Our friends at PickGuru have analysed this week’s most popular transfers in the official Fantasy Premier League game and given a verdict for each of the top three.
Are they a point-scoring banker, or will they go bust?
Most popular transfers ahead of Gameweek 15:
| Player | Club | Position | Value | Transfers (in) |
| Emmanuel Dennis | Watford | Forward | 5.4 | 404,394 |
| Diego Jota | Liverpool | Midfielder | 7.9 | 278,333 |
| Bernardo Silva | Man City | Midfielder | 7.4 | 234,972 |
Emmanuel Dennis
Watford’s in-form forward is a rather surprising name at the top of the transfer charts this week, but it’s clearly down to two factors – value and form.
Priced at just 5.4m, Dennis is the definition of a bargain buy. Indeed, of the top scoring 30 forwards in the game, only Southampton’s Armando Broja (5.0) is cheaper.
Furthermore, Dennis is the second-highest scoring forward with an eye-catching 73 points, just three behind leader Jamie Vardy.
He’s been propelled to the top of that list by his recent form, where he’s averaged a whopping 8.8 points per game in the last 30 days. Only the red-hot Trent Alexander-Arnold (9.5 in the same period) has surpassed that total.
But there’s a rather large elephant in the room when it comes to assessing Dennis in Gameweek 15. His opponents this week will be champions Manchester City.
Based on underlying numbers, City have the best defence in the league. With a miniscule 8.79 xG conceded in their 14 matches to date, they are comfortably clear of any other side. For context, Chelsea (14.01), Crystal Palace (14.21) and Liverpool (14.51) are their nearest pursuers.
With City likely to dominate the ball, Watford will be feeding off scraps and there will be a big emphasis on Dennis, Josh King and co to capitalise on any counter-attacks that might come their way.
Dennis has scored impressive point totals against Manchester United, Leicester and even Chelsea recently, but this looks his hardest assignment to date and the recommendation is to perhaps wait a week before thinking about him in your team.
PickGuru verdict: Bust
Diego Jota
Next up in the transfer popularity stakes is Liverpool’s Jota, who has smashed four goals in his last three games and bagged 30 FPL points along the way.
Whisper it quietly, but that means he has outscored the incomparable Mohamad Salah (29 in his last three), which is an achievement in itself.
With Roberto Firmino injured, Jota has stepped up to the task for the Merseyside outfit and has proven to be a key component in the country’s strongest attack.
Not only have the Reds scored the most goals (43), but they also top the underlying statistics too – with an xG of 35.55. To demonstrate the ferocity of their attacking prowess, these numbers put them nearly eight clear of Manchester City (27.83) and more than ten goals clear of Chelsea (25.16).
Make no mistake – this is an offensive machine and Jota is spearheading it.
This week’s opponents Wolves have been involved in several stalemates recently. They’ve played out drab goalless draws with Burnley and Norwich, but did eke out a narrow 1-0 victory against West Ham before those borefests.
Some will point to that defensive solidity as a positive, but Liverpool are a very different beast to Wolves’ recent rivals and while attention will rightly be given to stopping Salah, it may be Jota that can have the biggest say against his old club.
PickGuru verdict: Banker
Bernardo Silva
You’d be forgiven for double-checking the numbers here. Yes, that’s Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva who is the third most-popular transfer in this week’s list.
Just shy of a quarter-of-a-million teams (234,972) have decided to bring in the diminutive Portuguese maestro, who has scored three goals in his last four games.
Those additions have taken his total to five for the season, which has comprehensively confined his returns from the last campaign (just the two goals) to the distant past.
The other element in FPL managers’ minds will likely be Silva’s playing time. Not only is he elusive on the pitch, but he seems to have slipped past the weekly game of Pep roulette.
Do not adjust your screens – Bernardo has played the full 90 minutes in City’s last nine league games. Somehow, he’s escaped the claws of squad rotation whilst all those around him were rested.
But could that final positive be his biggest drawback in Gameweek 15?
Jack Grealish is fit again. Kevin De Bruyne has had a week’s worth of training under his belt. Ilkay Gündogan might return after a slight knock. Phil Foden is surely ready to come back into the starting 11. Then there’s Rodri, Fernandinho, the versatile Oleksandr Zinchenko and youngster Cole Palmer. Not to mention Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez.
Can Bernardo Silva make it ten league starts in a row? Even if he does, there’s attacking threats everywhere in this class-ridden squad, and he’s readily passed over.
PickGuru verdict: Bust
