FPL 2023-24: Gameweek 36 preview

In support of the ancient FPL wisdom that one should not become too fixated by double gameweek teams simply because they are double gameweek teams, the DGW35 Team of the Week features a handful of popular fantasy assets that had just one fixture. These include Bukayo Saka (12 FPL points, 55.4% ownership), Alexander Isak (13 FPL points, 36.1% ownership) and Kevin de Bruyne (11 FPL points, 16.5%). This shows once again that fixture quality can matter as much as fixture quantity or more, and player quality and form should practically always influence your decision-making. As a matter of fact, Noni Madueke is the only double gameweek player so far who managed to find his way into the Team of the Week, thanks to a goal and an assist at Villa Park last Saturday.

At the same time, it should be noted that the only two teams with a second fixture (Chelsea and Spurs) still need to play that second fixture at the moment of writing. The two London sides are set to meet tonight at 19h30 at Stamford Bridge, so keep that in mind when going over the data and picks in this article.

Check out FISO’s FPL Forum for the latest discussion and don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 36 is set at 18h30 (UK time) on Friday, May 3rd, 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 May 2nd, 2024)

 TRANSFERS OUTTRANSFERS INPOSSIBLE REASONS
GKMartinez (AST), Ederson (MCI), Neto (BOU)Pickford (EVE), Dubravka (NEW), Raya (ARS)Martinez + Ederson injury doubts
DEFSchär (NEW), Van Dijk (LIV), Gusto (CHE)Gvardiol (MCI), Branthwaite (EVE), Walker (MCI)DGW37, Gvardiol attacking form, Schär + Gusto injury doubts
MIDSalah (LIV), Diaz (LIV), Eze (CRY)De Bruyne (MCI), Gordon (NEW), Foden (MCI)DGW37, all transferred-in players in good form, Eze injury doubt
FORSolanke (BOU), Darwin (LIV), Haaland (MCI)Isak (NEW), Haaland (MCI), Watkins (AST)DGW37, all transferred-in forwards in good form,

Premium pick

It shouldn’t really feel like a surprise anymore at this point, but Erling Haaland (£14.1m) is finding the net quite easily at the moment. Partly due to injury issues, the Norwegian forward went through a relatively less productive patch earlier this season, but his totals after 34 gameweeks are still excellent. From 25 league starts, Haaland has taken no less than 21 goals and 8 assists for a total of 179 FPL points, which comes down to roughly 7 FPL points per start. Possibly even more important though, is his current form in the league, where he produced 3 goals and 1 assist in his last three starts. The reason we are returning to the Man City attacker as our premium fantasy pick of choice for GW36 is that we feel that the upcoming home game against Wolves is a perfect opportunity for him to make it 4 goals in four starts. At least. And to top it off, Manchester City also have a double gameweek coming up after, consisting of games against Fulham and Spurs (both away).

Non-premium pick

It took Kai Havertz (£7.5m) about half a season to get settled at Arsenal, but the German seems to have really found his groove by now. He is currently sitting on 12 goals and 8 assists from 27 league starts, and the best part of it is that he recorded 8 of those goals and 7 of those assists in the last thirteen gameweeks. This actually makes him one of the top performers in the second half of the season and what makes him an even better non-premium fantasy pick is his immediate form. In his last two league starts, he got 3 goals and 1 assist: a brace against Chelsea at the Emirates and a goal and an assist a few days later away at Tottenham in the North London Derby. Unfortunately, Havertz has no more double gameweeks this season, but with Manchester United away in gameweek 37 and Everton at home in gameweek 38, the German could very well be a set-and-forget option for the remainder of the season, at a very decent price.

The budget enabler

Are you in the market for a budget forward? But we mean, a serious option for your forward line, with guaranteed minutes and a decent points ceiling, at an absolute bargain price? Then Chris Wood (£4.8m) might be exactly what you’re looking for. The Nottingham Forest striker started every league game since gameweek 28 and with good reason, because the New Zealander got 4 goals over that period. In total, Wood has already scored 12 goals and provided 1 assist in 17 league starts this season, which for a £4.8m-priced attacker is nothing short of excellent. Forest’s schedule until the end of the season only adds to the big man’s appeal as a stand-out budget fantasy pick, as the Tricky Trees are traveling to Sheffield United on Saturday, followed by a home game against Chelsea in GW37 and a visit to Turf Moor in GW38. Based on his price tag, Wood is the perfect budget forward, but based on the rest, the real question will be whether or not you can afford not including him in your starting lineup in the final weeks of the season.

The differential

More than a few pundits and “experts” raised an eyebrow when West Ham decided to pay £38 million to Ajax Amsterdam for Mohamed Kudus (£6.7m) last summer. Now, about half a year and almost one full football season later, we can safely say that, while £38 million is a lot of money, the Hammers used it to bring in an extremely talented attacking player. The Ghana international has already recorded 7 goals and 8 assists in 24 league starts, which are great stats for a player in his first Premier League season at a non-top-six team, and with a bit of luck, we can see him adding to those stats in the last three games of the 2023-24 Premier League season. We base that on the fact that West Ham have got the following schedule until the end of the season: Chelsea away on Sunday, Luton at home in gameweek 37 and Manchester City away in gameweek 38. Kudus provided a wonderful assist for Jarrod Bowen’s opening goal at Anfield last weekend, where West Ham drew 2-2, and we’re hoping that he can take the confidence from that performance into the upcoming clash with the Blues. If he can, his current ownership of just 3.3% will surely get a boost before the final gameweek of the season.

The (vice-)captaincy

Like the debate for the stand-out premium fantasy pick for gameweek 36, we also debated our armband pick. The decision between Manchester City stars Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne is a difficult one, as both are in good goal-scoring form, but seeing as we went with the former as our premium fantasy pick, we are going with consistency and picking him as our captain for gameweek 35 as well.

Besides his teammate De Bruyne, the likes of Bukayo Saka at home to Bournemouth, Cole Palmer at home to West Ham and Mo Salah at home to Spurs provide good alternatives. More risker captaincy considerations include Jean-Philippe Mateta at home to Manchester United and Chris Wood for his visit to Sheffield United.