FPL Fixtures Analysis Gameweek 36
Welcome to FPL Fixtures Analysis Gameweek 36. We’re very nearly there, the finish line is so very close. With just three more gameweeks to go, and a slew of of DGWs thrown in there, this end to the year will be one of the most eventful we’ve seen in some time. And with all of the doubles available, it’s sort of exciting in the sense that there’s still room for some movement in the ranks in these last days of the league.
But with the gluttony of DGWs, there is also the option to choose your teams poorly – the end of the season definitely has the feel that there is a right and wrong answer to the problem of building your team, doesn’t it? You’ll notice that I haven’t included Southampton nor Arsenal in my best bets section this week. I’m not putting them down as teams to avoid, but I feel like they’re going to be a sucker bet for people thinking that their next two rounds will have unlimited potential for points. Maybe I’m just getting cranky in my old age, or maybe the MLS has killed off my love of DGWs altogether. I’m not sure. But if you roll into this week with six total Arsenal and Southampton players in your team, just know that I’m somewhere shaking my head at you. Not only shaking my head, but wagging my finger also. That’s how you know I’m truly mad. Don’t make me wag the finger at you. Be smart.
Top 3 Best Bets
#1) Chelsea – MID (H), WBA (A), WAT (H), SUN (H)
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[/three_fifth]Chelsea are 4 points ahead of Tottenham at the moment, and that means that all they need to clinch the title is to win three of their next four matches. And without giving a ton of preamble about how great Chelsea are, let’s just look at their opponents first. Now seeing that list, you tell me if there’s any way that one of those teams has a chance against Chelsea. I mean, this is the bingo bango bongo pick of all time. Three home games, all against inferior teams…and they get to play Sunderland? This is such a no-brainer that it would be insulting to your intelligence if I somehow had to ‘make a case’ for Chelsea being the odds on favourite for the pick of the week.
So I won’t. I’m not going to advocate for Chelsea here in the hopes that you’ll stack three of their players on your team instead of going hard on Arsenal (“…but Guy, they have two DGW’s!”). I tend to figure that if you select Arsenal and Southampton at the cost of not maxing out your Chelsea allotment, you kind of deserve whatever you get. Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t have Arsenal/Southy players on your squad, just make sure you have the proven winners in your side first.
Again, I’m not making a case for Chelsea, you’re too smart for that. I’m just telling you what you already know. But when the leading scorers in the league (72 GF) get this kind of schedule, you have to take notice. Not a single one of their opponents has a positive GD in this stretch, and Chelsea just aren’t going to leave points on the table against that level of competition.
#2) Tottenham – WHU (A), MUN (H), LEI (A), HUL (A)
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[/three_fifth]If Chelsea are #1 in the list, Spurs are probably more of a #1A than #2. But due to strict internet guidelines, I’m not legally allowed to make picks as such, there has to be a clear order involved when making rankings. So even though Chelsea seemingly have this season wrapped up, and they have the best schedule possible, Spurs are still refusing to concede points and continue to steamroll through their own schedule. And they seemingly have everything going right for them at the moment; from top to bottom, there isn’t a real weak link in their style of play.
Their attack is consistent; between Kane, Alli, Eriksen and Son, there doesn’t seem to be any real chance that this team won’t put goals through every single match. Their defence is amazing; we know that their overall record for GA is phenomenal (only 22GA through 34 games), but they’re also on another run of form having not conceded a goal in their last four matches. So like I said, there isn’t a facet of this team that isn’t going to return fantasy points in some fashion or another. Both front and back, they’ve really been the best bet all season.
And when you look at this schedule, it’s hard to see where this team doesn’t wrap up their season grabbing the final 12 points available. West Ham are coming off of back to back nil-nil draws and can’t get any traction at the moment – and prior to that they failed to beat Sunderland in another draw, and not beating Sunderland is just not allowable. So the Hammers aren’t really a worry home or away for Spurs. Man United are a MASH unit right now. They may have to spring a bit of a surprise or two in attack based on their needs, but they’re stretched so thin at the back that Spurs should outscore them anyway. Leicester are overmatched here, no worries so far on that game. And finally, Hull? No chance.
#3) Man City – CRY (H), LEI (H), WBA (H), WAT (A)
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[/three_fifth]It’s almost not even fair that three of the top teams in the league have such easy schedules to end the year. But Man City, like Chelsea and Tottenham, can’t be denied a spot in the rankings this week. The real problem is figuring out how you’re going to afford all the players from these three teams. Oh that’s right, you’re going to pick up Arsenal and Southampton on the cheap (“Back to back DGW’s, baby! Woooo!”). And I get it, I have Gabbiadini in my team too, and he’s just swell lately, isn’t he?
Listen, all of the personal dialogue in this article is kind of like what you’d hear in a bad movie. I’m that drunken father character berating his oldest son, telling him how worthless he is and how he’ll never amount to nuthin’. But the audience, savvy as they are, know that the father isn’t talking to the son, he’s talking to himself. And that’s deep.
So let me tell you, dear reader, I’m not making fun of you for thinking that Southampton and Arsenal are better than my picks here. I have Gabbiadini and…Walcott…on my team. And I’m ashamed of myself. Just don’t make the same mistakes I’ve made. I’ll sober up, you’ll go off to college and make a name for this family. And our fantasy teams will be the talk of the town for years to come. You’ll see.
…Ok, so back to the actual advice in this article. Sorry, I went off on a tangent there, but we’ll find our way back. Let’s look at City’s schedule there for a minute. Not only do they have three home games, but they get their next three home games in a row. By the time they have to travel to Watford, they’ll have already wrapped up their spot in the Top 4, and they’ll still be relatively fresh from the complete lack of travel they’ll have to do in the month of May. And I’m not being bold when I say they’ll have the Top 4 spot wrapped up. When looking comparatively at the schedules of the teams in their point range, City have the easiest route to locking that down.
Teams To Avoid
Everton – SWA (A), WAT (H), ARS (A)
I’m sure many people wouldn’t have been tempted by Everton simply due to their lack of having a DGW to close out the year. But this team still has the league’s leading scorer in Lukaku (with a three goal buffer no less), and there will be people that will prefer a 90 minute guaranteed top player over a 180 minute potential output from a lesser one. But here’s the thing: Everton have closed up shop. They’re not playing for anything anymore, and it shows. The Chelsea defeat was probably inevitable, but their lack of caring about the outcome was surprising. Avoid this team and invest elsewhere.
West Brom – BUR (A), CHE (H), MCI (A), SWA (A)
On paper, this looks like it could be a little inviting for somebody to try to get a cheap defender or mid from West Brom to help round out your squad elsewhere. But this team is stagnant, and they’re really not worth your time, DGW or not. West Brom didn’t score a single goal in the entire month of April. But it’s not like their defence was much better – they did lose four of those five games. Honestly, there isn’t any part of this team that looks attractive, even if your only goal is to buy a cheap player and hope for the best, you’ll still be disappointed.
The Tracker in full…
Thanks for reading FPL Fixtures Analysis Gameweek 36. This article was written by Guy Sanchez
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Gents
Correct starting 11 for GW36?
spot on tough having to bench sane especially with aguero likely to be out so less likely to be rotated.
I think I’d start Sane instead of King. It’s pretty tough but how long can Kings misshits keep going in lol
Sane has to start for me. Very difficult choice, but I think I’d bench King.
Mitro – I do have a question for you: had you not WC on 35 would you have Gabby on your WC36 team?
Could use some advice.
WC active.
What needs changing?
Thanks!!!
J.
I would downgrade Jags to Holgate and two southampton defenders is risky. You need to get Jesus imo
Thanks!
Will look at those.
any other opinions?
Hey James yes I would dwn grd Jags to Holgate I would want a Che def & I would prefer Eriksen to Ozil not sure how far your away from Jesus then looks a strong team mate.
Cheers!
Hey James !
Pretty much the same advice…
Gabbi to Jesus & Ozil to Erik…
2 So’ton def’s is 1 too much, but I’m sure you have a plan for one of them for DGW37…
Che def would b perfect in there, but not sure you have the $$ for it…
Cheers !
Thanks HL!!!
I’ve been reading WC posts all day and I must have the worst TV on this site cuz I can’t afford any of these!! It’s one Haz/Ozil/Kane or Sanchez/Pedro/Kane or Haz/Sanchez/Rashford combos for me. I’m miles away from Haz/Sanchez/Kane/Costa/Alonso/Cech etc etc. Wait til you see my bare bones WC! :big-lol:
To be honest Colriles I would be looking at WAlly , Tadic , Redmon , Sterling , Eriksen maybe one big MF player I suggest Sanchez as you can get Costa & Jesus & maybe Rashford although I’m not convinced by MU Cheap way in def MC , Ars keepers will probably play all the games cover Sou with Stevens get Davis Spurs all cheap options 😉
Cheers for the reply Silvers. Here’s my non-Hazard team (which scares the crap outta me!) but I’ve owned Pedro for most of the season and can’t argue with his returns.
Willy, Pick
David Luiz, Gabriel, Davies, Stephens, Love
Sanchez, Pedro, Sane, Eriksen, King
Costa, Jesus, Gabby
Colriles you know the risks with Pedro then. Gets points when he plays, is always also at risk of not doing so. Would you not consider a double up on them at the back instead of him? Not sure what that’d leave you to replace him with though?
Can you do Sanchez to Hazard and Pedro to Walcott ?
Yeah that’s low Colriles. Thought mine was until I saw that. Sub 100 takes some doing
Hey guys, how’s everyone doing?
Any suggestions for this team please, currently on a wc.
Very nice looking team that. Benaloune is obviously a risk, but I guess you’d have to lose a key player to change it. Might not be worth disrupting elsewhere.
Keep an eye on Morgan injury. But looks decent to me
Very good team Man U man can’t see any changes I would make 😉
Cheers guys, I think I’m settled on this team now, which worries me ha ha ha.
Looks good, mate !
Benalouane a worry but nobody w/in his price range to replace him…so, understandable choice…
Looks solid !
Cheers bud
How’s this WC team shaping up? Should I do Sanchez to Ozil and boost the defence?
Looks very good to me
Banjo maker Can’t see a lot wrong with team solid mate maybe a Sou def Stephens might also give you a couple of quid as well .
Thanks Silvers. I agree that would be a wise FPL move, but as a Pompey fan my options are limited 😉
looks very descent !
If you wanna chase the DGW hard, I would even do Sane to Walcott (for this GW only!) and then use the FT to get Sane back for DGW37…
Stephens from So’ton could give you a boost for DGW36, as well…
I don’t want descent. It’s ascent I’m after 😉
Thanks HL. I like the Walcott idea, but his gametime would concern me… hmmm.
How about get Ozick for Alli and then change it back for dgw37? We keep forgetting Arsenal have two games in 36 AND that we get a FT ahead of 37!
Özil!
This is my current draft not really happy. I want a double player for King and not sure if I want Gabby in there. Davies is also a worry. Kind of think Gabriel will be ok. Albrighton will probably become Capoue
Does Albrighton to Capoue give you enough for King to Pedro? You could quite easily regret ditching King tho!
Nah I can do Morrison and Pedro. Yeah probably but not had King all season…
It doesn’t jump out as an obvious move to make does it. I guess any team with Sanchez, Hazard, Alli, Jesus, Costa & Kane will have to make cuts somewhere! Costa to Gabby / Rashford would give you loads more options.
Nah it doesn’t exactly. Yeah Costa to Gabby would save a lot of cash
Maybe check out a team with Costa to Gabby, King to Sane & Davies to a Chelsea defender? You may still revert back to this, but might help you decide if you see it.
Gives me this I think
hey Smash. How goes it.
You could take Azpi for an extra 0.1 to take the risk out of Luiz not play
Yeah true. That is an option. Though Gab and Sane will go up in price as will King I expect. Aspil is safer though
Feels ok that Smash. You’ve ticked all the main boxes I think. No Chelsea defence is the only obvious miss but I appreciate you can’t have everything.
Yeah I know all so expensive. Only way I can do that is losing Hazard or Costa I think or even Alli
I lost Hazard for it but then it was for a double up on them and a few tweaks elsewhere too so on balance it felt like an OK pay off.
yeah Hazard is not set in stone for me could easily work
Looks good on paper…
But not sure I like the defense…
I would sacrifice on of the big guns to bring more balance to the team ( a Che def i.e.)…
Just sayin…
id go with top team but do willy to cech, gabriel to blind, davies to azpi, hazard to sane, and look to upgrade albrighton