FPL Gameweek 24: Ollie Watkins, Luis Diaz and five tips for players to sign this week

Fantasy Premier League managers have some big decisions to make soon, with the signs of both double gameweeks and empty gameweeks ahead for different clubs. Liverpool’s game with Luton has been shifted due to their Carabao Cup final commitments, while Manchester City face Chelsea and Brentford in GW25 - a knock-on of their Club World Cup exploits at the end of last year.

With that in mind, as well as the return of European football on the horizon, substitution selections and judging which players are in line for rotation at their clubs will become even more important.

Here, then, are our selections and tips for GW24 for five players worth considering as transfers to bring in if you don’t already own them.

While the Arsenal performance was diabolical, there’s not much doubt the Reds are one of the top two or three teams around and upcoming games favour them: Burnley at home, Brentford away, Luton at home - the latter two set to be a double-header in GW25.

As such and with Mohamed Salah still sidelined, the smart play is still to have an attacker in the side for a free-scoring team with three of four available forwards always starting. And given his recent upturn in form, that suggests Luis Diaz is the one to have in the team. He’s a midfielder in FPL terms and has two assists and a goal in his last three - while he’s also 0.6m cheaper than another option, Diogo Jota.

The Eagles haven’t been on a great run but there’s a chance ahead to stem the leak of points and they’ll need key centre-back Joachim Andersen at his best for it. He picked up a couple of big scores earlier in the season but has averaged only 1.2 points per game across the last dozen - so although he’s a possible low-priced differentiator, Palace’s form makes it a risk.

Hosting an out-of-form Chelsea is a decent opportunity for a clean sheet, followed by facing two of the three most goal-shy teams in the league in succession, Everton and Burnley - the latter again at home. Andersen is just outside the top ten FPL defenders for total points this term; a well-timed couple of shutouts would see him comfortably back inside it.

With one of the best home records in the Premier League, Aston Villa are a great side to pick the odd player from when fixtures are favourable - and that looks like the case now. Manchester United at home might have been slightly more routine two weeks ago but still looks a winnable game for Villa, while they follow that against Fulham (a), Nottingham Forest (h) and Luton (a).

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As such, Ollie Watkins’ return to form makes him an ideal choice. After a run of one goal in five, he now has two goals and five assists in the last four matches - averaging 8.5 ppg across that run. As an unexpected bonus, he’s currently 0.1m cheaper than he was two weeks ago, despite 53% of teams owning him. If you’re in the almost-half which don’t, this might be the right time to join the majority.

Around a third of FPL managers already own Kevin De Bruyne. It’s over double that for Erling Haaland, a full 62%. But only a quarter own Phil Foden right now, despite his 124 points for the season putting him fourth in the total midfield list and two of those above him being injured or away on internationals. His hat-trick at Brentford on Monday night brought up 20 points in another sign of his special form this season.

Sometimes there’s no need to be too clever about picking good players who score or create plenty, and City face Everton this weekend before a double gamweek against Chelsea and Brentford – all three matches are at home. Maybe Foden gets rotated out for one but he’s played 90 minutes in six of City’s last seven in the league and has notched five, six, eight, 12 and 20-point hauls along the way.

Bargain hunters in need of a forward can look to the in-form Matheus Cunha, thriving at Gary O’Neil’s Wolves and hitting four goals and three assists across his last five games.

A hat-trick came against Chelsea and perhaps upcoming opponents might not be so accommodating, but Brentford, Tottenham and Sheffield United have all been pretty leaky this season and comprise three of the bottom six (with Chelsea another!) teams for goals conceded across the last six league games.

A perfect time for Wolves to be attacking them then, given across the same run of fixtures they are the team with the joint-most goals scored in the top flight - and Cunha is our final selection as a potential differentiator with just 6% of teams holding him.