Gameweek 38 Preview - Best Fixtures, Transfer Tips, & More

Greetings all, and welcome to… welcome to…

Oh darn it, I’m getting all emotional already… I said I wasn’t going to do this… come on, Joe, pull yourself together.
Ahem. Excuse me.

As I was saying, welcome to your full Gameweek 38 preview. I.e., the very last one of the 2025/26 season. 

Frankly, while on the one hand it’s been a long old season, on the other the last few weeks have rather crept up on us. We were all so worried about the blanks and doubles, and using all our chips and whatnot – then, bam, we only had a couple of weeks to go!

In case you don’t read our newsletter, or the last fun couple of pieces we’ll be posting this week – thank you very much for reading our nonsense throughout this season, everybody. Along with some Debbie Downers, admittedly, we’ve also had a lot of positive feedback this year, particularly on Reddit, so we must be doing at least something right. 

(That, or the £100 I paid to a Russian bot farm a couple of years ago is finally paying off). 

With that waffling concluded, let’s crack on with the very last preview of the season.

General Points

I wrote something similar to this a couple of weeks ago, so I’ll keep it nice and short this time out, instead of babbling on like normal. 

If you’re in a good position regarding either your OR or a mini-league that matters to you, then continue to play seriously. It’s boring, and it’s also inherently tempting to do something crazy in the final week, but what’s not boring is winning your mini league, or bumping your OR up from 320K to 250K, for example. 

If you don’t particularly care about either your OR or a particular league at this point, then just have fun. So just pick a real-life player you love watching, or someone from your favourite side/s, and enjoy having them on your team for a week. It is only a game, after all. 

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Another general point is that Gameweek 38 is completely and utterly unreliable for many of the teams who will be involved. Aside from Spurs and West Ham at the bottom end of the table, and the teams still chasing some form of European football, we’ve got absolutely no idea who will actually start. That covers a sizable chunk of the league.

Make this a key consideration in anyone you bring in this week, and the players you choose to start. If you’ve got a choice in either case between someone you’re almost positive will start, and someone you have at least some doubt over, then go for the former. 

Best Gameweek 38 Fixtures

I have to be honest… there are basically no fixtures I like from an FPL perspective this week. Which makes it pretty hard to recommend smart, Gameweek 38 transfers, let me tell you!

I think the only standout matchup is the Arsenal defence, at Crystal Palace. 

We can’t back Arsenal to score many goals against anybody, but they are by far the safest bet for clean sheets in the league, and this is a fine matchup. I’d aim to at least double-up here, and you could go for a Raya/Gabriel/Saliba triple-up, if you’ve got enough Arsenal spots (i.e. if you haven’t got Saka). I know that’s a boring final week target, but it’s probably your ‘highest floor’ route for points this week. 

I’d rank Man City home to Villa in second-place, and like the matchup from attacking and defensive perspectives. Villa have Champions League football wrapped up already, and it’ll be hard to get up for this meaningless game coming off a European final. If you don’t have three City players already, I’d look to triple-up there too. 

Aside from that pair, the cupboard is pretty bare. 

There are a few matchups which look fine for both sides – Brighton vs Man U, Fulham vs Newcastle, Forest vs Bournemouth, West Ham vs Leeds. But none where I’d look at them and specifically target them for exploitation. 

Obviously, still use your final free transfer, and any others you’ve got banked up. I’d focus more on just fixing whatever the current weakest point in your team is, though, rather than targeting a particular matchup (outside of Arsenal and City). 

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Gameweek 38 Transfer Tips

Ah, the last transfer tips segment of the season… *sniff, sniff*. Always an emotional moment!

FPL managers are casting around for a smart final move in their droves, with the end being nigh. Should you follow the hordes? Allow me to cast my beady eye over both the most-bought and sold players, heading into Gameweek 38, and reveal all!

Should I Buy?

• Anderson – Yes. Assuming you’re specifically looking for a midfielder, he’s about as safe as it gets. You’re generally looking at around a 4-5pt floor, and obviously he’s shown attacking upside in recent weeks. Bournemouth aren’t a dream matchup, but at least it’s at home
• Gibbs-White – Yes. Again, I don’t love the matchup, but it’s not awful either, being at home. He’s been in incredible form for ages now, and it’s backed up by excellent underlying stats too. If you’re looking for a high-upside mid, he’d be near the top of my list
• Bowen – Maybe. Leeds are a decent home matchup on paper (though just cleaned against a better attack, in Brighton, last week). West Ham are also rubbish, though. After their little uptick in form they’ve now scored one goal in their last three games, and Bowen’s underlying stats haven’t been great either. I’d rather have DCL in this same matchup, if you need a forward
• Szoboszlai – Maybe. I’d have him below Anderson as a safer pick, since he doesn’t have the DefCons-based floor, and below Gibbs-White as the upside pick. He’s obviously not a bad option, though, and the fixture is fine

• DCL – Yes. West Ham are rubbish, and he’s right back in form, having scored in three of his last four games. He’d be my top (non-Haaland) forward pick this week
• Van Dijk – No. I wouldn’t trust Liverpool to clean, and he’s not scoring two goals again. I’d much rather have as many Arsenal defenders as you have slots available 
• Osula – Maybe. I don’t mind him as a fun final week pick, but I wouldn’t do it myself. He’s a good player, but Fulham away is a tricky matchup. Plus his minutes are iffy at the best of times, and you could see Howe spreading them around a bit for the final game; I doubt he gets more than 70mins, at most
• Watkins – No. I know he’s been good recently, but you’ve got absolutely no idea if he’ll actually start, following the final, and City away is a bad matchup 
• Senesi – Yes, assuming you’ve got enough Arsenal defenders. He’d probably be right behind them, in my rankings, especially since money isn’t an object at this point (so I won’t recommend Hill over him, as I usually do)
• Joao Pedro – No. Apparently he missed out on the Spurs game because of a knock, I wouldn’t want to risk him not playing in this game, and Sunderland away isn’t a great matchup anyway
• Raya/Gabriel/Saliba – Yes, to all. Again, it’s not exciting, but just tripling-up on an Arsenal clean sheet feels like the most sensible route to points this week
• Gyokores – No. I think he probably will start, but it’s impossible to be sure, so I wouldn’t risk it

Should I Sell?

• Thiago – No. I wouldn’t buy him in, but this matchup isn’t scary enough to sell him – Liverpool’s defence is not very good
• Wilson – Yes, purely for the Wolves debacle (grumble grumble). Leaving my personal anger aside, I’m still fine selling him. Newcastle at home isn’t a bad matchup, but we can’t trust him to start, and he’s been rubbish for ages now
• Rogers/Watkins – Yes. If you need a spot for either a midfielder or forward, I’d be fine moving either of them. Again, we have no idea if either of them will start (e.g. Abraham could get a nice little start instead of Watkins), and City away is a bad fixture
• Mateta – Yes. Has been largely benched in the league, and now has the Arsenal defence coming to Selhurst Park
• Welbeck – Maybe. He’s been up and down recently, but I don’t think Man U at home is a horrible matchup, and I’d assume he starts, since Brighton still have European football to play for
• Joao Pedro – Yes. Him being on both the most-bought and most-sold players lists pretty much sums up the JP experience this season. I’m fine selling him for the same reasons he was a ‘No’ above
• Casemiro – Maybe. This doesn’t exactly feel like a priority transfer, and I could definitely seeing him bowing out with a final day goal. If you desperately need the spot though, I’m fine binning him
• Gyokores – Yes, if you actually need the spot. If you’re chasing though, or are just having fun in the final week, I wouldn’t hate rolling him out there and crossing your fingers
• Bowen – Maybe. I’d be slightly less committed to actually selling him, and using your transfer this way, than I am to being against the idea of specifically bringing him in. If I owned him already, I’d probably just play him in this decent matchup on paper, and hope
• Cherki – Yes. Again, I’m not screaming ‘Get him out!’ But I’m definitely fine to bin him – I have absolutely no idea if he’ll start in Gameweek 38, or whether Pep will give Foden, Savinho, Marmoush et al some minutes

Captaincy Corner

God, this is a tough one. 

If I was sticking to my guns, regarding what I’ve been banging on about all article, I’d say Gabriel.

But I’m still scarred by the triple captain debacle, last time I gave him the armband. So I’ll just give it to Bruno instead. 

We know he’s going to play, the Brighton matchup is fine, he returns basically every week, and he’ll be going absolutely all-out for the assist record – you won’t have seen so many crosses and through balls by one player in your life. 

Haaland would be my number two choice. Again, I’m not sure if Villa put up that much of a fight, and I assume Haaland will at least get the start… but I’m not positive, which makes me lean more towards Bruno. 

Final Thoughts

Well, that’ll just about do it for this whole, entire 2025/26 season.

…

Almost! 

Don’t worry, Full 90 FPL fans – for we shall be back with two more little pieces this week, before we say our emotional goodbyes. 

They’ll just be a bit of fun – unlike our usual, super-serious content, of course – and we’ll be posting them in the next couple of days. So, check back in on the site for those, or follow us on Reddit, or sign up for the newsletter on our home page – the options are basically endless.

In the meantime, thanks for reading our final regular preview of the season, and best of luck out there in Gameweek 38!