Just two gameweeks to go now, but if anyone out there thought, for some reason, that the 2022-23 FPL season was going to fizzle out, think again. Double gameweek 36 did not disappoint (especially not for Callum Wilson captainers) with a 65-point average and double gameweek 37 could very well surpass that. That’s right, consecutive doubles before a single gameweek 38 to end the season. So, to those chasing: it’s not over yet. And to those leading? It’s not over yet…
| DOUBLING TEAM | FIXTURE 1 | FIXTURE 2 |
| Brighton | Southampton (home) | Man City (home) |
| Chelsea | Man City (away) | Man United (away) |
| Man City | Chelsea (home) | Brighton (away) |
| Man United | Bournemouth (away) | Chelsea (home) |
With Brighton, Chelsea and the two Manchester sides doubling this week, it won’t surprise you that our recommended fantasy picks for gameweek 37 come from these teams. While Chelsea have officially avoided relegation and therefore have nothing left to play for, the remaining three sides are very much still “in it” at the other end of the table. Man City can crown themselves champions with a win over Chelsea at the Etihad, after which skyblue rotation hell is likely to take on monstrous dimensions, while both Brighton and Man United will likely need to keep giving it their all until the very last minute of the season in their quests for Europa League football and Champions League football, respectively. That’s what you want to hear as a fantasy manager.
Don’t forget, the deadline for gameweek 37 is set at 11h00 (UK time) on Saturday, May 20th, 2023.
Most transferred in/transferred out players (as per May 19th, 2023)
| TRANSFERS OUT | TRANSFERS IN | POSSIBLE REASONS | |
| GK | Pope (NEW), Raya (BRE), Kepa (CHE) | De Gea (MUN), Ederson (MCI), Steele (BRI) | DGW37 |
| DEF | Trippier (NEW), Mings (AST), Zinchenko (ARS) | Shaw (MUN), Estupiñan (BRI), Alexander-Arnold (LIV) | DGW37, Trippier injury doubt, Zinchenko injury |
| MID | Martinelli (ARS), Rashford (MUN), March (BRI) | Gündogan (MCI), Fernandes (MUN), Eze (CRY) | DGW37, Martinelli and March injuries, Rashford injury doubt |
| FOR | Toney (BRE), Watkins (AST), Isak (NEW) | Wilson (NEW), Martial (MUN), Alvarez (MCI) | DGW37, Toney ban |
Premium pick
Look, if you haven’t got Erling Haaland (£12.4m) in your squad by now, it’s probably not worth bringing him in anymore and that’s the first time we’ve said that all season. City clinch the title if they beat Chelsea on Sunday OR if Arsenal do not beat Forest a day earlier, and with an FA Cup final and a Champions League final coming up, Pep Roulette Extreme looks to be very much on the cards in the very near future. Even for our 6’4″ Norwegian friend. Having said that, he’s got a double coming up against Chelsea (home) and Brighton (away), so he could just destroy DGW37 with a 40-something captaincy haul… What we’re trying to say is: if you don’t have Haaland by now, after 36 goals and 8 assists from 32 league starts, you are playing on some kind of different level and we’re not sure whether you’re mad or genius (or perhaps both). If you do have him, start him, captain him, and enjoy the last double gameweek of the season.
Non-premium pick
We’re pushing the limits with our non-premium fantasy pick for gameweek 37. As you know, our “rule” is that any player priced under £10m is eligible for our non-premium category, though we generally pick players who are considerably below that threshold. Not this time though, as we feel Bruno Fernandes (£9.5m) might have a ball this week. While the Portuguese playmaker’s attacking returns have been somewhat underwhelming this season for a player of quality (6 goals and 9 assists in 34 league starts), the underlying stats tell a different story. Over his last eleven games, for example, Bruno scored 1 goal and gave 2 assists, while his Expected Goal Involvement for that same period sits at a whopping 10.1. Of course, it’s about the returns and not the theory in the end, but with a favourable double against Bournemouth (away) and Chelsea (home) coming up, the two could very well come together in DGW37. Add to that the fact that Bruno is both nailed-on and on most set-pieces including penalties, and you’ve got one of the most promising non-premium fantasy picks of the moment.
The budget enabler
To complement our rather expensive non-premium pick from a budget point of view, and to provide an option for those managers looking to free up funds to bring him in, our budget fantasy pick for gameweek 37 is really budget. Brighton’s Julio Enciso (£4.6m) kind of exploded onto the English football scene with a goal as a late sub against Bournemouth back in GW29 and then with a worldie versus Chelsea two weeks later, in his first start for the Seagulls. The Paraguayan youngster has steadily been getting more minutes since, especially since Solly March had to abandon the campaign due to injury a few weeks ago. He has started five of the last seven league games, scoring 2 goals and providing 2 assists over that run, and looks to be part of manager Roberto de Zerbi’s current preferred first eleven. He was benched on Thursday with a slight injury, but came on after about an hour and showed some good things in the final half hour. Rotation is a real risk, with Evan Ferguson, Deniz Undav and Danny Welbeck vying for the same positions, but Enciso looks set for at least 120 minutes over the coming double of home games against Southampton and Man City and at a price of just £4.6m, he feels like an ideal budget enabler.
The differential
Now that Marcus Rashford is expected to be fit for double gameweek 37 and with much of the midfield spots taken already in most fantasy squads, more than a few managers will be looking at improvement of their forward line. The problem is that, apart from Haaland, when it comes to the doubling sides, it’s kind of slim pickings. We briefly touched upon the various forward options at Brighton and the associated increased risk of rotation earlier, Man City offers a far-from-nailed-on Julian Alvarez and Chelsea, well… let’s just leave it there. Enter Anthony Martial (£6.3m). That’s right. It’s crunch time and our differential fantasy pick of the week is Anthony Martial. The Frenchman looks fit (knocking on wood as we write) and is building up some form and confidence with his goal against Wolves last weekend. As a matter of fact, in just three starts and a total of just 318 minutes of PL action since gameweek 30, Martial still managed to grab 2 goals and 1 assist. He’s a bit of a punt, hence his current 2.2% of ownership, but we can see him getting 120+ minutes and a couple more returns in the double against Bournemouth away and Chelsea at home.
The (vice-)captaincy
As we already revealed earlier in this article, our captaincy shout for double gameweek 37 is Erling Haaland. Man City are within reaching distance of the title and Real Madrid were just dispatched in the Champions League semi-finals, so we’re actually expecting the Norwegian to play most if not all of the coming games, especially if by some miracle Pep Guardiola’s men fail to beat Chelsea on Sunday to win the 2022-23 Premier League.
If rotation worries you, which would be understandable, then Bruno Fernandes is probably an excellent alternative for United’s double versus Bournemouth and Chelsea. The same can be said for various Brighton assets, including Kaoru Mitoma and Alexis Mac Allister, who will be facing relegated Southampton at Saint Mary’s and a possibly heavily rotated Man City side at home, in case the Cityzens clinch the title a few days earlier against Chelsea. Differential captaincy candidates for double gameweek 37 include Luke Shaw, Riyad Mahrez and the inevitable Mohamed Salah.