FPL Tuesday review: Managers should wait on Mitrovic

There was frustration for Aleksandar Mitrovic’s (£7.1m) backers in Fantasy Premier League as the Serb was booked in the first match of Fulham’s Double Gameweek 19. But his owners need not rush to make a move.

The most-bought player for this round of fixtures due to his two matches, Mitrovic collected his fifth caution of the campaign in the 1-0 win at Leicester City. He will now miss the Cottagers’ next match against Chelsea.

See: FPL stats: Mixed fortunes for Mitrovic owners

Over 21,000 FPL managers have already sold Mitrovic. But his owners need not consider a change before the next Fantasy deadline on 13 January.

He will be available again for Fulham’s Gameweek 20 encounter with Newcastle United.

Nonetheless, that trip to St James' Park is looking like a tricky fixture, given Newcastle kept their 10th clean sheet of the season in a goalless draw with Arsenal on Tuesday.

That result helped Nick Pope (£5.3m) and Kieran Trippier (£6.0m) strengthen their positions as the top-scoring goalkeeper and defender in Fantasy respectively.

Pope claimed a 10-point return, level with Fulham’s No 1 Bernd Leno (£4.5m) in the Gameweek so far among goalkeepers.

Trippier moved on to 124 points, second only to the 142 of Erling Haaland (£12.2m) in 2022/23 Fantasy.

Man Utd stars shining

Elsewhere, Manchester United pair Luke Shaw (£5.0m) and Marcus Rashford (£7.0m) delivered yet more returns for their growing band of owners.

Both were among the four most-bought players in the Gameweek, claiming 380,000+ new owners apiece for their home match against AFC Bournemouth.

Shaw produced his season-high 15 points, combining a goal with a clean sheet in the 3-0 win. 

Rashford’s strike took his tally to three goals and an assist in three outings since the season resumed.

However, Man Utd now have a tough short-term schedule, facing Manchester City and Arsenal in back-to-back Gameweeks.

Invest in Brighton attack

Finally, Brighton & Hove Albion’s attacking players continue to impress as value assets under Roberto De Zerbi.

Midfield trio Solly March (£5.0m), Kaoru Mitoma (£4.9m) and Pascal Gross (£5.6m) all scored in the 4-1 win over Everton.

March claimed his second double-figure return in three appearances, while Mitoma has blanked just once in his last five.

Seagulls forward Evan Ferguson (£4.5m) could also prove a handy pick for managers who favour a 3-5-2 formation.

He was handed his first start of the season after scoring as a substitute in the previous Gameweek. 

Ferguson seized his opportunity, delivering a goal, an assist and 11 points at Goodison Park.