Blank gameweek 26 saw Chelsea, Liverpool, Luton Town and Spurs all without a fixture, which caused problems for more than a few fantasy managers. Once the BGW26 dust settled though, on Monday evening with West Ham beating Brentford 4 to 2, it was clear that in the absence of some of the official game’s most popular picks, more than a few players decided to step up, including some highly owned assets. Jarrod Bowen (17.3% ownership) stole the show with a 20-pointer, followed by Villa’s Douglas Luiz (11.5% ownership) with 15 FPL points, and differential picks Kai Havertz (Arsenal, 1.8% ownership) and Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, 0.8% ownership) with 14 FPL points each. The savior of the week for many managers was Ollie Watkins, who is owned by 54% of all managers and bagged a 9-pointer against Nottingham Forest.
Gameweek 27 then, is coming off a week full of domestic cup action. On Sunday, there was the League Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool that caused the BGW26 blanks in the first place. Throughout the week, it was time for the FA Cup Fifth Round, which has now come to a close and has resulted in an extremely stingy blank gameweek 29. We will get into that in more detail during the build-up to BGW29, but when making your transfers and planning your chips over the coming weeks, just keep in mind that only Aston Villa, Brentford, Burnley, Fulham, Luton, Nottingham Forest, Spurs and West Ham will have a fixture that round. That’s four fixtures in total, in case you thought you misread.
Check out FISO’s FPL Forum for the latest discussion and don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 27 is set at 13h30 (UK time) on Saturday, March 2nd 2024. If you fancy playing a fantasy premier league game just based on Saturday’s or the Weekend’s fixtures then have a look at FanTeam’s Daily Fantasy Games (18+ only).
Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per February 29th, 2024)
| TRANSFERS OUT | TRANSFERS IN | POSSIBLE REASONS | |
| GK | Alisson (LIV), Areola (WHU), Dubravka (NEW) | Kelleher (LIV), Pickford (EVE), Neto (BOU) | Alisson injury |
| DEF | Porro (TOT), Estupiñan (BRI), Alexander-Arnold (LIV) | Gabriel (ARS), Senesi (BOU), Van Dijk (LIV) | Gabriel consistent returns, Senesi fixtures + DGW28, Porro injury doubt, Alexander-Arnold injury |
| MID | De Bruyne (MCI), Jota (LIV), Hee Chan (WOL) | Salah (LIV), Saka (ARS), Douglas Luiz (AST) | Saka form, Jota injury, Hee Chan injury doubt |
| FOR | Hojlund (MUN), Alvarez (MCI), Darwin (LIV) | Solanke (BOU), Watkins (AST), Morris (LUT) | Solanke + Watkins form, Morris DGW28, Hojlund injury, Darwin injury doubt |
Premium pick
The case of Mo Salah is a curious one, because in the official fantasy game, the Egyptian is marked with a 50% chance of playing on Saturday, while he did not feature in last weekend’s League Cup final. Jurgen Klopp said a few days ago that Salah is one of the players whose return to fitness is being managed on a day-to-day basis and that he might feature against Nottingham Forest in gameweek, but it’s far from guaranteed. As a result of this situation, we’re going with Erling Haaland (£14.4m) as our premium fantasy pick once again. It should be said that it’s not just the uncertainty around Salah that has made us repeat this pick for the umpteenth time this season, though. On Tuesday, Haaland also managed a glut (that’s 5 goals in a single game) away in the FA Cup at Luton, which makes us think that this weekend’s opponents are shaking already. Sure, it’s a Manchester derby at the Etihad on Sunday, but that doesn’t really mean that Haaland can’t haul now, does it?
Non-premium pick
Tottenham Hotspur were one of the Premier League sides already eliminated from all domestic cups before the FA Cup Fifth Round and the League Cup final began, which meant that this week has been a calm one for Ange Postecoglou’s men. Their last competitive game took place on Saturday, February 17th, when they were beaten 1-2 at home by Wolves, so by the time their GW27 fixture is up on Saturday afternoon, they will have had a full two weeks of rest. This strengthens our conviction that Richarlison (£7.1m) (Note -since publication Richarlison has been confirmed as out with a knee injury for about 2 weeks) get back to his scoring ways after two consecutive 2-pointers. Before that though, the Brazilian forward scored 9 goals in eight league games, a run during which he only blanked once. Spurs are hosting Crystal Palace on Saturday and while the Eagles look headed for a comfortable mid-table finish this season, they did already concede 25 goals in 13 away games so far. They are definitely the underdogs this weekend and we feel Richarlison might be the one to take advantage of that situation.
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The budget enabler
Our budget enabler for gameweek 27 is a fantasy pick that we made with one eye on gameweek 28 already. That’s because Bournemouth, who are having a great season so far, are one of two teams to double in gameweek 28 and it’s a juicy one on paper. The Cherries are set to face Sheffield United and Luton Town at home, and seeing as they are visiting Turf Moor this weekend, we have opted to go for Marcos Senesi (£4.5m) as our budget fantasy pick for GW27. The Argentinian central defender is a mainstay in Bournemouth’s starting eleven and carries considerable attacking threat as well, looking at his current 3 league goals and 2 assists. The main reason to bring him in though, apart from his affordable price tag, is the fact that Bournemouth have got Burnley (away), Sheffield United (home) + Luton (home) coming up, who all feature amongst the six lowest-scoring teams in the league. Sheffield United and Burnley are even the lowest and second-lowest-scoring team, respectively, at the moment. It should be noted that Bournemouth blank in gameweek 29, but thanks to Senesi’s price of £4.5m, he can easily feature as the fourth or even fifth defender in your squad.
The differential
The differential fantasy pick for gameweek 27 was also chosen with double gameweek 28 in mind, as Luton are the other team besides Bournemouth to have two fixtures. Carlton Morris (£5.1m), while perhaps going under the radar for many managers, has been excellent for the Hatters so far this season. In his first season amongst England’s footballing elite, he has already managed 7 goals and 6 assists from 19 league starts. He lost his spot in the starting lineup for a while a few weeks ago, but he seems to be back now and with good reason. Luton blanked last weekend, but in the six games preceding that blank, Morris collected no less than 38 FPL points, courtesy of 4 goals and 2 assists. That’s an average of 6.3 points per game and that includes clashes with Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton. Luton have got their work cut out for them this weekend as Aston Villa roll up to Kenilworth Road, but it should be said that the Villans have not been at their best while travelling this season. In any case, the big one for Morris, who could be benched this weekend if needed, is double gameweek 28, when Luton visit Crystal Palace and Bournemouth. Luton have no easy games this season, we know, and these upcoming fixtures could end up in disappointments for them as well, but at £5.1m and an ownership of just 4.2%, their striker (who is on penalties) could be worth a punt.
The (vice-)captaincy
We know that it’s the Manchester derby at City’s ground this weekend and we know that anything can happen during that game, regardless of each side’s form and situation, but we really see it going just one way on Sunday. That’s why Erling Haaland, who scored five at Luton mid-week, gets the armband in gameweek 27.
If you’re uncomfortable with captaining a Manchester derby asset, the likes of Bukayo Saka away at Sheffield United, Ollie Watkins away at Luton Town and Richarlison at home to Crystal Palace look like excellent alternatives to the big Norwegian striker. More differential captaincy options include Cody Gakpo away at Nottingham Forest and, if fit, Dominik Solanke at Turf Moor.