A postponed round of fixtures after Queen Elizabeth’s death, a World Cup in the middle of the season, and more double gameweeks than ever before, all of which seemed to feature Brighton; it has been a Fantasy Premier League season like never before. And on Sunday, it all ends. At least for a couple of months.
Regardless of where you may end up in the overall rankings or in your mini-leagues, it is an achievement to have even made it this far. It has been a long and complicated campaign. But having come this far, there would be no better way to finish it off than by earning one final green arrow.
There is nothing quite like the final day of the season. With only a handful of clubs having anything other than pride to play for in the final round of fixtures, expect there to be mass rotation across the board, as bosses channel their inner Pep. Including Pep himself.
There will be goals too, lots of them. In total, 39 were scored on the final day of the 2021-22 campaign, considerably up from the season average of 28, while at least 31 goals have flown in on Gameweek 38 over each of the past five seasons. Maneuvering your players into a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formation is a must this week – this is not a time to be making defensive transfers.
Gameweek 37 top scorers
Goalkeepers:
- Ortega (Man City) – 16
- Iversen (Leicester), Navas (Nottingham Forest) – 9
- De Gea (Man Utd) – 7
Defenders:
- Colwill (Brighton) – 12
- Mina (Everton) – 10
- Shaw (Man Utd), Trippier (Newcastle), Felipe (Nottingham Forest) – 9
Midfielders:
- Bowen (West Ham) – 13
- Wissa (Brentford), Foden (Man City) – 12
- Gross (Brighton), Hwang (Wolves) – 11
Forwards:
- Mbeumo (Brentford) – 16
- Ferguson (Brighton) – 14
- Mitrovic (Fulham) – 13
There is also little point in snapping up well-owned players at this point. With the sheer volume of double gameweeks effectively forcing people to buy players from a handful of teams, this weekend presents an opportunity to do something different. A low-owned, differential pick can make all the difference, even at this late stage.
As such, we have deviated away from our normal format of selecting the XI best players to picking only those owned by fewer than 10 per cent of managers (at the time of writing).
Here are i‘s Fantasy Premier League tips for the final time this season.
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Gameweek 38 fixtures
Sunday 28 May
- Arsenal vs Wolves
- Aston Villa vs Brighton
- Brentford vs Man City
- Chelsea vs Newcastle
- Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest
- Everton vs Bournemouth
- Leeds vs Spurs
- Leicester vs West Ham
- Man Utd vs Fulham
- Southampton vs Liverpool
Emi Martinez (Aston Villa)
Making a goalkeeper transfer on the final gameweek of a season is about as boring a move as you could possibly make so don’t do it unless you absolutely have to. It is also one of the positions most prone to rotation on the final day too as understudies are given a rare opportunity to showcase their shot-stopping skills.
If you’re on a Free Hit though, Emi Martinez might be a decent shout given Aston Villa will be out to beat Brighton to secure a place in the Conference League. It’s a tough fixture on paper, but the Seagulls’ focus may not be as sharp as usual given they are already assured of Europa League football next season.
Price: £5m Points: 132 Gameweek 38 fixture: Brighton (h)
James Tarkowski (Everton)
Everton’s task on Sunday is simple: win at home against Bournemouth and they will retain their proud record of being one of only six clubs to have been ever-present in the Premier League. Sean Dyche surely would have accepted being in this position when he agreed to take over from Frank Lampard at the end of January.
If you have two free transfers to use and want to use one to bring in an expensive midfielder or forward, James Tarkowski could be a great facilitator at just £4.1m. Since Dyche’s first game in charge, Tarkowski ranks sixth among defenders for shots (with 18 in 17 games) and also created four big chances.
Price: £4.1m Points: 98 Gameweek 38 fixture: Bournemouth (h)
Rico Lewis (Man City)
Rico Lewis played the full 180 minutes in City’s double gameweek and demonstrated his versatility by starting in what is now referred to as “the John Stones” role in the win over Chelsea before switching to left-back for Wednesday’s draw at Brighton.
With the title wrapped up and Pep Guardiola eager to keep his main stars fresh for two cup finals over the next few weeks, it seems likely that Lewis will get another run out at Brentford. Like Tarkowski, his price makes it easier to upgrade elsewhere.
Price: £3.8m Points: 27 Gameweek 38 fixture: Brentford (a)
Kieran Tierney (Arsenal)
Could Sunday mark the end of Kieran Tierney’s Arsenal career? Once billed as a future club captain during the more gloomy days of the Mikel Arteta era, the Scot has lost his place to Oleksandr Zinchenko this season and as reported by i this week, is on Newcastle United’s Champions League shortlist.
Even with speculation surrounding his future, Tierney should return to the starting line-up against Wolves after Arteta’s back three experiment failed at the City Ground last weekend. Wolves are the second-lowest away scorers in the division and appear to be in disarray with Julen Lopetegui reportedly considering his future.
Price: £4.6m Points: 36 Gameweek 38 fixture: Wolves (h)
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
Eberechi Eze has been in sparkling form for Palace since Roy Hodgson’s return as manager in Gameweek 29, scoring six goals and registering a pair of assists in nine appearances. Mo Salah and Harry Kane are the only players to have outscored Eze (with 80 points each to his 65) in FPL during that period.
Selhurst Park is also no stranger to a final day flurry. Palace walloped Bournemouth 5-3 in the last game of the 2018-19 season and a similar scoreline could be on the cards again given they and Nottingham Forest can play with freedom after already achieving their targets.
Price: £5.6m Points: 157 Gameweek 38 fixture: Nottingham Forest (h)
Dwight McNeil (Everton)
Although Everton are in a more advantageous position than either Leicester or Leeds, they are not completely out of the woods yet. Leicester have a superior goal difference of six meaning if they beat West Ham and Everton only draw against Bournemouth, the Toffees will go down.
So basically, they need to try to win, which raises the appeal of their most in-form attacker. Dwight McNeil has been comfortably their most productive attacking player since Dyche’s arrival, scoring five goals, providing four assists and accumulating 83 FPL points in 17 appearances.
Price: £5.1m Points: 123 Gameweek 38 fixture: Bournemouth (h)
Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
Back-to-back defeats have taken the wind out of Arsenal’s sails, but they will be desperate to end a season of progress in style against Wolves in front of their own supporters. The Gunners had a similarly disappointing finish in 2021-22 but roused themselves to thrash Everton 5-1 on the final day at the Emirates.
With Gabriel Martinelli out injured, Leandro Trossard could be a great option this week as he looks to build on an encouraging start at Arsenal. Since signing from Brighton in January, Trossard has averaged 6.56 FPL points per-90 minutes.
Price: £6.6m Points: 145 Gameweek 38 fixture: Wolves (h)
Son Heung-min (Spurs)
Leeds can’t defend and Tottenham can’t defend, so the chances of goals being scored at both ends of Elland Road seem pretty high. Harry Kane is obviously the best Spurs asset to own having outscored his next top-scoring teammate Son Heung-min by 100 points exactly, but he is far too popular an FPL asset to make it into this team.
The same does not apply to Son. Last season’s Golden Boot winner has managed just one double-digit haul all season – 19 points against Leicester in Gameweek 8 – but has a good record against Leeds, scoring three times in four previous appearances. Leeds last kept a clean sheet three months ago in Javi Gracia’s first match in charge.
Price: £11.5m Points: 147 Gameweek 38 fixture: Leeds (a)
Julian Alvarez (Man City)
Julian Alvarez was a popular transfer last week and his backers were handsomely rewarded in the first game of City’s double against Chelsea when he scored the only goal and helped himself to two bonus points. The Argentine is in demand once again as he is the third-most signed forward this week, behind Callum Wilson and Kane.
The World Cup winner’s versatility has been a factor behind his recent surge in playing time with Guardiola using him in a variety of roles across the frontline. A rest against Brighton on Wednesday night should boost Alvarez’s prospects of starting on the final day.
Price: £6.1m Points: 101 Gameweek 38 fixture: Brentford (a)
Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)
“Si Señor, give the ball to Bobby and he’ll score…”
Liverpool fans have been desperate to give Roberto Firmino a fitting send-off ahead of his summer departure, serenading him at any opportunity in recent matches. The Brazilian had tears in his eyes after his final Anfield outing and his emotions could well get the better of him again as he pulls on the Liverpool shirt for the final time on Sunday.
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 20, 2023
Firmino returned from injury to score against Aston Villa last weekend and with Champions League qualification now out of reach, Jurgen Klopp will surely give him an extended run-out at St Mary’s.
Price: £8m Points: 99 Gameweek 38 fixture: Southampton (a)
Taiwo Awoniyi (Nottingham Forest)
Having already predicted goals at Selhurst Park, we’ve plumped for a Nottingham Forest forward to join Eze in this week’s team. Step forward Taiwo Awoniyi, Steve Cooper’s late season saviour. The Nigerian is ending his debut campaign in the east Midlands with a flourish, netting five times in his last three matches.
Awoniyi has been incredibly clinical during this hot streak, with his five goals coming from only six shots and a combined xG of just 1.10. It’s an unsustainable conversion rate long term but that hardly matters for a one-week punt. Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.5m) is also a nice punt if you’re in need of a midfielder rather than a forward.
Price: £5.6m Points: 92 Gameweek 38 fixture: Crystal Palace (a)
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