FPL Gameweek 32 Preview – Double Gameweek 35 Anounced

In this FPL Gameweek 32 Preview we will review double gameweek 35 news, consider Haaland and Saka, look at some injuries and then do the usual fixture tickers, captaincy corner and my moves.

Doubles Gameweek 35 Anounced!

See, this is why I wait until close to the deadline before publishing pieces.

On Friday, (F)PL Towers announced that Chelsea and Spurs will double in gameweek 35. If you follow Ben Crellin, and you should, then you knew this was a possibility beforehand. So, what does it change?

Chelsea will play Villa and Spurs. Spurs will play Arsenal and Chelsea.

Yeah, they’re not great fixtures are they?

The thing is, Chelsea and Spurs will very likely double in gameweek 37 too.

It doesn’t make a huge difference to your chip strategy. If your wildcarding with double gameweek 34 in mind or wildcarding in 35 then you’re fine.

Will Haaland and Saka Play?

Neither Pep nor Arteta were very forthcoming about Haaland or Saka, respectively. We might get a leak ahead of the City game on Saturday morning so you could hold off on any moves in case.

As for Saka, he only has a minor knock. Arteta rides him so hard so I think he will play. He has good fixtures and a double in 34. Easy hold for me.

Does Haaland Suck Anyway?

With Haaland, we were struck by this tweet by FPL Goat:

Players that have scored more FPL points than haaland in the last 10GWs ✅

1. Foden
2. Saka
3. Watkins
4. Muniz
5. Havertz
6. Rodri
7. Ødegaard
8. White
9. Palmer
10. Diaz
11. Brennan Johnson
12. Gross
13. Bowen
14. Rice
15. Morris
16. MGW
17. Solanke
18. Dunk
19. Hudson Odoi… pic.twitter.com/wqprjhpln3

— FPL GOAT (@FPLGOAT7) April 4, 2024

22 players have outscored Haaland in the last 10 gameweeks. Jeez!

Yet, he is still the eight highest scoring player in FPL. I think that tells you want you need to know.

He can smash it in this run-in to the end of the season. I personally don’t think it is worth trying to go without him. But, I wouldn’t tell you it’s a bad idea if you are seriously chasing in your mini-league and want to spread the money about. Just do it with open eyes of the risks.

Injuries Everywhere

In other news:

• It seems unlikely Richarlison will play. He blanks in gameweek 34 anyway so I would sell.
• Hwang could start this week and he is probably the best Wolves asset for gameweek 34. It may also dent Ait-Nouri’s appeal because Wolves have had injuries in attack that resulted in Ait-Nouri playing a very attacking left wing-back/left midfielder. I would wait and see on both.
• At Aston Villa, Watkins might be back. He doesn’t miss many games and if you still have him then I think he is fine to hold. If you have a spare transfer and you just want rid of him then its fine to sell because of the bad fixture in 33 and maybe you want a doubler for 34.
• Olise will return to the Palace squad this week. One to watch ahead of their double in 34.
• And finally, Trent Alexander-Arnold should return to “parts of training” next week.

Fixture Tickers

This is a regular stalwart of our pieces throughout the year. We will look at which teams have the best fixtures over the next five gameweeks to help you plan your transfers.

Teams in capitals are home fixtures and teams in lowercase are away fixtures.

I am going to do the normal five week ticker and a three week ticker for those dead-ending into gameweek 34.

Defensive Fixture Tickers

 As you can see, the doublers dominate both defensive fixture tickers.

Attacking Fixture Tickers

 And again, the doublers dominate.

Should I Buy?

Ahead of gameweek 32 should you buy these guys?

Generally, I’m advising you buy players who will double in 34.

Isak – Maybe. Great player and Wilson is injured so he is nailed. Newcastle don’t have the best fixtures but still a good buy if you’re happy he doesn’t play two in 34.

Foden – No. I wouldn’t be prioritising him. I don’t trust that he won’t get rotated between now and 34. Wildcard him back in after that. That’s my plan at least.

Palmer – Yeah, just buy him. He’s incredible value.

Ait-Nouri – Wait a week. See how Wolves line up. Otherwise I like him and if you’re forced into it then you could do way worse.

White/Gabriel/Saliba/Raya – Yes. Great defenders/keeper. Generally, I don’t like transfers for keepers but if you are forced its fine.

Darwin – Yes. Great pick. Is on eight yellow cards so be warned he could still miss the double in 34.

Salah – Yes. Always.

Bradley – No, its too late. Trent will probably be back for gameweek 34.

Solanke – Yes. Great fixture this week and doubles in 34.

Odegaard – No. He’s fine but I prefer doubling up on the Arsenal defence+Saka.

Son – No. He blanks in 34.

Ortega Moreno – No. Ederson is almost back.

Bowen – No. I wouldn’t. Fixtures aren’t good enough and there are better midfield options.

Should I Sell?

Ahead of gameweek 32 should you sell these guys?

Watkins – No. I think he will play because he’s so important for them and it was only a minor injury. You can have the good Brentford fixture and sell him next week ahead of the bad fixture run.

Saka – No. He will probably play this week, has okay fixtures and doubles in 34.

Douglas Luiz – Yes. He’s not really an FPL asset. Maybe he’s fine in draft.

De Bruyne – Yes. Since his return from injury he has only played 90 minutes four out of 11 games and only hit double figures for points once.

Maddison – Wait one week. He can perform against Forest and then sell him.

Son – No. Wait until gameweek 34. The only exception could be if you’re moving him to Salah.

Gross – Yes. I’m surprised his ownership is high enough to make the list of most sold.

Doughty – Yes. Fine to sell.

Toney – No. Villa are good this week but he plays Sheffield and Luton after that. I wouldn’t be annoyed at playing him in 34 if I had to.

Captaincy Corner

This is a really tough week for captaincy. I am going to talk you through who all the options are. In order of preference:

1. Salah – The Egyptian King plays against Man United. The FIFTH worst defence in the league according to xGC. Mental that United are that bad. And Mo has the highest xGI per 90 in the league (of players with more than 10 appearances this year).
2. Palmer – This guy has the best fixture of these four this week as Chelsea play the second worst defence in the league – Sheffield United. He is fifth for xGI per 90 but is more reliant on penalties than anyone else in this list. Chelsea have the most penalty goals in the league which could either mean they’re great at getting them or its an outlier in the data. I don’t have access to xP sadly…
3. Haaland – Let’s be clear, there are only two (maybe three) good defences in the league this year. But Palace, according to xGC, are the next best. Yes they had a good start and things have changed but Palace are the fourth best defence in the league. Haaland is still elite and plays for the best team in the league. He sits second in our xG per 90 table.
4. Son – Easily the worst on xG per 90 at 17^th and plays a middling defence. But, he is the only one that plays at home.

For me, Salah and Palmer are the standout two. I’m currently on Salah because he’s less reliant on penalties but I think they’re all good options.

James’ Move

I am dead ending my team in to gameweek 34. I have three free transfers in between now and then, and, no urgent moves to make so I am probably going to hold. Holding allows me to be flexible and not commit to a plan yet. And I have two plans…

In both of them, I wildcard in gameweek 35.

But in the first I bench boost in 34. I hate the bench boost and I hate optimising my wildcard for it. It’s normally only a 10-15 point boost which knowledgeable managers all gain. I can get 11 doublers and four singlers out with just free transfers.

In the second, I bench boost in 37, using my wildcard to get 15 doublers. But, potentially missing out on good returns in 35, 36 and 38. For example, Arsenal defence, Saka, Salah, Watkins, Toney etc.

So, how am I going to make this decision? Well, it’s all going to depend on which of my leagues I try to win. I’m in second and 41 points behind in my classic league which means I need to average an extra 5.86 points per week to win. But, I will very likely have a head-to-head league semi-final in 37… One to ponder.

That’s it!

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Good luck in FPL Gameweek 32! Fingers crossed the FPL gods have a good week in store for you.