MY ACCOUNT
Matchday 31 is here and the run-in requires points — lots of them.
Of course, picking the players who earn surprise points is a big part of fantasy football, but at this point of the season, do you really want to be taking risks?
With that in mind, we lead you by the hand with Opta data as we pick four players who might just give you those precious extra points in the latest Premier League gameweek.
EDOUARD MENDY (Chelsea vs Brentford)
Edouard Mendy provides value, given Chelsea have won their previous five matches and will be facing a Brentford severely down on form, having won only two in 11 (against Norwich City and Burnley).
Despite the turbulent circumstances the Blues have faced of late, they powered into this past international window, with four clean sheets in their past five league games.
Among all Premier League goalkeepers with a minimum of 450 minutes played in 2022, only Alisson has kept more clean sheets and conceded fewer goals per 90 than Mendy.
BEN WHITE (Crystal Palace vs Arsenal)
Aside from their loss at home to a Liverpool side that is rolling at present, Arsenal have been in otherwise solid form of late.
Clean sheets against Aston Villa and Leicester City sandwich the Liverpool defeat, and Ben White has been a pivotal figure in the Gunners’ defensive output.
Among Premier League central defenders this season, Ben White has the second-highest tally of clean sheets with 13, behind only Virgil van Dijk’s 17. The last time Arsenal kept more in a single campaign was in 2015-16 (18).
MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool vs Watford)
This might be stating the obvious, but if you can afford Salah, bring him in and make him your captain straight away like he’s an old professional playing Sunday League.
Mohamed Salah has been in intimidatingly great form this season, and in the thick of a Premier League title race, rotation from Jurgen Klopp coming out of an international break is unlikely.
The Egyptian attacker averages a goal or assist every 57 minutes against Watford, the fourth-best ratio one player has against a club in Premier League history, with a 600-minute cut-off.
With nine goals and two assists in seven games against the Hornets, only versus West Ham (12 goal involvements) has Salah been more productive since he arrived in Liverpool.
SON HEUNG-MIN (Tottenham vs Newcastle)
Despite Tottenham’s somewhat volatile form in the New Year, Heung-Min Son has been one of the few constants for Spurs since his return from a hamstring injury.
In the nine games since his February return, the 29-year-old has provided five goals and two assists. He has come to life under Antonio Conte in 2022, with his eight Premier League goal involvements this calendar year bettered by only Harry Kane (12).
Meanwhile, of the Premier League’s top 10 players in goal involvements, only Bruno Fernandes (29) and Kevin de Bruyne (23) have created more chances than Son (21), which is all the more impressive given he’s not Spurs set-piece taker.
