Premier League fantasy football tips: Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, Pedro Neto, Ollie Watkins

There is not a right or wrong way to approach the next few gameweeks, it will all depend on the make up of your squad and when you think it’s best to use your chips.

I currently have a goalkeeper and eight outfield players who could feature, although one of those is Pervis Estupinan who seems to have lost his starting spot at Brighton.

My plan though is just to use my one free transfer, or possibly take a four-point hit with a second transfer to try and get a full 11 out, rather than play my Free Hit chip or use the wildcard.

I want to keep my two Tottenham players, Pedro Porro and Richarlison, because they are guaranteed a fixture in gameweek 29 when there will be a lot of teams blanking due to the FA Cup quarter-finals.

I feel it’s time to move Darwin Nunez on though because I’m backing Liverpool to beat Southampton in the FA Cup which means they would be one of those teams who blank in gameweek 29 and they also have a tough fixture against Manchester City in gameweek 28.

Diogo Jota is also an obvious sell this week given his injury.

As I say though there are different ways to play this and if you own Virgil van Dijk, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo, as well as Cole Palmer, Alfie Doughty and a couple of Tottenham players, then you might feel the Free Hit is the best option this week to hold onto them for gameweeks 27 and 28, by which time we will also have all the information on which teams are definitely going to play in gameweek 29.

The Free Hit will certainly be a popular chip in gameweek 29 and another way to go would be to play the wildcard this week or next week to plot your way through it all.

I suggested a potential gameweek 26 wildcard squad in this week’s Fantasy 606 podcast which went as follows…..

Goalkeepers – Alphonse Areola, Neto

Defenders – Gabriel, Pedro Porro/Destiny Udogie, Pau Torres, Alfie Doughty, Marcos Senesi

Midfielders – Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Son Heung-Min, Hwang Hee-Chan/Pedro Neto, Douglas Luiz

Forwards – Erling Haaland, Ollie Watkins, Dominic Solanke

The plan would be to make no transfers in gameweek 27, going for the risky move of replacing Haaland with Elijah Adebayo or Carlton Morris for Luton’s double in gameweek 28 and then bringing another Tottenham midfielder and Ivan Toney in for gameweek 29.

It gives you plenty of Bournemouth and Luton coverage for the double in 28 and at least eight guaranteed starters for 29, with a couple more in Doughty and Adebayo if Luton and Nottingham Forest both get knocked out of the FA Cup.

You do have to think how you would get Haaland back into your squad from gameweek 30 onwards, and possibly Mohamed Salah as well. I also think the wildcard would be better deployed in gameweek 27 when we know the outcome of the FA Cup fifth-round ties but it’s something to consider this week if you’re trying to get a jump on the field or just if you feel like you’re completely stuck.

Captaincy

If you fancy backing against Haaland then there are some enticing options, particularly Pedro Neto or Hwang Hee-Chan for Wolves’ home fixture against Sheffield United, who have conceded 65 goals in 25 Premier League games this season.

I also like the look of Ollie Watkins with Aston Villa at home to Nottingham Forest or an Arsenal attacker as they look to continue their free-scoring league form against Newcastle on Saturday night.

Fixtures to target

I’m really tempted to bring Neto or Hwang into my squad this week even though it won’t help me in the longer term as Wolves may well blank in gameweek 29.

The potential short-term gains to be had in games against Sheffield United, Newcastle and Fulham could outweigh this though and if you already know you’re going to use your Free Hit chip in gameweek 29 then it’s not an issue.

If you don’t want to use your Free Hit chip in gameweek 29 then Aston Villa players are the ones to go for this week – Ollie Watkins is the obvious choice but in defence and midfield it depends on your appetite for risk.

Pau Torres looks like the safest pick in terms of minutes on the pitch although Alex Moreno is more likely to bring you an attacking return. The problem there is that Lucas Digne is fit again and offers competition for that left-back spot.

Similarly in midfield you know that Douglas Luiz will start every game if he’s fit and also takes penalties, which is why he’s one of the top 10 highest-scoring midfielders this season, but Leon Bailey plays in a more attacking role and is more likely to get you a goal from open play.

Differentials

It’s back to the Wolves boys – Pedro Neto and Hwang Hee-Chan are both under 5% owned at the time of writing so no need to look any further.

Gamble of the week

Playing the wildcard. I prefer taking a few points hits on transfers to navigate the next four gameweeks and saving my chips for the run-in but, as I said at the top, there are lots of different ways to play this game and there are more than half-a-million managers playing it better than me at the moment!