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Premier League Fantasy Picks: Castagne can shine and why Mitoma is your man

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Following the two-week international break and then a double gameweek, the Premier League fixture schedule returns to normal this weekend with 10 fixtures across two days.

That is not to say there are not still some huge selection decisions to make when it comes to picking your fantasy side in what is now very much the business end of the campaign.

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Some players are quite simply undroppable at this stage, while others look good value for those willing to take a gamble and make up some points.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform has picked out four players – one for each position – that look good value to help your side this weekend.

Emi Martinez (Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest)

Villa conceded against Leicester City last time out, but they have kept six Premier League clean sheets in 2023, with that tally bettered only by – surprisingly – Liverpool (seven).

Martinez has been in goal for five of those games, the Argentina international bringing the form he showed at the World Cup with him back to Villa Park.

He has made 38 saves this calendar year and has prevented 2.02 goals – only three goalkeepers have fared better – and is up against a low-scoring Forest side this weekend.


Timothy Castagne (Leicester City v Bournemouth)

Leicester are enduring a poor campaign and have struggled badly to keep clean sheets, doing so just six times all season in the Premier League.

Right-back Castagne has masked defensive inadequacies with some solid attacking play, however, with only three other defenders being involved in more goals this term (four).

In fact, of the defenders to have created at least 15 chances, only Trent Alexander-Arnold (33 per cent) has a higher proportion that are big chances than Castagne (31 per cent).


Kaoru Mitoma (Tottenham v Brighton and Hove Albion)

Brighton attacker Mitoma is not quite the unknown figure he was a few months back, with more and more flocking to put him in their team as the weeks go by.

The Japan international is the first Brighton player to register a goal involvement in five successive Premier League games, with that the longest ongoing run in the competition.

All 11 of his goal involvements this season have come since his first start on October 29 – only four midfielders have been involved in more during that period.


Gabriel Jesus (Liverpool v Arsenal)

Having slowly built up his fitness since returning from a three-month lay-off, Jesus marked his first start in the win over Leeds United with two goals.

The Brazil international, whose most recent start at club level prior to that was against Wolves in November, now has seven goals and five assists in 17 league games this term.

Jesus tends to perform well against next opponents Liverpool, too, as only against three other sides has he been directly involved in more goals than he has versus the Reds (six).

Upcoming Matches

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English Premier League
Gameweek 17 of 38
Saturday, 20 Dec
08:30 PM
Newcastle United-team-logo Newcastle United
Chelsea-team-logo Chelsea
11:00 PM
Brighton Hove Albion-team-logo Brighton Hove Albion
Sunderland-team-logo Sunderland
11:00 PM
Bournemouth AFC-team-logo Bournemouth AFC
Burnley-team-logo Burnley
11:00 PM
Manchester City-team-logo Manchester City
West Ham United-team-logo West Ham United
11:00 PM
Wolverhampton Wanderers-team-logo Wolverhampton Wanderers
Brentford-team-logo Brentford
Sunday, 21 Dec
01:30 AM
Tottenham Hotspur-team-logo Tottenham Hotspur
Liverpool-team-logo Liverpool
04:00 AM
Everton-team-logo Everton
Arsenal-team-logo Arsenal
04:00 AM
Leeds United-team-logo Leeds United
Crystal Palace-team-logo Crystal Palace
Monday, 22 Dec
12:30 AM
Aston Villa-team-logo Aston Villa
Manchester United-team-logo Manchester United
Tuesday, 23 Dec
04:00 AM
Fulham-team-logo Fulham
Nottingham Forest-team-logo Nottingham Forest

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