Fantasy Premier League

FPL Saturday review: Midfield differentials go big

By The Scout 15 Jan 2023

Mathias Jensen and Solly March among a number of low-owned players to impress in Gameweek 20

Solly March (£5.0m) was among a host of overlooked midfielders in Fantasy Premier League to produce a bumper haul on Saturday.

The Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder claimed his season-high score of 19 points in a 3-0 win over Liverpool, thanks to two goals and an assist.

His display against the Reds continued a remarkable turnaround in output.

March has produced all three of his double-figure returns in the four Gameweeks since the season resumed, amassing 44 of his 88 points for the season in that time.

Yet he is owned by a mere 1.8 per cent of managers ahead of a kind upcoming schedule.

According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), each of Brighton’s next nine matches score no more than three.

Brighton's next 10 Gameweeks

GW	Opp.	FDR	GW	Opp.	FDR
21	LEI (A)	3	26	WHU (H)	2
22	BOU (H)	2	27	LEE (A)	2
23	CRY (A)	3	28	MUN (H)	3
24	FUL (H)	2	29	BRE (H)	2
25	NEW (A)	3	30	TOT (A)	4

His team-mates Kaoru Mitoma (£4.9m) and Evan Ferguson (£4.5m) provide further options in the budget bracket, with both also getting attacking returns against Liverpool.

Ward-Prowse strong under Jones

James Ward-Prowse (£6.2m), Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.5m) and Brentford's Mathias Jensen (£4.8m) also made a huge impact as overlooked assets, each claiming double-figure returns.

Ward-Prowse has blanked only once in Southampton’s five matches under Nathan Jones.

He scored both of their goals in a 2-1 win at Everton, taking his tally to 29 points in four outings since the season resumed.

James Ward-Prowse crosses the 1,000 point mark in #FPL 👏👀

Playing in an advanced role, he's now scored four goals in four matches!#EVESOU pic.twitter.com/gTx6rAwveF
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) January 14, 2023

Gibbs-White, meanwhile, continues to thrive in home matches for Nottingham Forest.

His two assists against Leicester City earned him 10 points, his third double-figure return in his last four outings at the City Ground.

Jensen, meanwhile, scored in a 2-0 win over AFC Bournemouth to take his tally to three goal involvements in his last four appearances.

Johnson can offer forward value

Forest forward Brennan Johnson (£5.6m) claimed his season-high haul of 12 points by scoring both goals against Leicester.

Johnson could offer strong value over the short term, with each of Forest’s next three matches scoring two in the FDR.

Captain Rashford over Haaland?

Marcus Rashford (£7.1m) rewarded his huge numbers of new owners by scoring the Manchester derby winner at Old Trafford.

The Manchester United star was the second most-bought player for Double Gameweek 20, collecting 815,000+ new owners.

Rashford has now scored in each Man Utd's seven matches across all competitions since the season resumed.

Despite that prolific run, he was captained by a mere 431,000 managers compared with the 6.64 million of Erling Haaland (£12.2m).

Haaland blanks 😱

He fails to score or assist in successive matches for the first time this season!#FPL #MUNMCI pic.twitter.com/V8Vs3pAub8
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) January 14, 2023

Rashford’s form, combined with Haaland’s blank in his first of Manchester City’s two Double Gameweek matches, shows why more managers should consider handing the Man Utd star the armband over the coming Gameweeks.