Well, well, well – would you look at that. We’ve suddenly only got three weeks to go! Between all the chips being played, the doubles and blanks discussion, and the European semi-finals… I feel like this end to the season has snuck up on me a little bit!
Fortunately, for reasons we’ll get into more shortly, I also think this is a really fun time in FPL. We more or less know where we stand, and therefore how we should play the rest of the season.
Actually executing on that vision, of course, is another matter entirely. But, that’s what James and I are here to help with!
Without further ado then, let’s get stuck into your full Gameweek 36 preview.
Gameweek 36 State of Play
Right – let’s take stock, and see where we’re at.
As you undoubtedly read in James’s excellent Gameweek 35 preview, the double gameweeks we thought we were getting have been cancelled.
So, we’ve got no more doubles and blanks to worry about/profit from this season.
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What we do have to worry about, unfortunately, is that half the league might be on the beach.
In the aforementioned preview, James also looked in-depth about whether that’s actually a real thing or not. I’d definitely encourage you to check that out here, both for now, and so that you know for future seasons.
Relegation was wrapped up ages ago. So, all the rubbish teams that aren’t Southampton, Ipswich, or Leicester have nothing to play for except pride and bonuses.
That doesn’t mean we should discount them entirely. If you’ve ever seen Bowen play, for example, you’ll know he gives absolutely everything at every moment. Someone like Cunha, meanwhile, is obviously looking for a move in the summer, and wants to finish strong for his suitors.
In terms of team performance, though… I’d be less confident in that. Bowen might be good, but West Ham are listless, so we can absolutely go after them. I watched the recent Chelsea vs Everton game, and Everton just couldn’t be arsed for most of the game – it was an easy clean for Chelsea.
TLDR: you can still pick great players from beached teams, but do target them as fixtures regardless.
The sides that are technically ‘playing for something’ are:
- Arsenal
- City
- Newcastle
- Chelsea
- Forest
- Villa
I don’t actually include Arsenal in that group. Maybe we see a resurgence, now that they’re out of the Champion League. But overall, it feels like they lost their spirit long before Liverpool officially won the league, and are content to just cruise to a top 2/3/5 finish.
I also wouldn’t back Forest right now. It just feels like the pressure’s got to them… understandably.
I would back the rest of them, though, to play hard, and play well.
Your Rest-of-Season Approach
I love this time of year, because FPL actually becomes pretty simple:
- If you’re happy with your rank, or you’re top of your mini-league, play conservatively.
- If you’re chasing either rank or a league position, be aggressive.
- If both are long gone, just have fun.
Being conservative generally means not taking hits, and choosing surer things for both your transfers and captaincy.
Being aggressive primarily means taking (sensible) hits. Especially now, when you can make your decisions based across only three remaining fixtures.
Having fun just means having fun. Pick players you like in real-life. Don’t worry too much about taking hits. Take a chance on your captains. We spend the whole rest of the season being so careful with all this stuff, and thinking so intensely about every decision we make. This is your brief window to chuck all that stuff out of the window, and just… have fun!
Best FPL Fixtures
We’ve only got three weeks left, which makes it very easy indeed to target specific fixture runs.
Since holding transfers isn’t as important, we can also be much more aggressive in targeting individual fixtures. I’m fine, for example, just getting a really good player in for one great fixture, with a view to moving them out again a week or two later, if necessary.
If you’d like to make some moves to cover at least the next few weeks instead, here are the best attacking and defensive FPL fixtures that remain.
Attacking
These sides have the best remaining games from an attacking perspective;
- Ipswich
- City
- Brentford
- Forest
- Wolves
None of them actually have three great games. But, they’ve got at least one tasty fixture, and usually at least one more favourable matchup.
Defensive
This lot have the best shots at picking up some cleans… from a fixtures perspective, at least, if not a realistic one (see: Ipswich):
- Forest
- Ipswich
- Brentford
- City
- West Ham
Generally, I feel a lot better about these – as complete fixture runs – than I do with the three remaining games for any of the attacking sides. Get a Forest or City defender now, and you can start them in at least two games and be confident of cleans.
Should I Buy?
If you’re chasing rank, now’s the time to look short-term and be aggressive. Let’s look at the most-bought FPL players right now, and decide whether or not they belong on our teams or not.
(Warning: there will be a lot more ‘yeses’ than normal. With only three fixtures to think about, it’s a lot easier to make transfers…even for the more casual FPL public!)
- De Bruyne – Yes. He’s great, seems nailed (relatively, for a Pep team)… oh, and he plays Southampton this week
- Wissa/Mbeumo – Yes. They’re both fantastic, in great form, and now play Ipswich
- Gvardiol – Yes. City are keeping cleans against the sides they’re supposed to, and they now have Southampton away, and Fulham in GW 38 too
- Wood – Maybe. I know, I know – he plays Leicester. But I don’t love getting involved with Forest in general right now, and I much prefer Wissa and Marmoush, plus Isak/Watkins
- Cunha – Yes. City away was a tough matchup. Before that he was in great form, and he has three nice fixtures to finish the season
- Ait Nouri – Maybe. I don’t love Wolves’ chances of keeping any more clean this season, but his underlying attacking stats have been excellent recently. I’d rather use your transfers on a mid/forward, if you can
- Bowen – Yes. I love him in real life, he’s in form, and he has Man U and Ipswich in his last three games. Forest, in-between those, doesn’t look so scary right now either
- Elanga – Maybe. Again, I don’t love Forest in general right now, but he’s a cheap way to attack that Leicester fixture, and you can start him against West Ham too
- Schade – Yes, as a one-week, high-upside option against Ipswich. Not so much for Fulham and Wolves after that
Should I Sell?
How are we making room for all these exciting new arrivals, the rest of the way? By jettisoning the losers who no longer deserve to be on our teams, of course!
These are the most-binned players in FPL, heading into GW 36;
- Saka – No. I wouldn’t buy him right now, but I wouldn’t sell him either. His underlying stats have been good, even if he hasn’t been returning. Liverpool away could be a high scoring game… I don’t love Newcastle after that, but Southampton away is the perfect end to the season
- Salah – No. This really just feels like overthinking it. He hasn’t been amazing recently, and neither have Liverpool. But his underlying stats are still good, he’s on pens, and he’s Salah. I also like all three of his remaining fixtures, and you know he’s going to be trying to bump up his already-absurd stats. Finally, you should have loads of money sloshing around at this point anyway… so why wouldn’t you want the best player in the game on your team? Aside from maybe Haaland, I don’t know who you’d want that Salah stops you from getting.
- Mateta – Maybe. He’s only scored once in his last five, and minutes are becoming a concern. That said… he does get to play Spurs this week. Unless it was for someone with a great fixture, like Wissa vs Ipswich, I’d probably just hold him for that fixture, then bin him for the last two games.
- Murphy – Maybe. I don’t like his fixtures at all… but also he only costs 5.3, so – unless you love and want to star five other mids, this doesn’t feel like a priority
- L Diaz – Maybe… but I probably wouldn’t. I don’t actually mind Arsenal at home right now, and he’s been in very good form
- Isak – No. I get moving him to Watkins, for example. But personally, I don’t care about his or anybody else’s fixtures. He’s great, has scored in three of his last four games, and is just super-reliable
- Marmoush – Absolutely not. The lack of returns has been frustrating, but you can’t possibly move him before he plays Southampton
- Bruno – Maybe. He’s far too expensive and Man U are rubbish… but he does play West Ham at home this week, and they’re even worse! I’d probably hold him, then bin him for the Chelsea/Villa finale
- Timber/Saliba – Maybe. I’d rather just bench them for the next two weeks, since you’d love an Arsenal defender against Southampton in GW 38. If you need the money elsewhere though, I’m fine with binning them
Captaincy Corner
There are actually a number of tasty FPL captaincy options this week, and no obvious answer. What fun!
Here are your five main options:
- De Bruyne – Southampton away
- Mbeumo – Ipswich away
- Salah – Arsenal home
- Cunha – Brighton home
- Wood – Leicester home
There are good reasons to start all five of those.
- I like Wood the least, despite the great fixture, because I just don’t trust Forest right now
- Cunha is in the shop window, and in good form, and home, and Brighton aren’t good defensively
- Salah loves playing Arsenal (11 G, 2 A, in 15 games), and Arsenal have been… lacklustre recently, to say the least. As an Arsenal fan, I would be shocked if they didn’t put at least a couple past us, and he didn’t get at least one
- De Bruyne is also great, in form, and… oh yeah, he plays Southampton! Marmoush is obviously another option. If you haven’t got Kev, he’d be right up there with Mbeumo for me
- Mbeumo is amazing, and has a great fixture. He’s nailed-on for at least one return. Wissa should return too, but Mbeumo’s on pens, and more of an assist threat – he’s the safer pick
Generally speaking, that’s the (reverse) order I like them in. There are good arguments for all of them, they could absolutely all return this week, so I’d really just pick the one you feel best about.
For me, that’s… probably Mbeumo, but I could change my mind before the deadline.
Captaincy Matrix
It’s only a little captaincy matrix this week, since… we’ve only got three games left. My main takeaway here is that I’m even more sure I wouldn’t even consider binning Salah, since you could reasonably captain him each of the next three weeks and feel great about it.
| GW 36 | GW 37 | GW 38 |
| (See above!) | Watkins v.s. Spurs Palmer v.s. Man U Salah @ Brighton | Salah v.s. Palace Saka @ Southampton Bowen @ Ipswich |
Final Thoughts
It hasn’t been the best season for me, personally… but I’m still getting a little sad that it’s almost over. Probably because things have picked up significantly recently. If I just had a few more weeks, I’d be cracking that top 100k, I tell you!
It is what it is, though, and we do indeed only have three weeks left. Overall, let’s try to enjoy them, remember (say it with me) that it’s only a game, and just have fun with our picks.
(Unless you’re fighting to the death to win your mini-league. In that case you should not relax for a single second).
Thanks for reading the Gameweek 36 preview, everybody, and best of luck out there this week and beyond!