Tips Game-week 37 The Last Chance Saloon – FPL Fantasy Football Premier League

So here we are… our penultimate game-week and just to make things that little more interesting it’s a double. As we have learnt over the course of the season double game-weeks have the ability to bring so much joy to us fantasy managers, but they can quite easily drive us to drink! For many of us it really is the last chance saloon as we try to make up ground, so don’t be afraid to go all in on the double. We’re pretty sure that the majority of your transfers this week will be primarily focused on the double game-week and therefore we have decided to focus solely on players from five of the six teams involved, the 6th being Aston Villa!

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Goalkeepers
The Ryan Giggs era at Old Trafford got off to a flying start as United registered a comfortable 4-0 victory at home to Norwich on Saturday and as a result David de Gea owners picked up six easy points. With two home games against Sunderland & Hull in this week’s double game-week we are confident that the Spaniard will pick up at least one clean sheet, most likely against a Hull side who have all but assured themselves of top flight football next season and clearly have one eye on Wembley. While you would have to assume that Giggs will stick with the back four that started against Norwich nothing is guaranteed and therefore de Gea possibly represents the safest route into the United backline and while at £5.8m he is not cheap his remaining fixtures are very tempting.

Manchester City made the most of Liverpool’s slip up against Chelsea as they eased to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon and in doing so they looked quite solid at the back although this was possibly due to Palace’s deficiencies in attack. Whatever the reason, the clean sheet is likely to give the City defence a confidence boost as they head into the double game-week and therefore we’re confidently tipping Joe Hart. Granted the first of their double game-week games is against Everton, where they don’t have a great record, but what really swings it for Hart is the fact that City’s 2nd game of the week is at home to Villa who have scored just twice in their last five games. City also play host to West Ham in GW38.

As we have noted a number of times over the course of the season, we do realise that many of you are reluctant to spend big on a keeper and therefore might be hesitant to invest in either de Gea or Hart, even at this late stage of the season. If this is you, you could always consider either West Brom’s Ben Foster or our old favourite, Sunderland’s Vito Mannone. West Brom would appear to have saved their best form of the season until the very end and sit 11th in the current form table with three wins & two draws from their last eight games. Foster has been in good form of late, with two clean sheets in his last four appearances as well as two penalty saves in his last six. Granted West Brom have a somewhat difficult double but they are in decent form and they’re still not safe so we expect them to fight for everything. Just when it looked like Sunderland were doomed they go all Steve McQueen on us and have taken seven points from a possible nine, which includes a draw away to City and a win at Stamford Bridge. Mannone had a miracle game against Chelsea and despite conceding a goal he still managed to pick up six points thanks to the 14 saves he made! Given form & fixtures Mannone at £4.6m possibly represents the best value for money of all the keepers who will feature in the double game-week.

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Defenders
As we have suggested above, we wouldn’t be at all surprised if Giggs decides to start with the same back 4 against Sunderland as he did against Norwich. However, there are a number of questions that need answering such as what happens should Rafael be declared fit and can Rio Ferdinand play on Saturday and again on Tuesday? Should Rafael be declared fit this might see him start at right back with Jones being benched or alternatively Jones could be moved into the centre with Rio being benched – of course this counts for nothing should Rafael remain out and then of course there’s Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling to consider!!  So as you can see, what initially looked quite straightforward is in fact rather complex. So where does this leave us from a fantasy football point of view? We’re going to recommend a safety first policy here and therefore our tips are Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. Vidic has been in and out of the side this season although the fact that he’s off to Inter this summer might have had something to do with that, but despite his imminent departure Giggs had no hesitation in recalling him to the starting XI and we suspect he’ll start the remaining three games. Just like Vidic, Evra might also be off for pastures new and should the Frenchman leave, United will have a difficult job replacing one of their most consistent performers over the past number of seasons. With Giggs clearly encouraging both his full backs to push forward against Norwich we wouldn’t be at all surprised if Evra manages to add to the five assists he has already claimed this season.

It’s pretty safe to assume that Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany & Martin Demichelis will start both games for City, while Aleksandar Kolarov & Gael Clichy will more than likely start one game each. So of the initial three, who do you pick? Well our tips are the Argentine pair of Pablo Zabaleta & Martin Demichelis. As we have alluded to above, we would be confident that City will pick at least one clean sheet in the double and it’s worth highlighting that their last game of the season is at home to West Ham, a game in which we would expect another clean sheet. Both are also capable of picking up some offensive points with Zabaleta getting his name on the score sheet against West Brom to add to his five assists while Demichelis has scored twice in his last eight. On current form we would probably go with Demichelis over Zabaleta and he is £0.3m cheaper.

So having looked at the more expensive defenders who are likely to feature in the double game-week let’s now turn our attentions to those budget friendly options and our picks are Sunderland’s Marcus Alonso, Hull’s James Chester and Jonas Olsson of West Brom. Alonso has made the left back position his own at the Stadium of Light since his January arrival on loan from Fiorentina. Yes there are cheaper options available from the Sunderland rear guard but Alonso has shown a desire to get forward of late and this was rewarded with an assist against Chelsea. Ok, so Hull don’t have the easiest of finishes to the league season and they face two games away from the KC Stadium but one of these is against Villa and at just £3.8m we feel Chester warrants some consideration. Last week we tipped West Brom’s Craig Dawson who didn’t disappoint as the Baggies registered a clean sheet. At just £3.9m we still feel that Dawson is a decent option but with Gareth McAuley potentially returning this week we feel that Olsson is a safer bet.

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Midfielders
Hands up if you were one of the half a million fantasy managers who sold Yaya Toure ahead of GW35? Unsurprisingly the Ivorian made us pay for it as he returned to the starting XI against Palace, scoring one, creating another and picking up the three bonus points in the process. Toure’s stats this season are sensational as he has scored 19 and created 6, while on nine occasions he has registered double points. So basically what we’re saying is, if you sold him buy him back and if you’ve never owned him, well you really should get out more! City now have control of the league and we firmly believe that Yaya will lead them to the title. If you can’t afford Yaya or you already have him but would like a 2nd City midfielder the obvious choice is Samir Nasri. The Frenchman has been in decent form of late and has picked up two goals & four assists in his last eight games and is good value for money at £8.7m. It’s also worth noting that David ‘glass ankles’ Silva is reportedly fit but we would advise you to check in with us for Friday’s Team Talk when we will have all the news from Manuel Pellegrini’s press conference.

When United’s starting XI was announced late last Saturday afternoon there were quite a number of angry fantasy managers around the globe as Giggs had the audacity to leave Juan Mata on the bench. Luckily Giggs came to his senses around the hour mark as he sent the Spaniard into the fray and he didn’t disappoint, claiming two goals as well as two bonus points. Despite this we can’t say for sure that Mata will start both games in the double but at the same time we can’t ignore him, particularly when United have two relatively easy games at Old Trafford. Not only are United’s fixtures very tempting but Mata has five goals & two assists in his last three games, which would suggest he’s on form! So while we can’t guarantee that he will start both games we are quite confident that he will be amongst the fantasy points. For those of you unwilling to shell out £9.8m on Mata you could always take a gamble on Antonio Valencia who is priced at just £7.0m. The Ecuadorian looked lively throughout the 90 minutes against Norwich & was rewarded with an assist and we fully expect Giggs to stick with him over the remaining games.

Our final two midfield tips this week are West Brom’s Morgan Amalfitano and Sunderland’s Emanuele Giaccherini! For those of you who are trying to free up cash to bring in some of the big hitters ahead of the double game-week well then at £4.3m Amalfitano could be the very man for you. Given his recent form (two goals & two assists in his last five) you could potentially play him as your 4th midfielder should you choose to play 3-4-3 this week. When it comes to the Sunderland midfield Adam Johnson has been the popular choice all season and we suspect that this will again be the case for the double, however our tip from the Mackems midfield is Giaccherini. Granted the Italian would be a massive gamble considering his lack of game time, but despite this he has a goal & three assists in Sunderland’s last three games and it wouldn’t surprise us if Gus Poyet decides to start him against United.

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Forwards
As we head into the final double game-week of the season both form and fixtures would suggest that Wayne Rooney is the forward we all need to own. In his last eight appearances Rooney has managed eight goals & one assist and with Ryan Giggs having removed the shackles we expect United to create plenty of chances which would suggest that Rooney will remain amongst the goals. His price has rocketed up from £11.1m after GW35 to £11.7m, however we do believe that his acquisition would be money well spent and he is ideal captain material for this game-week. It’s also worth noting that a certain Robin van Persie resumed training last Friday and it would appear that there is a possibility that the Dutchman could be involved against Sunderland. If he does make it he could represent an excellent differential, albeit an expensive one. What his involvement might mean for Wayne Rooney & Juan Mata we’re not sure, but as long as van Persie has his space he’s unlikely to care!

Since his return from injury Sergio Aguero has not managed to play a full 90 minutes and has certainly not looked 100% fit, despite this he has still managed a goal and two assists in his last three games. He has lasted longer with each game so he is surely close to full match fitness, but we’re not quite sure as to how he’ll cope with two games inside a week. We all know just how explosive the Argentine can be and with City gunning for the title we wouldn’t be at all surprised should Aguero make this game-week his own and it will be a brave manager who chooses to ignore him! Should you for one reason or another choose to ignore Aguero you could always consider his strike partner Edin Dzeko. As you are all well aware Dzeko is not in the same class as Aguero but he is over £5.5m cheaper than the Argentinian and he has chipped in with 12 goals and 6 assists this season. With Yaya Toure and possibly David Silva back for City they will create plenty of chances over the double game-week and we feel as though it would be wise to have one of either Aguero or Dzeko in your side, preferably Aguero!

How many of you had never heard of Connor Wickham until he scored twice against City in GW34? Don’t lie, we know who you are, but we won’t embarrass you! Should Sunderland manage to secure top flight football for next season they will have a lot to thank Wickham for as the youngster has plundered five goals and an assist from the clubs last three games. At just £4.7m you can undoubtedly afford him and his acquisition will most certainly free up funds, while he’s most certainly a differential, featuring in just 1.4% of teams. His strike partner Fabio Borini is also worth some consideration and while Borini is considerably more expensive it is worth nothing that he is on spot kick duty!

Thanks for reading Tips Game-week 37 The Last Chance Saloon this article was written by Kop