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FPL Gameweek 20 preview: News, injuries, suspensions, fixtures, picks and analysis

FPL Gameweek 20 preview: News, injuries, suspensions, fixtures, picks and analysis
Fantasy Focus - Cunha to produce the goods again?
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2024 has come to an end and the New Year arriving also marks the halfway point of the Premier League season.

Liverpool have reigned supreme so far, sitting six points clear of Arsenal in second with a game in hand on the Gunners too.

Mohamed Salah was the pick of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) yet again, earning managers 16 points for his performance in the 5-0 drubbing of West Ham United during gameweek 19.

Ahead of each FPL gameweek, we'll be keeping you up-to-date with all the latest that's going on, including transfers while the windows are open, injury news, suspensions, who's playing who and our in-depth analysis of what you need to be thinking about.

Here's indy100's preview for FPL gameweek 20.

Mohamed Salah Liverpool Football Club during the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Liverpool FC at London Stadium on December 29, 2024 in London, EnglandMo Salah continues to be unstoppable for Liverpool / Richard Pelham, Getty Images

FPL gameweek 20 picks - what to think about

The January transfer window is now open. The mid-season window is usually quite quiet for major transfers but it's worth keeping an eye on what business is done still as there can be a number of key loan deals, especially for clubs fighting it out towards the bottom end of the table - we'll have all the major deals that happen in our FPL previews going forward.

On top of that, the second Wildcard chip of the season can now be played.

If your team is performing well, it may be worth holding off on using this to see what deals are done through January and which players are due to return from injury so you can get them back in your squad.

But if your team is underperforming, now is the chance for a complete overhaul if needed.

Another thing to consider is that after gameweek 20, there is a slight break for the FA Cup before a midweek round, so managers would have more time to plan what they want to do following the festive period.

Onto player picks; it feels this has been written week in, week out, but Liverpool assets are the way to go, especially Salah who is the standout player of the season so far.

Both Liverpool and Arsenal do not have a green gameweek fixture in the next three.

FPL has four difficulty rankings of fixtures - green (2) is the so-called 'easiest' with this then going through neutral (3), light red (4) and dark red (5), which is what is referred to through this analysis.

Arsenal have injuries but that means more affordable options are likely to feature and potentially play key roles for FPL managers.

Nottingham Forest, who have been the season's surprise package, sit third in the PL table and only have one red fixture at all in their next six.

The Reds have won their last five in a row in a run which has included games against Manchester United, Aston Villa and Spurs.

Chelsea have slipped to fourth and are winless in three but have two neutral and one green in their next three fixtures.

Newcastle United's form over the festive season has been scintillating with four wins on the spin to propel the Magpies to fifth - they have Spurs away next up with no red fixture in the four games after that.

Lewis Hall and Alexander Isak have proven popular and fruitful picks.

Manchester City got back to winning ways last time out, albeit with an unconvincing 2-0 win at Leicester City, but have two green in their next three.

Fulham and Bournemouth both continue to be impressive - Fulham now have three green fixtures in a row but Bournemouth have a more tricky run with just one green in their next five.

Aston Villa's form continues to fluctuate and Brighton have not won in their last seven. Spurs continue to score well but injuries to a number of key defenders have seen them be incredibly leaky at the back.

One team to consider over the coming weeks could be Crystal Palace - the Eagles have recovered to some extent after a poor start to the season and after the upcoming game against Chelsea, Palace have no red fixture in their next eight games.

Southampton have a decent run too with no red fixture in their next seven but have just six points from their opening 19 games.

Jarrod Bowen of West Ham injury during the Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Liverpool FC at London Stadium on December 29, 2024 in London, EnglandWest Ham United's Jarrod Bowen fractured his foot in the 5-0 loss at home to Liverpool last time out / Richard Pelham, Getty Images

FPL injuries

Each gameweek, this is a comprehensive guide to players who are out or are a doubt for each club in the order they appear for their club in FPL.

If they have a knock and a chance of playing, this will be reflected (if they have a 75 per cent chance of playing, the number will be by their name in brackets, the same for 50 per cent chance and so on), otherwise they are ruled out.

This is correct at the time of writing.

  • Arsenal - Ben White, Tomiyasu Takehiro, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling (50), Kai Havertz (75)
  • Aston Villa - Pau Torres (75)
  • Bournemouth - Adam Smith, Marcos Sensei, Julian Araujo, Marcus Tavernier, Luis Sinisterra, Tyler Adams (75), Alex Scott
  • Brentford - Ethan Pinnock, Kristoffer Ajer, Ben Mee (75), Rico Henry, Aaron Hickey, Fabio Carvalho (75), Josh Dasilva, Gustavo Nunes, Igor Thiago
  • Brighton - Pervis Estupinan (75), Ferdi Kadioglu (25), Adam Webster (75), Jack Hinshelwood (25), Mats Wieffer (75), James Milner (25), Danny Welbeck (25), Evan Ferguson (75)
  • Chelsea - Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia (50), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (25), Omari Kellyman
  • Crystal Palace - Adam Wharton, Matheus Franca, Franco Umeh-Chibueze (25)
  • Everton - Seamus Coleman (75), Dwight McNeil (50), Tim Iroegbunam, James Garner
  • Fulham - Kenny Tete, Reiss Nelson, Sander Berge (50), Harrison Reed
  • Ipswich Town - Axel Tuanzebe, Massimo Luongo (75), Chiedozie Ogbene, George Hirst
  • Leicester City - Mads Hermansen, Wout Faes (50), Ricardo Pereira, Wilfred Ndidi, Abdul Fatawu, Kasey McAteer
  • Liverpool - Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley
  • Manchester City - Ederson (50), Ruben Dias, John Stones (50), Matheus Nunes (50), Rodri, Oscar Bobb
  • Manchester United - Victor Lindelof (25), Luke Shaw, Mason Mount
  • Newcastle United - Nick Pope, Emil Krafth, Sven Botman (50), Jamaal Lascelles, Callum Wilson
  • Nottingham Forest - Murillo (75), Callum Hudson-Odoi (75), Ibrahim Sangare, Danilo (25)
  • Southampton - Gavin Bazunu, Jack Stephens, Juan Larios, Flynn Downes (75), Will Smallbone (75), Ross Stewart
  • Spurs - Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie (75), Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore, Richarlison
  • West Ham United - Lukasz Fabianski (25), Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio
  • Wolves - Yerson Mosquera, Mario Lemina (75), Pablo Sarabia, Boubacar Traore, Enso Gonzalez, Sasa Kalajdzic

FPL suspensions

Some players have picked up suspensions or are ineligible to face their parent club after joining a different team on loan.

Again, this is correct at the time of writing.

  • Arsenal - Jurrien Timber
  • Aston Villa - Morgan Rogers, Jhon Duran
  • Chelsea - Mykhailo Mudryk
  • Crystal Palace - Trevoh Chalobah
  • Liverpool - Dominik Szoboszlai
  • Newcastle United - Fabian Schar
  • Southampton - Mateus Fernandes
  • Spurs - Rodrigo Bentancur

FPL gameweek 20 fixtures

These fixtures kick-off on Saturday (4 January) at 3pm GMT unless stated otherwise.

  • Aston Villa v Leicester City
  • Bournemouth v Everton
  • Brighton v Arsenal (Sunday, 5.30pm)
  • Crystal Palace v Chelsea
  • Fulham v Ipswich Town (Sunday, 2pm)
  • Liverpool v Manchester United (Sunday, 4.30pm)
  • Manchester City v West Ham United
  • Southampton v Brentford
  • Spurs v Newcastle (Saturday, 12.30pm)
  • Wolves v Nottingham Forest (Monday, 8pm)

A composite image of Arne Slot and Ruben AmorimLiverpool and Manchester United have had very contrasting fortunes so far this season / Richard Pelham & Stu Forster, Getty Images

When does the next FPL gameweek start?

There's a slight break for the FA Cup next weekend, so the next FPL gameweek starts on Tuesday, January 14 with three games at 7.30pm.

Players can still join in and play and if you've missed it, indy100 has put together some tips and strategies to get you started:

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