We ain’t afraid of no ghosts. In fact, we seek them – ghost points, that is. Ghost Points are fantasy points that do not come from attacking returns or clean sheets. These can come in the form of key passes, shots on target, successful dribbles, interceptions, and tackles, among others. Identifying these points is essential for your Fantasy EPL prospects, and our Gameweek 20 Ghost Point Hunters article is here to help!
This Ghost Point Hunters article is based on the Fantrax Scoring System. Check out our Ghost Point Tracker page for the full list of Fantasy EPL players and their respective Ghost Point capabilities!
Gameweek 20 Ghost Point Hunters
Taking advantage of a brief respite somewhat in between gameweeks (we haven't forgotten about you Fulham v Chelsea), GPH is hitting the wire pretty hard this week. We're highlighting 3 players all under 20% rostership on the big board: Luke Thomas, Cheick Doucoure, & Serge Aurier. Meanwhile, we're flagging some more household names in honorable mention: Liam Cooper (we talked him up the previous week), Ethan Pinnock, Tyler Adams, & Jordan Ayew. The Dr. Peter Venkman award hits close to home but it must be done: Oleksandr Zinchenko, you did this to yourself.
Luke Thomas
Position: Defender
Team: Leicester City
Rostered: 7%
Ghost Points Per Start: N/A (not enough starts)
Ghost Points Last GW: 11
Prospects: With James Justin out, the LB spot should be Thomas' ROS, barring any January transfer activity. He could be a solid DEF3 if he keeps ghosting like this.
Verdict: Pick him up!
As we've mentioned before, Leicester City fullbacks have a tragically short shelf life. Enter Luke Thomas. The youngster from the academy is currently sipping from the poisoned chalice at Left Back after James Justin picked up another season-ending injury. Thomas has been putting in ghost point shifts. In his last 4 starts, he is averaging just under 10 ghosties per start.
It is, thus, no surprise that Thomas dropped 11 scary scores this past GW. These stemmed from 1 Key Pass, 2 Tackles Won, 4 Interceptions, 2 Clearances, 1 Blocked Shot, & 2 Aerials. He seems to bag both offensive and defensive stats, which is always nice as it allows some ghosting flexibility. And while rare, Thomas can deliver attacking returns. The only problem is that the vaunted Leicester City defense from right before the World Cup break, which posted a string of clean sheets, is nowhere to be found, conceding 6 goals in the past 3 games. His ghost point floor, however, is a nice insurance policy. And if/when they do regain defensive solidity, Thomas will surely reap the rewards. A nice matchup against Nottingham Forest awaits.
Cheick Doucoure
Position: Midfielder
Team: Crystal Palace
Rostered: 18%
Ghost Points Per Start: 7.8
Ghost Points Last GW: 13
Prospects: He's a mainstay in the Palace engine room & is finding his feet again fantasy-wise. While difficult to predict when he'll ball out, he'll be a MID5/streamer ROS but is a must start in a DGW this week.
Verdict: Pick him up!
It's rare that we feature the same player multiple times in GPH in a given season. Cheick Doucoure is one of the few. This is not because he's an off the charts ghoster. Rather, it's because he came out of the blue and showed some early ghosting bonafides. Hence the first shout earlier this season. Then he went through quite an anti-purple (yellow?) patch before hitting his stride again very recently - hence this current (2nd) shout. And he's still available on a lot of waiver wires.
Cheicky is averaging 10 ghosts in his last 3 starts, most recently dropping 13 against Tottenham. These ghosties came in the form of 3 Key Passes (!), 3 Tackles Won, 2 Interceptions, 2 Clearances, 1 Successful Dribble, & 1 Blocked Shot. He combined his usual defensive activities with those 3 Key Passes. This is pretty rare but let's see if this part of his game keeps progressing. If so, he'll be a force. Either way, Doucoure is a good midfield option, especially this week given that Palace has a Double Game Week (Chelsea & Man Utd). Even with the somewhat difficult fixtures, he fits the mold of the defensive midfielder that racks up a decent points haul across two games.
Serge Aurier
Position: Defender
Team: Nottingham Forest
Rostered: 19%
Ghost Points Per Start: 7.5
Ghost Points Last GW: 16.5
Prospects: He has displaced Neco Williams and made the RB spot his own of late. Barring injury or a horrible run of form, this should continue.
Verdict: Stream in decent matchups.
The king is dead, love ling the king. Just when you think erstwhile fantasy legend, Serge Aurier, has racked up his final nonexistent aerial, he pulls you right back in. His EPL obituary needs to be torn up and written again at a later date. Aurier has more than earned his fantasy legend status. While often erratic and ineffectual on the pitch, he almost always filled up the fantasy stat sheet. If you had to throw a Hail Mary in search of 20+ points, there were few better options than ole Serge.
In 2020/2021, his last season with Spurs, Aurier boasted a ghost point per start average of nearly ten. He then went on sabbatical for a while before returning to the EPL with Nottingham Forest this season. While most of us expected Neco Williams to lock down that RB spot at Forest, it has become Aurier's to lose. He hasn't really pulled up any trees but has somehow provided some much need solidity. And this past GW, we got a flashback of the Aurier of yore. He posted 16.5 ghosties from 1 Tackle Won, 5 Interceptions, 6 Clearances, & 9 Aerials. This is actually not emblematic of his old self, who largely relied on successful dribbles and more offensive stats. We're not sure what to make of it. It was against struggling Southampton & Forest's defense is still suspect. But this performance shows he still has it in his locker to ghost out of his mind. We don't want to get nostalgic but it's hard not to be tempted to pick him up and see where this goes.
Honorable Mention:
Liam Cooper (Leeds United DEF; 18.5 ghosts): We hope you took our advice last week and picked up the towering Scot, as he followed up 11.5 ghosts last GW with 18.5 ghosts this GW. Will he be displaced in the back line with the recent addition of Max Wober?
Ethan Pinnock (Brentford DEF; 18 ghosts): He was pretty bad after just coming back from injury but has been back to ghostly ways of late - now boasting a 10 ghost point per start average.
Tyler Adams (Leeds United MID; 12 ghosts): The American has been quietly piecing together some decent ghosting performances - 7.5 & now 12. He's not lighting the world on fire but proving he can do a job as a streamer if need be. Murica.
Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace FWD; 11.5 ghosts): The Ghanaian is a weird player, hard to put in a box. He's not entirely goal dependent but neither is he a pure ghoster. His 6+ ghost points per start belies that - not great, not horrible. He decided to ghost out this GW - right before Palace have a DGW. Interesting...
Dr. Peter Venkman Award:
Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal DEF; 1.5 ghosts): We hate to say we told you so. But we told you so. Zinchenko does not and largely cannot ghost - despite the brand name, the fact that he plays for the league leaders, and how important he is in real life. This anti-Casper behavior was on full display this past GW v Newcastle. Expecting a haul given that Zinny & Arsenal posted a cleansheet? Here is 5.75 total points for your trouble (a cleansheet is 6 points). In addition to receiving a yellow card, he did little else, just 3 clearances & an aerial. This should come as no surprise. He "boasts" a gpps of just 5 points and is a perfect example of a great player IRL, but not so much in fantasy. Rid yourself of the idea that Zinchenko is a viable fantasy asset - trade out now or wait until Arsenal's upcoming DGW. Thank us later.
***Click here to view the full Ghost Point Tracker table!***
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