<p><em>Ahead of another deadline on Tuesday at 16:30 [GMT], we assess four of the best FPL replacements for injured Liverpool midfielder Diogo Jota (£6.9m).</em></p>
<p>Check out our <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-gameweek-13-the-ultimate-guide/">Ultimate Guide to FPL Gameweek </a>13 for all the key information, <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> and tips you need going into the weekend’s action.</p>
<h2></h2>
<h2>Jota down your plans</h2>
<p>Portugal international <strong>Jota</strong> is going to miss several gameweeks due to a knee injury, the severity of which Jurgen Klopp decided not to disclose in his pre-match press conference. Ahead of Liverpool&#8217;s 1-1 draw at Fulham on Sunday, the German <a href="https://twitter.com/ColmVHayes/status/1338155893305774081?s=20">revealed</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s worse than we thought and better than we then thought. All the potential surgeons had a look on it, no surgery needed. But he will be out for a while. We don&#8217;t know exactly but one-and-a-half or two months. We don&#8217;t know exactly.</p>
<p>&#8220;It [Jota&#8217;s injury] was first after the [Champions League] game. We saw the situation when he got it; [Diogo] himself, nobody would have thought something happened there. We got him off the pitch and he said, &#8216;I feel a little bit&#8217;.</p>
<p>&#8220;Next day, scans and then a surgeon has to look at it that&#8217;s how we do it, different information. In the end, it&#8217;s strange but we were happy that we heard the final diagnosis [that surgery is not required].&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<h2></h2>
<h2>Diogo your own way</h2>
<p>As with nearly every FPL decision, what managers decide to do with Jota is a team-dependent call. The easy part is selling the midfielder; the hard part is selecting the right replacement for your squad. For the purposes of this article, we will stick below the £8.0m price tag for midfielders.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Jack Grealish (£7.8m)</h3>
<p><em><strong>Next four gameweeks:</strong> Burnley (H), West Brom (a), Crystal Palace (H), Chelsea (a)</em></p>
<p>While <strong>Wilfried Zaha</strong> (£7.8m) is the most-bought midfielder under £8.0m ahead of Gameweek 13, Crystal Palace&#8217;s fixtures are a mixed bag at best. Aston Villa, on the other hand, have three plum games before the schedule turns difficult for Dean Smith&#8217;s side.</p>
<div id="attachment_30184" style="width: 1444px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30184" class="wp-image-30184 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fixture-ticker-gw13-to-gw16-attack.png" alt="fantasy football news for gameweek 13" width="1434" height="790" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fixture-ticker-gw13-to-gw16-attack.png 1434w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fixture-ticker-gw13-to-gw16-attack-300x165.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fixture-ticker-gw13-to-gw16-attack-1024x564.png 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fixture-ticker-gw13-to-gw16-attack-768x423.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fixture-ticker-gw13-to-gw16-attack-610x336.png 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/fixture-ticker-gw13-to-gw16-attack-1080x595.png 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1434px) 100vw, 1434px" /><p id="caption-attachment-30184" class="wp-caption-text">The Hub&#8217;s fixture ticker sorted by attacking potential between GW13 and GW16</p></div>
<p>Owners of <strong>Ollie Watkins</strong> (£6.1m) will not be delighted to hear that the striker has fallen down the Villa penalty-taking list after his miss from the spot in Gameweek 10. Unless the seldom-used <strong>Anwar El Ghazi</strong> (£5.7m) is on the pitch, Grealish looks set to be on penalty duty. After beating Wolves 1-0 in Gameweek 12, Dean Smith <a href="https://twitter.com/ColmVHayes/status/1337812325026443265?s=20">explained</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;[Anwar] has got very good technique. We don&#8217;t get too many penalties. He took the last one against Man City and scored. So if he was on the pitch he would have taken it and if not Jack [Grealish] would have taken it.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>El Ghazi did praise his captain after the match for &#8216;letting&#8217; him take the spot-kick, though it seems that was going to happen anyway according to Smith&#8217;s plan.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure [about the penalty-taking order]. I think it was between Ollie [Watkins] and Jack [Grealish]. I appreciate it, Jack gave it to me. I thought he would take it but he knew my ability of taking penalties.</p>
<p>&#8220;I practice penalties a lot, even if I am not playing. If you practice a lot, it is something you get used to. I did not feel a lot of pressure.&#8221; &#8211; Anwar El Ghazi</p></blockquote>
<p>Grealish was largely kept at bay by Wolves in Gameweek 12. But between GWs 7 and 10, the midfielder notched two goals and three assists.</p>
<p>In that period, only his team-mate <strong>Trezeguet</strong> (£5.3m) had more shots and shots inside the box among midfielders below £8.0m. Grealish topped all players on that list for big chances created (4), while having the joint-most shots on target (6).</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Raphinha (£5.4m)</h3>
<p><em><strong>Next four gameweeks:</strong> Newcastle (H), Man Utd (a), Burnley (H), West Brom (a)</em></p>
<p>Leeds have struggled in the past two gameweeks but their upcoming fixture run promotes investment, particularly considering Patrick Bamford is the most expensive Whites asset at £6.2m. Unfortunately, Marcelo Bielsa is no longer going to be naming his XI before an FPL deadline.</p>
<p><span class="6XrxFNRM4q"></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bielsa on naming XI in GW12: &quot;&#8230;you an important advantage. For me it doesn’t give you an important advantage.</p>
<p>&quot;From now on to avoid any backlash I will not continue to give answers on the players who can or cannot play on the weekend.&quot; 😢<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/fpl?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#fpl</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/gw13?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#gw13</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CHpressers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CHpressers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lufc?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#lufc</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/leenew?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#leenew</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Colm Hayes (@ColmVHayes) <a href="https://twitter.com/ColmVHayes/status/1338509343814258691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></span></p>
<p>A summer signing at Elland Road, Raphinha has started all four league matches since Gameweek 9. Only <strong>Jarrod Bowen</strong> (£6.4m) has taken more shots than the Leeds winger (12) in that time in the sub-£8m midfield bracket. Nine of those were taken inside the box, though the Brazilian only found the target on a total of three occasions.</p>
<p><span class="oBWTZqQmr8VaHbjLpeF5nKvwP3zX4GxSkRMcCYEUy1OA9JNd2lIgDish"></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Umm&#8230;</p>
<p>How nailed is Raphinha again? <a href="https://t.co/AkzUDV1rHB">pic.twitter.com/AkzUDV1rHB</a></p>
<p>&mdash; FPL Chase (@FPL_Chase) <a href="https://twitter.com/FPL_Chase/status/1336682958707707904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></span></p>
<p>Raphinha looks to have asserted himself as a first-choice wide midfield player under Bielsa, having taken the place of <strong>Helder Costa</strong> (£5.3m). <strong>Jack Harrison</strong> (£5.4m) was substituted at half time in GW12 for Costa, as Raphinha logged a full 90 minutes. Resident penalty taker <strong>Mateusz Klich</strong> (£5.5m) is another Leeds option for those seeking an even safer bet in terms of playing time.</p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Tomas Soucek (£5.0m)</h3>
<p><em><strong>Next four gameweeks:</strong> Crystal Palace (H), Chelsea (a), Brighton (H), Southampton (a)</em></p>
<p>While Bowen undoubtedly has the higher ceiling of these two West Ham midfielders, Soucek&#8217;s security of minutes could make the Czech a better pick over the congested Christmas calendar. Bowen has started every league game for David Moyes&#8217; team this season but has only clocked up 90 minutes on two occasions.</p>
<p>Soucek&#8217;s other selling point is a budget price, which could be useful for Jota owners looking to free up funds ahead of Gameweek 13. All three of the midfielder&#8217;s goals this season have come in the past five gameweeks.</p>
<p>Looking at expected goal data in the <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/">Hub&#8217;s OPTA tool</a>, Soucek&#8217;s xG over the past four gameweeks (1.04) exceeds that of Bowen (0.80). The latter has had almost treble the amount of shots and twice the amount of efforts in the box.</p>
<p>However, the statistics show the value of Soucek&#8217;s ability to get on the end of high-quality chances. The Czech Republic offers little in the way of creative threat, which Bowen has in abundance; the winger sits joint-fourth for key passes (11) among all midfielders since Gameweek 9.</p>
<p>Palace (12) and Southampton (11) are joint-second and third respectively for headed attempts conceded over the last four league games, which could bode well for Soucek. For more on Bowen and Raphinha, check out Abdul Rehman&#8217;s GW13-specific article.</p>
<p><span class="bP264"></p>
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="e94rVrqSdi"><p><a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/best-fpl-players-gameweek-13/">Best FPL Players For Gameweek 13 | Fantasy Premier League Tips</a></p></blockquote>
<p><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="&#8220;Best FPL Players For Gameweek 13 | Fantasy Premier League Tips&#8221; &#8212; Fantasy Football Hub" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/best-fpl-players-gameweek-13/embed/#?secret=e94rVrqSdi" data-secret="e94rVrqSdi" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe></span></p>
<h3></h3>
<h3>Ivan Cavaleiro (£5.3m)</h3>
<p><em><strong>Next four fixtures:</strong> Brighton (H), Newcastle (a), Southampton (H), Spurs (a)</em></p>
<p>Fulham have two immediately appealing games for those seeking a risker pick in midfield. Cavaleiro appears to be Scott Parker&#8217;s first-choice centre-forward and is on penalties for the Cottagers; what&#8217;s not to love about an out-of-position asset on spot-kicks?</p>
<p><span class="SyO0Yc6vm2uwNT89AMqktVLbpRhrIe5s1EBlWiKfx"></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I actually like Cavaleiro. No more spoilers</p>
<p>&mdash; Utkarsh Dalmia (@zophar666) <a href="https://twitter.com/zophar666/status/1338459772501123073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></span></p>
<p>The Portuguese attacker&#8217;s botched penalty against Everton in GW9 would be enough to put some off, though he did convert from the spot at Leicester the following gameweek. Cavaleiro&#8217;s chief competiton <strong>Aleksandar Mitrovic</strong> (£5.6m) is also flagged at present, having missed Gameweek 12 with an ankle problem. Parker <a href="https://twitter.com/ColmVHayes/status/1338458842892525568?s=20">explained</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;He just rolled his ankle in the week and [it] was just a little bit too early for him today [Sunday, vs Liverpool].&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Cavaleiro has a massive xG since Gameweek 9, though penalties have a part to play in this. The midfielder&#8217;s non-penalty xG is 1.82 &#8211; of which 1.4 was racked up against Jurgen Klopp&#8217;s Reds. That figure came courtesy of three big chances in Gameweek 12. Cavaleiro&#8217;s other two gilt-edged opportunties since Gameweek 9 were his two penalty kicks.</p>
<p><span class="MViRkZ54sBchcDGztFXQuteIEwAP9VmlpW1I0mpvfNnJ8JneCvKTwoRFHux30EOlaKqOoPhLYNgM96Td"></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Jota replacement I’m going for:</p>
<p>Ivan Cavaleiro (5.3) with 0.1% ownership has started as a striker for the last 4 gameweeks</p>
<p>He is on penalties/set pieces and has the highest xG in the league over these 4 GWs</p>
<p>BHA (H), NEW (A) coming up next</p>
<p>High risk, high reward hopefully</p>
<p>&mdash; FPL_Swede (@FPL_Swe) <a href="https://twitter.com/FPL_Swe/status/1338421515151429634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></span></p>
<p>The de facto Fulham &#8216;striker&#8217; also took six corners against Liverpool. <strong>Ademola Lookman</strong> (£5.0m) is easier on the budget, though penalties should make Cavaleiro well worth the extra cash for those investing in the Fulham attack.</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>There are myriad options to replace Jota this gameweek, particularly if you have cash in the bank or have rolled a free transfer heading into Gameweek 13. Much could depend on wildcard availability, long-term strategy and your own assessment of fixtures in this unpredictable, chaotic season.</p>
<p>Check out our <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-gameweek-13-the-ultimate-guide/">Ultimate Guide to FPL Gameweek </a>13 for all the key information, <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> and tips you need going into the weekend’s action.</p>
<p><em>*<a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/">xG and xA are not OPTA</a>. This is primarily because their expected data is based on real-life goal and assists (not fantasy ones).</em></p>
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Seeking out the best Diogo Jota replacements ahead of FPL Gameweek 13

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