There is no question that Fantasy Premier League gets trickier over the festive period.
West Ham United will play three fixtures in quick succession, with home matches against Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion either side of a trip to Arsenal on Boxing Day.
With plenty of matches and plenty of deadlines to keep an eye on too, there is no doubt that managers will be looking at Hammers for a few FPL points.
There are in good form too. As it stands, West Ham have not lost in their last six fixtures at London Stadium in all competitons and seek to push on as 2024 approaches….
Transfer deadlines
Make sure you note the FPL transfer deadline, as Gameweek 18,19, and 20 are all in quick succession:
Gameweek 18 – Thursday 21 December, 6.30pm
Gameweek 19 – Tuesday 26 December, 11am
Gameweek 20 – Saturday 30 December, 11am
Hammers’ midfielders lead FPL charts
As it stands, West Ham’s top three performing FPL players as we approach the halfway mark of 2023/24 are all midfielders.
There is no surprise that Jarrod Bowen (£7.8m) is leading the way with 94 points. The Hammer found the net in his first seven away games this season and twice in his last three outings in the Premier League.
Bowen has scored ten goals in the Premier League this campaign but will be pushed close by James Ward-Prowse (£6.1m), who has hit a stunning run of form over the past few weeks.
An FPL stalwart, who has returned over 100 FPL points in each of his last four Premier league seasons, Ward-Prowse has settled quickly to life in East London.
His best performance in 2023/24 came against Nottingham Forest, where he registered eleven points. Impressively, the No7 has 12 goal contributions in Claret and Blue already.
Concluding the top three is another midfielder in Mohammed Kudus (£6.7m). A brace against Wolverhampton Wanderers – a performance that returned 16 points – saw Kudus register his eighth goal in all competitions since joining West Ham in the summer. His season total stands at 64 points.
There is no question that FPL players will be watching how each of the hugely talented midfielders gets on over the next few weeks.
Opposition Watch: Festive Fixtures
The Hammers face Manchester United, Arsenal, and Brighton & Hove Albion over the next couple of weeks.
From Manchester United, FPL managers may look at Bruno Fernandes (£8.2m) who has returned 64 points so far. He, however, missed Manchester United’s last fixture against Liverpool due to injury.
At Arsenal, Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) leads the way with over 58 per cent of managers picking the Arsenal winger. Saka averages 6.1 points per match this season. Only two midfielders – Mohammed Salah and Son Heung-Min – have returned more points.
Finally, and continuing the midfielder theme, for Brighton is Pascal Groß (£6.4m). He has returned 20 points in his last three games and heads into the festive fixtures in good run of form.
Join Hammers’ supporters' league
Don't forget to join the Official West Ham United FPL League by clicking here and entering the code 5ycfoa.
Also, congratulations to Ben Wyborn, who is top of the West Ham supporters league with 1128 points heading into Gameweek 18.