Chelsea hitman Lukaku to return? The best FPL transfers for gameweek 16
Who are the best transfers for FPL gameweek 16? 4-time top 1k and 5-time top 5k finisher Abdul Rehman uses stats, fixtures and the eye test to find the best Fantasy Premier League players with the potential to pick up big points and help shoot you up the rankings.
Diogo Dalot (£4.4m) – Manchester United
Fixture: Norwich (A)
Manchester United have an enticing fixture this week as they travel to Norwich. The Red Devils are the fourth favourites to keep a clean sheet this week (45%), this despite Manchester United having only kept three shut outs (17th), conceded 24 goals (15th) with an xGC of 24.4 (16th).
However, fans believe they will be more solid under Ralf Rangnick. They only conceded four shots in the box against Crystal Palace, kept a clean sheet and limited the Eagles to very few chances. Furthermore, United come up against a Norwich side that have only managed to score eight goals (20th) and mustered 82 shots in the box (20th), 44 shots on target (20th) and an xG of 15.5 (20th). The Canaries are the worst attacking side in the league in terms of outputs and underlying numbers.
Diogo Dalot has now started the last two league games ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and that right-back spot seems to be his to lose now. The fact that the Wan-Bissaka started the midweek Champions League tie with Young Boys where United played their B-team further amplifies this.
Dalot has been very attacking the last few games and his heat maps show this. And at a price of only £4.4m, and with the very kind run of fixtures United have coming up, he could be a great pick.
Jarrod Bowen (£6.4m) – West Ham United
Fixture: Burnley (A)
Jarrod Bowen has had a fantastic season for West Ham United. He has managed three goals and four assists across 14 starts, the former from 27 shots in the box (7th), 15 shots on target (6th) and an xG of 5.29 (8th). He has also created 19 chances with an xA of 2.97.
He is another great value option as he provides both a goal and assist threat and with the Hammers forward on corners and free-kicks, this makes him a fantastic pick this gameweek and beyond given West Ham’s nice fixtures.
David Moyes’ men travel to Burnley in gameweek 16. The Clarets have conceded 21 goals (14th), 157 shots in the box (20th) and an xGC of 23.7 (15th). The Hammers on the other hand have been great going forward, scoring 28 goals (4th), with 132 shots in the box (5th) and an xG of 24.7 (5th).
Bowen has been a consistent performer for the east London side and already has one goal and three assists against Chelsea and Liverpool this season, who have the second and third best defences, respectively, in the league.
He is only owned by 3.7% of players at the moment, but with his goal and assist against Chelsea last week and great fixtures coming up, that is sure to increase. He has the best stats and most points (62) among the budget midfielders up to £7.0m and I am confident this trend will continue over their run of good fixtures.
Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) – Chelsea
Fixture: Leeds United (H)
Romelu Lukaku got off to a decent start this season with three goals in his first four games. His injury has kept him out for four gameweeks and he has been eased back since gameweek 13. With the Belgian getting 45 minutes last gameweek and 75 minutes and a goal in the midweek Champions League game against Zenit, I think he is sure to start in gameweek 16.
Chelsea host Leeds this week, which looks like a great fixture for Lukaku to get his first start in since gameweek 8. The Whites have conceded 22 goals (15th) with an xGC of 22.3 (13th). The Blues have been one of the best attacking sides this season scoring 35 goals (2nd) with 153 shots in the box (3rd), 85 shots on target (3rd) and an xG of 29.3 (3rd).
They have had no trouble scoring in the absence of Lukaku and I feel they will only improve with their best striker back fit. He is very likely to be in among the goals again. In his 10 appearances this season, Lukaku has had 17 shots in the box with an xG of 2.53 and has created 12 chances with an xA of 2.19. He is clearly a player who possesses both goal and assist threat. He is a proven Premier League player with 116 goals and 63 assists.
It will come as no surprise that Chelsea are the third favourites to score 2.5+ goals (45%) in gameweek 16. With Lukaku playing as their centre forward, he is the most likely to get their goals.
