Fantasy Football Tips: Trio To Keep An Eye On For Gameweek 17

After a week in which many FPL managers were thankful for the vice captaincy being on Son or Salah following Erling Haaland's no show, there is a week to wait for more domestic action.

Plenty of clubs are involved in European competition in mid week, which makes things tricky, but after another gameweek with a low average score (41), hopefully the big scores will fly in for gameweek 17.

Here we review the week that was and offer a player in each position who could pocket a plethora of points in gameweek 17.

Gameweek 16 Review

There is only one place to start really with gameweek 16; the no-show from mega asset Erling Haaland (£14m). The Norwegian goal-scoring phenomenon is owned by over 80% of teams and despite being the highest priced player in FPL history, has been viewed has essential by the vast majority since his arrival at the Etihad at the start of last season.

The most captained player of gameweek 16 was rumoured to be missing soon after the deadline passed, sending the twittersphere into meltdown, but in the end most players will have been happy with their deputy's haul. Mo Salah (£13.1m) and Liverpool kicked things off with a come from behind win at Selhurts Park, with the Egyptian who was captained by many and viced by more bagging 13 points. 

The story of Saturday afternoon unfolded at Old Trafford, where Bournemouth secured their first ever win at the Theatre Of Dreams in convincing style. Those who started their Cherries will have been delighted to see Dom Solanke (£6.6m) bag the opener and 7 points, but it was £4.3m defender Marcos Senesi with 15 points and Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m) the midfielder with 9 points who stole the show in a 0-3 drubbing.

Aston Villa kept up their astounding home form by dispatching former league leaders Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday night, with John McGinn's (£5.5m) early goal being enough to secure a 1-0 win. This means Liverpool will head into gameweek 17 top of the tree. Man City looked in trouble when 1-0 down at half time to Luton, but got back on the winning trail by coming back to win 1-2. Bernardo Silva (£7.2m) slotted the equaliser to earn 9 points, and match winner Jack Grealish (£6.4m) got a 10 point haul.

Finally, Spurs bounced back in fine style against a lacklustre Newcastle. Kieran Trippier's (£7.0m) owners must be getting sick of the right back after another poor display with meagre returns. Spurs defender owners, meanwhile, had a much better time of things with Destiny Udogie (£4.7m) getting the opener and a 9 point haul while Pedro Porro (£5.4m) snagged another assist. It is a shame their clean sheets were wiped out as both were on for big hauls prior to that. 

Son Heung-min (£9.5m) was the star of the show with his goal, assist, 3 bonus and a clean sheet meaning a mammoth 17 points. Richarlison (£6.6m) bagged a brace and finished just two points behind his captain.

Defender - Marcos Senesi (£4.3m) vs Luton (H)

Bournemouth have now kept 3 clean sheets in their last five games after comfortably beating Man United at Old Trafford for the first time ever. Andoni Iraola seems to have got his message across to his troops after a slow start, and the defensive solidity that has come with their fluid attacking structure is a welcome boon for Cherries fans who must be in dreamland.

Premier League safety looked far from assured a few weeks back, but now Bournemouth will be looking up and with an easy looking fixture list coming up now is the time to hop on.

Perhaps this will be a case of attempting to jump on after the horse has bolted, but priced at just £4.3m and coming off the back of 14 and 15 point hauls, Bournemouth centre back Marcos Senesi has to be on everyone's radar this week. Luton may not be proving to be the whipping boys many thought they might be, however they are a much easier proposition on the road than at Kenilworth Road.

Bournemouth will be hot favourites for another big win here and with Senesi always a threat at set pieces for the Cherries, who is to say he can't end this game on the scoresheet for the third gameweek in a row.

Perhaps his attacking returns are at an end, but at a basement price and with a clean sheet looking as likely as anybody, he could be an easy swap for those looking to free up funds from perhaps Man City assets (blank in GW18 and no clean sheet in six) or Kieran Trippier.

Midfielder - Richarlison (£6.6m) vs Nottingham Forest (A)

After the departure of Harry Kane in the summer, many assumed Richarlison would be a lock for all FPL teams as the new central striker for top four chasing Spurs. Priced as a mid range midfielder, the Brazil number nine looked a brilliant prospect but things did not go to plan. His team started brilliantly, but Brennan Johnson's arrival shunted Richarlison out of the team. After Son Heung-min began bagging at will as the central striker, the pigeon dancing dream looked over.

However, after coming back into the fold amidst an injury crisis, Richarlison got two goals against Newcastle when start centrally, which could be bad news for the highly owned Son down the line, but is great news for those looking to get a mid priced midfielder into their side. The former Everton man has always been a confidence player and could well go on a scoring run now at long last for Ange's side.

Forest showed fight against Wolves, and their 5-0 thrashing against Fulham reads better now that the Whites put the same scoreline on West Ham in GW16, but Steve Cooper's side are still under massive pressure and rank as one of the worst in the league. Richarlison should get a run in the team now and at £6.6m, a top four chasing side's central striker available with the bonus of potential midfielder points looks a tantalising prospect.

Forward - Raul Jimenez (£5.3m) vs Newcastle (A)

There seems to be a bit of a dearth of top quality forward options in FPL at the moment, with Haaland obviously a shoo-in for most along with Aston Villa's frontman Ollie Watkins (£8m). Dom Solanke is an obvious shout at an in-form Bournemouth side, but we tipped him up here two gameweeks ago so won't repeat ourselves. 

One of the best sights this season in the Premier League has been the recent resurgence of Raul Jimenez (£5.3m) at Fulham. The Mexican was a real cult hero at Wolves and indeed in FPL after a stunning first season, but after his horror head injury over two years ago has never been quite the same player.

As such, Wolves were willing to move him on and it looks like a change of scenery has done the trick, with Raul now looking back to his best at Craven Cottage. Marco Silva's side are in sensational form, coming into gameweek 17 as the form side in the division following consecutive 5-0 wins. 

Heading to St James' Park is never easy, but now looks the time to be playing the Magpies who are down to the bare bones and looking weary. They have European duties in mid week with a big game against Milan, so a rested Fulham outfit could capitalise.

After this jaunt to the North East Fulham face Burnley and Bournemouth, and with Raul scoring 2 against Forest for a 13 point haul and once against West Ham for nine points, he looks an intriguing option at a low enough price to be available to nearly all managers.