Who should be your second striker? FPL talking point

Fantasy Premier League managers have been fumbling with the second-forward position in their team all season, but the majority of them have found it difficult to land on a second striker who justifies his price and consistently produces points. Erling Haaland is a set and forget for pretty much every team.

Victor Gyokeres has as many attacking returns as his centre-back team-mate Gabriel (5), and Nick Woltemade is now playing minutes with Yoane Wissa. Pre-season favorite Joao Pedro has two goals in nine.

Most squads would benefit from having a set-and-forget second-forward that we could leave with our teams for the foreseeable, and Ollie Watkins and Igor Thiago are likely to be the two top contenders in the process.

Watkins is currently the league’s top forward, and after a slow start that saw only one goal in his first 13 games, he now has six goals and two assists in his final seven games. Watkins is a player you can trust when you’re in the middle of a purple patch, and pundits will talk about confidence and hot streaks.

Villa have excellent fixtures, and they’ve got the toughest fixture schedule of any team over the festive season, despite Crystal Palace’s entry point appearing difficult on paper.

Villa then plays four home games in six starting at Gameweek 22 against Everton, Brentford, Brighton, and Leeds, where Watkins, who is 10% owned, plays at Villa Park.

Thiago, who scored 17 points for Everton, was the second most sold player last Gameweek, and he’ll be one of the most so so this time.

Jarrod Bowen and Hugh Ekitike are both worthy of mention. Although we have seen enough from him to suggest that if he can stay healthy, he’ll start scoring a lot of goals in the coming weeks, and Alexander Isak’s injury only strengthens his position in the squad.

Owners of Ekitike will be very conscious of Burnley’s presence in Gameweek 22 when deciding whether to sell him this week.

Bowen does, however, cost significantly more than Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Danny Welbeck, Richarlison, and Thiago, but he does come in third overall among the forwards this year in terms of points. Unfortunately, he will earn fewer points this season than he did in the past when he was a well-known midfielder.