Busy schedule continues and with Champions League games in midweek, FPL managers will be preparing for Gameweek 17 of Fantasy Premier League.
Now, let’s dive into our FPL GW17 Tips with the best picks, fixtures, transfer targets, odds, captain picks, and team selection.
1. Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 17 Tips
- Do not forget, there is a blank gameweek in GW18 and that soon AFCON and Asian Cup will start (in GW21) and some players could potentially miss 3-4 gameweeks (see our FPL calendar)
- Read more which players will miss due to AFCON and Asian Cup in our article: Which players go to AFCON and Asian Cup? (+Impact on FPL)
- Try to save 1 free transfer so you to have 2 free transfers before GW18 – but that is almost impossible with Haaland likely out
- Bournemouth has amazing next 3 fixtures, Solanke and Tavernier could be great differentials
- Wait for Haaland news – press conference on Friday. Haaland should return to Man. City training on Thursday.
- Trippier limped off during the Champions League game, but (before press conference) so far we do not know how serious that could be – so hold him so far (at least until press conference on Friday)
- Gordon’s play during the Champions League game was limited by a hamstring issue – wait for press conference to decide what to do with him
- Areola is back in squad, was on bench during Europa League game
- Looking for a Christmas gift for FPL, Fantasy Football manager? Check our article: 6 Books that will help you improve your FPL skills
Read more: What to do with Haaland before GW17?
Haaland injury news from press conference
PEP 💬 (On Haaland injury update) He arrived today, he will see the doctors and then we will see. He has had treatment. Hopefully, he can travel to Saudi… I don’t think he will be ready to play this weekend… It’s not a fracture, just stress. The doctors say we have to take it… pic.twitter.com/1VRLG6rjQm
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 15, 2023
Haaland is a sell for us.
Gordon’s and Trippier injury news (after UCL game)
Update from press conference:
What to do with Trippier and Gordon?
So, there is basically nothing new on Trippier and Gordon.
- Gordon – Keep or sell? He is KEEP for us, there is a chance he might be for GW17 and most of us has other more urgent issues to solve
- Trippier – Keep, bench or sell? If you do not have other more pressing issues in your team, you could sell him as he is suspended for GW17 so he will not play. However, if you can cover his absence by some OK player from your bench, and need to use your free transfer rather on Haaland or other players, bench him.
2. Key players to pick and transfer tips for FPL GW17
Key players to pick
- Salah – great form
- Saka, Odegaard – aim to have at least one Arsenal midfielder
- Gabriel/Saliba/Raya – have at least one Arsenal defensive player
- Gordon – could be absolute gold during Newcastle’s fixture run, but wait for injury news
- Bowen
- Watkins
Transfer targets
- Dubravka – Pope replacement, you could transfer out Turner and keep Areola on the bench
- Thiago Silva
- Palmer – great fixture run for Chelsea
- Sterling – as differential, he hauled against Luton and Burnley, can he repeat it against Sheffield?
- Solanke, Tavernier – Bournemouth with great next 3 fixtures
Who to transfer out
- Haaland
- Johnstone, Andersen, Edouard
- Trippier
- Fernandes
- Mbeumo
- Reece James
- Diaby
- Pope
- Cash
- Turner
- Mitoma
- Onana
3. Fixtures to target in Gameweek 17
In which fixtures we could expect a lot of fantasy points? These are the fixtures to target in Gameweek 17 according to bookies odds.
- Chelsea vs. Sheffield: The Blues 84 % to win, 53 % to score 2.5+ goal
- Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace: Citizens 83 % to win, 52 % to score 2.5+ goal
- Liverpool vs. Manchester United: The Reds 65 % to win, 43 % to score 2.5+ goals
- Arsenal vs. Brighton: The Gunners 64 % to win, 38 % to score 2.5+ goals
Find 2.5+ goals odds for all teams in our article: Premier League Over 2.5 Goals Odds.
Teams with bad defensive stats (the season):
You can target players playing against them.
- Luton (38.30 xGC)
- Sheffield United (37.89 xGC)
- Bournemouth (30.85 xGC)
Source: Understat
4. Updated watchlists: Best players to pick in Gameweek 17 and beyond
We also looked at players from each position: goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards and updated our watchlists.
We examine which players are best picks in each price bracket: budget enablers, midpriced picks, and premium options. Check our watchlists with our ratings and comments here:
- Best FPL goalkeepers to pick in Gameweek 16 (Watchlist)
- Best FPL defenders to pick in Gameweek 16 (Watchlist)
- Best FPL midfielders to pick in Gameweek 16 (Watchlist)
- Best FPL forwards to pick in Gameweek 16 (Watchlist)
- FPL Differential Picks for Gameweek 16 and Beyond
5. Best captain pick in GW17
Well captaincy depends on whether or not Haaland is available for Gameweek 17. Salah could be great captain against Manchester United given their defensive struggles and Salah historical record against Red Devils – Salah scored in all last 5 Premier League games against Man. United.
What does our captaincy index suggest?
According to our captaincy index, Haaland has the highest captaincy index score of 1.9.
But as he is injury doubt, look rather for these other options:
Salah (captaincy index score 1.76) is the number 2 captaincy pick and Son (1.68) is number 3.
Sterling could be a great differential captain. Could he haul against Sheffield as he did against Luton and Burnley? Similarly, Arsenal faces Brighton who conceded in all games this season, so Saka is also an option as GW17 captain.
We are currently on Salah captain for Gameweek 17.
6. What bookies odds say about Gameweek 17
As usual, we converted bookies odds into probabilities using our Odds to probability calculator, to assess the potential of GW 17.
Clean sheet odds for GW17
Chelsea (57%) has the highest probability of a clean sheet in GW17. Bookies also favor Man City (56%) and Newcastle, Bournemouth (38 %) to likely keep a clean sheet in GW 17.
Bookies expect 4.85 clean sheets in gameweek 17. In last season, we were used to a rate of 5.45 per clean sheets gameweek. This season we have seen clean sheets at the rate of 4.18 clean sheets per gameweek.
Clean sheets are on the decline in the 2023/24 season.
Expected clean sheets
Due to correction in the number of clean sheets: Fulham, Bournemouth
Fulham overperformed their defensive expectations the most of all teams. They should have kept 3.18 clean sheets instead of 5 according to our expected clean sheets table.
Due to an improvement in the number of clean sheets: Brighton, West Ham
Brighton underperformed their defensive expectations the most from all teams. They should have kept 4.27 clean sheets instead of 0 according to our expected clean sheets table.
You can see the expected clean sheets table and clean sheet odds for all Premier League teams here.
Goalscoring odds for GW17
Check who leads any time goalscoring odds during Haaland’s absence here: Premier League Goalsocring Odds.
7. FPL GW17 Team selection
Now let’s look at our FPL team selection for GW17. Salah is our captain.
8. Fantasy Premier League Tips
Find more tips, strategies and picks for Fantasy Premier League in these articles:
- Beginner? Read our guide: How to play Fantasy Premier League
- Confused about the rules? Read the Official rules of the game or check our FAQs
- Want to beat your mini-league rivals? This article is for you: 7 Key Tips for Fantasy Premier League Success
- Interested in improving your decision-making process when picking players to your fantasy team? Check out Books that will help you to improve your FPL skills
We hope our FPL GW17 tips with the best picks, fixtures, transfer targets, odds, captain picks, and team selection helped you to gather some useful information before the Gameweek 16 deadline.
Feel free to JOIN our Fantasy Football Reports mini-league by clicking this link or using our league code ti56kl.
Good luck in FPL GW17!
