Brighton FPL Gameweeks 18 & 19: Ayari due attacking returns
In a festive act as traditional as eating turkey, exchanging gifts and slurring songs, the Premier League delivers quick consecutive matches to the naughty and nice. It is a chance for players who have maybe gone under the radar in FPL this season to deliver as the hectic schedule makes rotation more likely – players like Yasin Ayari at Brighton.
Ayari’s fellow midfielder Mats Wieffer (£4.7 million) scored his first Albion goal in the Gameweek 17 draw at West Ham United, converting from a Lewis Dunk (£4.4 million) knockdown.
The result left Brighton in 10th place going into Christmas, just three points off the top five. Dunk’s assist meanwhile was perfectly timed after we highlighted in our Gameweek 17 preview the attacking threat posed by the Albion captain.
Who then from the Seagulls might shine in Gameweeks 18 and 19? Here are a couple of interesting players for FPL managers to consider.
Yasin Ayari (£5.0 million)
Brighton midfielder Ayari holds a lot of appeal as he is currently underachieving when it comes to FPL returns. He has racked up 13 efforts with five on target but is still yet to record a goal or assist.
It is not for a lack of trying, though. Ayari came off the bench at West Ham and forced Lukasz Fabianski (£4.1 million) into a couple of saves from threatening positions.
Furthermore, Ayari has created the third-most chances of any Albion player this season. His 15 come from just 852 minutes, giving him the joint-best rate (one per 57 minutes) of those Seagulls who have played over 220 minutes.
Not that potential buyers should be too concerned about his playing time. Before being named as a Saturday substitute, Ayari had started eight of nine matches for Brighton between FPL Gameweeks 8 and 16.
His naming on the bench at the London Stadium may well mean he has had his festive rest and will receive plenty of minutes from Fabian Hurzeler over the festive period.
Joao Pedro (£5.9 million)
A Brazilian international forward currently in over 2.4 million teams – including 46 percent of the top 100,000 – Pedro gets to test a Brentford backline that has conceded the most shots on target (111) of the season so far. Additionally, the Bees possess the league’s worst away record with just one point from eight trips.
As for Gameweek 19 opponents Aston Villa, Pedro’s only penalty miss from 14 career attempts occurred during May’s meeting. Though he still scored the rebound in a 1-0 victory.
Despite November’s back-to-back double-digit hauls versus Manchester City and Bournemouth, Pedro has not scored in his last five outings.
However, he has had seven subsequent shots inside the penalty area and has started six in a row. It is surely only a matter of time before he is back on the goal trail.
Captaincy
An unfortunate injury setback robs Bukayo Saka (£10.5 million) of armbands for when Arsenal host Ipswich Town on Friday.
FPL managers still have the enticing prospect of captaining Mohamed Salah (£13.5 million) versus Leicester. Last week’s huge 21-point haul in Spurs 3-6 Liverpool means Salah has reached 11 double-digit scores from 16 outings. Nobody exceeded 10 throughout the whole of last season.
Some may pick the form of Alexander Isak (£9.0 million) even with Newcastle United facing a tricky home tie against Aston Villa.
Cole Palmer (£11.3 million) meanwhile welcomes Fulham to Stamford Bridge for a West London Derby and Jarrod Bowen (£7.5 million) and West Ham away at struggling Southampton.
You can pick up expert advice throughout the 2024-25 Fantasy Premier League season with Fantasy Football Scout
