FPL Gameweek 33: Double Gameweek Picks Tiered

In this FPL gameweek 33 preview, I will be looking solely at the double gameweek players and picking my favourites. To do that I am going to break them down into locks, important, options and for chasers.

In reality, very rarely are there any essential or lock picks but I wanted a way to split them up and have some fun with this piece. Think about it more like if you are on wildcard or free hit then these guys should be the first names on your team sheet.

Important picks are the next best options and options are people to consider for your team. The most fun part of this though are some options for those people chasing (or perhaps wanting to do something different because they are on free hit).

Let’s get into it.

Man City

Lock: Haaland

Important: Semenyo

Option: Guehi

For chasers: Cherki

Its pretty likely that City will double again in gameweek 36 so these guys are probably the priority to buy.

Obviously you should have Haaland. The only way I would not have him would be if I was playing a no-Haaland season. Even if you were chasing and wanted to do something different, I wouldn’t pick here to do that. I know he hasn’t been that good recently but he’s capable of a hat trick against anyone and definitely against Burnley.

Like Joe said earlier in the week, if O’Reilly is currently injured the only defender I really trust to play all the games in Guehi. His attacking threat isn’t as good as O’Reilly’s but he could become a focal point on set pieces as basically the only guy who can head the ball.

There is a chance he isn’t injured or his injury isn’t serious so maybe he plays one of the games this week. That would probably be the Arsenal game because it’s way more important. If I only had one transfer in the bank I would take the risk and keep him. I have four frees so am inclined to transfer him out for Guehi at the time of writing – that may change later in the week.

I love watching Cherki and if I was chasing I might be tempted to take a risk on him. But, Semenyo is a much safer option for minutes so he would be the one I would go for.

Chelsea

Lock: Palmer

Important: Joao Pedro

Option: Cucurella, Enzo

Cole Palmer is the only Chelsea asset who can get 20 points from a single game. We have seen this in the past and seen this in this season too.

I have said it before and I am saying it again. Joao Pedro isn’t that good. However, he is owned by 50.2% of the managers in the game and 56% of the top 250k. The fixtures are good and most strikers aren’t that good, so he does feel like a pretty easy get.

The only other guy I would consider is Cucurella. He is super attacking and could have scored at the weekend because he spends so much time in the opposition box. His xGI per 90 is 0.21 so there is data underlying that eye test too. Of course, defensively Chelsea are just not very good – their last clean was in gameweek 22. So, it’s purely an attacking play and a hope of a whiff of a clean sheet. I haven’t tripled up on Chelsea because of this and I just prefer to hold Gabriel and all the value I have tied up there.

I don’t trust Enzo’s minutes at the moment but I don’t hate picking him. I just don’t like him that much with Palmer fully fit now.

Brighton

Lock: van Hecke

Important: Verbruggen

Option: Gross, Hinshelwood

For chasers: Welbeck

Brighton are a tough one. They have a lot of guys I think are good but not a lot of standout options. The closest thing to a standout is probably van Hecke. Brighton’s defence has been pretty solid in the second half of the season and he is pretty good for defensive contributions with 8.76 actions per 90.

The defcons are the reason he beats out Verbruggen for the lock spot. Unless you have or are keeping Raya, I think he and Darlow are the guys to pick in goal.

The midfield options are kind of just fine. I have Hinshelwood because he has been playing 10 but he isn’t particularly inspiring. Gross could have some penalty share but plays a bit deeper. I don’t hate Wieffer because playing reverse out of position means he has good chances of getting defcon points with 13.83 per 90.

I really don’t like Welbeck because of his minutes risk. That being said, if I was chasing, I would consider him over Joao Pedro or DCL for a differential.

Leeds

Lock: DCL

Important: Bijol

Options: Struijk, Darlow, Aaronson

I feel a bit hypocritical recommending Calvert-Lewin given how down I have been on the guy all year. But, he’s proven me wrong. I wouldn’t be shocked if he did nothing but the best thing about him is his price. You can comfortably hold him to the end of the season and not waste a transfer here.

I don’t really think anyone is important but I’d like a share of their defence and Bijol is super cheap and good at defcons with 10.25 per 90. Another guy you can comfortably hold to the end of the season without messing up team structure.

Struijk misses out by virtue of being 0.4 more but he isn’t a bad option either. I own him after wildcarding last week and concerns about Bijol’s fitness and I wont be switching him – it isn’t worth it.

Darlow is my least favourite defensive option because there is a small chance that he isn’t nailed. Hes just so cheap and another guy you can hold to the end of the season without messing up team structure. Plus, he and Verbruggen rotate really well.

And my least favourite option of all the Leeds options is Aaronson. His xGI per 90 of 0.31 is fine but I just prefer the other cheaper guys at Brighton or Bournemouth. If Stach was fit then I would have him in a heartbeat but he isn’t so.

Okafor isn’t nailed so I wouldn’t kneejerk him in.

Bournemouth

Lock: Hill

Important: Tavernier

Options: Senesi, Petrovic

For Chasers: Evanilson

At my favourite team this season I think Hill is the best option. Again, he is a guy that is so cheap that he makes a team really easy to structure. He is also a great defcon guy with 10 returns (20 points) from 23 games and 16 starts.

Tavernier is my next favourite pick at Bournemouth. I think he has some penalty share, though I admit Kroupi might have them IF he is on the pitch but he never plays 90 and often plays 20. His xGI per 90 is the best of all these cheap guys with 0.42 per 90 and I think Bournemouth play good attacking football that he could get a return.

In a vacuum, Senesi is a bit better than Hill. But, he costs a million more and doesn’t offer much more with his 44 defcons from 31 games and 31 starts. I’d definitely take him over Petrovic though. Still, Petrovic is nailed and has a double so is an option in goal.

Again, if you are chasing, ignore DCL and Joao Pedro. Get yourself Welbeck and Evanilson. Evanilson has certainly been worse than both those guys this year but you only need him to outperform them for a double and then you can get out – that’s very possible.

Scott is fine as a defcon guy but he has basically half the defcon points of Forest’s Anderson and his attacking output is minimal. Don’t kneejerk him in.

Burnley

Options: Dubravka, Esteve, Anthony, Flemming

None of these guys are locks or even important. If you just feel contrarian then Dubravka or Esteve are bad options but nailed in defence. The only guy who came to mind for me was Anthony who has a banger in him. Flemming is pretty nailed and has better underlying data than Evanilson but he also plays in the worst team in the league against two teams that need to win and one of them is in the title race. I’d just leave it.