#FPL Gameweek 32 Preview

Written by @CraigHazell

 You can also listen to Craig, Tom and Ash on their Fantasy Football Podcast – The Gaffer Tapes

DEFENDER: Azpilicueta, Chelsea

Amen! The Internationals are over! England went from being definite champions of Europe to inevitable failures within the space of a week and various journalists pencilled a hilarious BrExit headline for when we are knocked out in the first knockout round by Poland or similar. Now, back to the real deal. And by real deal, I mean grown men and women spending hours debating between picking people they will never meet. All totally healthy.  Aston Villa finally let go of Remi Garde this week and while that can sometimes have a positive effect on a team, I just can’t see one positive within that squad. They play a revitalised Chelsea and if you want an easy 6 points then Mr Azpilicueta looks a decent shout. He’s played 90 minutes in nearly every match this season and I can’t see anything other than a Chelsea shutout.

MIDFIELDER: Arnautovic, Stoke

It’s at this time of the season you have to start gauging who still has anything to play for and who still cares? It has become increasingly abundant that I have neither anything to play for nor do I care but that’s no mystery. (Ed: Turn that frown upside down!) Swansea, however are now safe. They’re ten points above the drop zone and while it was scary for a little bit they now look in the clear. This could mean they suddenly start to play with the freedom that served them so well in seasons past but I suspect Stoke might make light work of them. Stoke are on of the few sides that would actually like to play in the Europa League and while it’s unlikely they won’t stop until it’s mathematically impossible. And even then Ryan Shawcross will need to be told by someone else. So, my pick in midfield this week is Arnautovic who has been one of the FPL starts of the season while still constantly under the 12% picked barrier.

FORWARD: Lukaku, Everton

He’s being linked to PSG and Real Madrid so we may as well pick Romelu Lukaku while we still can! He’s an old FPL favourite and I think it still baffles anyone who’s ever watched a game of football, why he isn’t in the Chelsea team. This pick isn’t revolutionary but it is with one eye on the next two weeks with Everton now involved in 2 little DGWs. I can also see big Rom giving United’s centre halves a torrid time.

CAPTAIN: Payet, West Ham

I’m going with a West Ham double for the last two. I have a lot of Palace fans interact with me on twitter and I’m sorry guys but you look like the worst team in the league on current form. Some safety complacency might have snuck in but the Hammers certainly don’t have that. They still have top 4 aspirations and rightly so! Dimitri Payet has been my favourite player this season (except for Jan Molby – he’s my favourite every season) and he is now doing it on the International stage too. I’ll be taking a risk and captaining him among the sea of Aguero and Kane captaincies.

OUTSIDER: Sakho, West Ham

The other West Ham pick is Mr Sakho. He has been returning from injury, managed 30 minutes, then 60 minutes in the last couple of weeks and grabbed himself a goal. West Ham have coped without him with Eminike and Antonio contributing goals from midfield but they are undoubtedly stronger with Sakho and at under 2% picked I think he could be a decent shout.

Written by @CraigHazell

 You can also listen to Craig, Tom and Ash on their Fantasy Football Podcast – The Gaffer Tapes

Craig Hazell is a television professional, writer and Heart of Midlothian fan who makes up one third of the popular FPL podcast The Gaffer Tapes. As a student, Craig won the BBC Sports Broadcaster and Comedy Broadcaster of the year, before going onto to be a regular on the London open mic comedy circuit. He now writes about anything from TV & Movies, to food and of course football, providing he can shoehorn a 90s pop culture reference into just about anything.

Check out The Gaffer Tapes Podcast Here