Here's something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, soccer fans. The Premier League returns a day early this week, with West Ham vs. Leicester City on Friday.
Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, one thing is universal among Fantasy Premier League players: We all love a good fantasy bargain. With that in mind, instead of 10 things you need to know, here are 10 players you should be grateful for -- players who rack up points, but also help you afford big stars.
Richarlison (6.5 million pounds): You've been hearing about him for several weeks now, if you're a regular reader of this column, and he delivered again this past Sunday in Watford's 2-0 win over West Ham, scoring the second goal of the game.
The Premier League rookie now has five goals on the season, and with 66 FPL points is ranked fifth among all midfielders, ahead of the likes of Raheem Sterling and Christian Eriksen (65 apiece). He has at least a goal or an assist in six of Watford's past seven league games.
There's no reason to think Richarlison won't keep this up. He took four more shots against West Ham, and remains second in the league in shots (43), behind only Harry Kane (64). A couple tough matchups loom after this coming weekend's game at Newcastle, with Watford facing Manchester United and Spurs in Gameweeks 14 and 15, but then their schedule eases considerably until the new year.
How is this guy only on 18.9 percent of FPL rosters? What are you people waiting for?
Stephen Ward (5.0 million pounds): Only three players from non-"Big Six" clubs have accumulated more than 60 FPL points through the first 12 weeks of the season. One is the aforementioned Richarlison, another is the to-be-mentioned Pascal Gross, and the third is Ward. He has a goal, an assist and seven bonus points, and he's obviously benefited from Burnley's six clean sheets in 12 games.
Burnley have been arguably the biggest surprise of the season so far -- they're currently in seventh place with 22 points, the same as Liverpool and Arsenal (trailing them only on goal difference). They blanked Swansea City last week, 2-0, and have now given up just nine goals in 12 games -- only the two Manchester clubs have given up fewer. You should have a Burnley defender on your team.
Ward's price has risen, but Ben Mee and Matthew Lowton both have 51 points and cost only 4.6 million pounds, if that's all you can afford. Burnley have a tough game this week, hosting Arsenal, but their following five opponents are Bournemouth (away), Leicester (away), Watford (home), Stoke (home) and Brighton (away).
Phil Jones (5.5 million pounds): Jones is ranked fifth among all defenders with 59 FPL points, despite missing Manchester United's 4-1 win over Newcastle last week due to injury. United have given up a league-low six goals in 12 games, with eight clean sheets. Jones was a part of all eight, and has collected eight bonus points as well.
You should have a Manchester United defender on your team, too, and Jones is the best option given his price. (Teammate Antonio Valencia has 63 points, but costs 6.7 million.) Jones has struggled with injuries in the past, so his current situation is worth monitoring closely. If he's out for an extended period, Chris Smalling will probably play regularly and only costs 5.4 million pounds. Smalling scored a goal against Newcastle last week.
Nicolas Otamendi (5.8 million pounds): Otamendi is tied for eighth among all defenders with 56 FPL points, despite missing Manchester City's 2-0 win over Leicester last week due to a one-game suspension for yellow-card accumulation. City have given up only seven goals in 12 games, with seven clean sheets. They limited Leicester to just two shots, with neither on target, last week.
It'd be wise to have a Manchester City defender in your squad as well, and Otamendi -- like Jones -- is the best option given his price. (Kyle Walker costs 6.6 million, and with 57 points is only one ahead of Otamendi.) Fellow centre-back John Stones is even cheaper (5.7 million), but suffered a hamstring injury against Leicester and is expected to miss several games.
Shkodran Mustafi (5.3 million pounds): Arsenal defenders are a little riskier as the Gunners have allowed 16 goals, more than twice as many as Manchester United and Manchester City. But they looked very solid at the back in their 2-0 win over Spurs last weekend.
That coincided with the return of Mustafi, who had missed the previous four league games due to injury. Before that, Arsenal had posted four consecutive clean sheets with Mustafi in the lineup. So that's five zeroes in a row with Mustafi on the pitch.
Fellow defender Sead Kolasinac is much more of an attacking threat, and Nacho Monreal has been more stable, playing the full 90 minutes in every single league game. But they are 6 million and 5.6 million pounds, respectively. If I was shopping for an Arsenal defender right now, I'd take a chance on Mustafi -- who also picked up a goal and three bonus points in his return last week.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (5.7 million pounds): Choupo-Moting is another player you've been hearing about in this column, and he scored his third goal of the season in Stoke City's 2-2 draw against Brighton on Monday. He also picked up three bonus points, and nearly had his fourth assist.
What I like most about Choupo-Moting (besides his price) is the fact that he's playing up front for Stoke right now, as opposed to in midfield. You're essentially getting a center forward in a midfield slot, and he takes a lot of shots -- 35 so far, ranking him fifth in the entire league. Stoke face Crystal Palace next week, who've given up 24 goals in 12 games -- only West Ham have given up more (25).
Pascal Gross (5.9 million pounds): Gross delivered for Brighton in the above-mentioned draw as well, scoring his third goal of the season, and also collecting three bonus points. In addition, he has five assists -- only three players in the league have more. And only one player has collected more than Gross' 11 bonus points: Kane (12).
With 68 points, Gross is ranked fourth among all midfielders -- with two more points than Richarlison (66), and 14 more than Choupo-Moting (54).
My big concern about Gross is that he's only taken eight shots in 12 games -- his expected goals total at this point is only 0.68. And three of Brighton's next five games are against Manchester United (away), Liverpool (home) and Spurs (away). There's no question Gross has been a steal so far this season, but I'm not convinced he'll keep up this level of production.
Wilfried Zaha (6.8 million pounds): Zaha only has 28 FPL points, but he has missed half the campaign thus far -- six games -- due to injury. If you double his production, he'd have 56 points -- two more than Choupo-Moting.
Since returning in Gameweek 8 against Chelsea, Zaha has scored three goals in five games, including a goal in Crystal Palace's 2-2 draw against Everton last weekend.
Yes, Palace is last in the table with just five points, and already facing a relegation battle. But look at their next seven games: Stoke (home), Brighton (away), West Brom (away), Bournemouth (home), Watford (home), Leicester (away) and Swansea (away).
Zaha has a proven track record, with seven goals and nine assists last season -- only five players had more assists. I expect him to continue to produce, especially in the next few weeks.
Oumar Niasse (5.0 million pounds): First, a word of caution ... don't add Niasse to your squad yet. He was just charged with diving on Tuesday by the FA, and could be facing a two-match ban.
However, in the long term, Niasse could be a super deal if you're looking for a budget forward. Everton have been a mess this season, but Niasse has been highly productive since making his debut in Gameweek 6, with five goals in seven games -- including a goal in each of the past two games.
But wait and see what happens with the FA, and also keep an eye on Everton's search for a new manager. The interim boss, David Unsworth, has started Niasse and played him the full 90 minutes the past two weeks. But a new manager could take a different approach.
Nick Pope (4.6 million pounds): If you don't want to spend big on a goalkeeper, Pope is your man. He's risen to third among all keepers in FPL points with 53, despite the fact that he didn't play in the first three games of the season.
We mentioned Burnley's outstanding defensive record above, and Pope has been a big part of that since replacing the injured Tom Heaton (who's going to be out for a while). He's tied for fourth in the league in saves, and has posted five clean sheets in his eight starts, including three in a row heading into Gameweek 13.
Pope has also picked up bonus points in his six of his eight starts, and nine bonus points in total. No other goalkeeper has more than six bonus points this season.