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 14 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 14 Ghost Point Hunters
Now we're cookin'. We're on the cusp of one of the most exciting, time-consuming, and ultimately painful parts of the season. The festive season is essentially upon us. The games come thick and fast, and we're here for it. This week we've got a bit of midfield madness - we're focusing on three midfield streamers that have shown they can deliver ghosts: JBG, Justin Kluivert, & Giovanni Lo Celso. The Honorable Mention, meanwhile, calls out some more household names, with some newcomers mixed in: Doku, MGW, Tavernier, Dalot, & O'Shea. And what does Danny Ings get for securing his first start of the season? You guessed it, the Dr. Peter Venkman Award. Welcome back, old friend.
Johann Gudmundsson
Position: Midfielder
Team: Burnley
Rostered: 12%
Ghost Points Per Start: 7.1
Ghost Points Last GW: 14.5
Prospects: The old dog has been favored of late and is pulling the strings to good effect for the Clarets, pinging in set pieces and sucking up ghosts. Burnley's next matchup - Sheffield United at home - is as good as it gets. Ride until the wheels fall off/he picks up a knock.
Verdict: Pick him up!
"The thing about the old days is...they the old days..." That iconic quote from The Wire, contrary to what you may think, is actually quite pertinent to Draft EPL. What we think about a particular fantasy asset is biased by previous experience, for better or worse. What we remember of Johann Gudmundsson - the Notorious JBG - is mediocrity and injuries. In 20/21, he only managed 16 starts with a middling 6PPS - then dropping an even worse 4.7PPS from 13 starts in 21/22 before going down to the Championship with Burnley.
Coming back up to the EPL with Vincent Kompany's new look Clarets made us all look at the club's assets with an open mind, Gudmundsson included. He was forgettable in the first few months, securing only 2 starts in 3 months. But the tide has turned in the Icelandic's favor. He has gotten the starting nod in 4 straight games, averaging over ten points per start in that stretch - all ghosts. Last weekend v West Ham, he posted 14.5 scary scores in the form of 4 Key Passes, 1 Shot on Target, 2 Accurate Crosses Not Corners (ACNCs), 2 Interceptions, 1 Clearance, & 3 Aerials. JBG is the main creative outlet of this expansive Burnley and has the same level of set piece dominance as Alfie Doughty at Luton Town. And he has lowly Sheffield United coming to town this weekend. Given these facts, we're willing to overlook the past; in this case, Slim Charles was right.
Justin Kluivert
Position: Midfielder
Team: Bournemouth
Rostered: 24%
Ghost Points Per Start: 4.6
Ghost Points Last GW: 13.5
Prospects: The Dutchman has started two on the trot, which has coincided with two wins. It's doubtful that Iraola would mess with this winning formula. Aston Villa is a tricky matchup but they give up goals & are not as scary away from home. We're worried about Kluivert's consistency but will stick rather than twist at the moment.
Verdict: Pick him up!
It's been a strange campaign for Bournemouth and for new boy Justin Kluivert. While the Cherries were, in our opinion, already pretty blessed with attacking assets in the form of Hamed Traore, Dango Outarra, David Brooks, Antoine Semenyo, etc. So competition was expected to be fierce but the Dutchman was one of the few hand picked recruits for the incoming manager and seemingly fit his style of play. Even without taking into his account his father's legacy - Patrick Kluivert is a legend - there were high hopes that Kluivert could hit the ground running on the South Coast.
But he has struggled for minutes and for fantasy points, largely mirroring his team's poor form coming out of the gates. In the opening four months, Kluivert only garnered three starts and 19 total points. The times may be a changing, though, as Bournemouth have won two in a row and he is a big reason for that. Against Sheffield United over the weekend, he paired a goal (becoming only the second player to ever hit the back of the net in the 5 big leagues) with 13.5 ghosties, stemming from 2 Key Passes, 3 Shots on Target, 1 Tackle Won, 2 Successful Dribbles, &1 Aerial. It must be said that despite the recent heroics, Kluivert's numbers are appalling. We're willing to let it ride, though, hoping that the form continues and Iraola truly has the boys starting to cook. A stern test awaits them this GW - let's see if the Sheffield United outing was an aberration or a sign of things to come.
Giovanni Lo Celso
Position: Midfielder
Team: Tottenham
Rostered: 18%
Ghost Points Per Start: 11 (only one start)
Ghost Points Last GW: 11
Prospects: Given the injuries, he should be nailed on in the midfield 3 for the foreseeable future. He has the ability to crack on from here. But we're worried about his ghosting sustainability given the lack of set pieces, Spurs' current turmoil, and historical PTSD from poor performances in the past.
Verdict: Pick him up if available. If you already roster him, try to trade high.
It's safe to say that things haven't worked out for Giovanni Lo Celso at Tottenham. Since arriving on Blighty's shores in 2019, the creative midfielder has started less than 30 games for the club. Fantasy-wise, his contributions have been paltry even when he did see the pitch. His PPS hovered a little over 5 in both the 20/21 & 21/22 campaigns before he was sent out on loan to Villareal last season.
There was a semblance of hope that a new attacking manager may call upon the Argentine and get him going. This was short lived. Lo Celso only played 35 minutes until last weekend. Fate - in the form of a ton of injuries to his midfield peers - has given him another chance. With Maddison out until the new year, Bentancur back under the knife, and Bissouma & Sarr off to AFCON in January, Lo Celso should have a clear route to continued minutes. He took this newfound opportunity with both hands this GW - scoring a wonder goal and posting double digit ghost points: 3 Key Passes, 1 Shot on Target, 1 Tackle Won, 1 Interception, & 1 Successful Dribble.
Happy days, no? Not so fast. Lo Celso took his chance, yes, but he didn't get into too many dangerous positions and he didn't take any set pieces. Thus we don't see a decent floor in his future, and he may struggle to score outside of attacking returns, which may be few and far between. And his ghosting history, as we can see, does not instill much confidence. He may prove us wrong and take to Big Ange's free-flowing football but we'd feel better selling high here.
Honorable Mention:
Jeremy Doku (Manchester City FWD; 23 ghosts): The slick Belgian is now the king of ghosts - topping the Ghost Point Tracker with a mouthwatering 13+ ghosties per start. His performance against Liverpool was the most impressive, featuring an absurd dozen successful dribbles. The guy is a problem.
Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest MID; 20 ghosts): After a spotty run of form, MGW had one of those games, refurbishing his ghostly bonafides. Let's see if he cracks on from here or reverts to his stop-start performances.
Marcus Tavernier (Bournemouth MID; 18.5 ghosts): We all know that Tavernier has it in him to ghost - he finally put it all together this GW (Sheffield United will do that). If he can stay fit, he and Bournemouth can do some fantasy damage this festive season.
Diogo Dalot (Manchester United DEF; 14.5 ghosts): Playing against us certainly helped but it's not surprising that the Portuguese has been ghosting. The only problem is potential rotation, especially with AWB back fit. He's worth rostering regardless for these monster hauls.
Dara O'Shea (Burnley DEF; 14.5 ghosts): The Irishman has been a staple of this article and he doesn't appear to be letting up. Let's hope that the fact that an own goal and two goals conceded successfully concealed these ghosts and forced some folks in your league to drop him. He's a top DEF streamer this GW v SHU.
Category Killers:
Key Passes: Pascal Gross (6)
Successful Dribbles: Jeremy Doku (12)
Aerials: Marcos Senesi (8)
Accurate Crosses Not Corners (ACNCs): Michael Olise (4)
Tackles Won: Christian Norgaard (5)
Interceptions: Idrissa Gueye (4)
Dr. Peter Venkman Award:
Danny Ings (West Ham United FWD; 0.5 ghosts): It gives us no pleasure to kick a man while he's down. But we're going to anyway. Poor Danny Ings. The journeyman striker has had, by all accounts, a great career. And at one point was a top fantasy asset. But a ghoster he has never been. The past two seasons he has failed to crack the 5GPPS mark. Coming full circle, he negates the quip in the chapeau above - the old days are still very much alive. Except now Ings does not even see the pitch. He only earned his first start of the season this past GW - in late November. And he did not disappoint - unless you actually expected points. He only mustered a half point from an aerial. He earned one aerial, literally nothing else, no other proof that he was on the pitch/wandering the earth. Unfortunately, this is what we should expect from him moving forward. Ingsy is not to be trusted the next time he is on the teamsheet.
***Click here to view the full Ghost Point Tracker table!***
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