Sometimes Fantasy Premier League just doesn’t make sense. There were 34 goals in total last weekend and yet the average score for the FPL gameweek was just 39 points, lower than any other this season in which all 20 clubs have had a fixture.
Monday was particularly chaotic with 21 goals flying in in only three matches. However, unless your FPL team is packed full of differentials, or you happen to possess psychic powers, it’s unlikely you would’ve benefited from too many – if any – of them.
Wolves defender Toti (14 points), Everton midfielder Dwight McNeil (21) and Nottingham Forest forward Taiwo Awoniyi (12) were the top-scoring players in their positions this weekend and all are owned by fewer than three per cent of managers.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland managed just two points, despite registering three big chances. A very odd gameweek indeed.
Surely things won’t be quite as unpredictable in Gameweek 36… right? The average score should sneak up at least as there will be one extra fixture compared to last week with Brighton and Newcastle in action twice and playing against each other next Thursday.
Managers should already have a strong core of players from those sides, but if you have a transfer or two to use this week and have space for more it makes sense to do so. Two games are better than one, after all, even if Brighton’s games look tricky to say the least.
Gameweek 35 top scorers
Goalkeepers:
- Ramsdale (Arsenal) – 10
- Leno (Fulham), Sa (Wolves) – 9
- Fabianski (West Ham) – 8
Defenders:
- Toti (Wolves) – 14
- Porro (Spurs) – 12
- Van Dijk (Liverpool) – 11
- Aguerd (West Ham) – 8
Midfielders:
- McNeil (Everton) – 21
- Willian (Fulham) – 15
- Cairney (Fulham) – 14
- Doucoure (Everton), Gundogan (Man City), Ward-Prowse (Southampton) – 13
- Barnes (Leicester), Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Benrahma (West Ham) – 11
Forwards:
- Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest) – 12
- Vinicius (Fulham) – 9
- Johnson (Nottingham Forest), Kane (Spurs) – 8
Another factor to consider when making your moves is the double gameweek in 37 in which the Seagulls, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all play twice.
This week’s deadline is at the regular time of 11am on Saturday:
Gameweek 36 fixtures
Saturday 13 May
- Leeds vs Newcastle
- Aston Villa vs Spurs
- Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest
- Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth
- Man Utd vs Wolves
- Southampton vs Fulham
Sunday 14 May
- Brentford vs West Ham
- Everton vs Man City
- Arsenal vs Brighton
Monday 15 May
- Leicester vs Liverpool
Thursday 18 May
- Newcastle vs Brighton
David de Gea (Man Utd)
No, that’s not a typo. Yes, David de Gea made a shocking error against West Ham, but he is arguably the best keeper to own from now until the end of the campaign given United’s promising run of games – three of their final four fixtures are at Old Trafford – and the fact that they play twice in Gameweek 37.
De Gea’s long-term future at the club may be up in the air, but Erik ten Hag was fully supportive of him after that gaffe on Sunday which suggests his starting place is not under threat. In the short term, at least.
Price: £5m Points: 138 Gameweek 36 fixture: Wolves (h)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
He hasn’t quite hit double figures in a single game yet but Trent Alexander-Arnold has been an FPL points hoover since Gameweek 30, registering attacking or defensive returns in all seven of his appearances along with five bonus points.
Were it not for some dodgy finishing from Liverpool’s forwards, Alexander-Arnold would have helped himself to even more assists. He has created eight big chances in his previous seven games, twice as many as any other defender, while he is also second for shots behind Tottenham’s shoot-on-sight wing-back Pedro Porro over that period.
Price: £7.6m Points: 138 Gameweek 36 fixture: Leicester (a)
Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)
Kieran Trippier has been a hugely frustrating asset to own of late with no attacking or defensive returns to his name in seven matches. Newcastle’s skipper is still the most popular defender in the game, but he hasn’t justified that status in some time. Since Gameweek 30 he has taken just 10 points, fewer than 57 players in his position.
To make matters worse, Trippier is still posting promising underlying numbers. During that period he ranks top among all defenders for chances created (with 21), while only Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ivan Perisic have fashioned more big chances.
Hopefully an overdue assist will fall his way during Newcastle’s double.
Price: £6.1m Points: 178 Gameweek 36 fixture(s): Leeds (a), Brighton (h)
Pervis Estupinan (Brighton)
Let’s face it, Brighton’s two fixtures are horrible from a defensive standpoint. They face the second and sixth best attacks in the division away from home and after being thumped by Everton. That sorry 5-1 defeat at the Amex wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of Pervis Estupinan’s qualities.
That being said there isn’t a single team that looks particularly solid at present, so the pool of alternatives to Brighton’s left-back is extremely shallow. Clean sheets may be tricky to come by, but Estupinan does at least provide an attacking threat: he ranks fifth among all defenders for chances created this season with 43.
Price: £4.9m Points: 106 Gameweek 36 fixture(s): Arsenal (a), Newcastle (a)
Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton)
It wasn’t a huge score, but at last Kaoru Mitoma broke his barren streak of returns with, perhaps the most “FPL assist” of all FPL assists against Everton – his shot rebounded off the post and bounced fortouitously off Alexis Mac Allister before ending up in the net.
Still, they all count and Mitoma’s backers will hope that there is more where that came from in Gameweek 36. Mitoma’s one-on-one battles against Ben White and Trippier could be match, if not season defining, for his side.
Price: £5.6m Points: 125 Gameweek 36 fixture(s): Arsenal (a), Newcastle (a)
Mo Salah (Liverpool)
It is probably no accident that Liverpool’s best run of the season – six consecutive league wins and counting – has coincided with Mo Salah’s most productive period in front of goal. Salah has scored six times in those matches and going back further has netted 11 times in his last 11 league starts.
Liverpool’s away form has held them back this season – they have the second-most points at home but ninth-most on the road – but will fancy their chances of maintaining their momentum at the King Power given Leicester’s woeful defensive display at Cravan Cottage on Monday.
Price: £13.1m Points: 217 Gameweek 36 fixture: Leicester (a)
Riyad Mahrez (Man City)
Riyad Mahrez was included in our Gameweek 34 picks on the basis that he isn’t quite in Pep Guardiola’s Champions League A-team but is one of the most trusted members of the B-side that will be needed in the Premier League.
Little has changed in the fortnight since to dissuade us away from taking a punt on Mahrez for the final few weeks.
Guardiola rang the changes against Leeds last weekend, but Mahrez started and delivered yet again with two assists for Ilkay Gundogan. The Algerian has set up four goals in his last three matches and scored in two of his three previous visits to Goodison Park.
Price: £7.3m Points: 113 Gameweek 36 fixture: Everton (a)
Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton)
Alexis Mac Allister would have been a popular transfer this week anyway, but Solly March’s hamstring injury has led to FPL managers swapping one Seagull for another. The Argentine is currently the most-bought midfielder ahead of Saturday’s deadline.
Julio Enciso’s emergence has resulted in Mac Allister playing a little deeper in midfield than he was previously but he is always capable of providing returns from penalty spot, as he did against Manchester United in Gameweek 35. And considering Brighton’s most recent performance, prioritising an attacking double-up is preferable to a defensive one.
Price: £5.5m Points: 129 Gameweek 36 fixture(s): Arsenal (a), Newcastle (a)
Alexander Isak (Newcastle)
The big debate going into this gameweek is which of Alexander Isak or Callum Wilson managers should snap up. The ideal scenario is to acquire both so as to avoid that dilemma entirely, so long as doing so doesn’t require a big points hit or major surgery to your squad.
If you only have space for one, Alexander Isak possibly shades it (just) as the more secure starter of the two. Since returning from injury in Gameweek 20, Isak has played 923 minutes to Wilson’s 746 and started eight of his side’s last 10 matches, compared to Wilson’s three.
Price: £7m Points: 90 Gameweek 36 fixture(s): Leeds (a), Brighton (h)
Ivan Toney (Brentford)
West Ham’s win against Manchester United effectively secured their place in next season’s Premier League, and with a two-legged European semi-final against AZ Alkmaar to navigate over the next week, Sunday’s trip to Brentford may not feature too prominently on their priority list.
Brentford don’t have much to play for other than securing a place in the top 10, but they will be eager to end a superb season on a high. Only Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford have scored more home goals than Ivan Toney this season and he can add to his tally against the potentially preoccupied Hammers.
Price: £7.4m Points: 182 Gameweek 36 fixture: West Ham (h)
Callum Wilson (Newcastle)
Unsurprisingly given Newcastle’s favourable double, Wilson and Isak are currently the two most-bought players ahead of Saturday’s deadline. Interestingly, despite tending to play fewer minutes than his strike partner, Wilson is proving to be the more popular signing of the two as he sits in pole position in the transfer charts.
It is easy to see why given Wilson has been incredibly clinical during his time on the pitch. Since facing Manchester United in Gameweek 29, Wilson is the joint-highest scorer in the league with Mo Salah on eight goals. Impressively, those eight strikes have come from only 16 attempts.
Price: £7.1m Points: 130 Gameweek 36 fixture(s): Leeds (a), Brighton (h)
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