Gameweek 38 Preview: Fantasy Premier League #FPL

Written by John Wallin @FantasyGaffer

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Congratulations to everyone who played the bench boost last week and benefitted from a Captain’s armband on Auba. Generally speaking I now hate the OFPL every bit as much as Mike after making two late changes to my defense (bye-bye Chilwell, hello Naughton, immediate facepalm) resulted in the armband being put on Dusan M-F-ing TADIC. Honestly, this game should be coded so that is not even within the realm of possible. Tadic, pronounced tadthere-is-no-bloody-way-to-predict-when-he-will-perform-and-also-why-is-he-being-substituted-in-the-75-minute-of-every-bloody-matchic.On to better times!

Defender – Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool

With Jurgen Klopp’s side needing to beat one of Brighton or Real Madrid to confirm their place in the Champions League next season, I’ll expect the full-strength lineup from Liverpool in both matches. VVD hasn’t been a very good fantasy asset on a per-match basis this season but he does have six cleansheets in his last 11 League appearances including three in his last five and blanks over Stoke, Bournemouth and Everton. Visiting Brighton have only scored 34 goals, fourth worst in the division. At 7% owned, he’s a decent bet to pick up 6pts on Sunday without breaking the bank.

Midfielder – Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace

Wilf is legend. He’s kicking Palace towards the finish line with four goals and four assists since GW30. In that span the Eagles have notched four wins including a combined 7-1 scoreline over Leicester and Stoke in the most recent two. At £7.0m and 8.3% owned, he is also a decent play as a massive differential captain; fewer than 1% of teams will hand him the armband against a slate of top-class options playing in favorable matchups. 8g and 7a this term means he just needs the club to replicate their 5-0 win over the Foxes, with the Ivorian having a hand in all of them, to take up his rightful place as a double-double player. Rated £70m in articles this week (which is absurd in a market where Naby Kieta and Nabil Fakir are available for less) the 25-year-old might even be worth paying a -4 hit ahead of Sunday’s action.

Forward – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Arsenal

If you thought Harry Kane was getting anywhere near this column this week you’ve sadly misjudged my pettiness. There is no hotter player in FPL right now that the Arsenal forward – and that includes this weekend’s Captain pick. He’s played 12 matches for Arsenal and recorded nine goals with four assists and 10 BPS (collecting the maximum thrice). He’s blanked just once since GW29 – and that includes salvaging four points in a 20′ cameo against West Ham where he added a late assist. Arsenal are a fucking mess – 5-0 win followed by a 3-1 away loss to a Leicester side which had just lost their previous match 5-0 TO CRYSTAL PALACE. Huddersfield have done leal service in the past few weeks as they guaranteed Premier League survival but this is Wenger’s last and it will be a win.

Captain – Dusan Tadic, Southampton Mohamed Salah, Liverpool

Plenty of us sold Mo to get the better match-ups of DGW midfielders last week. The overall ownership his dipped from 3.7 million to “just” 3.1 meaning a scant 55% of sides include the Egyptian. If you sold him, make do with Auba, Stering or Tadic (if you have no soul and want to mock me). Salah has not blanked in three straight matches all season. Salah needs just one goal to set the EPL record for single-season scoring. Salah is a mere 8pts away from the mythical 300pt plateau. Salah is your captain. He is all of our captain. Enjoy his last match in your fantasy midfield.

Outsider – Yaya Toure, Manchester City

The big man isn’t going out without a goal. After getting the start in his last home match for City, expect Pep to hand him another start as the midfielder celebrates his 35h birthday. I mean, Man City wouldn’t ever forget Yaya’s birthday, right? £6.0 for a player owned in fewer than 1% of all teams and is guaranteed to break his 2017-18 League duck in his last bow for the club he’s called home since 2010? That’s some sweet, sweet FPL differential action. Oh, and it’s nailed on he’ll be on penalties with Gabriel Jesus even-odds to get sent off in the first half following his second yellow card for simulation.

Draft – James McArthur, Crystal Palace

While Wilf has drawn the plaudits, McArthur has been massive for the scoring in Togga’s draft game. he’s averaging nearly 15 points per match over his last three and now has five goals with two assists this season. He might not get much past the 10+ plateau in this one, but he is only 13% selected by managers in draft league. If he does get the start this weekend, make the pivot to West Ham’s Joao Mario. The midfielder has been playing in the front three for David Moyes and hit the heady heights of 26 points with his goal against Leicester (and the drag 0-0 against United giving him a nominal DGW). He is a big swing player with three weeks of 14+ and five weeks of fewer than six points. 30% selected he’ll be available if you need a late add.

John (aka FantasyGaffer) has been playing fantasy sports for more than a decade.

An avid supporter of Liverpool since the days of the Spice Boys, he has earnestly worn a white suit on multiple occasions. You’ll find his work on fantasy draft site PlayTogga.

Prior to joining Togga, he wrote for EPLIndex, MLB.com/fantasy, BackPageFootball and his own site, FantasyGaffer.