Palmer & Jackson to shine at Saints - FPL tips & team of the week

Games are coming thick and fast in Fantasy Premier League at the moment, with a full midweek round coming up, so now's the time to be looking at how strong your bench is.

Another lesson learned this week - don't get too excited by in-form budget players and slap the captain's armband on them!

Joao Pedro seemed like such a good captain pick in gameweek 13 but returned a two-pointer. Doh!

It's back to a premium captain this week.

The team of the week is selected based on current FPL prices to fit within a £100m budget, as if you were playing a Free Hit.

How did last week's team do?

Despite a flop from captain Joao Pedro, a double Manchester United clean sheet and hauls from Marcus Rashford (14), Cole Palmer (14) and Bukayo Saka (18) led to a very nice 71 points.

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Keeper and defence

Arsenal's Gabriel has scored three goals this season

Stefan Ortega, Manchester City, keeper, £5.2m - home to Nottingham Forest

Two weeks ago, triple Arsenal defence paid off against Forest at home so we're going back to the well again.

Arsenal restricted Forest to zero shots on target in that match. City's defence isn't quite as good and they've played pretty poorly recently.

However, they still have quality players and have managed at least 11 clean sheets per season under Pep Guardiola - with 20 three seasons ago.

Ortega was picked ahead of Ederson against Liverpool and I've got a decent back-up just in case.

Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City, £6.2m - home to Nottingham Forest

Paired with Ortega is City's best defender, Gvardiol.

He's got the best goal threat - 18 shots on target is the second-most in the Premier League among defenders - and is worth the money if you can afford him.

I think he comes back into the side after being benched at Liverpool.

Gabriel, Arsenal, £6.2m - home to Manchester United

United have conceded 14 shots from set-pieces this season, which is the third-worst total in the league.

Gabriel has 13 shots in the box and six big chances - pretty much all headers from corners!

So, in a week that could produce few clean sheets, picking the league's most likely scorer from a corner is the plan.

He's a bit of an injury doubt, but a strong first substitute can cover that.

Leif Davis, Ipswich Town, £4.5m - home to Crystal Palace

Davis has been in this team a couple of times and he's one of the best £4.5m picks in the game, for his attacking threat.

Palace have been pretty toothless recently and Daniel Munoz plays high up as a right wing-back for them, meaning there will be space down that flank for Davis.

Midfield

Palmer's 14 returns in 13 games is incredible and he has 13 bonus points too

Cole Palmer (captain), Chelsea, £11m - away at Southampton

Palmer feels like the obvious captain choice this week.

Only Mohamed Salah and Antoine Semenyo have had more shots from midfield than Palmer's 38 this season.

He faces a Saints side who have conceded a whopping 235 shots this season (second worst in the league) and 81 on target (second worst).

After a failed Joao Pedro captain experiment last week, it is back to premiums and Palmer is the best option.

Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, £13.2m - away at Newcastle

It's hard to leave out Salahat the moment. He's been sensational this season and the only factor keeping him from the captain's armband is Newcastle being far better defensively than Southampton.

Brennan Johnson, Spurs, £6.7m - away at Bournemouth

It's hard to ignore Johnson's form this season, with six league goals now and two in his past two games.

Spurs on the road, on the right day, can be emphatic and you'd expect them to have plenty of counter-attacking opportunities at Bournemouth.

Alex Iwobi, Fulham, £5.6m - home to Brighton

All the FPL hype has been about Emile Smith Rowe but Iwobi has quietly become Fulham's top-scoring midfielder.

He's in hot form, with four returns in his past five games, and faces a Brighton side who probably won't park the bus.

Strikers

Jamie Vardy got an assist in the defeat at Brentford on Saturday

Jamie Vardy, Leicester City, £5.5m - home to West Ham

Pure gut feel, this pick.

In manager Ruud van Nistelrooy's first match in charge - the man whose Premier League record for goals in consecutive games Vardy beat - it would be poetic if he helped his side to victory with a goal or two.

Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa, £9m - home to Brentford

Watkins is a very steady FPL pick, with six goals and two assists this season.

I like him especially this week because of Brentford's defence. For all those Southampton statistics above, Brentford are even worse.

That bodes well for Watkins, who has missed 11 big chances this season - meaning he should have scored at least 10 by now.

Nicolas Jackson, Chelsea, £8.1m - away to Southampton

I feel guilty for not picking Jackson so far this season in the team of the week.

Jackson's three double-digit hauls this season have all been away from home and a simple eye test shows how involved he is in almost every Chelsea attack.

Subs bench

Caoimhin Kelleher, Liverpool, keeper, £4.5m - away at Newcastle

Newcastle could struggle without Alexander Isak, presuming the Swede misses out with injury.

Marc Cucurella, Chelsea, defender, £5m - away at Southampton

First sub Cucurella is a decent shout for the next few games, with Chelsea having a nice run of fixtures. He got his first attacking return this season last gameweek with an assist.

Joao Gomes, Wolves, midfielder, £4.9m - away at Everton

A regular Wolves starter with two double-digit returns this season against a leaky Everton defence.

Dara O'Shea, Ipswich, defender, £4m - home to Crystal Palace

A decent budget option for third sub.

Team total cost: £99.6m

Player to watch

Omari Hutchinson joined Ipswich from Chelsea in the summer

Omari Hutchinson, Ipswich Town, £5.2m

The former Chelsea winger scored 10 in the Championship last season yet only has one so far in the Premier League - a screamer against Manchester United.

Ipswich face Crystal Palace and Bournemouth at home before a trip to Wolves in their next three - Hutchinson could be a good budget enabler.

Team to target

Newcastle United - Brentford (a), Leicester (h), Ipswich (a)

Eddie Howe's side face three of the league's worst defences in their next three.

If Isak is injured for a while then Callum Wilson (£6.9m) could be a bargain while Antony Gordon could kick-start his season with this run.