I’ve dropped nearly 450k places from inside the top 100k to 515,178th overall in FPL since playing my wildcard chip – and part of that was to create a sustained period of good fixtures ahead prior to the World Cup. I sincerely regret my choice to do this right now as it has destroyed much of my early season momentum, and all of a sudden I am patching holes.
Is this a good week to play your Free Hit chip?:
It wouldn’t be the worse play to be honest. No Arsenal or City takes away half or your squad currently, and some of the fixtures
Below, Phil on the team has sent us his Free Hit team as of last night for some form of inspiration for last minute transfers and ideas.
James Maddison has caused FPL players an issue:
Just a few hours before the Gameweek 12 deadline, Leicester’s James Maddison is owned by 9.9% of players. Maddison’s ownership has currently decreased by 805,465 players (and counting – I may be one more in the final few hours who dump him). A ridiculous and unnecessary yellow card against Crystal Palace means the Englishman has generated yellow cards in three successive matches and is now suspended for the Leeds game.
I’ve been laughing about this for a few days, because of course this would happen. A player transferred in by the masses due to a tiny upturn in form, letting FPL players down in a reduced Gameweek when we need him most, is the most FPL thing – if you ever need to use an example of genuine frustration when playing the game, this is it.
Is it worth bringing in Harry Kane?:
Under no circumstances should you take out Erling Haaland. Instead, you’ll have to downgrade a premium midfielder or defender to then facilities a Forward (likely Gabriel Jesus) to enable Kane – who yes, is on a hot streak.
What are the potential stumbling blocks to a good Gameweek?:
- Midweek rotation of players (yes, it will happen)
- Graham Potter’s early rotation sending Aubameyang owners into a rabid frenzy
- A lack of captaincy options without Haaland / KDB / Jesus in action
- Related to the above point, not owning Mohamed Salah as a genuine captaincy choice
- FPL players having less than 11 players, with no fodder on the bench to earn a few points in case of rotation
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Leicester (Avoid): No Maddison might cause some creativity issues for Leicester, and if Leeds turn up motivated looking to set right their faults against Arsenal, they might be good value for the points at the King Power.
Liverpool (Watch): West Ham are slowly kicking into gear, but it looks like there is enough good faith regarding Liverpool’s performance against City, to give FPL players an option against The Hammers. The issue is the lack of concrete captaincy options, which means Salah is firmly back on the radar due to his reliance in recent years – it’s a default and correct move given the circumstances this Gameweek.
Newcastle (Watch): Eddie Howe’s team and FPL assets are here to stay. A double-up of Pope/Trippier is now a template in the game, whilst there is a lot of value in attack. As for the game themselves, Everton are short of ideas in attack and will struggle to break down The Magpies in what I imagine will be another strong home performance for Newcastle.
Bournemouth (Watch): Things have picked up on the south coast in what should be an intriguing coastal clash against Southampton. My pure gut call is that a home win is on the cards as FPL managers slowly wake up to their change of situation. There aren’t any real FPL stakes in this one, though, so will largely be overlooked by players.
Crystal Palace (Watch): Wilfried Zaha’s form at home (only one blank this season) adds some real threat to Wolves, whilst there is something good about watching games on TV at Selhurst Park in the dark, this could be an intriguing watch as Palace’s pace and power breaks down a Wolves side who are defensive solid.
Brentford & Chelsea (Cautious): There’s always one game to cause a stir, and it could be involving Brentford. I have had a hate-hate relationship with Ivan Toney this season. When in my team, he has blanked every single time. I took him out, he then immediately netted a hat-trick against Leeds. Put him back in, got 1 point, then took him back out and he scored against my beloved Newcastle. So now I am holding strong on keeping him quiet, he will score again whilst I have Aubameyang burning a hole in my pocket at the same time. That, and Chelsea’s potential rotation could lead to a capable Brentford team taking advantage.
Top FPL player targets ahead of Gameweek 12:
The key moves for this week have been replacing Reece James (injured) and James Maddison (suspended)
James Maddison has a cheaper alternative, Leandro Trossard (BHA), or Mason Mount (CHE). Bruno & Almiron (NEW) might be left-field picks to pick apart Everton, whilst if you think Man United can break down Spurs, Antony might be an OK option.
Replacing Reece James is quite simple; Kieran Trippier (NEW) is template if you don’t own him, whilst Virgil van Dijk (LIV) is an assured starter for Liverpool right now at a premium price. Brighton defenders like Lewis Dunk may be the top budget options for the week as they host Nottingham Forest.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
Essential: Mohamed Salah (LIV)
Alternative: Kieran Trippier (NEW)
Differential: Wilfried Zaha (CRY)
FPL Squad Picks: Gameweek 12
Formation: 4-3-3
Budget: £102.2 million
Starting 11
GK: Nick Pope (NEW)
DEF: Kieran Trippier (NEW) – (VC)
DEF: Eric Dier (TOT)
DEF: Timothy Castagne (LEI)
DEF: Virgil van Dijk (LIV)
MID: Mohamed Salah (LIV) – (C)
MID: Wilfried Zaha (CRY)
MID: Leandro Trossard (BHA)
FOR: Ivan Toney (BRE)
FOR: Callum Wilson (NEW)
FOR: Harry Kane (TOT)
Substitutes
GK: Danny Ward (LEI)
MID: Andreas Pereira (FUL)
MID: Jacob Ramsey (AVL)
DEF: Neco Williams (NFO)
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in general football and 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.
In 2021, we formed the Reading Sunday Social League (RSSL), a competitive Sunday League involving 8 teams in its debut season. During the 2021/22 season, we won our first-ever trophy, lifting the East Berkshire Football League's Presidents Cup!
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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