FPL GW12 Tips & Preview – Best Defenders, Enablers & More

Welcome to Insanely Football’s Dilemmas blog for Gameweek 12 of the FPL 2023/24 season. This blog will break down all the popular Dilemmas FPL managers have this week and offer FPL GW12 tips that will help you address the key dilemmas and maximize your FPL points.

The blog is written by Insanely Football. Do subscribe to his YouTube channel Insanely Football for more FPL-related content. You can also follow him on Instagram for daily FPL updates.

Let’s dive right into it. We will start with the first one.

Link to all our FPL GW12 blogs including Buy, Hold, Sell analysis, Differentials, Captaincy metrics, Scout picks, Wildcard Drafts, Tips, and more. Completely free to access as well!

FPL GW12 Tips – Key Questions/Dilemmas Answered

1) Best James Maddison Replacements ahead of FPL GW12

Is it okay to sell James Maddison ahead of FPL GW12?

James Maddison suffered a knock on his ankle against Chelsea in GW11. It’s been reported now that James Maddison has suffered from an ongoing recurring issue in his ankle and it’s now been discovered that the ligaments are damaged. Initial indications suggest a period of anything between 1-3 months of recovery.

Top replacements for Maddison ahead of FPL GW12:

Premium options

  • Saka
  • Bowen
  • Martinelli
  • Bruno Fernandes

Mid Priced options

  • Mitoma
  • Mbeumo
  • Kudus
  • Eze

Budget options

  • Gordon
  • Palmer
  • Adingra

The options are the most popular ones, you can also go for differentials including the likes of Kudus and Eze who have good fixtures in the coming weeks(Read more about Kudus, Eze, and Martinelli in our differentials blog this week)

What to do with Son?

Spurs tricky fixture run

There is also a case for removing Son if you don’t have Maddison as the absence of Madders will impact Son’s output. If you don’t have Saka/Martinelli you can move Son for one of them, there’s also a short-term Bruno Fernandes punt with Man United playing Luton at home this week(Read more about Bruno’s matchup vs Luton in our Scout picks blog). He’s still a decent hold this week especially if you have to focus on other priorities in your team(Maddison, Udogie/Burn, etc)


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2) Who are the best Udogie/Burn replacements?

Best Udogie/Burn replacements ahead of FPL GW12

Dan Burn and Destiny Udogie will miss out in GW12, and FPL managers are looking for potential replacements.

As discussed in my earlier blogs, Arsenal defenders look good for clean sheets in the upcoming games. Ben White (£5.7m) and William Saliba (£5.2m) are a bit higher in price. Oleksandr Zinchenko may not be completely nailed. The pick that stands out to me is Gabriel at £4.8m. He looks good in the Arsenal backline, and despite getting benched in GW10, I expect him to be a regular starter in the coming games.

Kostas Tsimikas from Liverpool is a tricky one, he is excellent going forward and has good attacking potential, but I have doubts. He didn’t start the last PL game. Plus, with him starting the Europa League game for Liverpool midweek, there are chances that he gets benched for the second PL game in a row.

Marc Guéhi is a dull but safe defender pick. Crystal Palace is a decent defence, and Guehi can provide good value at a slightly cheaper price than Anderson from the same team.

Newcastle’s Tino Livramento is another gift that can come to us soon. He is only £4.3m right now and may start in place of the injured Dan Burn. He is a risk right now, but it may be well worth it to jump on him earlier than the rest. Jamaal Lascelles from Newcastle is another great shout if you are looking for a slightly safer option. With Botman out for a somewhat longer term, he can provide great value at £4m.

A lot of managers have Matty Cash from Aston Villa. If you have him, hold him. But if you are looking at him as a Udogie/Burn replacement, the time to get him has gone now, and better picks are available elsewhere. There is some chatter around Maguire/Dalot from Man United against Luton this week. With how United are playing, I would avoid all of their defensive picks.

Further Read: Top FPL GW12 Differential Picks to Consider Ahead of Deadline

3) Is it worth getting Arsenal players right now?

Arsenal’s defence has a great run of fixtures from now till GW15, and it may be worth investing in at least one Arsenal defender. Saliba is the most nailed decently-priced pick. You can get in Gabriel at £4.8m if you want to go cheaper.

Bukayo Saka has been Arsenal’s best FPL pick this season in midfield. He is 5th overall and ranks 3rd for xGI among all MIDs. His returns have not been huge, but he has only blanked twice this season.

He was taken off because of an injury in the Champions League game midweek. We know it’s a knock right now, and Arteta’s press conference did not reveal much. “Arteta said that Saka didn’t train yesterday…let’s see if he can make it tomorrow.”

He was not in the training pictures but was pictured with the team later. No guarantee he starts but it’s a good indicator that he might be involved.

Reg them not in training pictures: Saka, Odegaard, and Jesus were not in the photos but it is worth noting this has happened before with Saka and Saliba not being seen in the training photos but they still traveled and played eventually.

Reg Saka with the team: He was spotted with the team vs Man City but did not play in the end

When thinking of getting him this week, You can buy Saka as a replacement to Maddison. I definitely won’t sell Son for Saka. If you don’t have enough money to get in Saka, you can go for the more differential Martinelli. He has looked much better in recent games, and a fixture against Burnley looks really good this week.

Arsenal Injury News Ahead of FPL GW12

Coming to Nketiah, it’s a hold if you have him. He was pictured in the training photos which were released by Arsenal. He was also spotted with the team later in the evening which indicates that he has recovered from the ankle knock which kept him out of the UCL game midweek.

Further Read: Top FPL GW12 Differential Picks to Consider Ahead of Deadline

4) Who are the best budget enablers to buy ahead of FPL GW12?

best budget enablers to buy ahead of FPL GW12

Finding the right budget enablers is becoming increasingly important, especially when FPL managers try to fit in many good premium picks.

Suppose you are looking for value in defence, Jamaal Lascelles from Newcastle is another great shout. You can even look at one of the Crystal Palace defenders (Marc Guéhi) having good fixtures till GW15.

Bench fodder option: Baldock (£3.8m) – Cheapest starting defender currently, back from injury and got the assist vs Wolves but cannot expect regular points. He’s an option only if you want to save funds!

Brighton players stats from this season from Fantasy Football Hub.

If you are going premium-heavy in midfield, you may have to go with a slightly cheap 5th midfielder. If you have money in the 6-ish million range, you can get Kaoru Mitoma. This season, the Brighton attacker is a nailed starter with 7 attacking returns (3G+4A). The team has a great run of fixtures from now till GW28, and Brighton still looks strong in attack. Mitoma can easily be a great long-term hold.

We have players like Anthony Gordon (£5.7m) from Newcastle if you are slightly bound by budget. He has started 10 out of the 11 games Newcastle has played this season and has done okay. One small thing to note is the return of Harvey Barnes. He is back up and running and will likely return by the end of November. Post his return, there may be some competition for Gordon, but for now, he looks okay.

Another option is Hwang Hee-chan from Wolves. The attacker has done exceptionally well for Wolves, getting 8 attacking returns this season. Wolves have a good run of fixtures till GW16, and you can surely get him for the short term.

If you can’t afford players like Gordon and Hwang, you can look at enablers like Cole Palmer or Simon Adingra. Chelsea’s Palmer has done exceptionally well and is currently ranked 8th for xGI among all MIDs. Yes, most of his goal threat comes from penalties, but the same can’t be ignored. Chelsea’s fixtures till GW15 look slightly tricky, and you can go for Adingra if Palmer doesn’t convince you. He has started Brighton’s last 4 games and has better fixtures than the Chelsea midfielder. If you plan to play with 5 midfielders consistently, Adingra can be a great pick.

Top four for expected Points for midfielders <=6.5 Million over the next 3 GWs via DraftHound.
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Moving to forwards, only Eddie Nketiah is in the budget category. I still don’t think he is a buy this week. If you want to sell him, wait for some confirmation, and you can move after the presser’s update.

That will be all from my side for this week! I wish you all the best for FPL Gameweek 12, and I will see you all next week.

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Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW12

FPL GW12 Transfer Targets & Watchlist Based On Eye Test & Stats
FPL GW12 Injury News & Press Conference Updates of All Teams
FPL Gameweek 12 Transfer Tips: Two Players to Buy, Hold & Sell
FPL GW12 Scout Picks Based on Stats, Analysis, and Matchups
Top FPL Gameweek 12 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics
FPL GW12 Tips & Preview – Best Defenders, Enablers & More
Top FPL GW12 Differential Picks to Consider Ahead of Deadline
FPL GW13-18 Fixture Swing Analysis | Teams & Players to Target
Confirmed & Likely FPL Double/Blank Gameweeks | 23/24 Season
FPL GW12 Ultimate Guide: Tips, Differentials, Captaincy & More 

Link to all our FPL GW12 blogs including buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer targets, and more. Completely free to access as well!

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