Fantasy Premier League tips gameweek 17: Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Rayan Ait Nouri and more
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Foden owners can feel a little hard done by with his meagre returns, collecting just eight points over the last four. Injury has played a part, and he is still carrying “niggles” according to Pep Guardiola, but the underlying performance have been there to justify more points.
City midfielders are a must-have over this Christmas run. Bernardo is scoring points for fun but, all things being equal, we still prefer Foden. Even in his 35-minute cameo against Wolves, he had two excellent chances. Leeds could be punished.
Josh King
The debate over whether King or his Watford team-mate Emmanuel Dennis is the better 5.8m option up front rages on, splitting neatly along analytics versus eye test lines. King has the more impressive underlying statistics. Dennis has points on the board.
Both are good options, though King’s penalty-taking duties and lack of Africa Cup of Nations commitments make him the more sensible, long-term pick for those in the market for a budget striker. A visit to Burnley is tough but has potential.
Rayan Ait-Nouri
Wolves are really nothing to get excited about, with little going for them in attack, though Bruno Lage’s side have been more impressive at the other end of the pitch where Ait-Nouri provides a cheap route in at 4.3m.
As a wing-back, he has more license to get forward than the other defensive options and the worst of Wolves’ tough run is out the way after playing Liverpool and City back-to-back. It is not impossible to imagine them keeping Brighton’s blunt attack out.
Mason Mount
Even at nearly 20% ownership and a modest price of 7.6m, it feels like Mount is being overlooked given the consistency of his returns and his many routes to points. Three goals and two assists in three games is superb, whichever way you want to slice it.
The underlyings are also excellent and the visit of Everton is as good a fixture as any going around at the minute. Chelsea’s schedule dips slightly from an attacking perspective over Christmas, so be aware before buying, but Mount continues to provide value for money.
Chris Wood
There’s not much about Wood’s recent performances which stand out: no goal in his last three but two worryingly early substitutions before the 60-minute mark, leaving his owners with only a single point to show off.
Watford’s defence has been giving up chance after chance recently though and, with Maxwel Cornet doubtful, Burnley’s play will be directed towards Wood even more than usual and their run over Christmas is not the worst from an attacking perspective by any stretch.
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