It’s typical of this Fantasy Premier League season that just when managers start filling their teams with Arsenal and Liverpool assets ahead of a double gameweek, they both go and lose at home without scoring a single goal.
It was a super Sunday for Manchester City as Liverpool slumped to a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace at Anfield before an Unai Emery masterclass played out at the Emirates with Aston Villa beating Arsenal 2-0.
Players from Arsenal and Liverpool will still form the nucleus of most FPL squads in Gameweek 34 – especially for those not using their Free Hit chip – but those results may lead to a widening of the transfer net with five other clubs playing twice next week.
Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Everton, Sheffield United and Wolves are the other teams in action and there are some appealing, low-owned differentials to be hoovered up from that quintet.
i‘s top scorers in Gameweek 33
- Cole Palmer – 26 points vs Everton: It has been a season for the ages for the ex-Man City playmaker and he achieved his best-ever FPL score in a single gameweek after scoring four times against Everton. He’s now level with Ollie Watkins at the top of the FPL standings.
- Erling Haaland – 10 points vs Luton: A fortuitous assist for a wayward shot that rebounded off Daiki Hashioka’s face and into the net and a penalty ensured a double-digit haul for City’s No 9. In a week in which most premium assists failed to deliver, Haaland produced the goods.
- Mark Flekken – 7 points vs Sheffield Utd: It was a good week for goalkeepers with seven keeping clean sheets, including Emi Martinez at the Emirates and Dean Henderson at Anfield. Flekken held up his end of the bargain too and claimed a bonus point for good measure.
Includes players selected in i‘s Fantasy Football newsletter
Tottenham, meanwhile, are the only team to not have a fixture this weekend. They were due to face Manchester City but will now play them on Tuesday 14 May as Pep Guardiola’s side face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final instead.
The Gameweek 34 deadline is at 1.30pm on Saturday 20 April.
Gameweek 34 fixtures
Saturday 20 April
- Luton vs Brentford (3pm)
- Sheffield Utd vs Burnley (3pm)
- Wolves vs Arsenal (7.30pm)
Sunday 21 April
- Everton vs Nottingham Forest (1.30pm)
- Aston Villa vs Bournemouth (3pm)
- Crystal Palace ve West Ham (3pm)
- Fulham vs Liverpool (4.30pm)
Tuesday 23 April
- Arsenal vs Chelsea (8pm)
Wednesday 24 April
- Wolves vs Bournemouth (7.45pm)
- Crystal Palace vs Newcastle (8pm)
- Everton vs Liverpool (8pm)
- Man Utd vs Sheffield Utd (8pm)
Thursday 25 April
- Brighton vs Man City (8pm)
Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace)
On a day in which Mo Salah, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez all took turns snatching at chances to score, Eberechi Eze showed them how it’s done with an ice-cold finish at Anfield that proved to be the match-winner.
It has been a frustrating, injury-ravaged campaign for one of the most watchable players in the Premier League, but he will be looking to end the season strongly in a bid to gatecrash Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.
Palace look ripe for investing in this double gameweek considering both of their matches are at home and against opponents who will play an open style of game that will suit their exciting attackers.
Michael Olise (£5.6m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5m) are eye-catching options from their attack, but Eze is the standout having directly contributed towards 10 goals (seven goals, three assists) in 19 games.
Price: £6m Points: 93 Gameweek 34 fixture(s): West Ham (h), Newcastle (h)
Matheus Cunha (Wolves)
Any concerns that FPL managers might have had over Matheus Cunha’s fitness following his recent return from a hamstring injury were eased emphatically at the weekend when the Brazilian scored twice in the draw against Nottingham Forest.
The second was a predatory, close-range finish, the first a sensational individual effort that showcased Cunha’s pace, strength, skill and ball-striking abilities.
Although Wolves have a mixed pair of matches against Arsenal and Bournemouth – both at Molineux – Cunha is extremely cheap, in confident mood in front of goal and guaranteed to play.
For those not using their Free Hit chip this week, he also faces Luton at home in Gameweek 35.
Price: £5.6m Points: 121 Gameweek 34 fixture(s): Arsenal (h), Bournemouth (h)
Double gameweek teams
- Arsenal: Wolves (a), Chelsea (h)
- Bournemouth: Aston Villa (a), Wolves (a)
- Crystal Palace: West Ham (h), Newcastle (h)
- Everton: Nottingham Forest (h), Liverpool (h)
- Liverpool: Fulham (a), Everton (a)
- Sheffield Utd: Burnley (h), Man Utd (a)
- Wolves: Arsenal (h), Bournemouth (h)
Ben Brereton Diaz (Sheffield Utd)
When the decision-makers at FPL towers opted to list Ben Brereton Diaz as a midfielder in FPL following his loan move to Sheffield United from Villarreal, it looked like a mistake. And so it has proven to be.
The Stoke-on-Trent-born Chile international has started as a striker in his last five outings for the Blades and has performed pretty well in a struggling side by providing four goals and an assist in his first eight appearances.
As poor as Sheffield United have been this season, their Gameweek 34 fixtures are not bad. Burnley have conceded the third-most goals in the league this season, while Manchester United have faced the second-highest number of shots in the division.
With relegation all but confirmed already, you’d expect Sheffield United to at least try to attack in their final few matches at this level, making Brereton Diaz a decent punt.
Price: £5m Points: 39 Gameweek 34 fixture(s): Burnley (h), Man Utd (a)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Buying Trent Alexander-Arnold now just after he’s returned from a fairly lengthy absence carries a risk, but with Conor Bradley ruled out for the next three weeks and Liverpool’s margin for error reduced after slipping behind City, he could get plenty of game time.
Getting ahead of the curve could pay off handsomely considering the England international is currently selected by just over eight per cent of FPL managers, making him a potentially explosive defensive asset for the double gameweek.
Despite missing 10 of Liverpool’s 32 Premier League games due to injury, Alexander-Arnold is still the eighth-highest-scoring defender in FPL after producing two goals and five assists.
He supplied one of each in Liverpool’s corresponding fixture with Fulham at Anfield and also registered a clean sheet against Everton in the first Merseyside derby of the campaign.
Price: £8.4m Points: 104 Gameweek 34 fixture(s): Fulham (a), Everton (a)
Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth)
Erling Haaland and Ollie Watkins are the only players to have scored more Premier League goals than Dominic Solanke this season and yet the Bournemouth striker still appears likely to miss out on this summer’s Euros.
The former Chelsea academy graduate couldn’t have done much more to catch Southgate’s eye having enjoyed comfortably the most productive top-level campaign of his career so far. He has scored 17 goals in 32 games this season, after managing 10 in his first 96 appearances in the competition.
A last-gasp defeat to Luton in Gameweek 32 aside, the Cherries have been on a great run lately, winning four and drawing two of their last seven league matches.
Andoni Iraola’s side are comfortably safe from relegation and can afford to play with freedom in the final few weeks, which should be beneficial for Solanke as he attempts to hit the 20-goal mark.
Price: £7.2m Points: 156 Gameweek 34 fixture(s): Aston Villa (a), Wolves (a)