Gameweek 37 Preview of Fantasy Premier League, courtesy of Bet365
With 8 teams playing twice this week, it’s a final opportunity to take advantage of a double gameweek and try to secure extra points at a crucial stage of the season.
West Ham are still in with an outside chance of finishing in the top 4, and they have two home matches this week. These are the last 2 competitive games to take place at Upton Park before the Hammers move to the Olympic Stadium next year, so they’re bound to have an emotional and passionate crowd behind them and the place will be buzzing for these. The first game against a Swansea team with nothing to play for and who’ve lost 3 of their last 4 away matches should be an ideal opportunity for victory. West Ham’s attacking players could rack up the Fantasy Football points in this one, especially considering Saturday’s opponents have kept just one clean sheet on their travels all season. With this in mind, it’s worth including Andy Carroll (£6.5m), who has 6 goals and an assist from his last 6 matches, and of course Dimitri Payet (£8.5m), who has impressed immensely with 9 goals and 11 assists in his debut Premier League season. Wednesday’s visitors are Man United, another team who don’t tend to keep many clean sheets on their travels (just two from their last eleven in the Premier League), so goals could be on the cards again.
Sunderland are another team with two home matches, and despite their lowly position in the league table their players are worth consideration this week. They face Chelsea and Everton, two teams who have underperformed this season and who are stuck firmly in mid-table with nothing really left to play for. The fight for Premier League survival should mean that the Sunderland players are more motivated for these matches than their opponents, and two wins will leave them knowing that they go into their final game of the season with their destiny in their own hands. Jermain Defoe (£5.3m) has scored 4 of Sunderland’s last 6 goals and has 14 league goals for the season, so he looks to be the standout option up front. The Black Cats have also tightened up at the back recently, with 3 clean sheets from their last 5 games, so the likes of Lamine Koné and Jan Kirchhoff (both £4.3m) are worth consideration.
Liverpool’s double gameweek sees both Watford and Chelsea visit Anfield. Daniel Sturridge (£10.2m) has started 5 of the last 6 games in the league and came on as sub in the other. He has 5 goals and 2 assists from those 6 matches, and as long as Klopp is willing to start him in both of the games this week he has every opportunity to pick up a big Fantasy Football score – Watford have kept 1 clean sheet in their last 10 games in all competitions and Chelsea have kept just 1 in 15. In midfield the likes of James Milner (£6.7m) and Roberto Firmino (£8.3m) have picked up plenty of points this year and will be looking to finish the season on a high.
Sunday’s 4pm kick-off is the big game of the week as Manchester City welcome Arsenal to the Emirates. Man City crashed out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage this week, and their misery could be compounded further in this one. A victory for Arsenal will mean that the Gunners are virtually certain of Champions League qualification for the nineteenth consecutive season, and they still have hopes of overtaking Tottenham to finish second in the league this year. The Spurs players looked bewildered after conceding the goal that killed off their title dreams on Monday night and were flying into challenges with vitriol, actions that have left the club facing disciplinary action. It could be hard for them to pick themselves up after that devastating blow, and Arsenal will be keen to pounce on any slip-ups from their bitter rivals. Tottenham play earlier in the day, and if they do drop points then Arsenal will be fired up for a win at the Etihad. Alexis Sánchez (£11.1m) and Mesut Özil (£9.4m) are certain starters and will be the men the Gunners look to for inspiration on Sunday.