The longest FPL season in history finally comes to an end on Sunday, a full 352 days since Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Norwich City opened the campaign.
The 2019-20 edition of the Premier League will certainly go down as a memorable one and not just because a global pandemic shut it down for three months.
Liverpool ended a 30-year wait to win a league title in emphatic style, Leicester City beat Southampton 9-0 away from home, freshly promoted Sheffield United flirted with the Champions League and David ‘The Moysiah’ Moyes returned to save West Ham from relegation for a second time in three years.
It has been equally entertaining and unpredictable in the FPL too. At the start, there was the Teemu Pukki party and the incredible rise of John ‘the Lord’ Lundstram, the attacking midfielder priced as a £4.0m defender. Then came Danny Ings’ remarkable goalscoring streak, the sudden emergence of £4.3m Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood and a 26-point haul from Michail Antonio against Norwich City.
Although it has been a particularly chaotic season there have been comforting constants throughout too like Kevin De Bruyne and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s consistently creative brilliance, Nick Pope’s love affair with clean sheets and Pep Guardiola’s continually spinning team selection roulette wheel.
Whether it has been a triumphant FPL season or a disastrous one, the final day presents one final opportunity to rack up the points and finish on a high before we do it all again next season.
So for the final time in 2019-20, here are i‘s five top tips for Gameweek 38+.
David Silva, MID, Man City
There are two guiding principles behind this week’s selections. Firstly, if you don’t have three Manchester City players for their home game against Norwich, make sure you do before the deadline and secondly, ensure that one of them is David Silva.
Regarded by some as the finest player to ever pull on a City shirt, Silva will make his final Premier League appearance for the club at the Etihad against a Norwich team bereft of confidence and quality at the back.
Pep Guardiola kept Silva completely under wraps against Watford on Tuesday so City’s No 21 seems certain to start and if City win a penalty or two, it is a reasonable assumption that El Mago will step up to the spot.
Cost: £7.4m Points: 136
Mo Salah, MID, Liverpool
After three consecutive blanks against Burnley, Arsenal and Chelsea, it is perhaps unsurprising that Mohamed Salah is the fourth-most sold midfielder ahead of GW38+ at the time of writing.
Those who have shipped out the Egyptian may well come to regret their decision, however. Over the past three gameweeks, Salah has registered seven shots on target at an xG rate of 2.26 without scoring. A big haul is surely imminent.
Salah has a good record against this weekend’s opponents Newcastle too, scoring four times against them in five matches and will expect to boost that tally against a depleted backline.
Cost: £12.5m Points: 232
Nick Pope, GK, Burnley
One of the golden rules of FPL is to buy a goalkeeper at the start and barring injury or suspension, stick with them. Chopping and changing shot-stoppers is a recipe for disaster, not to mention a waste of valuable transfers.
However, for one week only, i is disregarding that completely by tipping up Nick Pope. Burnley’s No 1 is the top-scoring goalkeeper in FPL this season and faces a goal-shy Brighton at home on Sunday.
Furthermore, he is the front-runner for the Golden Glove award and Chris Wood’s comments that Burnley will be “fighting like hell” to ensure he wins it, bodes well for his managers.
Cost: £5.1m Points: 169
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, FWD, Arsenal
Remarkably, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has blanked in eight of his previous ten Premier League matches, registering scores of 16 and eight in the other two.
Nevertheless, Aubameyang is one of the most clinical finishers in the Premier League, as he demonstrated by scoring both goals in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup.
Golden Boot standings
23 – Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
21 – Danny Ings (Southampton)
20 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
19 – Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
19 – Raheem Sterling (Liverpool)
Aubameyang struck twice on the final day of 2018-19 to earn a share of the Golden Boot and although he’s three behind Jamie Vardy this year, he will be intent on delivering another late charge against Watford.
Cost: £10.9m Points: 189
Richarlison, MID, Everton
Carlo Ancelotti called for a response from his players following their abject 3-0 defeat to Wolves and he has got one over the past two games with Everton putting in much-improved displays.
The Toffees nullified Sheffield United at Bramall Lane and earned a deserved winner early in the second half through Richarlison’s precise header from a set-piece.
Richarlison has generally flown under the radar a touch but he has matched last season’s tally of 13 goals and could better it with another couple against Championship-bound Bournemouth.
Cost: £8.3m Points: 163
Want more tips? Sign up for i’s new fantasy football newsletter to receive these tips and an exclusive bonus tip in your email inbox before every gameweek.
How to get involved with i…
Join i’s league on the official Fantasy Premier League game to pit your wits against fellow readers – and our hapless sports desk team. Code: 1mx9nm
Join our Facebook group where you can swap tricks and tactics with hundreds of other i readers throughout the campaign.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/39nopsB
Post a Comment