Eliteserien Fantasy Gameweek 21: captains and best buys
Eliteserien Fantasy Gameweek 21 preview: best buys, captain picks and differentials
Eliteserien Fantasy Gameweek 21 is spread across four days, from Friday 12 to Monday 14 September, and the model has been refreshed since the first read on this round. All sixteen clubs play, there are no blanks and no doubles, and the numbers below come from the projection run of 9 September. The short version: Viking and Bodø/Glimt own the top of the board again, but the two picks most likely to win you rank this week are owned by barely one manager in a hundred.
Every figure is the model's projected points (xP) for Gameweek 21. For picks where the length of the hold matters, there is also a decay-weighted six-round score that discounts each future round in turn. You can sort the entire pool yourself on the Eliteserien Fantasy player picks page and check the expected XIs on predicted lineups before the deadline.
What has changed since the last Gameweek 21 read
- Ola Brynhildsen (9.7m, Bodø/Glimt) is up again to 6.3 xP and is now the highest-projected forward in the game — on 1.2% ownership.
- Andreas Helmersen (8.5m, Bodø/Glimt) has ticked up to 6.2 xP with 80 projected minutes and the club's penalty duties, so the minutes doubt that hung over him is gone.
- Felix Va (6.3m, Lillestrøm) has jumped to 5.8 xP, the second-highest midfield projection in the round, on the back of a large penalty share.
- Henrik Falchener (6.3m, Viking) is still flagged unavailable with an 11 September return date and projects 0.0 xP for this round, while 23.6% of teams hold him.
- Tromsø assets have softened for this week specifically: Alexander Warneryd (6.5m) is down to 2.5 xP and Jakob Haugaard (5m) to 2.7 xP, both from over 31% ownership.
The Gameweek 21 fixtures that matter
Eight matches, all sixteen clubs involved. Re-derived from the current fixture set for this round, no team blanks in Gameweek 21. Four games shape the picks, and one row per team keeps each set of numbers with the team it belongs to.
| Team | Fixture | Win probability | Expected goals | Clean sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bodø/Glimt | [H]Sandefjord | 83% | 3.11 | 46% |
| Sandefjord | [A]Bodø/Glimt | 6% | 0.78 | 4% |
| Viking | [H]Kristiansund BK | 76% | 2.75 | 42% |
| Kristiansund BK | [A]Viking | 9% | 0.86 | 6% |
| Rosenborg | [H]Tromsø | 55% | 1.93 | 32% |
| Tromsø | [A]Rosenborg | 21% | 1.13 | 15% |
| Lillestrøm | [H]Vålerenga | 52% | 2.06 | 24% |
| Vålerenga | [A]Lillestrøm | 26% | 1.43 | 13% |
Bodø/Glimt at home to Sandefjord is the most lopsided fixture of the round in both directions — the highest expected goals and the highest clean-sheet probability. Viking hosting Kristiansund BK is only a shade behind. The other four matches (Fredrikstad - Sarpsborg 08, Start - Brann, KFUM - Aalesund and Hamarkameratene - Molde) are all much closer, which is why the picks below cluster so heavily on two clubs. Remember the three-players-per-club cap when you build around them. The full round-by-round calendar is on the Eliteserien Fantasy schedule page, and the underlying match odds are on market probabilities.
Goalkeepers for Gameweek 21
Arild Østbø (4.3m, Viking) is the pick, and it is not close on value. He is the highest-projected keeper in the game this week at 4.3 xP behind a 42% clean-sheet probability, and at 4.3m that is 1.00 points per million — the best ratio of any player in the entire Eliteserien Fantasy pool for this round. Only 6.7% of teams own him.
Nikita Haikin (5.7m, Bodø/Glimt) is the alternative at 4.1 xP with a 46% clean-sheet chance, the highest in the round, but he costs 5.7m and takes one of your three Bodø/Glimt slots — slots you probably want for attackers. If you would rather spend nothing at all in goal, Leander Øy (4.4m, Sarpsborg 08) is at 3.6 xP with the steadiest six-round profile of any cheap keeper, on 13.50 weighted.
Defenders for Gameweek 21
Fredrik Sjøvold (7.8m, Bodø/Glimt) tops the position at 5.1 xP and is the premium option, with 88 projected minutes and attacking involvement on top of the clean-sheet floor. He is also the most-owned defender in this group at 37.4%, so he protects rank rather than winning it.
Adrian Pereira (5.8m, Rosenborg) is the better-value premium-adjacent pick: 4.6 xP against Tromsø at home, 0.79 points per million, on 16.3% ownership.
The budget pick, and the hidden gem of the position, is Vetle Auklend (4.8m, Viking). He projects 4.3 xP — level with the best goalkeeper in the round and ahead of every defender priced under 5.5m — at 0.90 points per million, and he is owned by 0.5% of teams. Buying the Viking defence for this fixture without paying up for the well-known names is the cheapest route into the second-best clean-sheet game of the week.
Two more cheap options if you need the enabler rather than the differential: Jonas Lange Hjorth (4.8m, KFUM) at 3.9 xP and 0.81 points per million, and Uba Charles (4.5m, Aalesund) at 3.6 xP, whose Gameweek 22 rises to 4.5 xP so he can be held rather than flipped. Among the rest of the Bodø/Glimt back line, Odin Lurås Bjørtuft (6.8m) and Fredrik André Bjørkan (6.7m) both sit on 4.5 xP.
Midfielders for Gameweek 21
Zlatko Tripic (12.7m, Viking) is the highest-projected player in the game for Gameweek 21 at 7.9 xP, and the gap to second is 1.6 points. He takes Viking's penalties, has a 0.89 penalty share in the model, and is at home to the club with the lowest win probability in the round. He is also the most-owned player in the game at 66.3%, so this is a template hold rather than a differential — but 25.57 on the weighted six-round score is the highest in the pool, which is what justifies the price.
Felix Va (6.3m, Lillestrøm) is the value play at 5.8 xP for 6.3m — 0.92 points per million, second only to Arild Østbø across the whole pool. He is on 13.8% ownership and takes a large share of Lillestrøm penalties. The caveat is honest: his projection is built on 85 minutes rather than a nailed 90, so if he does not start, Rasmus Eggen Vinge or Martin Tangen Vinjor are the fallbacks.
Niklas Castro (8.2m, Brann) at 5.4 xP on 7.1% ownership is the best mid-price differential in the position. He is Brann's penalty taker with a 0.93 share, the highest of any midfielder in the round, and Brann travel to Start as slight favourites.
Sondre Auklend (6.6m, Bodø/Glimt) is the hidden gem. He projects 5.2 xP — the same as Patrick Berg, who costs 9.1m — on 1.2% ownership, and holds 16.82 on the weighted six-round score. At 6.6m he is the cheapest way into the best attacking fixture of the round.
Budget alternatives: Rasmus Eggen Vinge (5.3m, KFUM) and Martin Tangen Vinjor (5.5m, KFUM) both project 4.2 xP at home to Aalesund, at 0.79 and 0.76 points per million. Simen Bolkan Nordli (6.9m, Rosenborg) is on 4.9 xP from just 60 projected minutes, which tells you how productive he is per minute, but the rotation risk is real.
One name to leave out for now: Emil Breivik (7.6m, Molde) is a strong 5.6 xP this week, but his Gameweek 22 falls to 3.4 and he is already owned by 48.1% of teams, so he is neither a differential nor a smooth hold.
Forwards for Gameweek 21
Ola Brynhildsen (9.7m, Bodø/Glimt) is the best forward in the round at 6.3 xP and the biggest differential in the game at 1.2% ownership. The projection is built on 0.58 expected goals and 0.22 expected assists from 67 minutes at home to the lowest-projected attack in the round, and his three-round total of 18.6 is second only to Zlatko Tripic. If you make one aggressive move this week, make it this one.
Andreas Helmersen (8.5m, Bodø/Glimt) is the safer version of the same bet: 6.2 xP, 80 projected minutes, Bodø/Glimt's penalty taker, and 20.2% ownership. He also carries the better three-round profile of the two at 17.9, with Gameweek 23 at home to Kristiansund BK to come.
Peter Christiansen (10.7m, Viking) at 5.9 xP is the third premium and the one most managers already have, at 36.9%. He is a fine hold; he is not the pick that separates you.
Two cheaper ideas: Jalal Abdullai (8m, Molde) at 4.6 xP on 1.4% ownership, and Henrik Langaas Skogvold (6.7m, Fredrikstad) at 4.1 xP with a penalty share of 0.92. Both are one-round buys rather than long holds.
Captain picks for Gameweek 21
The captain scores double in Eliteserien Fantasy, so the armband is worth roughly as much as your two weakest starters combined. Only three names are realistically in the conversation.
| Rank | Player | Price | Fixture | xP | Captained total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zlatko Tripic | 12.7m | [H]Kristiansund BK | 7.9 | 15.8 |
| 2 | Ola Brynhildsen | 9.7m | [H]Sandefjord | 6.3 | 12.6 |
| 3 | Andreas Helmersen | 8.5m | [H]Sandefjord | 6.2 | 12.4 |
Captain Zlatko Tripic. He is 1.6 xP clear of the field, he takes the penalties, and Viking host the side with the lowest win probability of any team in the round. Captaining the most-owned player in the game is not exciting, but the model says it is right, and there is no case for a differential armband when the gap is this wide.
If you do not own him, Ola Brynhildsen is the alternative, and it doubles as a rank-winning move because almost nobody has him. Andreas Helmersen is the same fixture with a penalty share attached and slightly more minutes certainty — the pick if you want the floor rather than the ceiling. Looking ahead, Zlatko Tripic stays the captain in Gameweek 22 as well, with Viking at home to Lillestrøm and a 7.5 xP projection, which is worth knowing before you sell him to fund something else.
Who to sell before Gameweek 21
Three widely-held players project zero this week because they are flagged unavailable, and they are the priority moves.
- Henrik Falchener (6.3m, Viking) — 23.6% owned, 0.0 xP, with a return date of 11 September, the day before the round opens. Even if he is back, Gameweek 22 projects 0.8. Sell.
- Noah Holm (7.7m, Brann) — 21.5% owned, 0.0 xP, and no return date recorded at all. His projection only reaches 3.1 by Gameweek 24. Sell.
- Dino Islamovic (8m, Rosenborg) — 10.3% owned, 0.0 xP, out until 17 September, and projected 1.1 and 1.0 in the two rounds after that. Sell.
Beyond the flags, Henrik Heggheim (6.3m, Viking) is the most-held player whose profile genuinely deteriorates: 3.7 xP this week, then 3.0 and 2.4, on 31.1% ownership. Vetle Auklend at 4.8m gives you nearly the same Gameweek 21 return from the same defence for less money, and frees a Viking slot given the three-per-club cap.
The Tromsø block needs a more careful call. Alexander Warneryd (6.5m) at 2.5 xP, Jakob Haugaard (5m) at 2.7 and Heine Åsen Larsen (6.4m) at 3.6 are all poor for this specific round away at Rosenborg, but all three rise sharply in Gameweek 22 at home to Hamarkameratene — to 4.8, 4.0 and 5.6 respectively. That is a bench call this week, not a sale. Selling and re-buying inside two rounds costs more than the points it saves.
Putting it together
The obvious part of Gameweek 21 is that you want Zlatko Tripic captained and Bodø/Glimt attackers in your side. Every manager near the top of your league already knows that. The part that actually separates teams is the six or seven squad slots after those: Arild Østbø in goal at the best value ratio in the game, Vetle Auklend as a sub-5m defender projecting 4.3, Sondre Auklend as a sub-7m route into the round's best fixture, and Niklas Castro as a penalty-taking mid-price differential on 7.1% ownership. Those four together cost less than one premium forward.
The solver will build the exact best squad for you, including formation and the three-per-club cap, on the optimal teams page. For the rest of the season's coverage see the Eliteserien Fantasy preview hub, the previous round's Eliteserien Fantasy Gameweek 20 preview, and our fantasy football guides.
FAQ
Who should I captain in Eliteserien Fantasy Gameweek 21?
Zlatko Tripic (Viking). He is the highest-projected player in the game for Gameweek 21 at 7.9 xP, 1.6 points clear of the next name, takes Viking's penalties with a 0.89 share, and is at home to Kristiansund BK, the side with the lowest win probability in the round. Ola Brynhildsen and Andreas Helmersen are the alternatives at 6.3 and 6.2 xP.
Which budget defenders are best for Gameweek 21?
Vetle Auklend (4.8m, Viking) at 4.3 xP and 0.90 points per million, on 0.5% ownership. He projects higher than every other defender priced under 5.5m. Jonas Lange Hjorth (4.8m, KFUM) at 3.9 xP and Uba Charles (4.5m, Aalesund) at 3.6 xP are the next two, and Uba Charles improves to 4.5 xP in Gameweek 22.
Should I sell Henrik Falchener before Gameweek 21?
Yes. He is flagged unavailable with an 11 September return date, projects 0.0 xP for Gameweek 21 and only 0.8 for Gameweek 22, and 23.6% of teams still hold him. Vetle Auklend at 4.8m gives you the same Viking clean-sheet exposure for less.
Best differentials for Eliteserien Fantasy Gameweek 21?
Ola Brynhildsen (9.7m, Bodø/Glimt) is the standout: 6.3 xP, the best forward projection in the round, on 1.2% ownership. Sondre Auklend (6.6m, Bodø/Glimt) at 5.2 xP and 1.2% owned, Niklas Castro (8.2m, Brann) at 5.4 xP and 7.1% owned, and Vetle Auklend (4.8m, Viking) at 4.3 xP and 0.5% owned complete the list.
Which teams have no fixture in Eliteserien Fantasy Gameweek 21?
None. Gameweek 21 is a full round of eight matches involving all sixteen Eliteserien clubs, played between Friday 12 and Monday 14 September. There are no blanks and no doubles, so every player in your squad has a game.
This preview was written by TheFantasyTool AI.