What to expect from the four Gameweek 30 fixtures
Gameweek 30 has been at the back of FPL managers minds for many weeks. The addition of the Tottenham v West Ham game to the fixture list has made many FPL managers shift their strategy. We take a look at what to expect from the Gameweek 30 fixtures.
Arsenal and Spurs both play twice in Gameweek 29 and many managers were already invested in Aston Villa, Leeds and Wolves as a result of their Double Gameweek 28 fixtures. This means that some FPL managers will already have the backbone of the teams that Free Hit managers will be targeting. Regardless of FPL managers chip strategies targeting the right players is going to be key.
Gameweek 30 fixtures: Wolves v Leeds
There have been five previous meetings in the Premier League between Wolves and Leeds. Wolves have won three, Leeds just one and there has been one draw which came in the reverse of this fixture in October.
Neither side has won in their last three Premier League matches.
Across these two teams Raphinha is the top goal scorer with nine. Hwang and Jimenez both have five each. Jimenez has the most assists so far this season with three. On average this season Wolves create 1.07 changes per match, just slightly more than the 1 Leeds create on average.
Defensively Wolves have kept nine clean sheets this season, in comparison to just three for Leeds.
View from the community – FPL Reactions Louis
17 points and 7 teams between them in the table at the time of writing this but doesn’t tell the whole story. Wolves defensively fantastic and Leeds defensively woeful according to most stats, however recent defensive stats show a decline at the back for Wolves, they:
- Haven’t kept a clean sheet in the last 4 matches
- Joint worst (1st) in the league for most attempts in the box conceded (59) with Norwich in the last 4 matches.
- Second worst for shots conceded (85) in the last 4.
- Joint second worst for shots on target conceded (31) in the last 4.
- Second worst for chances created down their right flank (25) in the last 4.
With this in mind Jack Harrison could be perfect for this game. The 1.6% owned midfielder plays predominantly on the left side targeting that weaker right side of the Wolves backline and for that reason has a good chance of attacking returns.
Raphinha, another midfielder we could also consider and probably the more obvious pick without looking at the stats. The Brazilian talent is a danger to any opponent and that shows in his stats this season, he is:
- 3rd amongst all midfielders in the game for goal attempts with 69, only behind Salah and Mane.
- Joint 2nd amonsgt all midfielders for chances total with 52, level with a Kevin De Bruyne.
A reflection of both goal threat and creativity.
In terms of Wolves they also interest me against Leeds, in the last four matches Leeds are:
- 3rd worst for goal attempts conceded in the box
- Worst for shots on target conceded with 47
- 1st (worst) for big chances conceded with 21
- 1st (worst) for chances conceded on both their left and right flanks
People would argue that with the new Leeds manager in charge they seemingly improved defensively however still conceded a goal and still conceded 4 shots on target. This is already a defensive improvement for Leeds but isn’t removing the target on their back so to speak.
For that reason I would be looking again to attacking players one in particular is Pedro Neto. The midfielder can play on both the left and the right side and can hurt Leeds as we’ve already seen their flanks being their biggest weakness. Neto had a long period out with injury but now with minutes under his belt and a first place team position to secure again I believe he could be a great punt.
Another attacking Wolves asset I like the look of in this fixture is Hwang. The forward has been playing regularly, with three starts on the bounce and playing on the left side I think Hwang can really hurt that weaker right side of the Leeds backline.
Gameweek 30 fixtures: Aston Villa v Arsenal
There have been 53 Premier League meetings between Aston Villa and Arsenal. Arsenal have won 28, Villa 11 and there have been 14 draws. The most recent meeting between the two teams finished 3-1 to Arsenal back in October.
Arsenal have won each of their last four Premier League matches, with Villa winning their last three.
Across the two teams Emile Smith-Rowe is the top goal scorer with nine goals this season. Bukayo Saka has eight and Ollie Watkins is third with seven. Alexander Lacazette is top for assists with seven, Saka has five and Danny Ings has four.
On average both of these two teams create 1.12 chances per game. However Arsenal just edge Villa for average goals per match 1.64 to 1.42.
Arsenal have kept 11 clean sheets, in comparison to eight for Villa.
View from the community – Football Chatbox Ryan
Both teams come into this game with some decent form behind them. At the time of writing Gameweek 28 has just finished and Aston villa have somehow managed to sort their defence and keep three clean sheets in the last three games. While Arsenal on the other hand haven’t managed to keep a clean sheet in their last three.
In the last six matches the defensive stats for both teams look very similar, with Arsenal having the slightly better numbers.
In attack also we see a similar situation with Villa having more big chances but Arsenal having more quantity in terms of goal attempts.
From this we could probably expect to see a few goals. So, who should we target?
Looking at the data above for the last six gameweeks where both teams have played seven games each. Its safe to say the best picks are Lacazette and Saka from Arsenal while Coutinho and Watkins seem to be the best picks for Aston Villa. Taking all the other fixtures in Gameweek 30 into consideration as well and the fact that most managers might have Kane upfront as well, my top three picks would be Saka, Lacazette and Coutinho. Both the Arsenal players are great picks going forward while Coutinho has some tricky fixtures to navigate from Gameweeks 30 – 34.
Gameweek 30 fixtures: Leicester v Brentford
There has been just one Premier League meeting between these two clubs. Leicester won this 1-2 back in October.
Both teams won their last Premier League match in Gameweek 28, however neither has been in the best form over recent weeks.
Across the two teams injured Jamie Vardy has scored the most goals with 10. Ivan Toney has nine and James Maddison has returned seven. Harvey Barnes and Kelechi Iheanacho are top for assists with five each and Patson Daka has three.
Both teams have kept five clean sheets so far this season.
Leicester on average create 1.24 chances per match in comparison to 1.07 for Brentford. On average Leicester score more goals per match than Brentford. However Brentford concede fewer goals on average per match than Leicester.
View from the community – FPL Partridge
Leicester won just one of the seven matches that Jamie Vardy missed through injury recently. Meanwhile Vardy’s last three appearances have all resulted in Leicester wins alongside a clean sheet.
This highlights just how important the forward is to The Foxes and without him they may struggle again.
Leicester come up against a Brentford side coming off the back of their first win since Gameweek 21. Although he scored a hattrick from just three shots on goal in Gameweek 28, my Brentford pick would be Ivan Toney. A win and a hattrick should breed confidence, and if Brentford score there’s a good chance Toney will be involved.
Toney was top for goals amongst forwards in Gameweek 28.
With four assists and one goal in his last six appearances Harvey Barnes would be my top pick from Leicester. With Jamie Vardy out, the midfielder will be relied upon more heavily to chip in with goals.
Barnes is second across the game for goal attempts in the last two weeks.
Gameweek 30 fixtures: Spurs v West Ham
There have been 51 Premier League meetings between Spurs and West Ham. Spurs have won 24 in comparison to West Ham’s 17. There have also been 10 draws. West Ham have won the last two meetings between the sides in the Premier League.
Neither side have been particularly consistent in their last five Premier League matches. However, Spurs do appear to have improved significantly in the last two Premier League matches.
Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min is the highest scoring player across the two teams with 11 goals. Harry Kane has 10 and Michail Antonio is the third highest scoring with eight.
Injury doubt Jarrod Bowen is top for assists this season with eight. Antonio has seven and Son has five.
Spurs have kept 10 clean sheets this season, three more than West Ham who have seven. Spurs on average create 2.12 chances per match, in comparison to 1.57 for West Ham. However, West Ham score on average 1.64 goals per match in comparison to 1.54 for Spurs.
View from the community – FPL Family Sam
London derbies always throw up interesting results. Spurs have lost eight of their eleven London derbies in all competitions this season. They have won just four. West Ham have lost four, one three and drawn one.
This will likely be a game where Spurs continue to play attacking football in the way that Conte has shown he wants in recent games. With the wing-backs tasked with getting forward this could leave space on the wings for West Ham. If West Ham try to exploit this it could allow Spurs to play the counter attack football they enjoy.
Either way I suspect that both sides will score in this game. Especially as a result of both sides needing to win to stay in the race for fourth place.
Harry Kane is the most inform forward in the game currently. He is, in my opinion, the best captaincy option for Gameweek 30. I would pair him with Son and Kulusevski if budgets allow or just with Spurs’ new boy if budgets are tight.
Kane and Kulusevski are top for attacking returns with six each since Gameweek 26. Kane is also top for goals with five, big chances with six and expected goal involvements amongst forwards.
Matt Doherty has returned 32 points in the last two Gameweeks. He is tied top for attacking returns for outfield players in that time.
He has also created six chances, more than any other Spurs player.
West Ham’s best investment options also look to come in attack. We will need to wait for further news on Jarrod Bowen. Michail Antonio has registered just two assists in his last nine Premier League matches and so hasn’t been on the radar of FPL managers. For managers Free Hitting this week he could be a good option, however he hasn’t shown the form to make me want to invest for more than just the blank gameweek.
Spurs and Arsenal both play in Gameweek 30. We took a look at their assets ahead of their Double Gameweek 29 fixtures.
