In this blog, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek 29's numbers are analysed to determine the best players and teams to target going forward.

xFPL review

Muniz tops the Custom Stats xFPL table for Gameweek 29 with a score of 9.6. The 22-year-old took three shots in the box (SiB), two of which were classified as 'big chances' (BC). B. Johnson returned just one FPL point despite an xFPL score of 8.5. The winger was afforded two BC and created one as well but none were converted. Gibbs-White was one of the weekend's most creative players with four attempted assists, the 24-year-old also took four shots and notched an xFPL score of 7.3. Toney was a popular pick but failed to find the back of the net despite three SiB. The England international registered a low xFPL score of 4.3 despite two BC involvements.

What is xFPL?

xFPL is calculated primarily using expected goals (xG), assists (xA), which combine as Fantasy Premier League (FPL) involvements (xG + xA = xI), as well as expected clean sheets (xCS). These numbers are a result of underlying statistics (i.e. shot type and location will give a probability of scoring = xG). xFPL is the combination of these statistics and factors in appearance and bonus points to give an overall expected FPL point score.

Early Transfer Activity Analysed

As the above image from our Transfer Analytics feature shows, Salah tops the transfers in ahead of Gameweek 30 with nearly 127,000 managers bringing in the Egyptian international. Palmer impressed once again in the FA Cup game and is a popular target as well alongside Muniz and Son. De Bruyne is currently a doubt for Gameweek 30 and tops the transfers out, the trio of Morris, Bowen and Toney are also making way after dismal returns in Gameweek 29. Up top, Muniz and Haaland dominate the transfer traffic, accounting for seven of the top 10 forward transfer combinations. In midfield, Salah and Palmer account for all 10 of the top midfielder transfer combinations. In defence, it is perhaps surprising to see Gusto and Robinson occupy eight of the top 10 defender transfer combinations with their attractive matchups in Gameweek 30 against Burnley and Sheff. Utd. respectively perhaps playing a part.

Muniz vs Semenyo

Several FPL managers are looking for a budget forward on their wildcard and both Muniz and Semenyo look like attractive options. As the above image from our Opta Player Heatmaps feature shows, Muniz has outscored Semenyo by 16 points over the last six Gameweeks and averages a very healthy 8.2 FPL points per game.

Muniz has outscored Semenyo (six vs four) and beats him for all underlying numbers whether it be shots (27 vs 17), shots on target (SoT) (nine vs six), SiB (25 vs 13), 'Expected Goals' (xG) (3.61 vs 1.76) and 'Expected Assists' (xA) (0.92 vs 0.71). The Fulham forward does appear to be the better option by a distance but it is worth noting that Fulham are unlikely to have any doubles for the rest of the season whereas Bournemouth have a fixture against Wolves that needs rescheduling and the Cherries will likely have a double either in Gameweek 34 or 37 which could be handy for FPL managers looking to bench boost.