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
Another cruel, er, exciting gameweek is in the books. Villa rose from the dead, Forest pulled off a shocker, the Man City steamroller continued, and Arsenal got hosed. In the ghost point world, it was another intriguing set of results. We have identified some pretenders and some contenders. On the big board, we've handpicked Douglas Luiz, Fabian Schar, & Brendan Aaronson. The honorable mention section, meanwhile, is quite bloated this week, with no less than Aaron Cresswell, Rodrigo Bentancur, Andreas Pereira, Ollie Watkins/Danny Ings, Harvey Elliott, Adama Traore, James Milner, & Ezri Konsa getting a shout. Wiping away the tears, the Dr. Peter Venkman Award goes to the beautiful Brazilian maestro, Gabriel Martinelli. We can't be accused of bias around here.
Douglas Luiz
Position: Midfielder
Team: Aston Villa
Rostered: 20%
Ghost Points Per Start: 6.1
Ghost Points Last GW: 10
Prospects: The Brazilian was rumored to be leaving the club before making a u-turn a few weeks ago and signing a new long term contract. He should be nailed on, playing a pivotal role in Emery's system and taking some set pieces.
Verdict: Pick him up!
Aston Villa has certainly been one of the most disappointing outfits this season. Appointing Steven Gerrard and spending a hefty sum of money (certainly for Aston Villa standards) created the expectation of at least a semblance of a push for European places. It just hasn't happened, and Stevie G rightly paid the price. Douglas Luiz has been a curious character in all of this. He refused to sign a new contract, flirted with Arsenal all the way up to the end of the transfer window, but then ended up signing that new contract earlier this month in the midst of a horrible skid for the West Midlands club.
He has been an influential midfielder for the club over the past few years - an interesting mix of steel and flair. Fantasy-wise, Luiz had flashes of brilliance last campaign but has been very average this season when he hasn't nicked an attacking return, which have been hard to come by for the entire team. Fast forward to the run up to GW13 - Stevie G is finally fired after a mid-week pounding by Fulham and then the Villans absolutely blitz poor Brentford, going up 3 nil within the first 20 minutes. It was a banner GW for most of Villa's attack, and Luiz was no different, delivering an assist and 10 ghosties: 3 Key Passes, 1 Shot on Target, 1 Tackle Won, & 2 Interceptions.
The great thing about Luiz is that 1) he takes some set pieces that give him a nice floor/opportunity for returns & ghosties & 2) his role gives him the platform to get both attacking and defensive stats. And the way new manager Unai Emery likes to play should give him further license to get forward and launch attacks. Again, historically he hasn't lit the world on fire but he has an opportunity to reach solid MID3 status. You would be hard pressed to find a more high upside midfielder on the waiver wire right now. You know what to do.
Fabian Schar
Position: Defender
Team: Newcastle United
Rostered: 84%
Ghost Points Per Start: 9.5
Ghost Points Last GW: 11.3
Prospects: Has locked down a CB role, which has surprised some who figured that the pairing would be Dan Burn & new signing Sven Botman. He has become a top ghoster & Newcastle already has secured 4 cleanies.
Verdict: Try offering an attractive defender + fab (e.g., Azpilicueta +$8) - we pulled off this exact same trade this week.
The brave among us have streamed Fabian Schar in the past. A slick Swiss defender who has a laser for a boot and has scored some worldies despite being a lanky stalwart at the back. But he has never been a reliable player to roster long term (averaging 3.7pps & 6.7pps, respectively, the last 2 campaigns). No more. He is a changed man this season, posting double digit points and nearly double digit ghosties per start.
Like most managers, we were very skeptical when Schar started the season relatively strong. It won't last, sell high, we said. Well, we're now believers. He has quietly turned himself into the 18th highest scorer (by pps) and, most importantly for our purposes, the 12th highest ghoster (with nearly the ghosties per start avg of Joao Cancelo). This newfound Casper was on display this past GW, albeit against a struggling Tottenham. Schar posted over 11 ghosties, stemming from the following: 2 Shots on Target, 5 Clearances, 1 Successful Dribble, 3 Blocked Shots, & 2 Aerials. As you can see, our man gets a nice assortment of defensive & offensive stat categories. He still has a poor reputation for many managers despite rising like a phoenix from the ashes this season - pounce while you can.
Brendan Aaronson
Position: Midfielder
Team: Leeds United
Rostered: 85%
Ghost Points Per Start: 6.5
Ghost Points Last GW: 14
Prospects: He has been a mainstay in Jesse Marsch's attack since his arrival in the summer. Even if the American is sacked, Aaronson will likely remain a fixture in the lineup.
Verdict: We're not entirely convinced yet but he is a high-upside midfielder regardless. Try an opener of a MID5 + DEF3 (e.g., Onana + Cooper).
Draft Genie rejoices - his obsession, Brendan Aaronson, finally makes his GPH debut. The Yank has turned some heads and passed the eye test since coming to Yorkshire. His exploits have even garnered him a song from the Leeds faithful, to the tune of "American Boy". Original. Nevertheless, he has been very spotty fantasy-wise. For someone so pivotal to the Leeds attack and so commanding of set pieces, his ghosties have been severely lacking - hence the lowly 6.5 ghost point per start average.
However, his gPPS was just given a bump due to his impressive GW13 performance against Fulham. Aaronson saved his best ghostie performance of the season for this matchup, dropping 14 scary scores, dispatching 7 Key Passes (!). This invokes the age old question - is this a blip or a sign of things to come? Unfortunately, this is likely his ghost point ceiling, which is perfectly fine. Aaronson will continue to be a solid MID3 with upside, especially if his colleagues start burying some of these key passes. If you're keen, wait for him to blank (probably won't be long) and then try to get him in. God bless the USA.
Honorable Mentions:
Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United DEF; 16.5 ghosts): We hate to say we told you so - actually, we love it - but we told you so! Cress got the famous GPH bump this GW after featuring in last week's edition. He did it again, albeit against pretty bad competition, and is now in the midst of a purple patch. Hope you were able to get him in.
Rodrigo Betancur (Tottenham Hotsp*r MID); 16.5 ghosts): Joint first in ghosties this week with Cress - doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the West Ham man but alas - Betancur does this sporadically. Remember his big outing v Leicester back in September? He hadn't eclipsed 7.5 since that fateful day - this is another aberration. He's a decent floor guy (ghost point avg of just over 7) with the ability to pop up with these performances from time to time; just don't get your hopes up.
Andreas Pereira (Fulham MID; 13.5 ghosts): The Brazilian playmaker was a man possessed against Leeds and was at the heart of almost every attack, hence the hefty ghost point haul. His set pieces, which he notably commanded despite the presence of Harry Wilson, provide a nice floor. Let's see if it continues but his ghost point average of just 7 leads us to believe it could be short-lived.
Ollie Watkins/Danny Ings (Aston Villa FWDs; 12.5 ghosts each): Even long-suffering Watkins and Ings ghosted in the post-Stevie G extravaganza against Brentford. Don't expect this to last - they both avg just 6 ghosties per start (not terrible for a FWD but way below what they achieved this past GW). These performances were likely a collector's item.
Harvey Elliott (Liverpool MID; 12.5 ghosts): The young utility midfielder was one of the few who actually got some joy versus an uncharacteristically stubborn Forest defense, dropping over a dozen ghosties. He's a nice to have player, as he has it in his locker to ghost like this. But he can also fade in games and suffers from rotation - premium streamer.
Adama Traore (Wolves FWD; 11 ghosts): Fills us with so much joy to be able to use the Ghost Point God in the GPH featured image this week. The Wolves specimen has gotten back into the team and is up to his old ghosting ways and is even nicking attacking returns. And he finally went the full 90 minutes last time out v Leicester. He is seemingly in the caretaker manager's plans. Enjoy.
James Milner (Liverpool MID; 11 ghosts): We picked him up where we could in the hope that the old man would get the nod, and he did. And, as always, he didn't disappoint. Was unlucky to not get a return but the ghosts were there, of course. He likely won't get another start for a while but remember to scoop him up whenever he does.
Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa DEF; 10.5 ghosts): GPH had a sneaky feeling that Konsa would benefit this GW from aerials with Toney and a new/no manager bump - we swear, we can share the receipts - and we were right. Unfortunately, he remains a "break glass in emergency" option in advantageous matchups.
Dr. Peter Venkman Award:
Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal MID; 2.5 ghosts): It really pains us to call out a player of such elegance but ghost points are ghost points, or the lack thereof, and even Gabriel Martinelli is beyond reproach. He had an off day against Southampton, just nicking an Accurate Cross Not a Corner (ACNC) & a few Successful Dribbles. It was his worst total point & ghost point performance of the season, and he looked tired. The problem is that by now we're used to him doing much more - he boasts an average of nearly 9 ghosties per start, and with that comes lofty expectations. This really isn't cause for concern, even though he has come off the boil a bit. He has Forest coming up and he's also playing against us this GW - look out.
***Click here to view the full Ghost Point Tracker table!***
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