It is safe to assume that Fantasy Premier League managers can be divided roughly into two camps this weekend: those who have meticulously plotted their transfers around a reduced schedule for Gameweek 30 and others who have just noticed that their most cherished FPL favourites are suddenly fixture-less.
There are only four Premier League matches taking place this weekend due to the FA Cup quarter-finals happening concurrently. The eight teams in league action this gameweek are: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Brentford, Leeds, Leicester, Tottenham, West Ham and Wolves.
With Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City among those not playing league football, FPL managers may be tempted to use Free Hit in order to get a full squad out. There are pros and cons to using the temporary, quick-fix chip depending on the current state of your team.
If you are one of those unsuspecting managers who has recoiled in horror at seeing a large chunk of your team temporarily wiped out, it makes sense to Free Hit to replenish your squad, especially if you still have both of them available. Situations like these are precisely what it is there for, after all.
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Here is this week’s team which costs a budget-friendly £76.6m. This week’s deadline is at 6.30pm on Friday.
Jose Sa (Wolves)
One of the meanest defences in the league faces one of its most wasteful attacks when Wolves host Leeds under the lights at Molineux on Friday night. Bruno Lage’s side has the fourth-best defensive record in the league and Josa Sa is a huge reason why; the Portuguese shot-stopper has the highest save rate (84 per cent) of any goalkeeper in the division. Meanwhile, Leeds have underperformed their expected goals (xG) by a full six goals – a stat that goes some way to explaining their current predicament.
Price: £5.3m Points: 130 Gameweek 30 fixture: Leeds (h)
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Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
It is tough to call which clubs could keep clean sheets this weekend so the sensible play is to prioritise your transfers around defenders who pose a threat in the opposition penalty area. Of defenders in contention to play this weekend, Gabriel Magalhaes ranks third for shots on goal this season with 20, behind only Aston Villa’s Matty Cash and West Ham’s Craig Dawson. The Brazilian is also the joint-leading scorer with three, alongside Cash and Wolves’ Conor Coady.
Price: £5.3m Points: 108 Gameweek 30 fixture: Aston Villa (a)
Conor Coady (Wolves)
If you fancy Wolves’ chances of keeping a clean sheet against Jesse Marsch’s Leeds, it could be worth doubling up on their defence. As mentioned previously in i‘s tips, there isn’t an awful lot to separate Wolves’ defensive assets but in a gameweek in which only eight clubs are in action, it makes sense to go with the safety-first option. Since the start of 2017-18, Coady has missed just two of Wolves’ 189 league matches.
Price: £4.8m Points: 122 Gameweek 30 fixture: Leeds (h)
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Sergio Reguilon looks a great buy for managers looking to Free Hit but less so for those using transfers, given his competitor at left wing-back Ryan Sessegnon could return from injury in Gameweek 31. A bout of Covid allied to Sessegnon’s impressive form led to Reguilon losing his starting place, but since replacing the Englishman at half-time of the 5-0 thrashing of Everton in Gameweek 28, the Spain international has registered a goal and an assist.
Price: £5.2m Points: 89 Gameweek 30 fixture: West Ham (h)
Harvey Barnes (Leicester )
Harvey Barnes, like the overwhelming majority of Leicester’s squad, has endured a frustrating season having failed to scale the heights of previous campaigns. The one-time England cap has started to flicker back into life of late, however, scoring once and providing two assists in his last four starts. Now looks an opportune time to invest in the Leicester squad given they have played the fewest number of games in the division and will therefore have a couple of double gameweeks in hand.
Price: £6.5m Points: 83 Gameweek 30 fixture: Brentford (h)
Christian Eriksen (Brentford)
Not only is Christian Eriksen a medical marvel, but he is also, on the evidence of last weekend, still an elite Premier League level playmaker too. It was from a sumptuous Eriksen cross that Brentford finally made the breakthrough against Burnley with Ivan Toney accepting the Dane’s gift-wrapped present gratefully. “One bit of quality [from him] and you can score a goal like I did today,” Toney remarked afterwards. “It’s a delight to have him in the team.”
Price: £5.5m Points: 8 Gameweek 30 fixture: Leicester (a)
Analysis: Eriksen provides the creative spark Brentford have lacked
It was lovely enough to see Christian Eriksen back on the pitch, but for him it was always about making a difference. He didn’t work so hard after his Euro 2020 collapse because he wanted to be given special favours. None of this means anything at all if he isn’t able to flourish.
Which all made his cross for Ivan Toney’s first goal all the more special. Toney has been crying out for that type of delivery all season; a whipped cross with his left foot that was basically impossible to defend and created a chance that was harder to miss than score.
This is an excerpt from The Score, Daniel Storey’s weekly verdict on all 20 Premier League clubs. Sign up here to receive the newsletter every Monday morning
Son Heung-min (Spurs)
Only Mo Salah (with 31 – 20 goals and 11 assists) and Jarrod Bowen (21 – eight goals and 13 assists) have directly contributed towards more goals in FPL this season than Son Heung-min (18 – 11 goals and seven assists). Considering Tottenham’s inconsistent form this campaign and the fact that Son is not their designated penalty taker, that is some effort. In truth, the South Korean has been well short of his top form of late, but that hardly matters in FPL terms when he is making an impact so routinely.
Price: £10.9m Points: 147 Gameweek 30 fixture: West Ham (h)
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
A strong run of form has seen Arsenal emerge as the favourites to finish fourth and if Mikel Arteta’s side does go on to clinch a long-awaited Champions League return, Bukayo Saka will have played as big a part in the achievement as anyone. The 20-year-old ranks second among Arsenal’s squad for both goals (on eight) and assists (with five) and featured in more games than any other player. Saka has provided three double-digit returns over the last eight gameweeks in FPL and is currently the most-bought player this week.
Price: £6.6m Points: 125 Gameweek 30 fixture: Aston Villa (a)
Philippe Coutinho (Aston Villa)
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If Aston Villa are to put a dent in Arsenal’s top-four charge, you suspect they’ll need Philippe Coutinho to have one of his good days. Fortunately for Steven Gerrard, Coutinho has had more of those than bad ones since signing on loan from Barcelona in January, as a return of four goals and three assists in nine matches in claret and blue demonstrates. Since his debut against Manchester United in Gameweek 22, Coutinho is the joint-top scoring midfielder in FPL, alongside Bruno Fernandes.
Price: £7.5m Points: 57 Gameweek 30 fixture: Arsenal (h)
How i‘s Gameweek 29 picks performed
- Aaron Ramsdale,* (Arsenal) – 9
- Trent Alexander-Arnold* (Liverpool) – 6
- Matt Doherty* (Spurs) – 1
- Andy Robertson* (Liverpool) – 6
- Dejan Kulusevski* (Spurs) – 5
- Bukayo Saka* (Arsenal) – 3
- Mo Salah** (Liverpool) – 18
- Anthony Gordon* (Everton) – 2
- Ryan Fraser* (Newcastle) – 1
- Harry Kane* (Spurs) – 6
- Alexandre Lacazette* (Arsenal) – 6
*Player still has one game to play
**Selected as i’s newsletter exclusive captain
Harry Kane (Spurs)
In Mo Salah’s FA Cup enforced absence, expect Harry Kane to take up the Egyptian’s mantle as the most captained player this gameweek. Although Kane was overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo in front of his sporting hero Tom Brady last weekend, a goal at Old Trafford ensured that the Spurs striker has scored six goals in his last five Premier League matches. Kane will expect to maintain that purple patch against an opponent whom he has enjoyed playing against in the past; Leicester and Everton are the only clubs he has scored more times against than West Ham.
Price: £12.4m Points: 115 Gameweek 30 fixture: West Ham (h)
Ivan Toney (Brentford)
Ivan Toney’s return of five goals (and 29 FPL points) in Brentford’s previous two matches is not to be sniffed at, even if the total was somewhat skewed by the successful conversion of three penalties. Don’t let that put you off, though, as Toney’s expertise from the spot only serves to enhance his appeal as an FPL asset; he has now scored all 17 of his penalties for the Bees. Toney also offers a goal threat in the air too and with Eriksen supplying the crosses, don’t discount the pair taking advantage of Leicester’s infamous inability to defend set plays.
Price: £6.6m Points: 107 Gameweek 30 fixture: Leicester (a)
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