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Lars Hamer

Last week, the Fantasy Premier League community received an early Christmas present when the Mystery Chip was finally revealed.
The Assistant Manager chip will be available for players from Gameweek 24 and allows users to bring one Premier League manager into their squad.
Assistant managers earn your side six points for a win, three points for a draw and extra points for goals and clean sheets. If you choose a manager whose side beats an opponent ranked at least five places higher, points for wins and draws are doubled.
Assistants will cost between £0.5m and £1.5m to bring in and the game will not raise the £100m transfer budget.
Also, the three people per club rule will apply to the manager you bring, so you could not have three Liverpool players and Arne Slot.
Managers can be transferred in and out, but once you have activated the chip, you will have an assistant for three consecutive weeks.

Top picks for Gameweek 17
Looking ahead to this round’s action, Newcastle travel to relegation candidates Ipswich having beaten Leicester 4-0 last time out.
The Magpies’ £4.6m defender Lewis Hall got two assists in that game and scored 15 points.
Hall’s teammate Alexander Isak (£8.7m) has hit a purple patch, with three goals and two assists in his past three matches. Ipswich, meanwhile, have conceded the fifth-most goals (27) so far in the league.
Fulham’s Antonee Robinson (£4.8m) got two assists against Liverpool and will take on Southampton this week. Over the festive season, Fulham also play Ipswich, West Ham and Leicester.
Arsenal’s Gabriel returned to the starting XI last week and kept a clean sheet against Everton.
In midfield, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez (£5.1m) is a great budget option and has scored 34 points in six games. I have been banging the drum on getting Chelsea players for weeks because of their great fixtures.
If you have money to spend, consider Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m), who has two goals in his past two outings, takes penalties and is usually nailed on to play the full 90 minutes.

Captain conundrum
Bukayo Saka (£10.3m), Cole Palmer (£11.1m) and Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) should also be in your top picks for GW17, but the debate about which one to captain is pertinent, given that most managers have opted for this midfield trio.
Saka has never returned when facing Crystal Palace away and if you are choosing your captain based on their opponent, then Palmer, who has Everton away, would be the better choice.
But of the three, Salah is the best option, despite playing Tottenham away.
In the game at Anfield last season, Salah got a goal and an assist. Although he did not return and was replaced after 75 minutes in the away fixture, in the 2022-23 season, the Egyptian got two goals at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one in the reverse fixture.
Furthermore, Salah has returned in every away game so far this season, hitting double-digits six times.
Lars’ line-up
Despite having the tougher fixture on paper, I am going for Dean Henderson (£4.4m) in goal. I think Crystal Palace will lose to Arsenal, but hope Henderson can rack up some points from the number of saves he makes.
Matz Sels (£4.7m) is my backup keeper and faces Brentford, who cannot stop scoring goals and winning at home.
Gabriel, Robinson and Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) are my back three. They play behind a midfield of Saka, Palmer, Salah and Fernandez.
Up top is Nicolas Jackson (£8.2m), Chris Wood (£6.6m) and Joao Pedro (£5.9m).


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English Premier League

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (left) usually performs against Tottenham Hotspur at their ground and should be considered for captain, while his manager Arne Slot would be a good pick in Gameweek 24. Photo: dpa

Newcastle’s Alexander Isak (left) and Lewis Hall have been in the points and face Ipswich next. Photo: Reuters

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, who scored against City last weekend, is a good bet. Photo: AP

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Jerry Shang of China says his goal is to “stay alive right now, to be able to play healthy, and let’s see what 2025 has for me”. Photo: Xinhua

Jerry Shang lost his first match at the Next Gen ATP Finals to Luca Van Assche of France. Photo: Xinhua

Jerry Shang climbed to a career-high ranking of 47 in October after winning his maiden title in Chengdu. Photo: AFP

Battling with the demands of geopolitics and endless conflicts or managing a football team, Ange Postecoglou thinks the second one is a tougher job. Photo: AFP

Sport

Football

Looking ahead, the Assistant Manager chip could be a game changer, but once activated, that person selected is with you for three weeks


Looking ahead, the Assistant Manager chip could be a game changer, but once activated, that person selected is with you for three weeks.


Fantasy Premier League (FPL)

Britain