Two double gameweeks in a row, what a way to work towards the end of this 2021/22 campaign. After a spectacular DGW36, where the average score was a whopping 79 points and the week’s highest scorer recorded an incredible 225 points. Of course, triple captaining quadruple goalscorer Kevin de Bruyne helps as the Belgian raked in a season-record 30 FPL points against Wolves. Overall, KDB wasn’t the only player to cross the 20-point mark. His teammate Raheem Sterling recorded 28 points (3 goals and 1 assist in two starts), while Spurs star Son Heung-Min managed a total of 20 FPL points (2 goals and 1 assist). It was clearly a good week for premium midfielders.

Gameweek 37 is another double one, kicking off on Sunday when between 12h00 and 17h30, no less than seven Premier League games will be playing. Despite no top-six sides playing twice this round, the doubles do offer some interesting matchups. The doubles of Aston Villa against Palace and Burnley, and a resurgent Everton twice at home against Brentford and Palace, in particular, stand out. As a result, many of our fantasy picks for double gameweek 37 will come from teams with two games, though it would be imprudent to discard the single gameweekers. The likes of Mo Salah (away at Southampton), Kevin de Bruyne (away at West Ham), and Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son (at home to Burnley) could deliver big as well and could also be popular with managers looking to use their Free Hit in DGW37.

Finally, don’t forget that there is also one team blanking in DGW37, namely Manchester United!

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 37 is set at 10h30 (UK time) on Sunday, May 15^th, 2022.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per May 13^th, 2022)

Premium pick

When it comes to the premium fantasy picks for DGW37, we’re presented with an abundance of good choices, something we’ve not been accustomed to this season. Harry Kane coming off a brace against Arsenal and preparing for a home encounter with Burnley. His teammate Son recording a goal and an assist in that same game. Kevin de Bruyne outshining everyone by scoring four against Wolves with West Ham in London up next. Plenty of choice, as you can see, but there’s one very usual suspect we have not mentioned yet and that’s Mo Salah (£13.3m). Why is that? Because he didn’t perform. No returns against Spurs at home followed by an 18-minute cameo at Villa Park combined for an extremely disappointing DGW36 for the Egyptian. The one good thing? Bar any injury scares during the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday, he’s certain to start against Southampton next Tuesday, well rested, raring to go and hopefully (for his owners) flying high after winning the FA Cup. As we wrote earlier, there are plenty of good options in the premium bracket this round, but our gut feeling is telling us to go with Mo as he faces a Soton side halfway to the beach that has conceded more big chances than any other side in the league since New Year.

Non-premium pick

After a single-gameweek premium fantasy pick, the rest of our fantasy picks for double gameweek 37 will come from teams with two fixtures, starting with Everton talisman Richarlison (£7.6m). For a successful relegation fight, one of the key factors is one or more players standing up and being able to summon that little bit of extra “something” needed in times of despair. In the case of Everton’s impressive recent turn-around, Richarlison is one of those players. From Gameweek 31 onwards, the Brazilian recorded 4 goals in seven starts, giving himself the highest Expected Goal Involvement (xGI) in the entire league. Even without the two penalties he scored over that stretch, Richarlison is still third best for xGI among all players in the official game. With two home games up next and the Toffees still just two points above the drop zone, he is a stand-out non-premium fantasy pick for us. Brentford have not kept a clean sheet away from home since GW5, while Palace could be without goalkeeper Guaita and nailed-on central defender Guèhi, which could only benefit Everton and their main man up front Richarlison in particular.

The budget enabler

One of the ultimate budget enablers in the second half of this season has been Anthony Gordon (£4.7m). The young winger started accumulating Premier League minutes from gameweek 5 onwards, got his first start of the season in GW7, became a regular from GW11 onwards and has been fixed feature in the starting line-up since around GW17. With 4 goals and 3 assists, his breakthrough season is going pretty well, but it should also be noted, especially from an FPL perspective, that he has not managed an attacking return since his winning goal against Man United in gameweek 32. He did start and play 90 minutes in every game since then, including both games in Everton double gameweek 36, which bodes well for their upcoming double gameweek 37. In the fight for survival, manager Frank Lampard has reserved the left-wing spot for Gordon, which, at his price, makes him an excellent option as the fifth midfielder in your squad or as a cheap DGW addition if you feel your squad is a bit light this week.

The differential

Considering his current 13 goals and 1 assist from 28 starts in the Premier League, it’s a bit surprising to see Wilfried Zaha’s (£6.9m) ownership at just 7.9% at the time of writing. He is the most transferred-in midfielder in the build-up to double gameweek 37 in which he will be facing Aston Villa and Everton, both away. Not the easiest of fixtures, especially not knowing that Crystal Palace have little to really play for anymore, but any FPL manager who’s been paying a bit of attention the past few seasons knows that Zaha could deliver big here. He is the Eagles’ talisman, a secured starter and on penalty duties as well, which only furthers his appeal. The Ivory Coast international was on target in both gameweek 35 (against Southampton away) and gameweek 36 (at home vs Watford), bringing his total number of goal involvements to 14, a direct involvement of just over 30% in all of his side’s goals. That bodes well for his upcoming double gameweek.

The captaincy

The captaincy debate is interesting this week, as many highly owned and in-form single-gameweek players have enticing fixtures, while there are appealing double gameweek prospects as well. If you’re set on always captaining a double gameweek player, Wilfried Zaha looks like a great punt. Alternatives for the Ivorian are James Maddison and even Jamie Vardy for their double against Watford and Chelsea, Richarlison who will face Brentford and Palace, or even the likes of Coutinho and Watkins (if declared fit on time) for their encounters with Palace and Burnley.

As far as the single gameweekers go, much of the debate will be between the premium FPL assets with favourable fixtures. The game’s top scorer Mo Salah will follow Saturday’s FA Cup final battle with an away game against Southampton, while Kevin de Bruyne will want to continue his great form against West Ham as the Cityzens have scored 22 goals in their last five league games. After a resounding 3-0 victory in the North London derby, Kane and Son should also be on your radar as Spurs have one of the most favourable fixtures of DGW37, at home to Burnley.

It’s finally here. The double gameweek FPL managers and pundits alike have been talking about for weeks, if not months. The biggest double gameweek of the season. Double gameweek 36. Between this coming Saturday afternoon and the evening of Thursday, May 12^th, no less than sixteen matches will be played, with an unprecedented twelve teams doubling. See the table below for a quick overview of which teams have a double gameweek coming up and who their respective opponents are.

As you can see from the above table and as you have probably known for a while already, there are a few teams with very interesting matchups. Liverpool and Man City stand out in that sense, and especially because they will be focusing entirely on the Premier League until the end of the season. It should be noted that the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool will take place on Saturday, May 14^th. The Blues in particular are expected to rotate considerably for their second match of their DGW36 against Leeds. The same, to an extent, goes for Leicester, who have two great games on paper, but have largely be focusing on their Europa League exploits these weeks. Besides that, the Arsenal double is not bad, whilst relegation battlers Everton and Watford face a decent double gameweek as well, on paper at least. As a result, and taking into account the considerable expected chip activation (Bench Boosts and Free Hits, in particular) for the upcoming gameweek, it’s no surprise that our DGW36 fantasy picks are dominated by assets from teams with two encounters.

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 36 is set at 13h30 (UK time) on Saturday, May 7^th, 2022.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per May 5^th, 2022)

Premium pick

It’s hard to imagine what Man City manager Pep Guardiola was thinking when he decided to take off Kevin de Bruyne (£11.9m) in the 72^nd minute against Real Madrid in their return game of the Champions League semi-finals. Perhaps it was tactical. Perhaps he figured the final was a done deal by that time and that it was best to preserve his star player for the thrilling title race in the Premier League. Whatever the Spanish manager’s reasoning, it definitely did not work for his side and now the Cityzens have just the domestic league to focus on. Not so great news for City fans, but an excellent development for FPL managers. City’s elimination from Europa and their 1-point lead over Liverpool in the league have us thinking that rotation will be relatively minimal for Pep standards over the final three gameweeks. As their most influential player, we expect De Bruyne to start all games from now on, which has immediately catapulted him to the top of our premium picks list for DGW36. He blanked against Leeds in GW35, but managed 4 goals and 4 assists in the six games prior to that, and now has a double Wolves and Newcastle coming up. That prospect has us picking him over even Mo Salah as the best premium fantasy pick for double gameweek 36.

Non-premium pick

Bukayo Saka (£6.7m) was a bit of an injury doubt in the build-up to gameweek 35, but he made it in the end to the joy of the almost 30% of FPL managers who own him. He ended up picking up 4 FPL points at West Ham, the result of an assist and a yellow card, which followed back-to-backs in which he returned handsomely (1 goal in GW33, 1 goal and 1 assist in GW34). With a total of 168 FPL for the season already, the English international has by far surpassed his best FPL season as he has become an integral part of Mikel Arteta’s starting eleven. In DGW36, the Gunners are playing the North London derby at Spurs and a home game against Leeds, games they will need to win if they want to stay in the race for fourth place in the league. Saka is probably the best pick from the Arsenal roster, especially now that he seems to have taken penalty duties onto himself as well. We expect him to be part of lots of Free Hits and Bench Boosts this week, also because his £6.7m price tag easily allows for his inclusion, so we recommend to bring the winger in if you can.

The budget enabler

There are a few interesting budget fantasy options on our radar for DGW36, but it’s hard to look past Anthony Gordon (£4.6m). The young Everton winger has conquered a starting spot under manager Frank Lampard and with a double gameweek coming up against interesting opposition, he is the ultimate budget enabler for this upcoming gameweek. Of course, Everton’s struggles this season are a known fact, but the Toffees look to have found a bit of spirit in their fight for Premier League survival of late. Over the last four league games, they beat both Man United and Chelsea at home (1-0 both times), drew 1-1 with Leicester and lost 2-0 in the Merseyside Derby. Results to take some hope from, at the very least. Up next are fellow relegation candidates Watford at Vicarage Road for a game that can really go either way and a visit to Leicester just two days after the Foxes played their all-important Europea League semi-final return against José Mourinho’s AS Roma. Who knows, Everton might just be able to take 3, 4 or even 6 points from these games. If they do, any returns that stand-out budget fantasy pick can add to his current 4 goals and 3 assists would be a massive bonus.

The differential

With Liverpool facing Spurs at home on Saturday followed by Aston Villa at Villa Park on Tuesday for their double gameweek 36, we can’t write up a gameweek fantasy picks article without including at least one of their assets. This time, it’s Luis Diaz (£8.0m), who made it in our differential fantasy pick category. The Colombian international has made quite an impact on the Reds, which he underlined by completely turning around the Champions League semi-final return against Villareal this week after coming on at half-time. In the Premier League, he has already recorded 3 goals and 2 assists for a total of 47 FPL points from eight starts. Rotation is a risk when it comes to Diaz, as he competes with Mo Salah, Sadio Mané and Diogo Jota for one of the three forward spots, but he has looked worthy of a starting berth lately. That’s why we would not be at all surprised to see him rack up at least 100 playing minutes over his double gameweek 36 and likely considerably more. His current ownership of 3.8% therefore makes him a fascinating differential prospect for the final weeks of the 2021/22 season.

The captaincy

As far as the captaincy goes this week, there are a few very good options on offer. We made our mind up a while ago already though, around minute 72 of the Champions League encounter between Manchester City and Real Madrid to be exact. That’s when Kevin de Bruyne walked off the pitch in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu and right into our squad for gameweek 36, armband proudly around his Belgian upper arm. A City side on a quest for revenge, fighting for the last change of silverware, facing on-the-beach Wolves and Newcastle; KDB is our captaincy pick for DGW36.

If you can’t fit the Belgian in or if you feel like rotation risk is still too much of a factor, you can easily shift your attention to Mo Salah. This season’s top points-scorer is hosting Spurs on Saturday before visiting Aston Villa three days later, and if there is one player who can haul in such circumstances, it’s the Egyptian. Other interesting options for the armband this week are Bukayo Saka against Spurs and Leeds, Sadio Mané, and one of Harvey Barnes or James Maddison for their double against Norwich and Everton.

Gameweek 35 is already almost upon us, about 36 hours after double gameweek 34 ended with a 1-1 draw between Chelsea and Manchester United at Old Trafford. Gameweeks have been coming thick and fast lately, and this will continue until the very end of the season. In fact, the upcoming gameweek 35 is something of a lull before the storm, as gameweek 36 and 37 are both (major) double gameweeks before the season ends in gameweek 38. That means there are just four rounds to go in FPL, but plenty can still happen in what’s promising to become a spectacular end to the 2021-22 FPL campaign.

As far as the upcoming double gameweek goes, the current top three face favourable opposition, though all three of them are playing away from home. Liverpool are visiting Newcastle to open the gameweek on Saturday, followed by Manchester City rolling up to Elland Road for the last game of the day and Chelsea traveling to struggling Everton on Sunday. On top of that, a Spurs side without a shot on target since gameweek 32 will host leaky Leicester this weekend, Manchester United are welcoming Brentford to Old Trafford and Arsenal are going to West Ham, who are plagued by injuries in defence and just played a Europa Conference League semi-final against AS Roma.

Don’t forget, the deadline for your FPL gameweek 35 transfers is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, April 30^th, 2022.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per April 29^th, 2022)

Premium pick

We may have already gone through 34 gameweeks this season, but some things never change. Mo Salah (£13.3m) is our premium fantasy pick for gameweek 35, despite strong competition from the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Harry Kane. It’s the business end of the season and the high-intensity games are piling up at breakneck speed for Liverpool, but their Egyptian superstar is just carrying on with what he has been doing all season: scoring goals, giving assists and delighting the almost 60% of FPL managers who trust him every weekend. He has scored 2 goals and given 3 assists over the last three gameweeks for a total of 30 FPL points over that stretch, while his season totals currently sit on 22 goals and 14 assists in 31 league games. The Reds are just one point behind leaders Man City and even though this weekend’s opponent Newcastle have been in great form of late, we find it hard to imagine the Magpies forcing Liverpool’s title ambitions onto the backburner.

Non-premium pick

Our non-premium fantasy pick for gameweek 35 is based more on his upcoming fixtures than on his current form. Philippe Coutinho (£7.0m) had a magnificent start as a Villain when he came over from Barcelona in the last January transfer window, but the Brazilian has been quiet of late, at least in terms of FPL returns. Between gameweeks 22 and 28, he managed 4 goals and 3 assists for a total of 55 FPL points. Since GW28, he has registered five consecutive blanks, though it should be noted that the opposition over that period was quite difficult (West Ham, Arsenal, Wolves, Spurs, Leicester) and Villa don’t have that much to play for anymore. What’s interesting about Coutinho, is that he is facing Norwich at home this weekend, followed by back-to-back double gameweeks in which he will face, in order, Burnley (away), Liverpool (home), Palace (home) and Burnley (home). The Brazilian international is a nailed-on starter under manager Steven Gerrard and he has set-piece duties as well, which in combination with his friendly price tag make him an interesting pick not just for GW35, but until the end of the season.

The budget enabler

Arsenal forward Eddie Nketiah (£5.5m) has burst into his side’s starting eleven right on time for the very business end of the season. Of course, we need to mention here that he has only just recently displaced Alexandre Lacazette from the Gunners’ number-nine position, but he has been largely impressive and we don’t see any immediate reason why Mikel Arteta would suddenly decide to switch it up again. Nketiah started the last three games in the league and managed a brace back in gameweek 33 in Arsenal’s spectacular 2-4 away win over Chelsea. He is facing a depleted West Ham defence this weekend, as the Hammers will be missing at least Craig Dawson, Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop, followed by a double gameweek 36 against Leeds (home) and Spurs (away). At a price of just £5.5m, Nketiah has all the makings of a perfect budget-enabler for the final month of the season, but keep in mind that Lacazette is vying for his spot as well.

The differential

To be honest, our premium pick debate for gameweek 35 was between Mo Salah and Kevin de Bruyne (£11.9m). Two factors made us pick Salah, namely the lower risk of rotation he carries and the fact that KDB is actually still owned by just 9.8% of FPL managers, which means that he still qualifies for our differential pick category! The Belgian playmaker has been one of City’s best performers over the past few weeks and months, which is not that surprising considering he is one of the very best creative midfielders in the world. In the six league games he started since gameweek 28, KDB scored 4 goals and gave 4 assists, collecting a delicious 56 FPL points in the process. In GW35, City are visiting Leeds for what could well end up being a goal fest, though it should be noted that Pep Guardiola’s men will also be travelling to Madrid on Wednesday to face a certain local football club in the semi-finals of the Champions League (and thanking the UEFA rule makers that Away goals no longer count). Rotation will undoubtedly be the name of the game as far as City assets are concerned this weekend, but with Liverpool just a point behind and playing Newcastle earlier that day, the Cityzens won’t be able to afford too much change either. In any case, De Bruyne might miss a minute here and there, but if you can, you should probably bring him in for now until the rest of the season. Oh, and he has a double gameweek against Newcastle (home) and Wolves (away) in GW36 as well.

The captaincy

As you probably guessed from the content above, the captaincy this week is between Mo Salah and Kevin de Bruyne for us, and we’ve ended up going with the latter. Both have the potential to haul bigtime, let that be clear, but we feel that Newcastle away for Liverpool is a tad more difficult a fixture than Leeds away is for Man City at the moment. Picking KDB does come with the higher risk of rotation, but with almost five days between the Leeds game and the Real Madrid cracker, there should be enough resting time available for the Belgian to feature from the start in both encounters. On top of that, with an ownership of less than 10%, he can be a great help to FPL managers chasing in their respective mini-leagues.

If you don’t captain Kevin de Bruyne, then captain Salah. If you don’t captain Salah, probably captain Harry Kane for his home game against Leicester, who are focusing entirely on the Conference League. If you don’t captain Kane either, please send us a screenshot of your team. Kidding, of course, because in reality there are more than a few decent alternatives left for GW35. Kai Havertz or Mason Mount away against Everton could pay off handsomely, as could Cristiano Ronaldo at home against Brentford and Bukayo Saka away versus West Ham.

And just like that, we’ve got just five gameweeks left for the 2021-22 Fantasy Premier League season. If you’re still trailing in your mini-leagues (or eyeing that sweet top 10k overall spot, for example, why not?), time is running out for your final moves. With just over 67% of all managers still sitting on their second Free Hit (just over 51% in the current top 10k) and around 60% of all managers still holding their second Wildcard (16% amongst the top 10k), you can expect considerable chip activity over the very business end of the season. Double gameweek 34 especially seems to be a good moment for many FPL managers to deploy one, with the second Wildcard feeling like a popular choice in the online FPL community.

A GW34 Wildcard would allow them to start preparing for the major double gameweeks in rounds 36 and 37, while also optimising their starting eleven for a DGW34 with potential. We see title contestants Liverpool and Manchester City face very favourable opposition at home in Everton and Watford, respectively, while both Chelsea (West Ham home, Man United away) and Manchester United (Arsenal away, Chelsea home) are doubling. On top of that, the upcoming gameweek features Crystal Palace at their trusted Selhurst Park hosting Leeds, Spurs visiting Brentford to keep their top-4 dreams alive, and a seemingly resurgent Burnley side battling for survival welcoming Wolves to Turf Moor. Plenty to look forward to, including an interesting captaincy debate.

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 34 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, April 23^rd, 2022.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per April 22^nd, 2022)

Premium pick

Remember the time when Mo Salah (£13.2m) blanked two games in a row (he was rested for the first one) in gameweek 29 and 30, and “people” started saying that he’d lost his super form of earlier in the season? That perhaps Mo was just too tired? Too disappointed even, after consecutive national team upsets? Well, all the Egyptian needed was back-to-back encounters with the Premier League’s Manchester sides to show that doubting him is simply ridiculous. He took it easy with an assist and 5 FPL points in GW32 against Man City at the Etihad. He then brought down the house against Man United in GW33, scoring a brace and giving an assist at Old Trafford for an amazing 19 FPL points. Up next are Everton at Anfield for what could end up being a historic game and all we can say is, unless you’re trailing and planning some shock differential moves, just count on Salah. Get him, keep him, captain him.

Non-premium pick

With Chelsea out of Europe, the Blues now have the Premier League to focus on, as well as the FA Cup final against Liverpool on May 14th. This should ease the rotation risk amongst Blues assets a bit, at least over the coming weeks as Chelsea can’t afford to drop too many points if they want to keep Spurs and Arsenal at a safe distance from third place. Combine all that with the fact that Chelsea are one of two sides doubling this round and it suddenly makes sense that five of the seven most transferred-in players for this week call Stamford Bridge their home. Number one in that particular list is Mason Mount (£7.7m), who has been in great form of late. The England international is one of the most nailed-on offensive players for manager Thomas Tuchel and he’s been extremely effective over the past five gameweeks: 5 starts, 3 goals, 3 assists, 41 FPL points. Up next are West Ham at home and Man United away, two games we feel the Blues simply have to win if they want to secure third place on time. With no other obligations to deal with for now, Mount looks like a prime candidate for two starts in DGW34, so bring him in if you can.

The budget enabler

Beside Chelsea, it’s Manchester United who have a double this gameweek and it looks like a perfect storm for Anthony Elanga (£4.8m). The 19-year-old Swedish international has been racking up more minutes of late, with his consecutive starts in double gameweek 33 as a confirmation of his growing role in the team. Of course, the absence of Ronaldo, Greenwood, Cavani and Pogba frees up spots on the sides of the midfield, but a lot of it is Elanga’s own merit as well. In nine starts since gameweek 22, the Carrington graduate recorded 2 goals and 2 assists, with both of those assists coming last week against Norwich. Due to his rivals Jadon Sancho and especially Marcus Rashford simply not living up to expectations this season, Elanga seems to have steadily moved up the pecking order to make himself a serious candidate for at least 100-120 minutes of action over the next two games. The Red Devils will be facing Arsenal away and Chelsea at home this double gameweek, two must-win games if they want to keep their hopes of a top-4 finish alive. Not the easiest of matchups and Elanga is definitely a punt, but at a price of just £4.8m and owned by less than 1% of managers, he could be worth it bigtime.

The differential

Our differential fantasy pick for DGW34 is also our second Chelsea pick after Mason Mount. Kai Havertz (£7.9m) needed some time to adapt to Thomas Tuchel’s system, but he now seems to have cemented his place in the German manager’s starting eleven. He did miss considerable minutes in gameweeks 31 (45 minutes, 1 goal vs Southampton) and 32 (30 minutes vs Arsenal), but that was mainly due to the Blues also playing a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in that same period. Now that Chelsea are out of Europe, securing third place in the Prem and winning the FA Cup final in May are the priorities, and Havertz will play an integral part in those remaining objectives over the coming gameweeks. Tuchel deploys him as a central false nine who drifts in and out from the right depending on whether Reece James is positioned as a central defender or a wing-back. This means that he’s involved in plenty of action, which is underlined by the 5 goals and 1 assist he has recorded since gameweek 28. With a current ownership of 8.4%, Havertz could be a fantastic differential against West Ham and Man United this week.

The captaincy

We deliberated on the captaincy for quite some time, as we suspect more than a few FPL managers will this week. There are the Chelsea assets who are doubling, and the likes of Mount, Havertz and James could deliver big, while even a punt on Ronaldo or Bruno Fernandes for United’s tough double gameweek could pay off handsomely. This time though, we feel like there could be some truth in the century-old adagio of not focusing solely on double gameweek players when some proven single-gameweek assets have favorable fixtures as well.

That’s because Premier League powerhouses Liverpool and Man City are each preparing for home games against relegation candidates. Where the Cityzens are facing Watford on Saturday, the Reds are hosting archrivals Everton a day later. There’s KDB, Mahrez, Foden, Mané, Jota, Luis Diaz, Trent and even Cancelo or Robertson, all decent picks for the armband, but in the end, there was only one for us: Mo Salah.

Potentially treacherous waters ahead in gameweek 33, or so it seems. With no less than seven sides doubling (see table below), GW33 has been on many an FPL manager’s mind for some time, but is this double gameweek really as much of an opportunity as we’d like to think? Most of the doubling sides don’t represent the most attractive combination of fixtures, while several popular and premium assets are facing a single, but favourable gameweek. There is, of course, plenty to be won this upcoming weekend and week, but it might just not be as simple as pilling up on double gameweek players, sitting back, and waiting until the 100-point barrier is breached.

Looking at the table above, you can see what we meant before. None of the double gameweek sides really have excellent match-ups, apart from maybe Newcastle and Leicester. For different reasons though, these are not the most reliable sides, from an FPL point of view at least. The traditional top six are represented by Arsenal and Man United as far as DGW teams are concerned, but their respective double fixtures are average at best, especially considering Arsenal’s and United’s latest form. At the same time, Liverpool are hosting a vulnerable United side this weekend and Man City will be entertaining Brighton at the Etihad. Spurs will also play at home against the Seagulls and West Ham are welcoming managerless Burnley to London on Sunday, so there are plenty of interesting single-gameweek targets to consider as well. In other words, we’ve got another potential rollercoaster of a gameweek on our hands.

Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 33 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, April 16^th, 2022.

Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per April 15^th, 2022)

Premium pick

Even though the likes of Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son (both at home to Brighton), Mo Salah (at home vs Man United) and Kevin de Bruyne (at home vs Brighton) all present big haul potential, we figured to follow the double gameweek route for our premium fantasy pick of the week. Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m) has been Manchester United’s best performer this season with 9 goals and 7 assists for a total of 136 FPL points, though considering United’s overall unpredictable form throughout the season, this might not say as much as we’d like. What it does say though, is that in fantasy terms, Bruno is the stand-out pick on the Red Devils’ roster. Over the past six league outings, no teammate has created more than his 13 big chances, while just two players in the entire league attempted more shots on goal than the Portuguese international over that same period. United will be facing Norwich at home, followed by a visit to Anfield. The way we see it, this is a combination of about as favourable a fixture as one can get this season with a bonus against Liverpool on top. After all, for example, a goal and 2 bonus points versus Norwich followed by a 2-pointer against Liverpool would still see Bruno bag 12-13 FPL points.

Non-premium pick

For this week’s non-premium fantasy pick, we are looking at Leicester City, as the Foxes face what is probably the most favourable double gameweek match-up, on paper at least. First up is a visit to a much-improved Newcastle side, followed by a visit to Goodison Park. At the same time, Leicester just qualified for the Conference League’s semi-finals after an intense 90 minutes against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday and their next league game is set for Sunday afternoon. In total, they have to deal with four games over a period of about nine days, so fatigue and rotation are real concerns. That’s not what you want from a double gameweek asset, so in our choice for Harvey Barnes (£6.6m) we have taken recent starts and playing minutes into account a lot. On paper, teammate James Maddison looks like the most explosive and definitely the more popular attacking Leicester option, but the England man just completed 90 minutes against PSV and played at least 88 minutes in each of his side’s last four league games. We feel he’s due a rest, especially with Leicester now focusing more on their European adventure than the league, and Barnes was just rested in gameweek 32. He was also taken off at halftime against PSV, which in all honestly probably had more to do with his sub-par performance than any kind of minute management, but it seems likely that he will be racking up more minutes over the upcoming double gameweek than Maddison. At £6.6m, fortunately, he does not represent too much of a risky investment, and he does sit on 3 goals and 8 assists for the season so far, so if you’re looking for Leicester attacker for DGW33, Barnes would be our recommendation.

The budget enabler

Together with Leicester, it’s probably Newcastle who got the most favourable double gameweek match-up with home games against Leicester and Crystal Palace. The Toon have undergone something of a transformation under Eddie Howe, though their very recent form has not been very good. Wolves were beaten 1-0 at home in GW32, but before that, three consecutive away games were lost, although it should be noted that those games were against Chelsea, Everton and Spurs. The double brings Magpie assets into contention nevertheless and especially in terms of budget options, we see potential there. That’s why our budget enabler for DGW33 is Fabian Schär (£4.4m) and we’re not the only ones with this idea. The Swiss defender is currently the most-transferred-in defender ahead of gameweek 33 and it’s not too hard to see why. He’s a nailed-on starter for the Magpies, they’re defence has improved since the arrival of Howe and Schär is even on some set-pieces as well. He has 2 goals and 2 assists to his name as well, and over the last five gameweeks, no Newcastle player brought home more FPL points than Schär’s 39 points. Not the most exciting of fantasy picks, we admit, but at £4.4m, he represents good budget-enabling potential, in particular for those managers considering a Free Hit this week.

The differential

Speaking of Free Hits, we’ve seen more than a few drafts being discussed by pundits, experts and casual managers alike over the past week. What we find surprising is that so few drafts seem to take James Ward-Prowse (£6.4m) into consideration. Sure, we understand that his double gameweek combination of Arsenal at home and Burnley away is not the best, and that Southampton just got thrashed 0-6 by Chelsea in GW32, but that doesn’t mean JWP can’t deliver this week. Why? Because the 27-year-old is one of the best set-piece takers in the history of the Premier League. It’s that simple. His wonderful free-kick against Wolves last weekend meant he has now scored 13 direct free-kicks in the Prem, a total only bettered by David Beckham with 18 successful attempts. He’s on practically all corners and free-kicks, both direct and indirect, and he takes the penalties as well. In a double gameweek, the potential for points from those set-piece duties is doubled as well, and at a price of £6.4m and with a current ownership of just 6.5%, we believe JWP should at least be on your watchlists.

The captaincy

Double gameweek 33 could very well result in one of the most spread-out captaincy debates this season, as there is not a real, clear-cut favourite candidate this time. Classic safe picks like Mo Salah and Harry Kane do have a favourable fixture, but not a double, just like Kevin de Bruyne, for example. At the same time, generally (much) less likely captaincy candidates such as James Maddison, Chris Wood and Bukayo Saka have decent double match-ups, but the question is, would you really slap the armband on one of them without a worry?

We have decided that we won’t and that we will go with Bruno Fernandes for our GW33 FPL Captain instead this week. Completely confident in this captaincy pick? Well, it’s United. Blinded by the doubles? Perhaps. Seeing the potential of a haul? Definitely. As we wrote before, the right way to look at Bruno’s double gameweek is as a home game versus Norwich plus a complete bonus appearance against Liverpool. Don’t expect more than 2 FPL points from the visit to Anfield, but focus on the visit of the Canaries. We feel a double-digit haul is not out of the question at all and that’s what you want from a captain, right?