Our Gameweek 24 Hot or Cold article is here to outline the current prospects of key Fantasy EPL players. Our 'Hot' or 'Cold' status will help take away your emotional attachment to certain Draft Premier League players and help you bring in the players that you need to help you dominate your Fantrax Draft League!
These Hot or Cold ratings are based on the data contained within the Weekly Rest-of-Season Rankings produced by Robbie P. The Draft Society's exclusive weekly refresh of Fantasy EPL prospect rankings!
Gameweek 24 Hot List
These are Fantasy EPL players that have risen in our Weekly ROS Rankings! Keep an eye on these Draft Premier League players, and bring them into your Fantrax squad if you can.
Kelechi Iheanacho
Position: Forward
Team: Leicester City
GW23 Rank: 116
GW24 Rank: 85
What's Changed?: I'm not sure hot is the right word for Nacho, this guy is simply on fire! It does make you wonder where Rodgers has been hiding him all season, given the struggles of both Vardy (1) and Daka (3) to score goals. In the previous 2 games, he's picked up 2 goals, 3 assists and 51.5 FPts - that is some going from your free agent pick up! From what we've heard in interviews with Rodgers, the signing of Tete now means that Leicester can play with two quick runners on both sides, which brings Kelechi into play, so hopefully we can expect this to continue in the short to medium term at least. Nacho's ROS ranking of 86 reflects that uncertainty that is always priced in with Rodgers & his penchant to mess around with the team. It's also worth noting that he did get subbed early in both games, and that likely would have been sooner if he hadn't done so well. For that reason he is a sell high, but only if you can get a top 40 asset. Otherwise, just enjoy the ride while it lasts!
Stefan Bajcetic
Position: Defender
Team: Liverpool
GW23 Rank: 200
GW24 Rank: 132
What's Changed?: What a month this lad has been having! Liverpool's struggles, particularly in midfield, have opened the door for the young Spaniard. He has taken his chance with aplomb, starting each of the last 5 games, after previously being used as a rotation piece for cup games. In the recent Merseyside Derby, Bajcetic enjoyed a very productive game in the most advanced position of the three in midfield, and this could continue in the absence of Thiago, who unsurprisingly is nursing yet another knock. Normally, out of position players, in this case a midfielder being classed as a defender in Fantrax, would leave you salivating. But Liverpool's form this season, with just 6 clean sheets in 22 games, does give you pause. Having said that, two of those clean sheets have come in the last three matches in which Bajcetic has started (the less said about the game at Molineux the better) and he has put up solid ghost point displays in both (9.25 & 11.75). I'm also optimistic that the return of Van Dijk and Diogo Jota should give a much needed boost to this Liverpool team. Additionally, Liverpool have a great run of fixtures coming up in the next 4 gameweeks, including a double gameweek. If he's on your waiver wire, go pick him up!
Joao Felix
Position: Forward
Team: Chelsea
GW23 Rank: 41
GW24 Rank: 25
What's Changed?: My final 'hot' player is Joao Felix, who has had to bide his time after receiving a red card and 3 game ban in his debut vs Fulham. His first performance back in the saddle against West Ham was quite something, scoring a goal and bringing home 20 sweet FPts. If there were any doubts over how much game time he would get, given all the other signings coming into Chelsea in January, I think they have been well and truly quashed. It's still early days but he's already generated 1.5 xG and 0.4 xA in just 147mins, which is extremely encouraging. What's even more promising is his ghost point output, delivering 12 scary scores against Fulham in just 57mins and 11 at West Ham. These numbers have been boosted through set pieces, something we really like to see for our Fantrax assets. As per DraftLad's Set Piece Taker Tracker, Felix enjoyed a monopoly on corners against West Ham and he took all of the right sided corners in the Champions League against Dortmund too. The Portuguese, as you can see, has lots of promise, so bring him into your team if you can, especially with Southampton coming up next!
For the full list of Gameweek 24 risers, check out our Weekly ROS Rankings page!
Gameweek 24 Cold List
These are Fantasy EPL players that have fallen in our Weekly ROS Rankings. This may be due to poor form, they have been dropped from the best 11, they have suffered an injury, or received a suspension. It's time to consider trading out or dropping these Draft Premier League players from your rosters!
Antony
Position: Forward
Team: Manchester United
GW23 Rank: 70
GW24 Rank: 95
What's Changed?: Antony has looked a shell of himself since the Premier League returned after the World Cup. The difference in output has been staggering: 3 goals (1.6 xG) and 11.3 PPS (7.2 gPPS) in 6 starts pre-WC and 0 goals (1.1xG) and just 2.2 PPS (3.6 gPPS) in 5 starts post-WC. So maybe a bit of reverting to the mean after some overperformance, or could we also blame it on WC fatigue? Possibly, Brazil did get to the latter stages, but Antony racked up just 172mins, so that's debatable. Antony has shown a bit more promise in the FA Cup and League Cup matches recently where United have had more dominance and control of the game, with goals against Everton & Charlton Athletic and an assist vs Reading. However, it seems Ten Hag hasn't been able get his team to the point where they can control games against most Premier League teams. This leaves Antony in a difficult position as he's very good at keeping the ball and recycling possession, like a playmaker out wide who can get a shot away from a dribble. But if the game is in transition then he's no good running in behind and the game can pass him by a bit, which is not good news for those of us interested in Fantrax points. With this in mind it seems that Antony may only be useful in half the games he starts and that's if he picks up form again. Getting starts will also be an issue with Sancho back in the fold and Garnacho putting in promising performances.
Recommendation: It's tough to project how Antony will get on ROS and my rank of 95 is a bit of hedging position. He could very well not be worth rostering or he could pick up a bit of form again. His stock will be pretty low right now, so it's a difficult to trade out but if the United fan in your league still has faith, that could be a good place to start. In terms of value, someone who may be attainable would be Bryan Mbuemo, who is quite boom or bust but has a double coming up in GW27 and potentially improves when/if Toney is banned.
Bernardo Silva
Position: Midfielder
Team: Manchester City
GW23 Rank: 66
GW24 Rank: 93
What's Changed?: Managers of Bernardo Silva must be tearing their hair out with Pep's use of the player in a deeper role. He was most recently even shoe horned in as a quasi left-back, which has caused a huge decline in his Fantrax output. With City's dominance of the ball, he doesn't get much chance to rack up defensive midfielder ghost stats and he's not far forward enough to get key passes or attacking returns. In the early part of the season, Silva had been much further forward and involved in the attack, with 4.11 shot creating actions per 90 pre-WC and 1.21 SCA/90 post-WC. The Fantrax points speak volumes: 11.3 PPS (6.4 gPPS) pre-WC and 3.8 PPS (4.2 gPPS) post-WC. Even those pre-WC points were propped up massively by Silva over-performing his expected stats, with 2 goals (1.3 xG) and 5 assists (1.5 xA) in 12 starts.
Recommendation: So where does that leave us? Basically in no-mans land waiting for Pep to change Silva's position, because at this moment in time he's just not a viable Fantrax asset. Similar to Antony, his ranking reflects the potential for change but not entirely hopeful of it. However, the return of the Champions League offers the first potential for change, and we should see more rotation, which may give Silva a chance at a more advanced role. Yet trying to predict Pep has been known to be folly. If you have other City assets you may as well hold just in case. If you don't, my first thought would be to attempt to trade out to any managers who have other City midfielders and forwards. In terms of what to get back, try and shoot for someone like Dwight McNeil, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall or Christian Norgaard. If you can't get them or better, you should hold out until his value rises off a good performance.
Gabriel Martinelli
Position: Midfielder
Team: Arsenal
GW23 Rank: 12
GW24 Rank: 16
What's Changed?: Marinelli started the season like a house on fire but his recent performances have tailed off a bit. Looking at Martinelli's form, in the last 6 he's got no attacking returns and just 5.4 PPS (6.0 gPPS). Prior to that, he was on 14.6 PPS (7.7 gPPS). One major thing that has happened to Arsenal's squad is the injury to Gabriel Jesus, with Eddie Nketiah coming in. Tactically, Jesus is better a drifting into spaces, particularly on the left side, which gave Martinelli room to attack more centrally. Whereas Nketiah is more centrally focused. The other factor is the addition of Leandro Trossard to the squad, which has reduced Martinelli's minutes. In the 4 games since Trossard has arrived, Martinelli has averaged 68mins per match, being replaced by him in every game, before that he was averaging 85mins per match. Trossard could also eat into the number of starts Martinelli gets going forward, especially as European games return. On a per 90mins basis, Martinelli's expected stats, no. of shots and shot creating actions haven't changed throughout this difficult run, so the issues are a decline in his and his team mates finishing, and less minutes on the pitch stifling his no. of chances and ghost potential.
Recommendation: Martinelli is cold, for him, but he's not sub-zero like the 2 players above. He's still putting up decent underlying numbers in a top team, and the return of Jesus should help him. But we have to recognise his value is diminished a bit with competition at left wing. If I rostered Martinelli, I would be inclined to keep hold, partly as you're not going to get good value for him currently, but also Arsenal have an amazing run of fixtures in the next 6, including another double in GW25. If you want to look to ship him out, as long as he's had some good performances, GW30 would be the time based on our Fixture Difficulty Tracker. In fact, considering the above I would look to trade Martinelli in on a low if I didn't already roster him, try to float a deal such as Mahrez or Son plus a sweetener.
For the full list of Gameweek 24 fallers, check out our Weekly ROS Rankings page!
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