Premier League 2022/23 Season: FPL Fantasy Forecast - Gameweek 23
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.
2022/23 Premier League Season: GW23 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 23
West Ham 1-1 Chelsea
Arsenal 2-1 Brentford
Crystal Palace 1-3 Brighton
Fulham 0-0 Nottingham Forest
Leicester 1-2 Spurs
Southampton 0-0 Wolves
Bournemouth 0-1 Newcastle
Leeds 1-1 Man United
Man City 4-0 Aston Villa
Liverpool 0-0 Everton
Arsenal 2-1 Man City
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 23
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Arsenal (Watch): It is the City/Arsenal DGW and I think this will be the week that Arsenal make a landmark statement over winning the title. I believe that Arsenal will win both of their games by tight margins. Nketiah should be on the top of your wish lists.
Man United (Avoid): They are here only because they only got a draw from Leeds in the Double Gameweek, and I think it will be another feisty match where the match is more even than thinking United will dominate. Obviously, you should be picking up Rashford if you don’t have him.
Liverpool vs. Everton (???): We’re back for another round of ‘should I trust Liverpool this week?’ with a Liverpool supporter. Last week I said Liverpool would get dominated by Wolves, and it was exactly what I foreshadowed from this beleaguered Reds team. This week is the Merseyside derby on Monday night, which is a fixture that in recent history has been an immensely tight affair. There have been lots of 0-0’s in this fixture since Jürgen took over the team in 2015, four to be truthful, including the last game in September at Goodison. It wouldn’t surprise me if both teams repeated this scoreline. Both have lots to prove in this fixture, especially as a host of Reds returned to training following a train wreck of form, and Everton will want to claim another big scalp after Sean Dyche led his team to a surprise victory over Arsenal. This match could go either way.
Will I be surprised if Everton beat Liverpool at Anfield? Yes. Will I be surprised if Liverpool win with a late goal? Yes. Reckon that they will play out another 0-0? Yes. Can I see Liverpool completely fall apart again and get beaten by their local rivals at home? Yes. The most important question is: should you trust Liverpool in this fixture? No. I have been watching is dismay this entire season as the entire Liverpool journey in 2022/23 so far has turned into the plot of a Final Destination film, and I am waiting for the next plot twist in this bound-to-fail rollercoaster comes hurtling off its rails and into the stunned supporters below.
Top FPL player targets ahead of Gameweek 23:
GK: Ederson (MCI, GK, £5.4mil, 14.1% ownership)
DEF: Gabriel (ARS, DEF, £5.2mil, 13.7% ownership)
MID: Kaoru Mitoma (BHA, MID, £5.2mil, 12.1% ownership)
FWD: Eddie Nketiah (ARS, FWD, £6.8mil, 10.8% ownership)
Gameweek 23 - FPL Differential Picks:
WHU/CHE: Kai Havertz (CHE, FWD, £7.8mil, 4.6% ownership)
ARS/BRE: Oleksandr Zinchenko (ARS, DEF, £5.1mil, 8.9% ownership)
CRY/BHA: Pervis Estupiñán (EVE, DEF, £4.6mil, 3.3% ownership)
FUL/NFO: Tim Ream (FUL, DEF, £4.5mil, 1.9% ownership)
LEI/TOT: James Maddison (LEI, MID, £8.0mil, 3.7% ownership)
SOU/WOL: Rayan Aït-Nouri (WOL, DEF, £4.2mil, 0.9% ownership)
BOU/NEW: Sven Botman (NEW, DEF, £4.5mil, 6.3% ownership)
LEE/MUN: Wilfried Gnonto (LEE, FWD, £5.0mil, 1.6% ownership)
MCI/AVL: Manuel Akanji (MCI, DEF, £5.0mil, 3.4% ownership)
LIV/EVE: Jordan Pickford (EVE, GK, £4.4mil, 5.1% ownership)
ARS/MCI: Manuel Akanji (MCI, DEF, £5.0mil, 3.4% ownership)
Differential Captain: Jordan Pickford (Everton)
So, Wout Weghorst in GW22 was a horrid differential captain. So, I am doing the absolute opposite this weekend, and going for a Goalkeeper to do better than the 2pts that the Dutchman got in United Double Gameweek. The man is Jordan Pickford, who travels to Anfield. You’re probably thinking “Woah, a keeper’, away at Anfield on Monday night?! That is brave and/or insane!”. Maybe eight months ago, but football moves on quickly, and right now Everton look more likely to get a result than Liverpool do. After dispatching Arsenal in Sean Dyche’s first match, Jordan Pickford picked up Septembers PL Save of the Month in the previous Merseyside derby in a 0-0 draw.
I’ve already discussed Liverpool further up, but the more I think about Pickford as differential captain, the more it makes sense. Since the World Cup Leicester’s Wout Faes is the clubs top scorer, the entire Liverpool forward line can’t hit a barn door right now, and on top of that the entire team is out of form. Even Mo Salah looks like a Championship player right now, and if I was Sean Dyche, I would be quietly confident about going to Anfield and keeping a clean sheet.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
Essential: Erling Haaland (MCI)
Alternative: Eddie Nketiah (ARS)
Differential (low ownership %): Jordan Pickford (EVE)
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: 1031pts
22/23 Captaincy: 11/22
Ins: Ederson (MCI)
Outs: Alisson (LIV)
Transfer Thoughts: As much as I don’t like taking Alisson out, Ederson is in the Double Gameweek and has the better upcoming fixtures.
22/23 Challenge Team: Rest of the World XI
GW23 Formation: 3-5-2
GK: Ederson (LIV)
DEF: Pervis Estupiñán (BHA)
DEF: Thiago Silva (CHE)
DEF: Gabriel (ARS)
MID: Kaoru Mitoma (BHA) - (VC)
MID: Mohamad Salah (LIV)
MID: Miguel Almirón (NEW)
MID: Gabriel Martinelli (ARS)
MID: Riyad Mahrez (MCI) – (C)
FWD: Darwin Nunez (LIV)
FWD: Julián Álvarez (MCI)
Substitutes:
GK: Wily Caballero (SOU)
FWD: Bryan Mbeumo (BRE)
DEF: Lisandro Martinez (MUN)
DEF: Kalidou Koulibaly (CHE)
2022/23 Premier League Season: Gameweek Fantasy Forecast (Robert Austin)
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 23
West Ham 2-1 Chelsea
Arsenal 2-0 Brentford
Crystal Palace 1-2 Brighton
Fulham 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Leicester 2-2 Spurs
Southampton 0-2 Wolves
Bournemouth 0-3 Newcastle
Leeds 1-3 Man United
Man City 3-1 Aston Villa
Liverpool 1-0 Everton
Arsenal 1-1 Man City
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 23
Did FPL players who didn’t use the Triple Captaincy chip on Marcus Rashford miss a trick?:
Don’t let the FPL Community make you pull your hair out – most of these social influencers are unbearable when they are winning, and whine like a baby without its bottle when they don’t do well. To put things into context, casual players weren’t as sold on playing the TC chip as the content creators were – these people are putting content out there for likes/impressions, so were most sold into it – and yes it was a great shout too. 40/60 points is a huge haul for a return from Rashford. In my main mini-league of friends, combined of casuals and more diligent players alike, only 1/16 used their TC chip this week, so more than a majority are holding onto their chips for now, and with a host of other Double Gameweek’s upcoming, there will be plenty of chances to make up the points – especially in a Gameweek with a lot of low scoring regulars (Newcastle conceding against West Ham wasn’t on the books, for example). So don’t panic, there’s always more options to come.
Do Arsenal or Man City have a higher ceiling for Double Gameweek 23?:
Arsenal, clearly. FPL players know that Mikel Arteta’s team won’t be rotating as heavily as Man City over the course of two games, especially with the stakes being high for Arsenal in both of their home games. With Pep, you just don’t have a clue what he is going to do, more so now than ever, a trait which will only worsen as the Champions League returns this month.
As for how I think the Gameweek will pan out, both teams have a good home opener, so naturally a triple up of both their players is advised, then the midweek clash is just a bonus as the game itself is very hard to call.
My own personal team currently has Saliba, Martinelli, and Odegaard from Arsenal, whilst at City, Akanji, De Bruyne, and Haaland are present. If I was in a position to change my options around, Eddie Nketiah would have come in for Martinelli, so I can then bring in Mitoma (BHA), but equally I don’t think dropping 8 points to get to this outcome is necessary. I’ve just taken out Andreas Pereira (FUL) for Mitoma instead and gone for a strong 5 across midfield.
Haaland, despite not being heavily involved in games will be the default captain, with any of the Arsenal midfielders coming in a close second for vice captaincy.
Be mindful of Gameweek 25 if you can:
The weekend of the Carabao Cup final sees Newcastle vs. Man United in the showpiece final, which has postponed the Gameweek for 4 teams; Brentford, Brighton, Man United and Newcastle.
So 4 teams don’t feature, but there are also 4 team’s that have had a Double Gameweek announced:
Arsenal: Leicester (A), Everton (H)
Everton: Aston Villa (H), Arsenal (A)
Liverpool: Crystal Palace (A), Wolves (H)
Wolves: Fulham (A), Liverpool (A)
Keeping your Arsenal players will be a guarantee then in this period, whilst you also try to fit in a few key hitters from Liverpool, Wolves, and if you have a bigger stomach than me, Everton.
On paper, it’s a great potential Gameweek for Liverpool, but on the field Liverpool have been going through Jurgen Klopp’s first real lull at the club and they don’t have their talisman Mohamed Salah firing, with the Egyptian not finding the back of the net for 5 games now, with Salah’s last goal arriving during Gameweek 17’s 3-1 away win at Aston Villa, which was the first game back after the break due to the World Cup.
On charges made by the Premier League against Man City:
I understand City’s position as they make a logical point of how is a team supposed to plug the gap between the top teams and those in the far distance (as Man City were when they got taken over)… On the other foot, they’ve been cooking the books like Frank Reynolds in Always Sunny and potentially deceiving the league on their sponsorship figures. You also have to consider that Man City have been ludicrously aggressive in their pursuit of becoming a top club… they could have done what a number of now establish Premier League teams have done like Leicester, Wolves, Aston Villa, and to a smaller extent Newcastle, who are really showing that you don’t need to spend the annual income of a large country on a squad rebuild to get results, but they still have spent ridiculous figures and made the conscious decision to buy, buy, buy and buy, as well as extending their team… Largely though, I am all for clubs spending to develop and bring success (within reason), but at least be honest and not make dummy sponsors to create fraudulent income. If they’re booted out of the Football League, I would not be surprised, that if is course if they are proven guilty.
On the new proposed Super League format:
It is the same snakes as before, just with a fresh coat of paint on them in the form of the ‘A22’ company. Completely self-serving, with corporate greed the only agenda, domestic football can’t be ripped away in any country as it will have damning and potentially catastrophic repercussions on grassroots and lower league football that needs the support of domestic pyramids. The idea needs to go away and as long as you have teams like Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona spearheading the movement, it will not benefit anyone other than the billionaires who run these clubs in the first place.
Who will get relegated this season?:
It’s not looking good for the South Coast clubs, Southampton and Bournemouth, whilst I think it will boil down to one of Leeds or Everton that take the final spot. If I had to stick firm with an option, Everton may be the ones who will find it tougher as the season progresses – they’ve got a tough run in and have struggled for goals all season.
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Newcastle (Watch): Eddie Howe is returning to his old club and has both ASM and Isak available for The Magpies. Newcastle have been lacking that killer second goal, though I feel like they’ll have enough away at Bournemouth for a big win.
West Ham & Chelsea (Avoid): The recent 12:30pm games on a Saturday have been woeful to watch, in very sleepy affairs. I can see this being another slow game (though I hope I’m proved wrong).
Liverpool & Everton (Cautious): Liverpool and Everton aren’t firing in front of goal, drew the last game of the season 0-0, whilst Everton have only won 1 of the last 24 Premier League games in this fixture. A goalless draw seems fair, especially as Sean Dyche has helped immediately shore up Everton’s defence, though in reality a goal either way is what I’ve gone for.
Arsenal & Man City (Watch): Both have good home openers, so don’t overthink having a trio from both teams if you can ahead of their Double Gameweek.
Wolves (Watch): With a good run of fixtures upcoming, and an upcoming Double Gameweek 25, Wolves might offer value defensively – maybe Bueno owners (all 6.4% of us) will be frustrated due to his diminished role in recent weeks and will be looking at defensive alternatives. Against Southampton, a club who have hired Nathan Jones only a short while ago (and potentially on the fence about him as Manager), this should be a comfortable away win for Wolves as they continue their resurgence after a poor start to the season.
Spurs (Watch): Harry Kane vs. Leicester has led to 18 goals in 15 games. This is a no-brainer to have the England captain in your team – without a Double Gameweek, Kane is the default captaincy pick.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
Essential: Erling Haaland (MCI)
Alternative: Martin Ødegaard (ARS)
Differential: Eddie Nketiah (ARS)
FPL Squad Picks: Gameweek 23
Formation: 3-5-2
Budget: £103.0 million
Starting 11
GK: Nick Pope (NEW)
DEF: Kieran Trippier (NEW)
DEF: William Saliba (ARS)
DEF: Manuel Akanji (ARS)
MID: Kaoru Mitoma (BHA)
MID: Kevin De Bruyne (MCI)
MID: Gabriel Martinelli (ARS)
MID: Martin Ødegaard (ARS) – (VC)
MID: Marcus Rashford (MUN)
FOR: Erling Haaland (MCI) – (C)
FOR: Harry Kane (TOT)
Substitutes
GK: Fraser Forster (TOT)
FOR: Wout Weghorst (MUN)
DEF: Max Kilman (WOL)
DEF: Ben Mee (BRE)
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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