FPL Focus: Gamechanging AFCON free transfers boost

The Premier League is ready for action this weekend, and alongside it comes another fresh Fantasy Premier League Gameweek.

Following our 3-0 win in Belgium against Club Brugge on Wednesday night, solidifying our place at the summit of the Champions League table, we’ll now look to respond to last weekend’s league defeat at Aston Villa as we host Wolves at Emirates Stadium on Saturday night.

In FPL, Gameweek 16 brings a brand-new, unprecedented event that could help secure your team an extra bundle of all-important points…

TROSSARD AND RICE DELIVER

Despite our late loss at Villa Park last weekend, there were a handful of Arsenal players who enjoyed a healthy points return. Following his goal off the bench, Leandro Trossard (£6.9m) earned himself a six points, and despite being owned by just 0.8% of Fantasy managers, Leo has FPL pedigree having led the overall 2024/25 ranking for the Gunners. Declan Rice (£7.1m) also scored six points, having combined a whopping 21 DefCons with two bonus points due to his industrious performance.

The duo missed out on our trip to Brugge in midweek, but there remain plenty of red-and-white representatives you can consider bringing into your team. Piero Hincapie (£5.4m) has impressed over recent weeks, and owned by just 0.7% of bosses, he is a very tempting differential pick. The same applies to Mikel Merino (£6.0m), whose ownership has risen slightly to 4% due to a 32-point haul between Gameweeks 11 and 14.

FPL competitors are reminded that all intact chips at this stage must be played by GW19 or will be lost. There now remain just four opportunities to use them, with millions of managers still strategising when to play their Free Hit. If using this chip in GW16, there are certainly Gunners up for grabs.

Myles Lewis-Skelly (£5.1m) is currently the bargain FPL asset from our senior defensive players, and could be doubled up with Hincapie at the back for a far more astute line-up funds-wise than opting for the ever-popular combination of Jurrien Timber (£6.5m) and David Raya (£6.0m) – the only goalkeeper in his price range. Timber and Raya are proven selections for the long haul, but a Lewis-Skelly and Hincapie pairing could work wonders in a Free Hit XI.

Saturday’s opponents Wolves remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League table having gained just two points this season, and as a result, their players have been overlooked by FPL managers. Their highest points-hauler is Marshall Munetsi (£5.4m, 38 points), but he is currently sidelined with injury and potentially off to the Africa Cup of Nations upon his recovery.

AFCON TRANSFERS DROP

The major twist this season has now been activated for GW16, as each FPL manager’s free transfer kitty has been boosted to five.

These transfers do not all have to be used in time for this Gameweek and may be better banked for a rainy day, but with the schedule becoming more demanding and injuries rife across the league, the drop may have arrived at the perfect time.

Injuries and rotation are likely to be the primary cause for requiring wholesale changes to your squad without costing points, but the idea was conjured up by the game organisers in a bid to navigate the start of AFCON. All clubs with African players called up to represent their national sides in Morocco must release their stars by December 15, following this Gameweek.

Several popular picks are set to depart, and could be absent for as long as six Gameweeks. Among them are Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo (£8.4m) and Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m), while many are also dispensing with Liverpool’s ultra-premium Mo Salah (£14.0m), whose demotion to the Reds’ bench has seen his ownership plummet to the point of losing £0.5m in FPL market value.

Two of the most in-form players, overlooked by many but ideal as budget enablers, have been Brentford’s Dango Ouattara (£6.0m) and Fulham’s Samuel Chukwueze (£5.3m). They each depart London for AFCON at a frustrating time for their owners, with both clubs enjoying a kinder run of festive fixtures according to the FPL difficulty algorithm.

FORM PLAYERS UP FOR GRABS

If, as a result, money is no object, then there are certainly players to come in and take the mantle. Phil Foden (£8.6m) is currently the hottest FPL property, courtesy of an incredible 44 points across the last three Gameweeks for Manchester City.

If playing a Free Hit, a double-pronged Bruno midfield could be your answer. Even without a chip, either one of Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes (£9.1m) or the more budget-friendly Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United (£6.9m) would be signed to your squad on the back of a rich vein of form. Guimaraes’ side contests an unpredictable Wear-Tyne derby at Sunderland this weekend, while Fernandes leads his team at home to a Bournemouth side without a win in six.

The impressive Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall of Everton remains available at a basement fee of £5.1m, though this has rocketed up from £4.9m inside eight days so would be better acquired now if he’s your man. With Chukwueze and former Gunner Alex Iwobi (£6.4m) both bound for international duty with Nigeria, the minutes of in-form Fulham star Harry Wilson (£5.3m) could be reaffirmed over the Christmas period. Smartly-priced, with favourable fixtures and 26 points from his last three games, Wilson could be a strong addition – even just to your bench.

Up top, Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago (£7.0m) remain the most popular, with many also fancying Jean-Philippe Mateta (£8.0m) or Nick Woltemade (£7.5m). However, Mateta is currently a fitness risk, while Woltemade’s minutes could soon suffer with Newcastle’s fellow summer signing Yoane Wissa (£7.3m) now in the fold.

Budget options include Callum Wilson of West Ham United, priced at just £5.8m and could act as a clever third forward, while statistically the most in-form striker in FPL right now is Leeds United’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.5m), however, his side face three away fixtures in their next four, in contrast to Wilson’s Hammers who play three matches on home turf by GW19.

Defensively, the big recent news to emerge is the spell on the sidelines for Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz (£6.1m). Only the Gunners currently maintain a superior goals-conceded record in the top flight so far this campaign, making Palace defenders hugely popular. A straight swap could see Marc Guehi (£5.2m) or Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m) drafted in, though the Eagles’ next fixture is against Manchester City at Selhurst Park.

Trevoh Chalobah of Chelsea (£5.3m) could be ideal to replace Munoz for the 24.5% of managers who own him, while a crafty budget selection could be Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot, available for just £4.4m and owned by just 1.2% of Fantasy bosses. The Portuguese has been operating in a more advanced wide role of late, scoring 20 points in his last two.

Be sure not to miss one of the most pivotal transfer deadlines in FPL history, this Saturday at 1:30pm UK time. Will you play your AFCON transfers early, or is it a waiting game?

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