Well! It’s fair to say Gameweek 36 was… a bit of a mixed bag. And that’s being kind to Gameweek 36, which was really a very annoying gameweek indeed, and doesn’t deserve such a soft touch by me!
In the preview last week, I identified five very appealing captaincy picks:
- De Bruyne – Southampton away
- Mbeumo – Ipswich away
- Salah – Arsenal home
- Cunha – Brighton home
- Wood – Leicester home
All pretty good bets, no?
One goal. One goal between the whole useless lot of them.
Assists, you ask? Also one.
Did you try to be clever, and captain Marmoush, Palmer, or Haaland? Well then, my friend, you also got nothing!
Obviously, we do have weeks like this in FPL. If it had happened in Gameweek 21, we wouldn’t really bat an eyelid. But this happened right at the end of the season, when we’re all trying to either chase OR/league position or – oh, I don’t know – just have fun.
Anyway! As Gerrard once said, ‘we go again’ – and that worked out well for him, right?
Talking Points
With my moaning concluded, I’m going to kick off this Gameweek 37 preview much the same as I did last week.
We’ve only got two weeks left. By now, you’re in one of three boats:
- You’re protecting your OR or league position
- You’re chasing OR or league position
- You’ve got nothing to play for
If you’re in the first camp, don’t overthink it. Just make the smart, safe picks. If you’re protecting league position… don’t be afraid to take the ball to the corner, and just make sure you’ve got the same players as whoever’s chasing you.
If you’re chasing something, you need to find the risk/reward balance. Stick mostly with the safe picks, but take one or two risks. I.e. get players that your opponents/the FPL public don’t have.
If you’re in the third camp, as I pretty much am… just have fun. Enjoy these last two weeks. I love Bowen in real life, I love him in FPL… so I’m probably just going to get him on my team, and not overthink it. Take hits, make gambles, captain high-upside players. Savour the freedom of simply not caring that much!
Upcoming FPL Fixtures
Normally in FPL, we’re constantly juggling the short-vs-medium term. One of the great things about this time of the year is that the entire game is a short-term proposition.
We have just two – just two! – FPL fixtures left to worry about.
Here are the best attacking doubles:
- Ipswich (lei, WHU)
- Villa (TOT, mnu)
- Bournemouth (mci, LEI)
- West Ham (FOR, ips)
- Leicester (IPS, bou)
And the top defensive matchups:
- Ipswich (lei, WHU)
- Arsenal (NEW, sou)
- Chelsea (MNU, for)
- Forest (whu, CHE)
- West Ham (FOR, ips)
End of season Ipswich triple-up, anybody?
Should I Buy?
For the second-last time this season, let’s take a look at the most-bought players in FPL right now, and decide whether or not they belong on our beautiful teams.
- Watkins – Yes. He’s my top target this week. Spurs are woeful defensively, and Man U in GW 38 don’t exactly terrify me
- Eze – Yes. He was brilliant against Spurs, and is in ridiculous form. Wolves home is a nice fixture, and Liverpool away is actually fine in GW 38, based on their defensive form
- Beto – No. Southampton aren’t actually conceding that many goals any more, and Newcastle away after that is a poor matchup
- Bowen – Yes. He’s another prime target for me, along with Watkins. He’s in great form, Forest are stumbling right now, and he finishes against Ipswich
- Schade – Maybe. I don’t completely trust him yet – his three recent good games have come against a stumbling Forest, then Man U and Ipswich, who are both rubbish. Fulham and Wolves, however, aren’t rubbish
- Wood – Maybe. Again, he’s only scored against Leicester and Spurs recently, who are terrible. West Ham aren’t ‘good’, but aren’t that bad, and Chelsea’s defence is solid. I much prefer Watkins, if you can afford him
- Rogers – Yes. He’s not explosive, but he is consistent, and – like Watkins – I love his last two fixtures
- Wissa – Yes. He’s basically a permanent yes for me – I just love him… despite his treacherous blank against Ipswich
- Mykolenko – Maybe. You’re only really getting him for the Southampton game, which feels like a bit of a boring transfer at this time of the season!
- Mbeumo – Yes. Always yes. He’s just incredibly reliable, and his fixtures are fine
Should I Sell?
Who can we bid a not-so-fond farewell to, for these last couple of games? Let’s take a look!
- Marmoush – Yes. Immediately got benched on Haaland’s return, despite everyone saying they were going to play together. You could also get away with just benching him though, and running two forwards out there these last couple of weeks
- Isak – Maybe. He’s generally pretty fixture proof. I’d only really sell him if you’re getting Watkins (or Haaland)
- Cunha – Maybe. Two blanks in a row are disappointing, but his last two fixtures are fine. Again, I’d do it for Watkins, but anyone else would feel like a bit of a sideways move
- Bruno – Yes. Why do you still have him?
- Salah – Maybe. Last week I said definitely not. After another blank, I’m starting to come round to it. He or De Bruyne will be making way for Bowen, in my team… it’ll probably be De Bruyne, though
- Murphy – Maybe. He looked good against Chelsea, and he also only costs 5.2… so I doubt it’s exactly a priority transfer
- Robinson – Yes. If you really want to make a defensive transfer right now, I’m fine binning him
- Barnes – Yes. I thought he was poor against Chelsea, he’s blanked three games in a row, and now he plays Arsenal and Everton
- Wissa – No. He scored four games in a row before his bizarre Ipswich blank, and his last two fixtures are fine
- De Bruyne – Maybe. His underlying stats against Southampton were excellent, despite the blank. I’m considering moving him for Bowen, and I might theoretically do it for Eze. Aside from those two, I’d probably just hold him this week
- Mateta – Maybe. As with a few other forwards, I’d do it for Watkins, but if not I’d probably just hold him. Palace looked great against Spurs, and he was very unlucky not to get a return
Captaincy Corner
Right! As I see it, here are your main captaincy options in Gameweek 37:
- Watkins vs Spurs
- Palmer vs Man U
- Bowen vs Forest
- Mbeumo vs Fulham
- Salah @ Brighton
- Eze vs Wolves
Watkins is my favourite, and it’s not even close. I know Spurs were resting some players against Palace… but they still just looked absolutely awful. Watkins has been up and down, so I don’t completely trust him… but I do trust the fixture.
After that, it’s a bit of a toss-up.
I don’t really trust Palmer, even against Man U.
I would back Bowen for at least one return against a shaky Forest.
Mbeumo is just super consistent, but it doesn’t feel like he’ll explode against Fulham.
Eze is in great form, and I do actually like him as a high-upside captain.
Salah… who the hell knows. He hasn’t hit double digits for 8 weeks; but admittedly, his last two blanks have come against Chelsea and Arsenal. You’ll never feel stupid for captaining him – and there’s something to be said for that.
Captaincy Matrix
If you’re looking to make moves this week which also incorporate the GW 38 fixtures, here are your main captaincy options for the next and final gameweek too.
| GW 37 | GW 38 |
| (See above) | Evanilson vs Leicester Bowen @ Ipswich Salah vs Palace Saka @ Southampton |
Final Thoughts
Right, that’s your lot for this week! I hope you enjoyed your – *sniff* – second-last FPL preview of the entire season. Personally, I feel a tinge of melancholy creeping over me.
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Cheers for reading, everyone, and best of luck in Gameweek 37!