It's time to prepare for another week of the Fantasy Premier League season.
It's important to note that this week the action will start on Friday!
Gameweek 16 was marred by postponements due to COVID-19, resulting in an average of 37 points.
If you're in need of a scout for the seventeenth gameweek, look no further than our guide here.
Here are our FPL 2020/21 gameweek 17 tips.
Fantasy Premier League 2020/21 Gameweek 17 Deadline
The deadline for Gameweek 17 in the 2020/21 Fantasy Premier League is Friday 1st January 2021 at 16:00pm GMT.
FPL Gameweek 17 Fixtures
Here is the full list of fixtures for the opening gameweek of the Premier League:
- Everton vs West Ham (17:30 GMT - 1/1)
- Man United vs Aston Villa (20:00 GMT - 1/1)
- Spurs vs Leeds (12:30 GMT - 2/1)
- Crystal Palace vs Sheffield United (15:00 GMT - 2/1)
- Brighton vs Wolves (17:30 GMT - 2/1)
- West Brom vs Arenal (20:00 GMT - 2/1)
- Burnley vs Fulham (12:00 GMT - 2/1)
- Newcastle vs Leicester (14:15 GMT - 2/1)
- Chelsea vs Man City (16:30 GMT - 2/1)
- Southampton vs Liverpool (20:00 GMT - 3/1)
Gameweek 17 Fixture Difficulty
With Gameweek 17 Kicking off on Friday and running into Monday evening, you've got your pick of games to take advantage of.
Using a fixture difficulty tracker, we can see how difficult a team's fixture list is. Ideally, you should be working at a minimum of one game week ahead, ideally two.
Let's take a look at the top 5 teams going into the next three gameweeks.
- Arsenal: West Brom (A), Crystal Palace (H), Newcastle (H)
- Spurs: Leeds (H), Aston Villa (A), Sheffield United (A)
- Wolves: Brighton (A), Everton (H), West Brom (H)
- Everton: West Ham (H), Wolves (A), Aston Villa (A)
- Man City: Chelsea (A), Brighton (H), Crystal Palace (H)
The next few weeks are tough and it may be worth investing in your Wild Card or Free Hit soon as a number of teams have a blank gameweek in gameweek 18 including:
- Burnley
- Leicester
- Leeds
- Liverpool
- Manchester United
- West Ham
- Fulham
- Chelsea
- Southampton
- West Brom
This week is a tough one as we had four teams that didn't compete due to a COVID-19 outbreak including Tottenham, Fulham, Everton and Man City.
It may be wise not to choose any of these players for the upcoming week to avoid any nasty surprises.
Arsenal's Lacazette and Saka impressed, as we expected, in the past week and they would be a solid bet to do it all again against West Brom.
Spurs didn't play in the past week, but as always, Kane or Son are your best bets.
Wolves may be struggling for goals, but they're still getting results. Pedro Neto at just 6.0 million is a solid choice in midfield, alongside Roman Saiss in defence, costing just 5.0 million.
Everton missed out last week and seem to be struggling for goals lately. It wouldn't be my ideal choice for goal scorers, but they're doing a good job at the back. Yerry Mina or Michael Keane could be cheap and effective choices as they have some decent fixtures coming.
Man City start of the next three weeks with a game at Chelsea. It'll be a hot clash, but its followed by two comfortable fixtures. Sergio Aguero is definitely my pick of the bunch here.
Who To Pick In FPL Gameweek 17?
Marcus Rashford (9.5 million)
Rashford is really picking up steam now with two goals in two games, taking his tally to 7 goals this season.
I would wager that he will be able to bag a goal with the assistance of the in-form Bruno Fernandes.
A RASH DECISION: Is it too early to bring in the United forward?
Photo via @OfficialFPL
Nick Pope (5.4 million)
As one of the highest-scoring goalkeepers in the FPL, Burnley has had a decent spell of form.
Now they're up against Fulham, which is one of the easier matches they will face.
I would argue that a clean sheet for Burnley is on the cards and it could be time to draft the England keeper in.
Alexander Lacazette (8.2 million)
I don't often praise Arsenal players, especially two weeks in a row, but two goals in two for the Frenchman is enough to warrant a call up.
Especially given that their next fixture is against West Brom.
Andrew Robertson (7.3 million)
An expensive defensive choice, but for good reason.
The Scottish full-back's side has the best defensive record in the league, is on a number of set pieces and is regularly grabbing clean sheets.
A clean sheet and three bonus points against Newcastle has me confident he'll keep a clean sheet again when they meet Southmapton.
Wilfried Zaha (7.4 million)
I picked him out as a pick last week and he delivered.
I think he's going to be a good pick this week again, considering they're playing Sheffield United.
Who Else?
While I don't want to highlight the same players every week, there are some that you should already have in your squad and will likely provide good options this coming week.
If none of the above players take your fancy, why not try these:
- Heung-Min Son
- Bruno Fernandes
- Jamie Vardy
- Harvey Barnes
- Mohammed Salah
- Sadio Mane
- Gylfi Sigurdsson
- Harry Kane
- Ben Mee
- Olivier Giroud
Who To Avoid In Gameweek 17?
Callum Wilson (6.5 million)
Has hardly been a consistent pick this season despite having a number of goals behind him.
I think it's going to be another blank for the English hitman.
WILL HE SCORE?: Against Leicester, it's hard to see Callum Wilson scoring
Photo via @OfficialFPL
Kurt Zouma (5.9 million)
Despite having the second-best points tally in the FPL, for a defender, Chelsea have not had a good time at the back in recent games,
I think against the likes of City, it's best to avoid the Frenchman this week.
Jack Grealish (7.7 million)
The creative Englishman has gone off the boil a bit and with United on form and sniffing around for a title race, I wouldn't be surprised to see him blank again.
Che Adams (6.1 million)
I thought it was time to put him in two gameweeks ago and now I am severely regretting it - it's time to give him the boot.
Roberto Firmino (9.3 million)
I wouldn't be surprised if its another blank for the Brazilian forward, who's only had small fleeting moments of brilliance.
Who To Captain In Gameweek 17?
There are some tough fixtures and it's hard to pick out many candidates.
Here are some of my favourite candidates for captaincy this week:
- Heung-Min Son
- Bruno Fernandes
- Jamie Vardy
- Marcus Rashford
- Mohammed Salah
- Sadio Mane
- Gylfi Sigurdsson
- Harry Kane
- Wilfried Zaha
- Olivier Giroud
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
Fantasy Premier League