The end is nearly here. Another FPL season is almost in the can ahead of a well-earned summer off, but there’s still time to finish with a flourish. Or crash badly. Last week, my score of 64 beat the average of 44 by a metaphorical country mile, and that sat my ranking rise to 177,059th. Wow, I know, right? Out of 5.9m it’s not bad, but it could have been a lot better. This week represents the final chance to make a big difference as we arrive at a double game week, with 12 teams playing twice. Can we make the most of it? Let’s find out.
Double Trouble
With so many teams playing twice, it goes without saying you want as many as possible of your squad to have a double game week. I’m just going to go for broke and assess them one by one:
Man City – These boys are hungry to break records, and with two home games against Huddersfield and Brighton you’d be a fool not to have some Man City coverage. The problem of rotation remains, Pep is cycling through his midfielders at the moment which leaves the anvil hovering over Raheem Sterling at the moment, but you can’t second guess Pep and even if somebody only plays once, they’ve still got a fair chance to fill their boots. Sergio Aguero should play no part, which is very good news for Gabriel Jesus fans.
Tottenham – Another hungry man is Harry Kane, desperately chasing Mo Salah and his golden boot. I hate to say it but Kane doesn’t look fit, he seemed off the pace on Monday and although he got his goal he could have had a few more if he was sharper. He had a great time at the back end of last season and will hope for more of the same, though he travels to West Brom who have become the greatest team in the land under Darren Moore, then Spurs play host to Newcastle who are probably on the beach. Neither team have particularly leaked goals though it has to be said.
Man Utd – Trips to Brighton and West Ham aren’t terrible fixtures for Mourinho but team selections may drift to the FA Cup final as top 4 status is secured. Lukaku’s injury is interesting, I’d probably just stick with Man Utd defenders.
Chelsea – 2 home games is good news for Chelsea and they will be desperate to beat Liverpool on Sunday to keep their slim top 4 hopes alive. That’s followed by a home game with Huddersfield. If you have Chelsea players I’d probably hold onto them, they at least have something to play for (for now).
Swansea – They may be drifting towards relegation but they have two big games this week, a trip to Bournemouth followed by a crunch home game with Southampton. Other than Jordan Ayew I find Swansea’s players very tedious and would be loathe to pick them. Carvalhal is a laugh but his tactics are very negative for me, I wouldn’t be surprised if Southampton beat them. They are at least playing for something though which makes them a better bet than some of the teams to come.
Southampton – Two away games, firstly at Everton but more importantly at Swansea. Maybe time for the Charlie Austin klaxon? Southampton need to win at least one of those games really and you’d think even Mark Hughes has realised now that attack is their best form of defence. Could be interesting.
Leicester – They were so, so bad last weekend it looked like the team had stopped playing for the manager. They’ll either react well against West Ham or go to bits. West Ham need the points and they have the worst defence in the league, so I’d probably stick with Vardy. The problem is if his team mates can be arsed. They’ve got Arsenal in midweek in the can’t be arsed derby.
Arsenal – I’m having to write this before the Europa League semi-final but a home game against Burnley and a trip to Leicester wouldn’t normally be bad games however it all depends on the Europa League outcome. I’d stick with Auba if you have him, if not there’ll be more reliable options out there.
West Ham – Arnautovic is a king surrounded by jesters. Leicester away isn’t a bad fixture for them, home to Man Utd could go either way. West Ham always concede, so that’s fun.
Brighton – Man Utd at home, Man City away. Avoid.
Huddersfield – Man City and Chelsea away. Avoid.
Newcastle – Will Rafa let them sit on the beach? Watford away and Spurs away are not good fixtures and there’s very little to get excited about. They don’t score at the best of times.
Liverpool are only playing once, I’ll probably keep Salah around as he continues to chase records and he’s bound to play against Chelsea. Klopp will want the top 4 spot decided as soon as possible to allow focus to switch to the Champions League final.
Things to Consider
If you have any chips left, this is the week. Players playing twice equals twice the fun. I’ll be using triple captain and hoping whoever I select goes mad. Man Utd play Brighton on Friday night, so the deadline is 7pm on Friday.
Captain
It’s really between two for me; Kane and Jesus. Both have two games but whilst Jesus has the better fixtures, he’s not yet as prolific as Kane can be. Kane isn’t in top form but can you ignore his history or his will to break records? It’s a noodle scratcher and not one I can help you with. Sleepless nights await.
My team has a lot of players playing twice, plus Salah and Zaha. I’m pretty sure I’ll do a Spurs player for Van Dijk but the budget is slightly against me.
De Gea, Vertonghen?, Bertrand, Dummett, Sterling, Kenedy, Zaha, Salah, Jesus, Vardy, Kane. Subs: Van La Parra, Ogbonna, Wimmer, Elliot.
The team is pretty poor, really, but they’re playing twice and isn’t that all that matters? Probably not.
Whatever you do with your team, I wish you good luck and may all your arrows be green. See you next week for the finale. Toodles!
