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 38 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 38 Ghost Point Hunters
We made it (barely). The season has come down to one final Gameweek. It's been emotional. We're doing it a bit different this week. We'll flag some ghosters to stream for GW38 but also provide a final tally of Category Killers - who won each category over this long season - and throw in a few superlatives before finishing with the final rendition of the Dr. Peter Venkman Award. The Venkman Award(s) are going to the player at each position (with at least 20 starts) with the worst Ghost Point Per Start (GPPS) avg for the season. It's been a pleasure, dear readers. Let's get it.
Dara O'Shea
Position: Defender
Team: Burnley
Rostered: 19%
Ghost Points Per Start: 8.92
Ghost Points Last GW: 9.5
Prospects: The Irishman has been no stranger to these pages. He can ghost (he avgs roughly 9 per start) and nick attacking returns (he just scored a goal 2 GWs ago) - but as we've discussed ad nauseum, O'Shea is unpredictable and Burnley usually leak goals. This doesn't matter as it's the last GW of the season. If you need a DEF streamer this week, he's your man. O'Shea delivered 9.5 ghosties last GW v Spurs, which stemmed from 1 Key Pass, 1 Tackle Won, 1 Accurate Cross Not a Corner (ACNC), 1 Interception, 6 Clearances, 1 Blocked Shot, & 2 Aerials. Burnley, despite being relegated, should still put in a shift at home to Nottingham Forest.
Verdict: Pick him up!
Jarrell Quansah
Position: Defender
Team: Liverpool
Rostered: 17%
Ghost Points Per Start: 7
Ghost Points Last GW: 13
Prospects: Liverpool cannot keep a clean sheet to save its life. The Reds have failed to do so in their past several EPL games. Be that as it may, their defenders still retain some value. Up steps Jarrell Quansah. The youngster has seemingly nailed down the partnering role with VVD, edging out oft-injured Ibrahima Konate. And Quansah has been dropping decent ghosts. On Monday, he posted over a dozen of them. In addition to his first EPL goal, he delivered the following: 3 Tackles Won, 2 Interceptions, 4 Clearances, 4 Blocked Shots, & 2 Aerials. Klopp's swansong game at Anfield against a largely toothless and struggling Wolves, they have an outside chance of nicking a cleansheet or at least not conceding more than one. That, along with Quansah's recent form, makes him worthy of a final day punt.
Verdict: Pick him up!
Ola Aina
Position: Defender
Team: Nottingham Forest
Rostered: 8%
Ghost Points Per Start: 6.5
Ghost Points Last GW: 11
Prospects: The mercurial Ola Aina has featured here before. His erstwhile ghosting got us hot and bothered in the run up to Forest's matchup v bottom dwellers Sheffield United a few GWs back. But he largely disappointed us, only mustering 5 points. Well, he did the same this past GW v Chelsea, but this time it was despite Forest shipping 3 goals. That's because he was able to hoover up 1 Key Pass, 4 Tackles Won, 1 Accurate Cross Not a Corner (ACNC), 2 Interceptions, 4 Clearances, & 1 Aerial. Aina has another favorable matchup this weekend against already relegated Burnley. These final games with no consequences are notoriously hard to predict. But Aina has proven he can put in a shift. He isn't at the top of our list but he'll be a decent DEF streamer in a pinch.
Verdict: Pick him up!
23/24 Superlatives:
Over the Hill Ghoster:
James Ward Prowse: It goes without saying that JWP is a draft EPL and ghost point legend. His record speaks for itself. His set piece prowess and iron man status - he has had several seasons where he hasn't missed a game - made him one of the most reliable assets in the game. Southampton going down last summer made us fear for his future. But a transfer to West Ham meant we could utilize his services again this campaign. And in the beginning of the season, he did not disappoint, pulling off six straight double digit outings. But early February the wheels started to come off a bit. From February 11-April 2, JWP averaged under 5 points per game. He was even benched a few times. and taken off some corners Alvarez missing a few games recently helped him get back into the lineup and scoring decently. But the damage has already been done. With Lopetegui coming in, will JWP even have a place in the starting XI next season? His 8 GPPS is pretty good but is masked somewhat by the great start. He will either be a bust or value next draft. We hope for the best but fear the worst. It might be over. Either way, it's been fun. Thank you, sweet prince.
Ghoster You're Most Likely to See at Wetherspoons:
Alfie Doughty: We like an "everyman", a guy who seems just like us but is somehow a professional athlete. Look no further than Alfie Doughty - a lad's lad. We would not be surprised to see him throwing back some snakebites at Luton area Wetherspoon's. Thankfully for us, he also happens to host out of his mind. As you can see below, he led the league in ACNC's. The guy just pumps in sumptuous cross after sumptuous cross. Doughty has been one of our unheralded heroes this season, going largely undrafted to becoming a top midfield asset with a tasty 9.36 GPPS. We're gonna miss him and his Hatters. But we'll see at Spoon's or Nando's sometime soon.
Best Ghoster with a Horrific Nickname:
Antonee Robinson: America - the home of the brave, also the national team for London-born Antonee "Jedi" Robinson. Why the nickname you ask? Well, it's an amazing, heart-wrenching tale. No, no it's not, he just happened to like Star Wars as a kid (like 99.9% of his peers). We refuse to call him Jedi, and so should you. Anyways, Antonee has been a baller this season. In a fairly leaky defense, he has become a set and forget defender due to his ghosting ability. His 9.67 GPPS (a 2 point improvement from 22/23) ranks among the top of his DEF class. He has become adept at interceptions, a key ghosting category, and leads the field with 78 of them at the time of writing. He deserves a move to a bigger club. But either way, he'll be on our draft board.
Ghoster We're Very Excited About Next Season:
Michael Olise: Wow, what a player. Michael Olise has quickly blossomed into one of the best wingers in the league at the ripe age of 22, the future is bright. He was heralded coming into last draft but a preseason injury with France hurt his prospects. And subsequent knocks have meant he has only started 13 games this season. But Olise has done more than enough in those 13 starts to earn our devotion. His 12.15 GPPS is better than KDB's numbers. If he can stay fit, he can be a top 5 asset in 24/25. It's a big if but we're excited about him next season nonetheless, potentially late first round.
Category Killer Winners (based on GW1-36 Stats):
Key Passes: Bruno Fernandes (108)
Successful Dribbles: Mohammed Kudus (120)
Aerials: James Tarkowski (143)
Accurate Crosses Not Corners (ACNCs): Alfie Doughty (46)
Tackles Won: Vinicius de Souza & Joao Palhinha (75)
Interceptions: Antonee Robinson (78)
Dr. Peter Venkman Award(s):
Michail Antonio (West Ham United FWD; 3.82 GPPS): This is no surprise. This is who Antonio is. His GPPS was 4 last season so he is getting even worse. Having said that, if he somehow nicks points off City on Sunday, all is forgiven, and he is peak Adama Traore in our eyes.
Sean Longstaff (Newcastle United MID; 3.95 GPPS): We called out the Geordie last week only for him to randomly score well in the first leg of the DGW this week. In short, we jinxed it. But that doesn't change the fact that his ghosties are just putrid, especially for a midfielder. Repent, Sean, repent.
Vitinho (Burnley DEF; 4.69 GPPS): You had to be pretty brazen to start Burnley defenders this season, especially those not named Dara O'Shea or, in patches, Lorenz Assignon. The Clarets has conceded 76 goals, the third most in the league. Add the fact that poor Vitinho can't ghost and he becomes one of the worst performing defenders in the league. You will not be missed.
David Raya (Arsenal GK; 4.44 GPPS): On the flip side, Arsenal has only let in a miserly 28 goals, the best defensive record in the Prem. Their staunch defense has helped their GK David Raya pick up a Golden Glove award. But it has also meant that he hasn't had much to do - few saves to make - and thus his ghosts were lacking this season. We prefer the Muric's of the world; we can't be banking on cleansheets, although Arsenal's defensive record makes it tempting.
***Click here to view the full Ghost Point Tracker table!***
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