FPL tips and team of gameweek 23: Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz should haul v Ipswich
2025-01-23
Category: sports

Liverpool are the big Fantasy Premier League story this week, facing an Ipswich team who just conceded six goals against Manchester City.Mohamed Salah will be licking his lips, dreaming of a hat-trick and he gets the captain's armband back this week.Do you dare bet against him?The team of the week is selected based on current FPL prices to fit within a Â£100m budget, as if you were playing a Free Hit.
How did last week's team do?
Southampton scoring scuppered the double Nottingham Forest defence but 19 points from Phil Foden, 12 from Chris Wood and a cheeky six-pointer from Reece James led to a respectable but fairly average 54 points.Listen to the latest Fantasy 606 podcast on BBC Sounds.
Keeper and defence
Antonin Kinsky, Spurs, keeper, Â£4.5m - home to LeicesterSpurs aren't a defence you'd usually back but Leicester have scored just twice in their past seven games.Kinsky has impressed so far since signing for Spurs from Slavia Prague and the Czech keeper made four saves at Everton last week.With a bit of luck you could get a clean sheet and bonus-type performance.Lucas Digne, Aston Villa, Â£4.6m - home to West HamOnly Trent Alexander-Arnold (13) has created more big chances this season than Digne. The Frenchman is also top three for total crosses and the jury is out on West Ham's attack under Graham Potter.Fulham gifted them two goals when the Hammers won 3-2 a couple of weeks ago and they failed to break down Palace last week.Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool, Â£7.3m - home to IpswichTwo double-digit scores in his past four games, home to a struggling side and with a double gameweek coming up.Alexander-Arnold is about to become essential so put him in your team (if you can afford the whopping price tag!).Pervis Estupinan, Brighton, Â£5m - home to EvertonI'm not buying the idea that Everton will suddenly start scoring loads under David Moyes, despite putting three past Spurs last week.Brighton will control possession and that gives their full-backs chance to get plenty of attacking touches.Estupinan's underlying data is nothing special but it does tell us that he is Brighton's most likely defender to get a return.
Midfield
Mohamed Salah (captain), Liverpool, Â£13.7m - home to IpswichSalah's two back-to-back blanks - well done if you went against him with the armband - have taken his total this season to four.Four blanks in 22 games! That is an incredible performance from Salah and the chances of him making it three blanks in a row against a team that just conceded six to "out-of-form" Manchester City are very slim.You'd be brave to go against him again this week.Luis Diaz, Liverpool, Â£7.5m - home to IpswichThis feels like the game to attack this week but picking a second Liverpool forward asset is hard.Going for Diogo Jota last week didn't work, as he was injured before deadline. Diaz is probably the next most reliable forward to pick and he has four double-digit returns this season - eg massive upside!
Dejan Kulusevski, Spurs, Â£6.4m - home to LeicesterFPL players must go back and forth with Spurs. When in form, you can make a case for picking two attacking assets - they have that many options.When they put in a bad performance, you wonder what you were thinking backing them. Leicester have conceded 27 goals in 10 games on the road (only Wolves with 28 are worse) so I'm backing Tottenham's most consistent asset to produce.Kulusevski has 10 FPL returns this season and the most interesting stat is his key passes. He's made 56 in 20 starts - 23 more than the next player. #involvedLeandro Trossard, Arsenal, Â£6.8m - away at WolvesSince Bukayo Saka was injured in gameweek 17, Trossard has stepped up for Arsenal, with two goals and two assists in his four starts since then.Wolves have conceded three goals in each of their past three games, Arsenal need to bounce back after dropping more points in the title race and you fancy them to score at least a couple at Molineux.Trossard has been involved in 67% of Arsenal's goals since the Saka injury.Anthony Gordon, Newcastle, Â£7.7m - away at SouthamptonLast week was his first blank in seven games and, like team-mate Alexander Isak, Gordon has been a star performer during his side's run of six straight wins before they lost to Bournemouth.Southampton have conceded 11 goals in their past three games.Gordon's 22 shots in the past seven gameweeks is top five for midfielders - only two behind Cole Palmer - and makes him a very good shout for points here. 
Strikers
Jean-Philippe Mateta, Crystal Palace, Â£7.3m - home to BrentfordOver the past five weeks, only Alexander Isak (5) has more goals than Mateta's four.The Palace forward was imperious in a two-goal performance at West Ham last week and is starting to show the kind of form that led him to 16 goals last season.You can start him with confidence against a Brentford side with just one win on the road.Alexander Isak, Newcastle, Â£9.5 - away at SouthamptonThe Swede's run of goals had to end at some point and it did last week against Bournemouth after 11 goals in eight matches before that.See Gordon above for evidence of Southampton's porous defence. No overthinking here - start Isak until the goals dry up properly, if they ever do.
Subs bench
Matt Turner, Crystal Palace, keeper, Â£3.9m - home to BrentfordLewis Dunk, Brighton, defender, Â£4.3m - home to EvertonJan Bednarek, Southampton, defender, Â£4m - home to NewcastleDaniel Jebbison, Bournemouth, striker, Â£4.4m - home to Nottingham ForestTotal team cost: Â£96.9m
Player to watch
Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton, midfielder, Â£6.3mBrighton have a cracking run coming up, highlighted by games against Everton and Southampton. It's not too late to jump on Mitoma, who has goals in consecutive games and might be returning to his 2022-23 form.
Team to target
Liverpool - Ipswich (h), DOUBLE GAMEWEEK - Everton (a), Bournemouth (a), Wolves (h)It goes without saying that you want three Liverpool players for this upcoming period, with a double gameweek in the mix, unless you are going to put the assistant manager chip on Arne Slot.But who? The only reliable starters are in defence - Virgil van Dijk, Alisson and Alexander-Arnold (although even he is a slight rotation risk).They have an FA Cup game and an EFL Cup semi-final second leg sandwiched between Everton and Bournemouth too.So do you play it safe with Salah and double defence - or take a punt on an explosive second forward who might only start every other game?