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Writer's pictureRyan Barnes

Gameweek 12 Ghost Point Hunters: Fantrax EPL

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 12 Ghost Point Hunters article is here to help!

Pedro Neto ghosting

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 12 Ghost Point Hunters

The less said about GW11, the better. What a weird GW. Here's to hoping that some semblance of normality is restored in this upcoming gameweek. To help ease the blow, we're hearkening back to a simpler time. Most of this week's picks look like they came straight out of 2019: TAA, Lucas Digne, & Andreas Pereira (more 2022 than 2019). Honorable Mention is a little more current: Conor Gallagher, Dara O'Shea, Johann Gudmundsson, &

Calvin Bassey. Finally, with a great deal of spite and venom, we designate Tommy Doyle, fresh off his first EPL start in which disproved the thesis that taking set pieces provides a floor, as a Dr. Peter Venkman Award recipient. We never want to hear that name again.


Trent Alexander Arnold

Position: Defender

Team: Liverpool

Rostered: 100%

Ghost Points Per Start: 8.25

Ghost Points Last GW: 15.25

Prospects: Nailed at RB, of course, but the real question is: what is his exact role on the pitch? Trent rosterers will love how he got forward and whipped in crosses against Luton Town, as Gomez was more defensive on the other flank. Will this continue or will Tsimikas return this weekend and relegate Trent to his poor fantasy numbers we've come to loathe this season?

Verdict: The risk-averse part of us wants to trade high on these ghosties, fearing a return to the middling performances of previous gameweeks. Thankfully Trent still has name value, and this performance will help sell the narrative that he's back. Try aiming for a 1:1 with a top 15 asset (e.g., ) or two high upside plays (e.g., Martinelli & Kudus).


Oh, Trent. What are we gonna do with you? He's been a fantasy legend for years but with some dips, notably much of last season. Then he gave us all renewed hope in his newfound inverted role during Liverpool's late season purple patch. Those performances led to a top 10 draft ranking coming into this season. But he has failed to live up to these lofty expectations so far. TAA currently sits 59th in PPS with an average of just over 9 - and his GPPS hovers around 8. There are a few reasons for this. First, he's had only one attacking return and three cleansheets. Second, a lot of the attacking thrust has been from the other fullback, Andy Robertson (before his injury) - he is getting into attacking areas less and less. Finally, he has been sharing set pieces with Robertson/Tsimikas and new boy Szoboslai.


So is there any hope for TAA? Yes, but he needs to seize this opportunity. Gomez slotted in for Tsimikas against Luton Town over the weekend and the young RB had a stellar ghost point outing, pinging in balls and unlucky to not nick an assist or two (cheers, Darwin). Trent finished with 15+ scary scores, stemming from 6 Key Passes, 1 Accurate Cross Not A Corner (ACNC), 2 Interceptions, &1 Clearance. He has to crack on from here if his rosterers want to get some semblance of return on investment. We all know he has it in his locker - Brentford at home is a great opportunity to show some consistency. That might be a good time to trade high if we're feeling conservative and depending on what we can get. These concerns could linger.


Lucas Digne

Position: Defender

Team: Aston Villa

Rostered: 90%

Ghost Points Per Start: 10.25

Ghost Points Last GW: 20.75

Prospects: For now, he's the first choice LB. He hasn't really a put foot wrong but Emery's boy/compatriot, Alex Moreno, is almost back from injury. We were on the Moreno train but we don't see it happening, at least not anytime soon.

Verdict: Play up the Moreno return narrative to get the price down. See if you can open with something like a DEF3 or MID4 ( folks like Tsimikas or Garner) for him. Or wait & hope he has a down week before you pounce.


Continuing the walk down memory lane, we come to Lucas Digne, God's gift to 2018/2019 Draft EPL. The French Left Back was a top 10, 13+ PPG player back then at Everton. The end of his time on Merseyside and the past few seasons at Aston Villa have been fairly rough. Last season, he hit rock bottom with a 4.4 PPS & 6ish GPPS, forcing well known Fantrax manager Unai Emery to seek out another Left Back in the form of Alex Moreno, who came over from Spain in January and duly supplanted ole Digne.


Moreno's late season knock opened the door for Digne and he hasn't looked back this campaign. He's rolling back the years and bagging ghosties. He's back to a double digit GPPS and is nicking a few assists as well. Most recently, against Forest this past GW, he dropped an obscene 20+ scary scores from 4 Key Passes, 1 Tackle Won, 4 Accurate Crosses Not Corners (ACNCs), 1Interception, 1 Clearance, 2 Successful Dribbles, & 5 Aerials. Digne did it all. But will it last? The aforementioned Moreno is nearly back to full fitness and should presumably be knocking on the door soon. Yet Villa & Digne have been playing really well and there's no real reason to change it up, especially when Moreno is coming back from a long term knock. So we expect this renaissance to continue apace - at least for a bit. Act accordingly.


Andreas Pereira

Position: Midfielder

Team: Fulham

Rostered: 79%

Ghost Points Per Start: 5.25

Ghost Points Last GW: 14

Prospects: A fixture in the creative center of Fulham's attack last season, Andreas has seen some rotation this campaign. Back in the starting lineup this past GW, he put in a hell of a fantasy performance (although Fulham lost to struggling Man United). We haven't seen enough to buy into the renaissance narrative.

Verdict: Trade high!


Andreas Pereira was not a top 10 asset in 2018/2019 like his colleagues above; he was coming off a so so loan spell at Valencia and largely warming the pine back at Manchester United. But if we fast forward to 2022/2023, the Brazilian playmaker becomes a nailed on starter and a tidy fantasy asset, boasting a 9PPs and some monster gameweeks, lumping in crosses to big Alex Mitrovic. Those heady days, however, are long gone. Mitrovic has done one to Saudi and Pereira is now facing some rotation and doesn't have a viable striker to feed.


His numbers, unsurprisingly, have taken a nosedive this season. Pereira is struggling to reach 7 PPS and barely producing 5 GPPS. But the tonic that is playing against Man United has seemingly revived him - at least temporarily. Against the mighty Reds, he posted 14 ghosties from 6 Key Passes, 1 Blocked Shot, & 2 Aerials. This seems like an aberration; we still wouldn't feel confident fielding him outside of a really tasty matchup. Trading high is the play here. Good luck.


Honorable Mention:

  • Conor Gallagher (Chelsea MID; 15 ghosts): Every Chelsea performance from the Monday thriller v Spuds needs to be taken with a huge helping of salt given that they were up against a suicidal & shorthanded high line. But Gallagher has still been doing the business otherwise, wielding an 8+ GPPS. This is not going to last, though, as Nkunku is raring to come back and supplant him in the hole. Trade high?

  • Dara O'Shea (Burnley DEF; 11.5 ghosts): Not much to say here - the Irishman delivers the ghost point goods week after week. If only the Clarets could come close to keeping a cleanie. Either way, he's proven himself to be a break glass in the case of emergency defensive streamer option ROS.

  • Johann Gudmundsson (Burnley MID; 14.5 ghosts): No comment; this is an aberration and he's also made of glass. Moving on.

  • Calvin Bassey (Fulham DEF; 10 ghosts): A @draftgenie favorite, the towering Fulham DEF has been starting and ghosting of late. The Cottagers haven't been solid at the back in awhile, so his upside is likely limited. In a pinch, though, he's not a terrible shout.

Category Killers:

  • Key Passes: Trent Alexander Arnold (6)

  • Successful Dribbles: Jeremy Doku (5)

  • Aerials: Ethan Pinnock (9)

  • Accurate Crosses Not Corners (ACNCs): Lucas Digne (4)

  • Tackles Won: Nicolas Dominguez (4)

  • Interceptions: Joachim Andersen (3)

Dr. Peter Venkman Award:

Tommy Doyle (Wolves MID; 0 ghosts): We were somewhat excited to see young Tommy Doyle's Peaky Blinders-esque name on the teamsheet over the weekend. That is, until a few minutes into the game. The former Man City youth product/Sheffield United man came in to take over set pieces from the injured Pedro Neto, hence the excitement. Surely someone who dominates set pieces will at least have a 5-7 point floor, and with a good matchup against Sheffield United, the omens were positive. The only problem is that Doyle's actually poor at sets and doesn't do much else. We hate-watched this game and saw firsthand that none of his set pieces found the head of a teammate. Long story short, he finished in the red, with 2 Clearances and 1 Yellow Card. And Wolves instantly looked better when he came off for Bellegarde, who we think will come in for Doyle and take over sets this weekend against a weakened Tottenham side. You win some, you lose some. But you're dead to us, Tommy boy.


***Click here to view the full Ghost Point Tracker table!***


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