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, successful dribbles, interceptions, accurate crosses, and aerials, among others. Identifying these points is essential for your Fantasy EPL prospects, and our Gameweek 35 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 35 Ghost Point Hunters
The business end of the season has arrived. Just four more GWs left - glory or heartache, these remaining matchups will decide your fate. And if you're already at the beach, kick your feet up and enjoy some light reading. Let's get to it. Your big board looks as such: Wilfied Zaha (what on earth just happened?), Nelson Semedo (are you surprised?), & Josh Brownhill (not as exciting). The honorable mention includes Che Adams, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Trevoh Chalobah, Eberechi Eze, Dwight McNeil, & Christian Eriksen. And the Dr. Peter Venkman Award is going on Patson Daka's shelf this week. Bet he wishes he was really at the beach. Soon enough, good sir, soon enough.
Wilfried Zaha
Position: Forward
Team: Crystal Palace
Rostered: 99%
Ghost Points Per Start: 6.6
Ghost Points This Past GW: 29 (!)
Prospects: Nailed on, takes pens, has it in his locker to explode. But can also drop a 0.5 without blinking. An enigma but definitely worth rostering for these types of performances.
Verdict: Trade out on a high if you can get a more consistent top performer or you need a DGWer for a must win GW36. If not, accept the busts as well as the booms and hope for a tasty DGW37.
Wow. GPH hasn't seen a supernatural performance like that in ages. Wilfried Zaha, we hardly knew ye. The Crystal Palace star delivered a nearly record-breaking ghost point haul this past GW at home to Leeds. His ungodly 29 ghosties forced GPH to scour through the archives to find a superior historical performance. Zaha's 29 point explosion is only surpassed by Emi Buendia's absurd 32+ scary score in December 2019.
Although it wasn't record-breaking, Zaha's show-stopping shift is still worth analyzing. He was able to become Buendia's bridesmaid by securing the following: 3 Key Passes, 5 Shots on Target (El Ghazi lite), 8 Successful Dribbles, & 3 Aerials. More stunning is that he was able to do all this with only 1 dispossession. For context, over the previous 5 matches, he averaged over 5 dispossessions a game. Wilf has long been a fantasy enigma, just as capable of dropping 30 as he is of mustering 0.5. Case in point is the last two weeks. Last week, he posted 0.5; this week, 29. Classic Zaha. But he clearly has it in his locker to ghost out of his mind. Let's see how he follows up this performance. Regardless, he is nice to have from a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) perspective as these high upside shifts can win you your gameweek. GPH would not want to go against Wilf in DGW37 (most likely we are).
Nelson Semedo
Position: Defender
Team: Wolves
Rostered: 73% (really?)
Ghost Points Per Start: 6.4
Ghost Points Last GW: 15.5
Prospects: Made his first start in months this past GW. Barring a knock or tactical tweak, just resume regularly scheduled programming at RB for the rest of the season. Wolves have Brighton and a DGW forthcoming.
Verdict: May be available on some waiver wires given his lengthy absence. Otherwise, try dealing someone with a rough schedule ROS (e.g., maybe Dan Burn or a Leeds DEF).
GPH thought the love affair was over. Then Nelson Semedo texts us at 3am after a few months of ghosting, no pun intended: "u up?" The Wolves fullback is back after a 3 month stint on the injured list and has our attention. We had very high hopes after his arrival from Barcelona - the new Matt Doherty bombing down the right wing - but it didn't really work out in his debut season. Yes, he has had his moments. But mediocrity was largely the norm.
This season, with a year in the Prem under his belt and a new manager, he still hasn't been pulling up any trees. Semedo is averaging just over 6 ghosts per game and only has one attacking return (an assist) in over 24 starts. The entire Wolves squad has been allergic to goals but these numbers do not warrant the likely 7th or 8th round draft pick managers spent on the Portuguese. But in his first start coming off the injury - against Burnley this past GW - he showed a touch of glass, dropping over 15 ghosties. These came from everywhere: 2 Key Passes, 1 Shot on Target, 2 Tackles Won, 1 Accurate Cross Not a Corner (ACNC), 2 Interceptions, 2 Clearances, 3 Successful Dribbles, 1 Blocked Shot & 1 Aerial. Sounds exhausting. Impressive numbers but it was Burnley; we want to see if it continues. Wolves have Brighton and then a DGW in 36 or 37. Semedo should keep his spot at RB and will have the opportunity to repay our faith - worth picking up to find out.
Josh Brownhill
Position: Midfielder
Team: Burnley
Rostered: 46%
Ghost Points Per Start: 7.6
Ghost Points This Past GW: 11
Prospects: With Ashley Westwood out for the season, Brownhill is back in the side and on most set pieces. Should be nailed on and provide good value ROS.
Verdict: Pick him up or try dangling a DEF3 for him.
The Josh Brownhill saga has had its up and downs. It reached a fever pitch after his nearly 50 point DGW extravaganza in mid-February. The hype then died down as his scores petered out thereafter, including a very underwhelming DGW. But now it's back. The Burnley midfielder is coming off of 26 and 12 point performances in the last 2 weeks. Brownhill and the Clarets look like a brand new team since Sean Dyche vacated the managerial job a few weeks ago. Can they keep it up?
The King of Pop (the new Burnley manager is named Michael Jackson) has led the relegation-strugglers to back to back wins - over Southampton & Wolves - for the first time since the invention of the cotton gin. There is now a decent chance they pip Everton to stay up. JB will be a key cog in this process. Given Ashley Westwood's season-ending injury, Brownhill is now on most set piece. He also can get stuck in on the defensive side. This provides a nice floor and allows him to ghost like he did this past GW v Wolves. In that game, he dropped nearly a dozen ghosties: 3 Key Passes, 3 Tackles Won, & 3 Interceptions. Add the odd attacking return and a decent schedule (Watford, Villa, DGW) & he looks dangerous ROS.
Honorable Mention:
Che Adams (Southampton FWD; 11 ghosts): This looks like an aberration. Che will likely continue to be unpredictable; not that interested.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea MID; 12 ghosts): Shouted out previously, the cheeky one is fit and somewhat firing. With Kovacic out, he should be a fixture in this Chelsea XI. Nothing to play for but still have a DGW forthcoming. Try and get him in.
Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea MID; 7.5 ghosts): With Christensen, Sarr, & Rudiger either with knocks, out of favor, and/or leaving the club, he should get many looks ROS. Doesn't get cleanies but has a decent floor & can pop up for a rare attacking return. Chelsea have another DGW coming up - a decent streamer.
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace MID; 8 ghosts): Finally got a start against Leeds this past GW and looked dangerous. He also dominated set pieces - a good upside play ROS, particularly in that DGW37.
Dwight McNeil (Burnley MID; 11.5 ghosts): Discussed his post-Dyche mini-resurgence on the KPC last week. He continued his ghosting and looks a new player. He also plays against GPH this week. Act accordingly.
Christian Eriksen (Brentford MID; 13.5 ghosts): Shouted out last week - the Dane continued his fine ghosting form. Count your lucky stars if you gave him a chance back in February.
Dr. Peter Venkman Award:
Patson Daka (Leicester FWD; 2 ghosts): This GW yielded many potential Venkmans, including last week's (Sadio Mane, as GPH feared, went blank) and old favorite Fabio Silva. But GPH wants to shame someone new. Enter Patson Daka. The new signing intrigued a lot of managers when came over to Leicester in the summer. But Brodge will be Brodge; Daka didn't get a start for months. He made some cameos in Europe but only really got his chance in the EPL when Iheanacho went to Afcon and Jamie Vardy got injured. He scored a few goals but hasn't set any pulses racing. He confirmed many of our fears of goal dependency. This past GW in a rare start, he persisted with the anti-ghosting, posting just a pair of ghosties. This came from a single solitary shot on target - Venkman form. It's not his fault, Daka just isn't a ghoster. It's not you, it's us.
***Click here to view the full Ghost Point Tracker table!***
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