FPL: @FPLReaction’ Top Three Picks for Gameweek 17

With the new round edging closer we bring in Fantasy Football Community and Fantasy Football Scout contributor @FPLReaction’ (Louis) to reel off his top three picks for Gameweek 17.

Here I will give you my top three picks for Gameweek 17 to try and help with that. There are some very obvious options with huge potential for the new round and whilst I will list them, I will also provide you with three different picks who I think could also do well.

The Obvious Options

Son Heung-Min (£9.6m)
Pedro Porro (£5.4m)
Dominic Solanke (£6.6m)
Cole Palmer (£5.5m)
Erling Haaland (£14m – if fit)
Phil Foden (£7.6m)
Bukayo Saka (£9m)
Ollie Watkins (£8.4m)
Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m)
Mohamed Salah (£13.2m)

Marcus Tavernier

Bournemouth, where has this uptake in form come from? It’s honestly astounding how they have turned things around recently. When it comes to their recent results the Cherries have won four of their last five league matches – with victories against Newcastle and Manchester United.

It isn’t just a run of good results that Bournemouth are producing, it’s their recent underlying attacking data too. In fact in the last six Gameweeks they sit second best for expected goals, joint third best for actual goals scored, second best for shots in the box and third best for total shots on target.

Luton are up next for Bournemouth which is a very good opportunity to pick up a result and score goals. Whilst many flock to Dominic Solanke, and with good reason, some could look to Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m). In terms of actual output the midfielder has managed 28 points in his last four games. Those points came from two assists and two goals. He also sits level for non-penalty expected goal involvement with Son Heung-Min in the last six matches.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Another side in a bizarre (or at least to me) run of form is Everton. The Toffees haven’t just scraped wins against clubs but they have looked very convincing whilst doing it. In fact, Everton won all three of their last league matches – netting six goals in the meantime.

Burnley are up next for Everton. The newly promoted sides seem to improving slightly recently. However, for them to avoid being targeted by fantasy managers they must improve a lot more than they have. Burnley sit as one of the worst defences in the league this season and investing in the Everton attack to benefit from that this week could be ideal.

Sean Dyche has done well managing Dominic Calvert-Lewin’ (£5.8m) minutes recently, but I suppose he hasn’t needed him with everyone else stepping up and results going right. But, he has started the last two matches on the bounce and picked up a return in his latest game. He is also both the focal point to the Everton frontline and penalty taker. I think Dominic Calvert-Lewin could really punish Burnley this week.

Nicolas Jackson

Take it from a Chelsea fan, the Blues have been frustrating as of late. Mixed results and inconsistency has led to doubt about their assets in general. This next pick is going to bring up some bad memories but he has a lot of potential this week.

Firstly, yes Sheffield United have been making slight improvements recently and a lot of that is probably down to the manager. However, we can’t forget that they lack a lot of quality overall and they are still conceding the worst defensive stats in the league.

Nicolas Jackson (£6.9m) is a player we expected much more of. It’s important to highlight that he has returned in three of his last six matches though (one being a double-digit return). He is also sustaining some excellent underlying data – ranking second amongst all players for non-penalty expected goal involvement in the last six Gameweeks. In addition, Jackson sits joint third in the same period for big chances total.