It's here! FPL's biggest Gameweek this season
Stay for a Sunday league worldie
***GAMEWEEK 29 DEADLINE: SATURDAY - 11:00 GMT***
FPL, all is forgiven. Yes, it’s a game of frustration and heartbreak, but two weeks without it is just too much. Don’t believe me? Some FPL players have taken up Pokemon Go again. Yes, it’s that bad. This week, we go from famine to feast. It’s the biggest Double Gameweek of the season, so a huge chance to rack up the points/swear to never play this cursed game again.
This week: The Big Double, buying Man Utd players, Bench Boosting, a Free Hit (if you must), top predicted points scorers, what to do with Arsenal players, Brighton are still good, budgeting for Haaland and… a top Sunday League hit.
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Doubles all round
There’s so many Doubles, it’s easier to tell you who doesn’t have two games this week - Arsenal, Palace, Everton, Fulham, Man City, Southampton, Spurs and Wolves. The Doubles are below, with the “best for attacking” in the darker green.
The best sides to target foe me remain Brighton (lots of fixtures left to fit in), Man Utd (ditto) and Chelsea feel like the best option for a punt. I can’t see much logic in investing in Bournemouth, though Solanke upfront may free up some cash. A couple of Free Hit options are Maddison from Leicester or Ings from West Ham - he has two home games.
Man Utd are a good bet for free transfers
Since we last met, *another* Double Gameweek has been announced for Gameweek 34. It includes Man Utd, so if you bring them in now, you’ll probably be able to hold on to them for the long term, injuries allowing. Fixtures are very good from now on. WARNING: They Blank in Gameweek 32. Rashford is the obvious #1 pick. It’s then probably Shaw and Fernandes - the latter will play further forward when Casemiro returns from suspension. Annoyingly, he’s out for both games this week.
Bench Boosting will be very popular
It’s very likely that you’ll have some decent options on the bench this week, like Kane or Arsenal players, who have only one game. Loads of people will Bench Boost & have spent the last few weeks planning for it. If you’re close, it’s probably worth taking a hit for an extra Double Gameweek player or two & hitting the Bench Boost button.
A Free Hit for this week (if you must)
It’s quite hard to have a bad team this week, given all the Doubles - if you still have the Free Hit, there will be a better time to use it. Some good teams don’t play in Gameweek 32, so that looks like a better chance. But this Free Hit draft from Let’s Talk FPL should give you a decent sense of the best player options. The big decision is Salah… the Egyptian King is suddenly a differential option. Could be fun on a Free Hit. Also, there’s no Arsenal players here… More on this below.
Projected points for this week
These predicted points are generated by a model, this one from Fantasy Football Hub. They’re not massively useful for single Gameweeks, but good for testing some ideas. The Brighton lads are at the top. The biggest surprise for me is Gibbs-White from Forest. They have very good fixtures and desperately need points over the next two, as their fixtures get very hard. There’s too many better options for me, though.
People are starting to sell Arsenal players
Most people have three Arsenal players because, well, they’ve been great. And this week they have a great fixture vs Leeds. But quite a few on FPL Twitter are now reducing the number. This is basically because Arsenal have no Doubles - and their fixtures are pretty tough for the run in. So moving out the likes of Odegaard, White or Gabriel for Double Gameweek players seems a decent move. Saka is the top option, but pricey. Of course, Arsenal players could easily keep outscoring everyone, so how many and who you keep from Arsenal has become a key thing to think about.
As you can see from this Wildcard Draft from FPL Harry, he only goes for one cheap Arsenal player (White) and bets on a Liverpool recovery. (PS - it’s not a great week to Wildcard).
Don’t forget Haaland
As we discussed last time out, many managers took out Haaland and got in a player with three games to his one. Next week, he players Southampton. PRO TIP: If you took him out, remember to save enough cash to bring him back next week. He now costs £12m. For example, some people are transferring out Saka and keeping Odegaard this week to make sure they can afford Haaland next week. Scary stuff.
INJURY UPDATE: Rashford and Haaland both missed their international games, but both seem to be ok. Estupiñan from Brighton flies in quite late, so if you’re planning to bring him in (he’s a great option), try to await news from Brighton’s press conference later this week. The popular Botman from Newcastle is also flagged.
Mac Allister now seems the best Brighton option
March, Mitoma or Mac Allister? That’s been the tricky choice for a while. Mac Allister does now seem to have switched to a more advanced role in a No10 slot, and looks extremely attacking - it looks like he’s staying put. I don’t think it’s worth a sideways move if you’ve got one of the others, but he looks the best bet if you’re buying. Brighton have so many games left, the tripe up still looks good. The Brighton mids, along with Rashford, are probably the leading captain contenders. Other options here:
Have some of that
Football is a simple game made complicated by Big Analytics. See the ball, see the goal, score. Beautiful stuff, this. The player is George Slaney and the team is the Greenwich Challenge Vets.
Please get in touch with any FPL dilemmas or general football internet gold. Remember the DEADLINES and see you next week! I’m on Twitter here. Please help me grow FPL Is Life by sharing… thanks!