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 36 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 36 Ghost Point Hunters
Just 3 more GWs left -it's officially squeaky bum time. Of course there are DGWs left, because why the hell not? GW36 includes two bites of the apple for Newcastle & Brighton. While the Geordies have decent fixtures (Leeds & Brighton), the Seagulls take two tricky trips (to the Emirates & St James' Park). Anyways, on the ghosting front, we're going with an odd trio: Emi Buendia, Joel Ward, & Joao Palhinha. The Honorable Mention section features more household names: James Maddison, JWP (return of the set piece Jedi), Cristian Romero, & Dwight McNeil. And the Dr. Peter Venkman Award goes to an unfortunate DGWer - Danny Welbeck. It was inevitable.
Emiliano Buendia
Position: Midfielder
Team: Aston Villa
Rostered: 84%
Ghost Points Per Start: 4.8
Ghost Points Last GW: 11.5
Prospects: He's nailed on in an interesting role for Unai Emery. This role has not really been conducive for ghosting (apart from a few aberrations/instances); we're skeptical of his prospects ROS.
Verdict: Trade out on a high (use his name recognition & this performance to upgrade)/stay away.
What a journey it's been - from fantasy darling at Norwich to relegation to crazy hype upon arrival at Aston Villa to fantasy mediocrity. This is the story of Emi Buendia. Many of us who remember his fantasy exploits from Norwich took him as early as late 1st Round/early 2nd Round in the draft last season. That was the level of expectation when returned to the EPL with a new look Villa side. While he had his moments, he wasn't quite the same player, delivering just 7 ghosties per start. This is understandable given it's a new club and Buendia had to suffer through 2 new managers - Dean Smith & Steven Gerrard.
With Unai Emery taking over mid-season, he and everyone else were given a clean slate. Buendia has earned a starting role in the new system. But for the most part he has been even worse fantasy-wise. He can't even muster over 5 ghosties a game in this role. He has been a ball carrier and somewhat of a creative outlet but the points are lacking. He used to thrive on set pieces at Norwich but is now off them entirely. So what would you say you do here, Emi?
This past GW, however, we saw an acid trip of the old version of the diminutive Argentine. Buendia's double-digit scary scores stemmed from an all action performance: 2 Key Passes, 1 Shot on Target, 4 Successful Dribbles, 1 Blocked Shot, & 2 Aerials. Still a far cry from that memorable day where he clocked a then ghost point record but pretty, pretty good. Will it last? Probably not, unfortunately. We've seen false dawn after false dawn. It's time to suck it up and admit that the Emi Buendia in green and yellow is never coming back. Act accordingly.
Joel Ward
Position: Defender
Team: Crystal Palace
Rostered: 8%
Ghost Points Per Start: 7.1
Ghost Points Last GW: 11.75
Prospects: He's the starter at RB and has shown he can ghost. He'll be a decent streamer this GW & ROS.
Verdict: Pick him up!
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Apply this to Draft EPL and Joel Ward immediately comes to mind. The quintessential "break glass in case of emergency" guy is back to help you close out the season with a bit more gusto. It won't be pretty but it will be emotional.
Indeed, the lanky Englishman's game will never win any beauty contests. But Ward is nothing if not efficient. He has long been a middling fantasy asset on a team that one can never tell which version will show up. He is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance, although that would intimate that he was on the up before, which really isn't the case. Anyway, Ward is performing pretty well of late. His ghost point form is running at a clip of over 9 points per start, and he is coming off a nearly dozen ghostie performance against Spurs. This came from 6 Tackles Won, 1 Accurate Cross Not a Corner (ACNC), 2 Interceptions, 3 Clearances, 1 Successful Dribble, & 1 Aerial. Palace close with Bournemouth, Fulham, & Forest - not a bad time to get the boring mug into your squad.
Joao Palhinha
Position: Midfielder
Team: Fulham
Rostered: 47%
Ghost Points Per Start: 6
Ghost Points Last GW: 12.5
Prospects: He's been a stalwart in the center of the park all season. He has been better IRL than fantasy but he has his moments, especially over the last few weeks.
Verdict: Pick him up if he's somehow on your waiver wire. If not and you need midfield help, you could try a cheeky 1:1 for a DEF like Thiago Silva.
Rarely does a new transfer garner so little fanfare but turn out to be so effective. Palhinha came to Fulham over the summer and only the most insufferable of insufferable football hipsters were purring at the transfer. But these FC Sankt Pauli supporters in their parents' basements were spot on - he has done an incredible job in the Cottagers' midfield this campaign.
Fantasy-wise, Palhinha has not really pulled up any trees, save for a few performances in which he banged in some screamers. This is not surprising given that he is a CDM; the role limits how much upside he can really provide. However, just like Ward above, he is in the midst of a cheeky little purple patch to end the season. He has posted nearly 10 ghost points per start over the last 3 matches. Most recently, he bagged 12.5 against Leicester, which came from 1 Key Pass, 7 Tackles Won, 2 Interceptions, 1 Blocked Shot, & 2 Aerials. Given his position, Palhinha could turn into a pumpkin at any moment. But this is a ride it until the wheels fall off scenario.
Honorable Mentions:
James Maddison (Leicester City MID; 19.5 ghosts): My goodness, after a slow start, Madders turned it on against Fulham (although he missed a pen). He now boasts a gpps of over 10 and his ghoist point form is over 14. He'll be a monster ROS as his team fights to stave off relegation.
James Ward-Prowse (Southampton MID; 19 ghosts): The Dr. Peter Venkman award strikes again. It went perfectly to plan as JWP used the Venkman status conferred upon him last week as motivation this week to drop a monster score. He's still got it in him and can be relied upon ROS despite the Saints going down.
Cristian Romero (Tottenham DEF; 16 ghosts): Such a strange player - can go from a yellow-card induced coma to adding 16 ghosts to a clean sheet. You never quite know what you're going to get. But you'll have to stick with him ROS at this point to find out.
Dwight McNeil (Everton MID; 16 ghosts): We are quite aware that a nearly 50 point display is extremely impressive. But the McNeil hype that had largely ebbed is now at an absurd fever pitch. Let's hope Everton beat City but Dwight comes back down to earth - for everyone's sake.
Dr. Peter Venkman Award:
Danny Welbeck (Brighton FWD; 0.5 ghosts): Good ole Welbz. The oft-injured, consistently inconsistent striker polarizes opinion. Fantasy-wise, he's largely boom or bust. The fact that he now plays for the high-flying Seagulls somewhat masks that fact. While Welbeck has a pretty points per start average of 8.2, his ghosts are lacking, which isn't atypical for a #9, but he's at a personal low right now. Historically, he usually averages around 7 ghosties per start; nowadays it's roughly 5. And his latest outing was even worst, albeit in a 45 minute cameo. Before being hooked, Welbz couldn't even wrangle up 1 solitary ghost, ending with 0.5. This feat was managed by nicking 1 Interception and 1 Dispossession. He, like a few Brighton assets, will prove a tricky proposition in this DGW. If only Danny Boy could up his ghost game - maybe he'll do a JWP out of spite?
***Click here to view the full Ghost Point Tracker table!***
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