Our Gameweek 29 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 29 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.
Felipe
Position: Defender
Team: Nottingham Forest
GW28 Rank: 116
GW29 Rank: 71
What's Changed?: Since Felipe has made his way into the XI, he has been an absolute ghost point monster. From 5 starts, he's scored 12.5 gPPS. So even with Forest conceding a ton of goals, he's still managing 8.7 PPS, which is very healthy, especially when considering the dearth of consistent defensive assets this season. The return of Niakhate to the side against Newcastle raised some doubts on whether Felipe would continue his monopoly on defensive actions, but he came up trumps, picking up 3 AERs, 3 BSs, 7 CLRs, 1 Int and 3 TkW for a tasty 11.75 ghosties. Meanwhile, Niakhate put up just 3.5 points. We can't say for certain that trend will continue just yet, but I'd bet on the Brazilian coming up trumps. Forest have a nice double coming up in GW29 and even though there are a few tough fixtures after that, he's shown, through his insane ghosting, that he's pretty much fixture proof. I would love to bring him in for the double, but most mangers will have likely caught on to how well he's playing by this point. A 1-1 trade for a defender likely won't get you anywhere, so maybe try and offer up someone like Christian Norgaard, whose double GW29 fixtures (and ROS) look tough, or Jacob Ramsey off the back of that huge 21 point performance last gameweek.
Alexander Isak
Position: Forward
Team: Newcastle United
GW28 Rank: 68
GW29 Rank: 39
What's Changed?: A huge performance against Forest in GW28 with 2 goals (1 pen) looks to have cemented Isak's spot in the XI for now, with Eddie Howe highly complimentary of him in his latest press conference. While he has struggled with injuries this season, when he has made it onto the pitch he has been electric, scoring 6 goals (from 5.5 xG) in 7 starts and 3 sub appearances and he now looks to be close to full fitness. Of course, Callum Wilson's shadow looms, but I think only injury at this point would keep Isak out of the team. Newcastle double in GW29 but they also have a nice set of fixtures to close out the season, so he could be a very interesting player to bring in, especially if you're chasing in your league. In our freshly updated Consensus Ranks he has made it to 30th overall, which is quite something given his limited playing time. But his potential is huge! I would look to offer up a player like Cody Gakpo (plus a sweetener if needed), who's been good but now has a fit Jota, Nunez, and Luis Diaz to contend with.
Pedro Porro
Position: Defender
Team: Tottenham Hotspur
GW28 Rank: 39
GW29 Rank: 31
What's Changed?: Ignoring the shambles of his first start for Spurs in the 4-1 drubbing to Leicester City, Porro has been in awesome form. In his last 3 starts, he's put up scores of 14, 14.75 and 19.75, none of which came with a clean sheet. With an extremely healthy baseline of 10.5 gPPS with 1 goal (0.8 xG) and 1 assist (0.9 xA) thrown in, what's not to like? He's whipping crosses in and getting into the box, he's becoming everything we expected when he signed. Add in the fact that Emerson Royal is likely out for the season and Porro should be nailed on for the rest of the season (if that was at all in doubt). It has been all change at Spurs over the International Break with Conte leaving and Stellini and Mason now in charge, but I don't see too much changing with regard to his spot. Spurs are in the minority of teams that don't double in GW29, which could help any trade negotiations. You could potentially look to offer Pinnock (who doubles in GW29) for him 1-1 in a nice upside play, especially as Brentford's fixtures aren't great ROS.
For the full list of Gameweek 29 risers, check out our Weekly ROS Rankings page!
Gameweek 29 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!
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Position: Forward
Team: Fulham
GW28 Rank: 47
GW29 Rank: 121
What's Changed?: Mitrovic has been abysmal since the Premier League resumed post-World Cup. Well, after Boxing Day anyway, where he put up 35.5 points against Crystal Palace. Since then he's scored 3.5 PPS in 8 starts, with just 1 goal to his name. To add insult to injury, he received a red card against Man United in the FA Cup Quarter Final, which will see him out for at least three gameweeks. His actions were so egregious that he could even be banned for more games. Paulo Di Canio received an 11 game ban for similarly pushing the referee back in 1998. It likely won't be as severe a punishment as that, but we could maybe be looking at a minimum of 5 games, which really puts his rest of season value into question.
Recommendation: It depends on the length of the ban. If it's just 3 games, you hold of course. But once you get into the 5+ territory, it starts to get more difficult to justify holding him, especially considering Fulham have just 11 games left. Of course if you have playoffs you will be holding him as he does have that upside and hopefully a bit of rest will do him good considering the ankle injury he's been managing all season. However, if you're not thinking of playoffs, the course of action is to hold if you can. But if you get into a situation in which its's choice of dropping him for a streamer to go for a win or taking a loss, then you've just got to drop!
Kelechi Iheanacho
Position: Forward
Team: Leicester City
GW28 Rank: 74
GW29 Rank: 87
What's Changed?: Nacho had an insane purple patch at the start of February, although it was brief. Five attacking returns and scores of 25.5 against Villa and 26 against Spurs was quite the shock given Rodgers had only given him 1 start all season before that. Fast forward a couple of months and it's been slim pickings since then. While he's been starting, his scores have been abysmal (4.5, 0.5, 0.5 and 8), he's typically subbed off early, and was finally benched for Daka (who scored) in GW28 against Brentford. Since that was a blank gameweek for Leicester, he was likely dropped if a manager was struggling to field a full XI.
Recommendation: You'll likely be wondering whether you should be picking him up if he's available. Leicester do have a nice couple of fixtures for GW29 with an early fixture on Saturday, so you can afford to hold until line ups. However, even if he does start the first, he's still at risk of not starting the 2nd match. So you've got to weigh up the risk and reward. If your opponent looks a lot stronger than you this gameweek, Nacho may be the boom or bust type that could give you a chance.
Erling Haaland
Position: Forward
Team: Manchester City
GW28 Rank: 2
GW29 Rank: 5
What's Changed?: Clearly in the case of Haaland 'Cold' is relative. The guy's been banging in goals in for fun this season. But there's no denying that it hasn't been as rosy since the World Cup. Fantrax points have dropped from 21.5 PPS to 12.2 PPS and his more recent form (last 6 GWs) is just 10 PPS. This is a truly significant drop off. What's causing it? Pre WC, Haaland scored at a rate if 1.6 goals/90 from 0.95 xG/90, which is a staggering overperformance. Post WC, he has scored at a rate of 0.8 goals/90 from 0.77 xG/90. So there has been a bit of a drop off in his expected goals and a significant drop off in his finishing. To compound matters, his ghosts have really dropped off too, declining from 7.3 gPPS down to 4.1 gPPS. So any game in which he doesn't nick an attacking return has been pretty brutal for fantasy managers. This and the fact that City have less games left to play than some other teams - coupled with reports of a knock keeping him out of games for Norway over the international break - has seen Haaland drop down to 8th in our Consensus Ranks, which would have been difficult to fathom just a couple of months ago. Prior to the international break, he bagged an astonishing 8 goals in in 2 cup games, giving managers hope of a turnaround. But that hope has likely been quashed after picking up a groin injury, leaving him as a doubt for the early kick off against Liverpool on Saturday.
Recommendation: Haaland is still getting chances, he just needs to find that finishing touch again. So the potential upside of bringing him in is huge, and I don't think there's been a better time to trade him in on a low. City blank in GW32 but double in GW34 and 37. So especially for those with playoffs, he could be a great target. To get him you're going to have to give up one of the big boys, a 1-1 for Salah is about the limit I think I would pay for him, but would prefer to give up KDB. Look to wait until after G29 to make your move though.
For the full list of Gameweek 29 fallers, check out our Weekly ROS Rankings page!
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