CHELSEA, MANCHESTER CITY PLAYERS AND ISAK AS CAPTAIN AMONG FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE TIPS FOR SEASON’S FINAL DOUBLE GAMEWEEK

• The last 'doubler' of the season is likely to see several FPL managers activate their Bench Boost chip
• For those looking for a differential, the obvious one is not picking Erling Haaland as captain but Newcastle's Alexander Isak

The penultimate round of fixtures in the English Premier League kicks off on Saturday and with it comes another highly anticipated Double Gameweek.

The last "doubler" (where some teams play two games in one week) of the season is likely to see a number of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers activate their Bench Boost chip, which could lead to triple-figure points, meaning the chance of a green arrow could be high.

Double Gameweek 34 averaged 76 points per manager, while the highest scorer earned 219. The doubler in Gameweek 25 brought an average of 73 points, with a high of 162.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

Overall, Gameweek 36 was a high-scoring affair itself, with 71 points earned on average and the highest-scoring manager hitting 161.

With big points potentially up for grabs in the final FPL push, it could be the last-chance saloon for those looking to climb up mini-leagues or improve their overall ranking.

Gameweek 36 recap

There is only one place to start regarding last week's on-the-pitch performances and that is with Manchester City's Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian bagged four goals against Wolves in the early hours of Sunday morning in Hong Kong and gave those who had him as captain a whopping 42 points.

A special shout-out goes to Burnley goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, who scored 25 points in his past three games, despite not keeping a clean sheet in any of them and shipping four against Newcastle on Saturday.

Against the Magpies, Muric saved a penalty for five points and made a total of seven saves to score three bonus points.

Hats off to the 0.3 per cent of managers who own him.

Double Gameweek 37

Managers can expect that anyone who still has their Bench Boost will be activating it before Saturday's 6pm deadline.

Transfers in over the past few weeks suggest the strategy for many has been about getting players from Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham, Brighton, Manchester City and Manchester United as they all play twice.

Chelsea arguably have the best fixtures, with away games against Nottingham Forest and Brighton.

Blues forward Nicolas Jackson, midfielder Cole Palmer and keeper Dorde Petrovic are likely triple-ups.

Most managers will also opt for three City players, probably out of Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, Haaland, Ederson and Josko Gvardiol.

Tottenham have kept only two clean sheets in their past 26 Premier League games, so the question is whether Pedro Porro's potential attacking returns are worth his inclusion.

Son Heung-min is an obvious pick, but is there room for a double-up with Richarlison? The Brazilian has 10 goals and one assist in his past 16 appearances, but the question of minutes per game looms large.

For those looking for a Gameweek 37 differential, the obvious answer is not captaining Haaland, who will be most managers' choice to wear the armband.

Another good captain option would be Newcastle's Alexander Isak, who has a home game against Brighton before travelling to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

Looking ahead

Unless necessary, do not make any transfers in Gameweek 37 as having as many free moves as possible for the final week of the season would be beneficial.

Two free transfers would make it easier to bring in high-value players, such as Mohamed Salah.

The Egyptian has been transferred out almost 150,000 times this week, despite getting a goal and two assists against Spurs, because he had only one fixture in Gameweek 37.

Although we recommended transferring Salah out last weekend, and lots of players did, his subsequent low ownership means he could be a differential in the last game of the season, with the potential to score highly against Wolves at home.

More Articles from SCMP

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s Serbia trip ‘timed to increase tensions’ with West, US envoy says

Amid China tech advances, US national security is ‘foremost’: top Biden official

Hackers breach computer systems of International Baccalaureate authority in bid to ‘cancel’ exams

Letter by US politicians to ICC undermines international law

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

2024-05-09T00:17:54Z dg43tfdfdgfd