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Welcome to The Watchlist for January, RotoBallers! This is the third year covering FPL on the site, and we are bringing you more coverage than ever before. We will publish the Gameweek Preview, consisting of a Staff Roundtable and our rankings every week. Then, once a month, we will publish our newest article, The Watchlist.
After a hectic December that saw seven gameweek deadlines come and go, things settle down for FPL managers in January. Due to winter breaks and international competitions, there will only be two gameweeks in 2024's first month. However, there is still plenty of action to keep track of with the AFCON and Asia Cup. Plus, on the domestic front, there are a couple of rounds of the FA Cup and the semifinals of the Carabao Cup to complete.
The Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 21 deadline is 6:00 AM ET on Saturday, January 13, for the Chelsea-Fulham clash. Also, look out for the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every English Premier League, Major League Soccer, and UEFA Champions League slate from a DFS and betting perspective.
Fantasy Premier League - The Watchlist
The Watchlist is our monthly Fantasy Premier League article where we identify over and underachievers from the last month to recommend excellent FPL picks for the short to medium-term future. We will review each position and the fixtures before recommending five players for the upcoming calendar month.
December's Fantasy Premier League High Scorers
- Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford, Everton - 36 points
- Defender: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool - 51 points
- Midfielder: Son Heung-min, Spurs - 52 points
- Forward: Dominic Solanke, Bournemouth - 46 points
Fantasy Premier League Overachievers
Goalkeepers
| Player | Team | Clean Sheets | Save % | FPL Points | xG Prevented |
| Trafford | BUR | 2 | 80.4 | 33 | 4.8 |
| Dubravka | NEW | 1 | 67.4 | 25 | 3.4 |
| Sanchez | CHE | 0 | 77.3 | 16 | 2.6 |
| Vicario | TOT | 1 | 67.6 | 21 | 2.4 |
| Henderson | CRY | 0 | 77.3 | 9 | 2.0 |
A monstrous goalkeeping performance, even in defeat 🧤
Martin Dubravka was benched by 156,055 #FPL managers in Gameweek 20 - were you one of them?#LIVNEW pic.twitter.com/fZ2Y18uDLj
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) January 2, 2024
Defenders
| Player | Team | Att. Returns | Clean Sheets | FPL Points | xGI | Delta |
| Doughty | LUT | 4 | 1 | 37 | 1.31 | 2.69 |
| O'Shea | BUR | 2 | 2 | 22 | 0.46 | 1.54 |
| Senesi | BOU | 3 | 3 | 42 | 1.53 | 1.47 |
| Estupinan | BHA | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0.09 | 0.91 |
| Tosin | FUL | 1 | 2 | 25 | 0.13 | 0.87 |
Midfielders
| Player | Team | Goals | Assists | FPL Points | xGI | Delta |
| Son | TOT | 4 | 4 | 52 | 4.39 | 3.61 |
| Bailey | AVL | 3 | 2 | 35 | 2.01 | 2.99 |
| McNeil | EVE | 2 | 3 | 39 | 2.05 | 2.95 |
| Paqueta | WHU | 0 | 4 | 26 | 1.09 | 2.91 |
| Wilson | FUL | 2 | 2 | 26 | 1.27 | 2.73 |
Forwards
| Player | Team | Goals | Assists | FPL Points | xGI | Delta |
| Cunha | WOL | 3 | 3 | 39 | 3.28 | 2.72 |
| Watkins | AVL | 2 | 3 | 35 | 2.38 | 2.62 |
| Wood | NFO | 4 | 1 | 35 | 2.91 | 2.09 |
| Jimenez | FUL | 4 | 1 | 29 | 2.35 | 1.65 |
| Foster | BUR | 1 | 1 | 14 | 0.44 | 1.56 |
Fantasy Premier League Underachievers
Goalkeepers
| Player | Team | Clean Sheets | Save % | FPL Points | xG Prevented |
| Flekken | BRE | 0 | 53.6 | 11 | -4.4 |
| Raya | ARS | 1 | 52.4 | 20 | -3.8 |
| Foderingham | SHU | 1 | 64.9 | 20 | -3.0 |
| Vlachodimos | NFO | 0 | 25.0 | 2 | -2.2 |
| Leno | FUL | 2 | 67.6 | 21 | -2.1 |
Defenders
| Player | Team | Att. Returns | Clean Sheets | FPL Points | xGI | Delta |
| Konsa | AVL | 0 | 2 | 18 | 1.45 | -1.45 |
| Trippier | NEW | 1 | 1 | 15 | 2.02 | -1.02 |
| Schar | NEW | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0.89 | -0.89 |
| van Hecke | BHA | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0.82 | -0.82 |
| Ake | MCI | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0.79 | -0.79 |
Midfielders
| Player | Team | Goals | Assists | FPL Points | xGI | Delta |
| Fernandes | MUN | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2.45 | -2.45 |
| Saka | ARS | 2 | 1 | 28 | 5.24 | -2.24 |
| Almiron | NEW | 1 | 0 | 20 | 3.1 | -2.1 |
| Trossard | ARS | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | -2 |
| Janelt | BRE | 0 | 1 | 15 | 1.72 | -1.72 |
Forwards
| Player | Team | Goals | Assists | FPL Points | xGI | Delta |
| Calvert-Lewin | EVE | 0 | 1 | 13 | 3.79 | -3.79 |
| Isak | NEW | 2 | 0 | 20 | 4.36 | -2.36 |
| Archer | SHU | 1 | 1 | 21 | 2.68 | -1.68 |
| Broja | CHE | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1.41 | -1.41 |
| Nunez | LIV | 1 | 2 | 22 | 4.41 | -1.41 |
Back to fitness, back among the goals - is Alexander Isak back in your #FPL plans? 🤔#LIVNEW pic.twitter.com/nk8kFecGL3
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) January 1, 2024
Fantasy Premier League Fixtures - January
Best Fixtures
- Brighton: Wolves, at Luton
- West Ham: at Sheffield United, Bournemouth
- Sheffield United: West Ham, at Crystal Palace
- Arsenal: Crystal Palace, at Nottingham Forest
- Liverpool: at Bournemouth, Chelsea
Worst Fixtures
- Newcastle: Man City, at Aston Villa
- Nottingham Forest: at Brentford, Arsenal
- Spurs: at Man United, Brentford
- Burnley: Luton, at Man City
- Chelsea: Fulham, at Liverpool
Fantasy Premier League Five To Watch - January
Alfie Doughty - Luton Town
- The apple of Jamie Steed's eye is in impressive form for FPL managers. In December, Alfie Doughty's 37 points were the third-most among defenders, trailing only Trent Alexander-Arnold and Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi. His 1.31 xGI was ninth at the position and he supplied four assists to end 2023. Luton has an outside chance at a couple of double gameweeks over the next two months, and Doughty will be a very popular asset should those come to fruition.
Bukayo Saka - Arsenal
- Dropping Bukayo Saka from your FPL squad has become trendy over the last month, yet the Arsenal midfielder is still ticking along nicely. He's fourth among all midfielders for FPL points and faces Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest in the next two gameweeks. With Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min off to their respective continental competitions, Saka is a strong hold for January.
Pervis Estupinan - Brighton Hove & Albion
- On Tuesday night, Pervis Estupinan made his first start for Brighton since Gameweek 7. After a lengthy absence through injury, the Ecuadorian defender has a clean sheet and a goal in 135 minutes. He was a trendy pick to start the season but has seen his roster rate fall to 17.7 percent. Brighton has a tremendous fixture run from now until Gameweek 28, and Estupinan has the potential to reward the managers who jump back on him earlier than most.
Diogo Jota - Liverpool
- Diogo Jota just returned from a month-long spell on the sidelines but is definitely in our FPL thoughts, with Mohamed Salah flying off to AFCON for January and February. In 32 minutes across two matches, Jota has a goal and two assists. It proves how explosive of an asset he can be for our FPL squads. Liverpool's overall quality will suffer without Salah, but Jota, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, and Cody Gakpo can provide fill-in duty for the Egyptian King. Jota is my favorite punt out of the four of them.
Armando Broja - Chelsea
- In a similar case to Diogo Jota, Armando Broja stands to benefit from a teammate's national duty. Nicolas Jackson is competing against Salah at AFCON, and it's freed up some runway for Armando Broja to make his mark at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea faces Fulham, Liverpool, Wolves, and Crystal Palace over the next four games, and Broja is currently £4.9 million. If Erling Haaland returns and you must free up cash, Broja is a great salary-saving striker.
Is there anything else you would like to cover for FPL every week? Hit us up on Twitter @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
