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, successful dribbles, interceptions, accurate crosses, and aerials, among others. Identifying these points is essential for your Fantasy EPL prospects, and our Gameweek 26 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 26 Ghost Point Hunters
We're back. GPH has woken up from a double DGW-induced coma and is here to sort out the ghosters from the pretenders. In other words, we're dumpster diving this week. Here is your lot: Oriol Romeu (hear me out), Nathan Ake (yeah, I can't believe it either), & Jakub Moder (come again?). Honorable Mention includes one recent entries from the big board, which makes GPH feel like a proud father watching his boy make the jump: Anthony Gordon (man/boy of the hour; was featured in GW24 of GPH), Ethan (Neil) Pinnock (we missed you), & Ben Davies (spoiler alert: don't do it). Last and certainly least, the Dr. Peter Venkman Award goes to a pair of GW25 no-show degenerates: Jordan Ayew & Ollie Watkins (be still my heart).
Oriol Romeu
Position: Midfielder
Team: Southampton
Rostered: 19%
Ghost Points Per Start: 6.7
Ghost Points Last GW: 12
Prospects: Nailed on in this mercurial Saints side. Fancies a yellow card but decent streaming option for SGW; if/when Southampton have a DGW, he becomes a real tasty proposition.
Verdict: Stream with caution if you need a MID in a pinch; definitely worth a pick up in DGWs.
For months, the Catalan wrecking ball that is Oriol Romeu held an unwanted record - a very large number of successive starts without ever reaching double digit points. Well, he is past that now. In GW24, he dropped double digits just in ghost points. This is certainly not to say that he is getting his KDB on every week, far from it. But he is worth exploring.
Against a hapless Manchester United - redundant, I know - Romeu posted a dozen ghosties. He scoured all ends of the pitch for these scary scores: 2 Key Passes, 2 Tackles Won, 4 Interceptions, 1 Clearance, & 2 Successful Dribbles (only Harry Maguire can make this happen). Playing at Old Trafford is a tonic for midfielders who like acres of space but he also ghosted against Wolves a few GWs back. It must be said that Romeu is still more likely to drop the 4-6 pointer than 12-15. But this does catapult him from never stream to potential streamer/definite streamer for DGWs. And sometimes that is worth noting.
Nathan Ake
Position: Defender
Team: Manchester City
Rostered: 21%
Ghost Points Per Start: 7.1
Ghost Points This Past GW: 12.75
Prospects: Rotation piece that will likely benefit from the onset of mid-week Champions League fixtures. Becoming a must stream when he does start.
Verdict: Stream when he starts. To quote Jay Cartwright, simples.
In keeping with the theme, GPH never thought that Nathan Ake would make the list (unless it was for the Dr. Peter Venkman Award). But here we are. His inclusion is warranted after posting over a dozen ghosties versus Norwich. They came from a variety of attacking and defensive categories: 2 Key Passes, 3 Tackles Won, 2 Interceptions, 1 Clearance, & 4 Aerials. Granted, this was against a relegation side. But this isn't all that uncommon. When the Dutchman starts, he scores pretty well. And with City being the cleanie-machine that it is, Ake can post some tasty scores. He is quietly averaging over 9 points per game.
So what do we do with all this helpful information? Well, you check the City lineup and pick Ake up off waivers if he is on it. He isn't worth holding long-term but well worth streaming. Pep rotated against Norwich with the Champions League match on his mind. For future GWs that fall prior to CL games, he is worth a punt off the wire that week. His colleague Zinchenko also falls into this category. Act accordingly.
Jakub Moder
Position: Midfielder
Team: Brighton
Rostered: 20%
Ghost Points Per Start: 4.6
Ghost Points This Past DGW: 11 in the first game; 7.5 in the second
Prospects: No one is safe from Potter roulette but he has become one of the safer bets. He has started every game but two since mid-November.
Verdict: Streamer candidate.
Rounding off the potential streamer trio is Jakub Moder. The towering Pole tempted a fair amount of fantasy managers this past week given the Brighton DGW and his inclusion in the starting lineup. He did not disappoint, delivering a combined total of nearly 20 points. He had two very different games - the second game v Manchester United was tricky because Brighton played with 10 men for much of the second half - but he was able to produce in both. He also passed the eye test; he has the height to win aerials (5 v Watford) and the attacking prowess (1 Key Pass, 1 Shot on Target, 2 Successful Dribbles, & 1 ACNC v Watford) to nick a return. In fact, Moder was very unlucky to not pick up an attacking return in either game, forcing some good saves.
As with his contemporaries above, GPH is not urging you to pick up Moder immediately and hold ROS. Despite these decent scores, his overall numbers are nothing to write home about. But he shows promise and is also one to watch for potential streaming opportunities, especially in good matchups. As you were.
Honorable Mention:
Anthony Gordon (Everton FWD; 19 ghosts): Oh my, number 1 in ghosties this week with a monstrous 19 scary scores to go with a Goal and an Assist. Hope you heeded GPH's advice in the GW24 edition to pick him up. He should be a nice ROS hold with a 6-7 point floor and the capability to go HAM under Lampard.
Ethan Pinnock (Brentford DEF; 15.75 ghosts): After going off the boil for a bit, the early season fantasy darling got back to ghosting ways. Can he keep it up? Might be worth getting him to find out (try to buy on a low after Pepe bodies him over the weekend).
Ben Davies (Tottenham DEF; 10 ghosts): The Welshman can ghost on his day but is too inconsistent. While a tempting option for this DGW, he could get smoked by City and also may not start both. Too risky.
Dr. Peter Venkman Award:
Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace FWD; 1 ghost) & Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa FWD; 0 ghosts): It was an easy contest this week - these two toothless strikers were so bad that no one could compete.
Let's start with Ayew. While his numbers don't scream unstreamable, he is more than capable of dropping 0-2 points. Hence he can't get a game for CNFC. Back from AFCON and in a decent matchup v struggling Brentford, the Ghanaian posted a lone point. Ayew somehow managed to get dispossessed 7 times (7!), which made even Wilf Zaha blush. Palace's DGW this week gives him some added luster but GPH wants no part of it.
Now, this is when things get dicey. It gives GPH no pleasure to call out Ollie Watkins. But he has left us with no choice with his actions (or inactions). The Villa striker has looked off nearly the entire season but hope always springs eternal that he can regain the form that made him a top fantasy asset last season. It has not yet come to pass. In fact, Watkins looks even worse under Gerrard, hitting rock bottom in a seemingly tasty matchup this past GW v Newcastle by dropping a goose egg. In his defense, he did have a goal disallowed by VAR for seemingly having a toe nail offside. Be that as it may, this is unacceptable. His ghosts have all but dried up and he has become goal dependent without the goals. And has GPH wondering if he should be dropped v Watford. Oh the humanity.
***Click here to view the full Ghost Point Tracker table!***
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