FPL Gameweek 36 Preview - Transfer Tips, Fixture Runs, Beach Watch, and More!

Greetings all, and welcome to your fully operational Death Star of a preview for FPL Gameweek 36. 

We’ve got a hell of a lot to get through in this preview. So, for once in my life, I (Joe) am going to not witter on in my introduction. 

There will be plenty of wittering to make up for it in the preview itself, don’t you worry. 

Onwards!

On Having Fun

We’re very much into the business end of the season now, and you’ve got a pretty basic decision to make… basically, how much do you actually care about your position?

Because if you’re like James and I, for example, and do need to protect your currently-not-terrible OR, you unfortunately need to be boring and keep playing it safe. The same goes for any important mini-leagues you’re in.  

If you don’t particularly care about your OR or any mini-leagues though… it’s time to party! 

Get players in from your favourite real-life team. Get your favourite real-life players in regardless of their team. Ignore the Andersons, Casemiros, and Szoboszlais of this world – go for fun, form players like Okafor, Gibbs-White, or Rayan instead. 

The rest of this preview will all be very sensible – as always, of course – and James and I obviously both take the game far too seriously. 

If you’re in a position to do so, however, this isn’t the worst time to remember that it is just a game, and to let loose and have some fun these last three weeks. 

Beach Watch

(Shout-out to James for popping in to help out with this section. What a guy.)

Last week we explained the “on the beach” theory. TL;DR – most people assume teams with nothing to play for are “on the beach.” But, it just looks that way because teams with something to play for actually step up – so target them and get their assets in your team.

This week, we are updating our beach list after the results at the weekend:

Man United join those teams relaxing on the beach as they have locked up a Champions League spot, but they also have nothing else to play for. 

Palace are now 9 points from relegation with three games to go and a European cup to fight for, so they also join the beach. 

Leeds also join the beach club as they, like Palace, are 9 points from safety and 9 points from challenging for Europe.

I assumed Everton would lose to Man City last week, which is part of the reason I put them as an edge case. However, they (like Chelsea and Fulham) are only four points from European football, so they hop back into something to play for.

As we said last week, this is just one factor to consider alongside others as we make our picks to end out the season.

Gameweek 36 Fixtures – Best Upcoming Runs

How absolutely lovely, to only have three fixtures to worry about. If only FPL could always be this simple! 

Well… we could always just jettison the idea of mid-long term planning, I suppose, and live our FPL lives in this fast-and-loose, ‘three weeks at a time’ manner. 

One to think about going into next season, perhaps. For now, here are your best attacking and defensive FPL fixtures to finish the season. 

Best Attacking Fixtures

• Arsenal

You couldn’t really ask for a better run of attacking fixtures to finish the season. Unfortunately our options regarding who we actually take are limited… namely, to just Saka. You should almost certainly get him at least, though!

• Man City

You know the drill by now. You should definitely have a City triple up, and the attackers we continue to like the most are Haaland and Cherki. I’ve addressed what to do with Semenyo in the ‘Should I Buy?’ section, below.

• Liverpool

These are actually some excellent attacking fixtures, given the current states of both Chelsea and Villa. 

Szoboszlai is the sensible pick from the bunch, but I don’t mind a higher-upside look at Wirtz or even Gakpo, based on how the latter looked against Man U. I’d definitely steer clear of Isak though… since you’ve got literally no idea if he’ll actually be able to stay on the pitch or not

• Man U

Man U’s attack continues to look good, and – while this isn’t an ideal fixture run – none of the matchups exactly scare you. 

Bruno is obviously must-own, and Casemiro is fine as your last midfielder. If you’re looking for fun, high-upside picks then I don’t mind Cunha or Sesko either, but I probably wouldn’t take them if you’re playing it safe.

• Newcastle

The fixtures are fine, but we’ve got absolutely no idea who’s actually going to play.

My top option would probably be Osula, who seems to have the starting striker spot locked down, and has scored in three of his last four games. I’d wait until after Forest away though, then look again for West Ham at home. 

• Chelsea

Bleurgh. No thank you. If you’ve got the transfers to spare then you could take a one-week punt on JP, for example, home to Spurs in 37. I wouldn’t buy any of them in right now though… partly because Liverpool away isn’t a great fixture, but also because they’re just a rubbish attacking team. 

• Everton

With Palace and Sunderland having little to play for, and Spurs being rubbish, this is actually a pretty nice run. 

Barry presumably gets the next start up top, after his two goals against City, but you’ve got no idea if he’ll hold that spot. KDH is a safer way into these fixtures, has three attacking returns in his last four games, and is somewhere near the top of that Casemiro/Anderson/Szob/Rice quagmire of good-not-great midfield options. 

Best Defensive Fixtures

• Arsenal

They’re the best defence in Europe, and they have an incredible defensive run-in. Yummy yummy.

You should obviously have at least one defender (i.e. Gabriel), and I’m fine with at least a triple-up. Raya should probably be next on your list, but I like White as a potentially higher-upside pick – he looked much better going forward against Atleti than he had in his previous couple of games. 

• Man City 

Again, we’ve covered this ad nauseum. You should have at least one City defender, and we continue to prefer O’Reilly to Guehi. I’d definitely use your other two City spots further forward, though. 

• Everton 

These are absolutely excellent defensive fixtures. Everton haven’t been great defensively recently, but they’ve also played Brentford away, Liverpool, and City in that span. Palace, Sunderland, and Spurs are a different proposition entirely. 

Tarko is your surest pick, since he’s definitely nailed, though he’s been surprisingly bad for DefCons for a while now, hitting them once in his last six starts. I’d probably still just play it safe and get him, but O’Brien’s underlying stats have been fine recently, and he’s got a goal and assist in his last four games – he’s the higher-upside pick.

• Man U

I like the next couple of fixtures, but they’ve been so-so when it’s come to clean sheets recently. You could get Heaven as a budget enabler, if you really need it, but I’d have them comfortably ranked below Arsenal and City, and probably Everton too.

• Liverpool

Chelsea’s attack is awful, Villa are hardly 2014-15 Barcelona, and they get Brentford at home. 

Not only would I not sell VVD right now (see below), but I think he’s actually a decent buy. Any of these next three games could be a clean, he’s supported by a solid DefCons-based floor, and he’s got three goals in his last 10 games, which is good going for a centre-back.    

• Newcastle

Absolutely not. They’ve got one clean sheet in their last 12 games, and that came against Chelsea… so does it even count?

(Also, Forest’s attack has actually been pretty good for a while now)

• Fulham

Also no. They’re one of the better bets for a clean sheet in the league (three in their last six games), but it’s hard to see them cleaning against Bournemouth, and Howe will probably still be fighting for his job for that Newcastle fixture in GW38.

• Bournemouth 

Between the team itself, actual options, and fixtures, I quite like them. Obviously you’re benching them against City in 37, but Fulham and Forest either side of that could be cleans. 

Senesi or Hill, I hear you ask? Well, you’ll never guess what, but I’ve addressed exactly that in the next section!

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Gameweek 36 Transfer Tips 

With only three weeks remaining, we should all be taking a pretty aggressive strategy with our transfers right now. 

Who to actually use said transfers on? Glad you asked, friend! Here are my quick (and not so quick) takes on the most-bought and sold players, heading into Gameweek 36. 

Should I Buy?

• Cherki/Haaland/O’Reilly – Yes to all. You obviously want triple City for their double gameweek, and these are the three I’d go with 
• Gyokores – Maybe. I don’t love the attacking matchup of West Ham away, particularly for a striker who’s not exactly amazing. Minutes would be a concern too – he already only got 56 and 63 the last couple of weeks, and just put in a massive shift against Atleti in the Champions League. He’s not an awful pick, but if I was getting a forward right now I’d have him ranked below Welbeck, and potentially DCL too 
• Sarr – Maybe. For starters, you’re almost certainly not getting 180mins out of him… know that going in. He’s been in and out of the lineup for the last four weeks, only played 45mins in GW 35, and they’ve got European concerns with nothing to play for in the Prem. That being said, you are probably getting 120mins out of him – which is still more than usual! Everton and City aren’t a great pair of fixtures on paper… but they did literally just share six goals between them. All told, I probably won’t do it myself (particularly since he then has Brentford away and Arsenal – yuk), but he’s a reasonable gamble
• Mateta – No. I’d be even less sure of his minutes than Sarr’s, and if you desperately want to get at least one Palace player, he’d be behind the aforementioned and Munoz in my rankings
• Saka – Yes. I’ve seen enough. I assume he’ll start and play 60-70mins against West Ham at the weekend, and that’s just fine by me. He’s the easiest replacement for Palmer around, for example 
• Doku – No. I’d just get Cherki instead, for basically the same price
• Lacroix – Maybe. I’d probably rather have the upside of Munoz. Lacroix does have a higher floor though, hitting on DefCons in his last five games, so he’s a safer pick
• Munoz – Maybe. Again, I don’t love the fixtures, and strongly doubt they clean in either game. Munoz obviously always has attacking potential though, and hit DefCons in Gameweeks 32 and 33. I’d back him over Lacroix… partly because I think they’re very close, and he’s just far more fun
• Senesi – Maybe. James and I have been saying for ever now that we’d just take Hill – he’s also nailed, for the same defence, and his DefCons/90 are almost identical. Senesi’s xGI/90 is double Hill’s though, and his passing is so good that it doesn’t feel fluky. If money is absolutely no object, take him 
• Welbeck – Yes. Why not? He’s not ‘nailed’, but he’s started 5 of the last 6 games, only getting benched for the second game in their GW33 double. Brighton only play once per week the rest of the way, are still pushing for Europe, and he’s their best striker – so, I’d expect him to keep starting. He’s got 3 goals and 1 assist in his last 4 starts… and oh yeah, he plays Wolves at home this week, then Leeds away. He’s a solid bet for those games, then you can move him out in GW38 for Man U
• Okafor – Maybe. He’s been in excellent form, with 4 goals and 1 assist in his last four games. The fixtures don’t exactly terrify you either – Spurs and West Ham, with Brighton at home sandwiched in the middle. The minutes aren’t great (he always gets subbed off), but he’s got nice underlying stats, and he’s a fun, high upside budget fifth mid to finish the season
• Semenyo/Guehi – No. I’d still just take Cherki and O’Reilly 
• Gibbs-White – Yes. As with Welbeck, why not? He’s been in excellent form for ages now, and we’re generally struggling for midfielders we can back to actually score us a goal. The fixtures are fine (Newcastle home is good, Man U away then Bournemouth home less so, but still not bad), and Forest have been scoring plenty of goals recently. Plus, he’s fun! Do note: leave this transfer late, because he’s currently dealing with a nasty-looking facial injury. If we don’t get a positive update before the weekend, he’s probably too risky.
• Szoboszlai – Maybe. He’s not getting 13pts every week, but he’s got that Anderson-esque 4-5pt floor regardless, has got 11 goal involvements on the season along with good underlying numbers, and the fixtures aren’t actually as scary as they look on paper (Chelsea’s defence is rubbish, Villa… who the hell knows, and they get Brentford at home)
• Casemiro – Maybe. Like a lot of these midfielders, he’s obviously a ‘good’ pick. He’s only got fewer than 4pts once since GW27, and keeps popping up with these set piece goals. I’d probably still take Szob over him – partly because the returns feel more sustainable, and because I definitely prefer his fixtures – but he’s definitely great value at 5.8 
•  

Should I Sell?

• Thiago – Maybe. He’s definitely inconsistent, and City away isn’t a good matchup. Palace at home, then Liverpool in 38, are both fine though, and he remains near the top of a pretty uninspiring group of forwards. It doesn’t feel like a priority transfer to me, but obviously you’re not stupid for binning him before the second-hardest attacking matchup in the league
• Joao Pedro – Yes. Classic JP – just when we’re all finally about to bin him, he goes and scores a late, late injury time goal. I’m still very much binning him, but thanks for the points (at last)
• Bowen – Maybe. If you can just bench him for Arsenal this week, I’d be fine starting him the last two gameweeks against Newcastle and Leeds. We aren’t exactly blessed with a ton of better forwards, and he’s a pretty consistent returner (even if he never scores any more)
• Semenyo – Maybe. I’m struggling to decide whether to move him for Cherki myself, this week. Obviously it feels a bit silly to bin a very good player on a double gameweek. On the other hand, he’s blanked five games in a row – including against West Ham, Chelsea (a 3-0 win), Burnley, and Everton (a 3-3). It probably depends how many transfers you’ve got – I have four, so wouldn’t feel too bad about doing it. If you’ve only got one or two, I’d prioritise other moves
• Timber – Yes. Injured, probably for the rest of the season, and expensive
• Palmer – Yes. A thousand times yes. I absolutely cannot wait to get rid of him (almost certainly for Saka)
• Watkins – No. I’m glad I don’t actually have to make this decision myself, but you just can’t sell him before he plays the worst defence in the league by an absolute mile
• Wilson – Yes. He’s blanked in 5 of his last 6 games. If you can bench him this week and still put out a good team though, then you could just hold him for the Wolves game in 37. The one team he has returned against recently was Burnley, and a fixture against Wolves is the next best thing
• VVD – No. Chelsea’s attack is crap, so frankly I’d be happy not only to hold him, but to start him this week. He’s hit on DefCons in three of the last five games, so he should have around a 4pt floor even if he doesn’t clean
• Rogers – No. As with Watkins, I’m glad I don’t own him myself… but I just think you have to hold him for that Wolves fixture
• Gibbs-White – No (see Should I Buy? To which my answer was, Yes!)
• Mbeumo – Yes. How many more blanks do you have to see before selling him? Is 8 in a row not enough?!
• Rice – Maybe. Obviously his fixtures are great, so if you’re happy rolling him out there as your last starting midfielder, and banking on 4-5pts, that’s fine. The days of his big attacking hauls seem long gone, however

Erling Haaland’s Captaincy Corner

It’s back to very much being the titular Norwegian. If you don’t have the best player in the game, on a double gameweek, you should probably do something about that. 

If you’ve imposed some bizarre, anti-Haaland rule on your FPL team, then it should be Cherki or Semenyo (whichever one you’ve got).

If you’ve also banned City players from your squad, the next best bets to return are Saka against West Ham, Welbeck against Wolves, and Bruno against Sunderland (since he always returns). 

Final Thoughts

Right-o, that’ll just about wrap things up for your Gameweek 36 FPL preview. A big one, this week!

As ever, if you’ve got any comments, questions, or indeed criticisms, feel free to fire them all at us over on Reddit. 

In the meantime, thanks for reading, everybody, and best of luck out there in Gameweek 36!