Insurance Times looks forward to this week’s fixtures – and whips out the crystal ball for end of the season predictions
Following a seemingly endless international break, the Premier League returns this weekend for gameweek 32 – kicking off this Friday evening with West Ham hosting Wolves, before a full weekend of fixtures.
Managers have until 18.30 this Friday evening to lock in any transfers or play chips to maximise the home strait of fixtures.
Those managers in the Insurance Times Fantasy Football League that kept their powder dry on chips now go into the business end of the season with a significant advantage – and that advantage could scarcely be more relevant than it is now.
The real story this week is not GW32 itself. It is what comes next.
Following Leeds United’s win over West Ham in the FA Cup quarter-finals, six teams – Manchester City, Burnley, Chelsea, Brighton, Leeds and Bournemouth – will play twice in double gameweek 33, before blanking in gameweek 34.
That makes the next 72 hours some of the most consequential of the entire FPL season for chip planning.
The most popular strategy doing the rounds is to wildcard in GW32, filling your squad with players who double in GW33, then activate the bench boost in that double gameweek – before using the free hit chip to navigate BGW34, when those same players go missing again.
Bruno Fernandes is the standout captain candidate for GW32, having racked up 48 FPL points over the last six gameweeks courtesy of two goals and five assists – more than any other midfielder over that period.
Manchester United host Leeds this weekend and the Portuguese talisman’s form makes him difficult to overlook.
Haaland, meanwhile, has scored just once in the league in his last six gameweeks – but reminded managers of his quality with a hattrick against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final and, with City doubling in GW33, the temptation to bring him in is entirely understandable. Just bear in mind that Chelsea await at Stamford Bridge this Sunday.
For those seeking more affordable routes into the double gameweek, Antoine Semenyo of Manchester City, who has started all nine league games since joining in January and picked up six attacking returns, looks a strong option, with a double in GW33 and favourable fixtures beyond his blank in GW34. Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke, who has amassed over 120 FPL points this season at just £4.5m, is also worth a look ahead of the Seagulls’ double.
League standings
The Insurance Times Fantasy Football League continues to be fiercely contested at the top. If you find yourself among the leading managers – or if you have deployed a chip strategy so brilliantly timed it deserves a wider audience – do get in touch.
The league is currently led by Aviva’s Archie Taylor-Salmon on 1,915 points, although Allianz Commercial’s Darragh Kennedy is just one point behind on 1,914.
Just behind them in third is Howden’s Alexander Webb, with Aviva’s Matt Snow just behind in fourth. Allianz’ Steve Fisher rounds out the top five.
Good luck for GW32. You are almost certainly going to need it.
No comments yet