Hear ye, hear ye. I am here to bring you the news that – for once – we have an actual, normal gameweek. No doubles. No blanks. Just 10 games of good old-fashioned, infuriatingly unpredictable FPL action.
Since we do have a lot of doubles coming up, this kind-of feels like an in-between week. Obviously we’re all desperately fighting for a late season surge in our OR anyway, even if most of our mini-leagues are probably wrapped-up by this point.
To that end, here’s your quick and easy preview for FPL Gameweek 35.
Gameweek 35 Fixtures
It feels weird, not having to worry about any blanks or doubles. Like we’re playing on easy mode this week, or something.
Looking down this list, we’ve probably got three easy fixtures to target:
- Man City vs Leeds
- Liverpool vs Brentford
- Brighton vs Everton
All three are home games, for top six sides, all of whom are in-form.
At this stage of the season though, we really need to be looking ahead to the remaining gameweeks. Here are the rest of our fixtures, per our lord and saviour Ben Crellin:
Well, Brighton sure have a lot of games! Obviously if you’re not tripled up on them already, you definitely should be.
Newcastle also have a decent double next week. We don’t want their defenders against Arsenal this week, but – since the Gunners never keep cleans now – we do want their attackers.
Man U have decent fixtures, but they’re inconsistent. I’d stick with Rashford for now.
Finally, Man City have an incredible fixture run. They’ve got two of the worst teams in the league back to back, then a double (including against terrible Chelsea). You should definitely be looking to get at least one defender in, and trebling up with Grealish looks too easy to be true.
Should I Buy?
Bearing in mind that we’re looking at both the short and medium term, here are my thoughts on all of the players that are currently top of the Transferred In list:
- Wilson – Risky. He’s obviously in amazing form, but there are big question marks over his minutes. He probably starts against Arsenal, but who knows after that.
- Brighton Defenders – Definitely yes. Dunk is the safest pick, although Estupinan is fine too. Webster is the budget option
- Rashford – Obviously yes, if you don’t have him already
- Odegaard – No. He’s in good form, but Newcastle away is a horrible fixture
- Stones – Having a City defender is definitely fine, and Stones is both nailed and cheaper than Dias. He’s quite expensive at 5.6, while Akanji is 5.0. Akanji didn’t start last game, but started every week before that. I prefer him for the savings
- Alexander Arnold – Yes. He’s expensive but he returns every single week, and the rest of their fixtures are good. Get him if you possibly can
- Salah – Completely budget dependent. I’ve kept Kane over him, but I don’t feel great about it right now. If I didn’t have either, I’d splash out for Mo
- Mings – He’s as good as any cheap non-Brighton defender. Villa are good, and now he has Wolves and Spurs
- Isak – I prefer him to Wilson. His underlying stats are great, and he seems a better bet to start
- Grealish – Yes. He returned again, after two blanks, has great fixtures, and is still cheap at 7.3
- Shaw – Meh. Man U have very good defensive fixtures (see previous section), but don’t keep many cleans at all. I’d rather have Akanji
- Brighton Midfielders – March is suddenly out of favour, despite being in decent form. Mitoma hasn’t returned in his last five games. MacAllister’s 100th minute penalty was his first return in five games. Basically, throw a dart? But you need at least one of them regardless
Should I Sell?
Again, with the caveat that we’re now considering all of the remaining fixtures, here are my thoughts on the most-binned players right now:
- De Bruyne – No chance. He’s back in full training, and was in ludicrous form before his brief injury. Hold him if you’ve got him
- Toney – He continues to score literally every other game. Liverpool away is a decent fixture, as is West Ham home after that. I’d hold, unless you’re desperate for Wilson/Isak
- Saka – Yes. Way out of form, and much better options out there (like Grealish)
- Watkins – Yes. Three blanks in a row, and middling fixtures coming up. Isak/Wilson are both better
- Jota – It feels difficult to sell him with these fixtures coming up… but also he’s completely unreliable. I guess I’m fine with holding him, but if you’ve got any kind of ‘spare’ transfer at all, feel free to move him
- Brentford Defenders – Yes. They’ll struggle to get any more cleans this season. Bin them all, if it gets you a defender from Brighton, Man City, Newcastle, or Man U
- Mitoma / March – You can’t. Both have massive question marks, but they’ve got too many fixtures to sell right now
- Kane – Nope. I do have Mo-envy, but Kane continues to return every single week, and has nice fixtures
My Moves
I scored 103pts last week, against an 82pt average, and still managed a red arrow. Unfortunately this is what happens when your OR gets up to a decent level! I’m still 207k going into Gameweek 35 though, which – considering where I was a few months back – I’m happy with.
Here’s the current state of play:
To be honest, I’m completely happy with this lineup. Obviously there are question marks over the likes of March and Gakpo starting, but I believe (fingers crossed) both will. The matchups look good across the board too.
… Having said that!
I really want a City defender. The only way to get one this week, without taking a hit, would be to move Trippier or Shaw.
Binning Shaw is really hard, with his upcoming fixtures. Binning Trippier sounds crazy… until you look at his form:
Yup, no returns whatsoever, despite playing some pretty crap teams. Binning him just before a double next week doesn’t feel great… but I’d be getting a City double the week after anyway, and surely a City defender outscores him across the next five weeks.
When a player’s had an amazing first half/two-thirds of the season like Trippier, they can fly under the radar when they actually stop producing at all. It still feels tough to cut bait, after he was so amazing for so long, but maybe now’s the time to do so.
Final Thoughts
Last order of actual business – Haaland is obviously your captain this week, as always. Do I even need to write that any more?
With that brilliant analysis, my FPL Gameweek 35 preview is brought to a close. Have a good long think before you make any moves this week. Anyone you bring in should have good upcoming fixtures, preferably including at least one double.
As always, do give us a follow on Twitter – @Full90FPL – to get the latest tips as soon as they land, or to get specific advice on your team.