Gameweek 12 Ghost Point Hunters: Draft EPL

Ryan Barnes
Nov 16, 2024
6 min read

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 12 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 12 Ghost Point Hunters

Here we are yet again - the 394th International Break of the season. You hate it, we hate it. But let's make the most of it. On the big board, we're featuring Arijanet Muric, Ashley Young, Ryan Yates. The Not So Fast category features two CDMs that are temporarily fooling us: Mateo Kovacic & Manel Ugarte. And Jarrod Bowen and Tyler Adams are the One(s) To Watch. Finally, we are granting the Dr. Peter Venkman Award to a surprise recipient Bryan Mbeumo, who has been an erstwhile ghost point stalwart. We'll try to figure out what the hell is goin on.

Arijanet Muric

Position: Goalkeeper

Team: Ipswich Town

Rostered: 28%

Ghost Points Per Start: 11.4

Ghost Points Last GW: 17.5

Prospects: We very rarely cover the guys between the posts. But we do make exceptions (Flekken was one earlier in the season) and we already know and love this chap, Arijanet Muric. After a very slow start to life back in the Prem with Ipswich Town, he has turned it on, averaging over a dozen points in his last 5 starts. This past GW, he balled out yet again, posting 17.5 scary scores from 5 Saves, 2 Clearances, 1 Aerial, and 6 High Claims Succeeded (HCS).

He is now the 2nd best ghosting GK after Flekken and still somehow less than 28% rostered. Yes, Ipswich Town ship goals for fun. But so did Burnley last season and so do Brentford this season. If the GK makes a myriad of saves every game, it doesn't matter. And we know this isn't a fluke; Muric can ghost. Just look at his16.4 GPPS last season with Burnley. If we weren't already happily married to Flekks, we'd file for divorce with our current GK and send a pre-nup to Muric.

Verdict: Pick him up!

Ashley Young

Position: Defender

Team: Everton

Rostered: 59%

Ghost Points Per Start: 7.6

Ghost Points Last GW: 10.75

Prospects: Stop it, you're nearly 40, son. Ashley Young just won't stop rolling back the years. He is certainly not the flashiest and he's lost a bit of pace but he can still do a job. He did just that over the weekend v the Hammers., dropping double digit ghosties from 2 Key Passes, 1 Tackle Won, 3 Accurate Crosses Not Corners (ACNCs), 1 Interception, 3 Clearances, & 1 Aerial.

After a slow start, the Everton defender is now averaging over 13 PPS in his last 7. Young has his dips but in this form, you have to ride it until the wheels fall off. Get him in and stay with the hot hand. You'll miss him if he ever retires.

Verdict: Pick him up if available in your league; if not, try dealing a DEF with better name recognition but worse numbers (e.g., Dan Burn) in a 1:1 for him.

Ryan Yates

Position: Midfielder

Team: Nottingham Forest

Rostered: 40%

Ghost Points Per Start: 7.3

Ghost Points Last GW: 11

Prospects: We all need waiver wire midfielders to plug in during an emergency. These are the heroes we choose but the ones we deserve. Ryan Yates is one of these high upside plug and play MIDs in the mold of a Christian Norgaard. He can ghost and he can nick random attacking returns. But he's usually not worth a long hold as he is rarely consistent for long stretches.

In GW11, Yatesy was on one, bagging 11 ghosts and doing so by putting in an all action performance: 2 Key Passes, 1 Shot on Target, 3 Tackles Won, 2 Clearances, & 3 Aerials. He proved yet again that if you need to pick up a midfielder in a pinch, you can do worse than the Forest man.

Verdict: Use as a "break glass in case of emergency" midfield streamer ROS.

Not So Fast:

Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City MID; 15.75 ghosts): We've seen this movie before. Few players flatter to deceive fantasy-wise than Kova. He has his moments, we start to believe, then he drops a 2.5 pointer the following GW. He's a gifted footballer but he's mostly a ball-carrier with the ability to split defenses with through balls. Sometimes these lead to Shots/Key Passes and Assists. But often they count for nothing. So the fact that he popped up for nearly 16 ghosties last weekend doesn't do much for us. There's a reason his GPPS this season is still under 6 and why it was 4.8 the prior campaign. We're not moved.
Manuel Ugarte (Manchester United MID; 12 ghosts): Newcomers to the league are always intriguing - at least for a little bit. The Uruguayan didn't get much of a honeymoon period in Blighty as he failed to pass the eye test in his debut and also failed miserably in fantasy - he mustered a combined .25 fantasy points in his first two starts. This most recent one yielded a dozen scary scores but we're of the mind that this is the exception, not the rule. His overall performance was significantly better as well, but there is no guarantee it will continue to translate in fantasy points. If he can find his footing and show some Casper-like qualities in Amorim's new system, dragging up his abysmal 5.4 GPPS, we'll take another look. But until then, no thanks.

One(s) To Watch:

Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United MID;10.25 ghosts): Who is this? Bowen, God love him, has never really been a ghoster. He's still been a great asset, bagging attacking returns in bunches, but he's largely been dependent on those goals and assists. This season, however, we've seen a different Bowen, He now boasts a GPPS of nearly 9 and his ghost point form (GPPS in the last 3 games) is close to double digits. This is quite a boost from his 6.4 GPPS in the prior campaign. While Lopetegui has been horrific in many respects, the silver lining is that he's getting a scary tune out of the diminutive Englishman. This is something to monitor.
Tyler Adams (Bournemouth MID; 8.5 ghosts): American bias aside, it was nice seeing the central midfielder back in action over the weekend after a long stint out. He came from Leeds to Bournemouth already injured, recovered, and then got injured again. His last Premier League start prior to this weekend was March 30th. Adams quickly shook off the cobwebs in GW11 v Brentford, delivering a respectable 8.5 ghosties in just 66 minutes, stemming from 1 Key Pass, 2 Tackles Won, 3 Interceptions, 1 Blocked Shot, & 1 Aerial. He clearly needs to regain fitness and keep it. But if he can stay fit, he's proven he can ghost (his last start in March included 11 ghosties). Adams could be a nice MID5 ROS.

Category Killer Winners:

Key Passes: Bruno Fernandes (7)
Successful Dribbles: Abdul Fatawu (12)
Aerials: Nathan Collins (8)
Accurate Crosses Not Corners (ACNCs): Facundo Buonanotte (3)
Tackles Won: Manuel Ugarte (6)
Interceptions: Trevoh Chalobah (6)

Dr. Peter Venkman Award:

Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford FWD; 1.75 ghosts): This guy has been a house on fire since the start of the 24/25 campaign, boasting an absurd 15+ PPS in his first 11 starts. He turned out to be an absolute steal in the 3rd Round of the draft for a lot of punters. But the shine has come off a little bit over the past few GWs as he followed up his disappointing 2.75 pointer v Fulham in GW10 with a sub 2 ghost point outing the following week. Only the assist spared his blushes. Players get 8 points from an assist (6 plus the 2 points from the associated Key Pass). Yet Mbeumo didn't even get that as he could only scrape together 1 Key Pass, 1 Clearance, 1 Aerial, and 2 Dispossessions. Take away the Key Pass from the assist and he'd have negative ghost points from the Dispossessions. While he still maintains a pretty impressive 8.5 GPPS this season (not many FWDs can produce more than 8GPPS), he historically isn't much of a ghoster (he posted 6.6 GPPS in 23/24). The rumor - at least from his international camp - is that he is nursing a knock. Let's hope this is why he is on a little dip and that he recovers in time to get back to it v Everton in GW12. In the meantime, though, marinate on this Venkman award.