Welcome back Router,

Gameweek 19 is here quicker than Gary Neville’s oooooowhh after a bad challenge.

So… you know what that means. Analysis time.

And with uncertainty on whether Erling Haaland (£14m) will be fit in Gameweek 19, it’s worth taking a look at the other FWD options.

Here’s what we have in store for you today…

• Premium FWD options

• Differential FWD options

So… let’s get into it.

Premium FWD options

First up, we take a look at the three most highly owned FPL forwards.

Ollie Watkins (£8.8m) is FPL managers’ first choice pick with Haaland potentially out again in Gameweek 19.

He is owned by more than 50% of teams. This means if he isn’t in your squad and he hauls, you should expect a big red arrow.

Despite blanking against Sheffield United, Watkins's performance was encouraging. He has also recently blanked against Arsenal and Manchester City but this is hardly an indication of his ability to haul in his upcoming fixtures.

He is predicted to be within the top four for points achieved over the next five gameweeks with favourable fixtures against Manchester United, Burnley and Sheffield United in that run.

His next game is against Manchester United who are in the bottom four for expected goals conceded (xGC) this season.

Aston Villa is in the top six for expected goals this season (xG) so we are expecting goals from this fixture. And if Villa scores, you expect Watkins to be involved. 

Moving on to the man of the moment Dominic Solanke (£6.9m)...

Following his goal against Luton in gameweek 17 being struck off, Solanke made up for lost time by delivering a hattrick against Nottingham Forest. 

Given his red-hot form (seven goals in six games), you expect him to return over the next two when he faces Fulham (H) and Spurs (A) who are both in the bottom five for xGC this season. 

The stats tell us Solanke being the second-highest goal-scoring forward is not a fluke because he sits in the top three for xG this season. 

With everything considered, we expect his form and returns to continue.

Haaland’s understudy, World Cup-winning striker Julian Alvarez (£6.8m) is the third most popular striker (excluding Haaland) with 27% of managers selecting him.

He has gone under the radar but has 12 returns this year and is the fourth-highest-scoring forward in the game so far. 

Alvarez seems to be immune to Pep roulette as he has started all 17 of Manchester City’s games so far which is more than he started the whole of last season (13). 

Plus Manchester City’s next six games rank first for expected attacking returns with three green flags, adding to Alvarez’s appeal.

Everton (A) is a tough fixture given The Toffees sit in the top six for xGC this season but Sheffield United (H), Burnley (H) and Everton (H) all have haul potential.

The problem with Alvarez is that he doesn’t play a traditional striker role for City despite his classification as a forward in FPL. He is more creator than goal scorer and his eight assists and four goals this season prove that. 

He doesn’t feature in the top ten for xG this season but with Haaland out, he might be asked to play a traditional number 9 role for the first time. This could influence his xG stats and make him a very tempting asset because he would be playing up-front for the best attack in the league. 

So, if you think he will slot into the number 9 slot for the next few games, he might be the man to pick.

Differential FWD options

Let’s start with Callum Wilson (£7.5m). 

Newcastle face Nottingham Forest at home in the early kick-off on Tuesday. With Alexander Isak nursing a groin injury and Anthony Gordon struggling with a knock, we’ll likely see Wilson get more minutes. 

Despite Newcastle’s lack of form in recent games, they do lead the league in terms of expected goals (xG) with 37.71. They also perform much better at home, having scored 22 at St James’ Park compared to 14 away from home in the same amount of games. 

Wilson also has the second-highest xG per 90 in the league. 

But, after the Forest game, Newcastle have a very tough run of games. From Gameweek 20, they face Liverpool (A), Manchester City (H) and Aston Villa (A)...

Beware… it’s the early kick-off fixture the day after Christmas. This could either work in Wilson’s favour if the Nottingham Forest defenders start slow… but the same could also be said for the tired Newcastle side.

Gabriel Jesus (£8m) is another option that many managers are considering. He has three goals and two assists this season. 

He’s appealing because Arsenal has a good run of fixtures over their next six games. 

In Gameweek 19, they face West Ham at home. West Ham has the fourth-worth expected clean sheets in the Premier League (1.7) away from home. 

They’ve also conceded the third-most goals this season (20) away from home.

In contrast, Arsenal has scored 35 goals (fourth) with an xG of 32.36 (fifth), so it’s likely they will bag some goals against their London rivals. 

The question is whether Jesus can get involved in the action. 

But with his low 5.2% ownership, if you do take a punt and he returns, it will go a long way to make sure you get that green arrow. 

Lastly, the biggest risk of them all is Christopher Nkunku (£7.3m). 

Without any Premier League appearances, it’s almost impossible to tell whether Nkunku will be worth the investment. 

But, if he does prove to be a good asset, then Chelsea’s fixture run is almost too good to ignore.

Last season, in the German Bundesliga, Nkunku played 25 league matches. He scored 16 goals and assisted 6. 

As Chelsea is second in the league for Big Chances Created (33) at home, if Nkunku can be more clinical than the likes of Nicolas Jackson, then he might be a popular option for managers.

But… as Pochettino eases Nkunku into the league, his minutes aren’t nailed. 

It’s a big risk. But, you know what they say, with big risk comes big reward…