Fantasy Premier League Game Week 19 tips: Pick Romelu Lukaku, drop Nick Pope and make Raheem Sterling captain

As the Premier League and by association, the FPL, approaches its half-way point, fantasy managers must look to escape the festive period unscathed. A gruelling fixture list sees the teams play four games within the space of 11 or 12 days, so expect plenty of rotation and unexpected sources of points in this span. So which players should you pick, which ones should you drop and who should be given the armband? Read on to find out: [caption id=“attachment_4270915” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Game Week 19 fixtures[/caption] Manchester City’s benign fixture list Mohamed Salah might be the outstanding pick for managers this season, but Pep Guardiola’s team has the easiest fixtures of any outfit in the top seven over the next four game weeks. In Bournemouth, Newcastle and Watford, City face teams which have not won a single game in the last five game weeks, an away fixture at resurgent Palace being their most challenging fixture across this period. Guardiola has a habit of rotating Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero, so that’s a risk best avoided here. For the enthusiasts, Aguero might be the safer bet due to Jesus’ involvement in the mid-week League Cup action. The obvious bankers are midfielders Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane. David Silva boasts the fourth-highest FPL return this season behind Salah, de Bruyne and Sterling, however, the Spanish midfielder was absent against Tottenham Hospur last week due to personal reasons. Since there seems to be no certainty regarding his return, de Bruyne and Sterling seem like the obvious picks. With City having the chance to pick up clean sheets in three — or all four — games in this stretch, Nicolas Otamendi, Kyle Walker and Ederson are good short-term selections. [caption id=“attachment_4270917” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Manchester City’s fixture list[/caption] Time to drop Nick Pope and those Burnley defenders Stephen Ward and James Tarkowski feature in the season top ten highest-point scoring defenders and Nick Pope is second only to David de Gea in the goalkeeping list, but Burnley’s fixtures over the next four matchdays are anything but kind. Burnley face Spurs, Manchester United and Liverpool as the Clarets’ defence will face its sternest test this season. With Tarkowski suspended and Ward ruled out with injury, that clean sheet looks unlikely, unless Sean Dyche can pull off a miracle with a couple of second-string defenders. Kane and Lukaku both offer value Are you a frustrated Harry Kane owner? Well, you have just cause to be so because the league’s most expensive player at 12.8 seems to lack the consistency that most owners would like to see in such an investment. Kane has scored 12 goals this season but has only netted in seven of the 17 games that he has started, drawing a blank in the other 10. The danger with dropping the Englishman, selected by 38.8% of the FPL universe, is that five of those seven occasions saw Kane score a brace and thus inevitably, earn two or three bonus points each time. Burnley away, Southampton at home, Swansea away and West Ham at White Hart Lane present a run of games in which Kane can be expected to score. Following a barren run in front of goal, Romelu Lukaku seems to be re-discovering his goalscoring touch as he netted a goal each in the last two game weeks. [caption id=“attachment_4270927” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Romelu Lukaku’s FPL performances in recent weeks[/caption] His last two returns are eight and five points and at 11.3, is cheaper than Kane. His combination with Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford/Anthony Martial seems to be the preferred one for Jose Mourinho and the Belgian’s next six fixtures read Leicester (away), Burnley (twice), Southampton (away), Everton (away) and Stoke (home). Not exactly the easiest run of matches, but given Lukaku’s record against the lesser lights of the division, one can expect the Manchester United striker to rack up points during this phase. Penalty-takers, in-form forwards and West Ham: The differentials There’s a surprise name at the top of the FPL’s form list — the old warhorse Wayne Rooney, who has picked up 49 points in his last five game weeks. [caption id=“attachment_4270939” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The in-form players in the FPL[/caption] Even though Everton welcome Chelsea and Manchester United to Goodison Park over the next four matches, Rooney is the designated penalty-taker for his team as are Charlie Austin, Glenn Murray and Marko Arnautovic. West Ham are unbeaten in three matches and Arnautovic has two goals in his last three games. The Hammers have also kept three clean sheets (two of those coming against Arsenal and Chelsea), bringing ‘keeper Adrian at 4.3, back into focus. With Newcastle, West Brom and Bournemouth to follow, Angelo Ogbonna and Arthur Masuaku (both 4.4) also offer cheap options in defence. Spurs disappointed against Manchester City, but an out-of-form attack and Son Heung-Min’s run of three goals and two assists in his last four games make the South Korean an interesting proposition for both Mauricio Pochettino and FPL managers. If Son’s price tag of eight makes you baulk, Jesse Lingard at six (and selected by only 3.6% of FPL managers) provides the ideal differential in midfield. Wilfred Zaha at 6.9 has provided a goal or an assist in his last three matches, but matches against Arsenal and Manchester City might put managers off selecting the Crystal Palace winger. Captaincy picks Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne are the safest bets for captain this game week. Sterling is City’s highest goalscorer with 11 this season, while his Belgium teammate has been unstoppable this season, scoring six goals and providing eight assists from midfield. West Ham face a struggling Newcastle, who have lost their last four matches on the trot, and Arnautovic could reward those who gamble with the Austrian as the captain. Crystal Palace go away to a struggling Swansea, who are at the bottom of the table, and Zaha could be worth a punt here. For those choosing to stick with Salah, the Egyptian could yet score against an Arsenal team which has conceded the joint-highest number of goals in the top seven (20). Incidentally, Liverpool have also shipped in 20 and 17 of those have been let in away from home, so attackers from either side, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Mesut Ozil could feature on the score-sheet on Friday night.