The week in Fantasy Premier League: Leap of faith required for Arsenal and Southampton assets
Instead, we are left looking glumly at the Arsenal and Southampton squads, knowing deep down that thereâs not a player among them we can confidently rely on for a significant points return over the next two weeks.
How has it come to this?
Itâs a particular problem for the legions of managers set to wildcard this week in preparation for a as they ponder how to spread their resources between players with three, four and five games left to play.
Arsenal and Southampton - what you have, you hold
When it comes to the , while itâs hard to justify selling players from either team, managers should think carefully before recruiting more.
If youâve kept the faith with all through his near-barren spell of the past six Gameweeks, ditching him now simply doesnât make sense - especially ahead of the visit of a depleted side.
Mourinho says he will pick a side to face Arsenal on Sunday with one eye on the Europa League tie against Celta Vigo. #MUFC
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) May 4, 2017
The same goes for , who continues to attract interest, despite seeing his gametime curtailed of late.
But unless for some reason you donât already own one of cut-price Southampton pair of and , those extra fixtures alone should not entitle a player to place in your squad - especially for non-wildcarders.
There's far too much uncertainty in the Arsenal backline to recommend anyone other than the premium-priced Cech, Koscielny and Monreal - and why would you want them anyway? None offer much in the way of attacking threat and they play in a defence which has kept just three clean sheets in 2017.
Arsenal,
— James Yorke (@jair1970) May 1, 2017
Shots on target allowed per game,
Second half of the season: 5.8
Ranks 19th, only Sunderland worse.
For those who havenât completely given up hope of wiping that smug smile off the face of whoeverâs been dominating their mini-league all season - and figure the Double-DGW teams are the best shot they have of doing it - there are players who offer some faint hope.
A missed penalty against Hull summed up the entire season for - all promise, but little in the way of points return.
But the Serbianâs âshots on goalâ and âchances createdâ stats have been up there with the best of them at times this season, including recently - could the next four games finally see him live up to his potential?
That fluffed penalty could be good news for . Although interest has cooled since his absence against Hull, his dead-ball ability and rock-bottom price could yet make him a reasonable fifth-midfielder pick for Bench Boosters.
Back at the Emirates, potential suitors will be hoping that can reproduce his hat-trick heroics on the final day of last season.
His recent lack of starts in a concern, but with Arsenal facing four games in 10 days, heâs guaranteed at least some pitch time, possibly up front, which may increase should he impress.
The same could be said for and , who mirror Walcott for big-points pedigree as well as poor form - but represent a painful step up in price.
So in terms of consistency and regularity of starts, few players from either team can be relied upon. But if youâre prepared to leave well alone, you could steal a march on your rivals now by snapping up assets from teams that have both and are sure to be on the top of everyoneâs shopping list next week.
Manchester City
As those crucial end-of-season fixtures approach, FPL managers are scrambling to get the âessentialâ players in place - , and (possibly) . We must now consider another name to add to that list - .
An injury to has thrust the young Brazilian into the FPL spotlight, depriving the more canny FPL managers of what could have been a cunning transfer.
Seems to be a wall of silence around Aguero and his possible injury. Doubt he'll play Saturday, but beyond that who knows
— Sam Lee (@SamLee) May 4, 2017
The extent of Agueroâs injury has been unclear but, in truth, Jesus was always going to start in front of him anyway and should be back to his lethal best after completing 90 minutes against Middlesbrough.
Should Agueroâs injury turn out to be as serious as feared, his absence also makes the task of picking up much easier.
Pep has already stated that âSergio and Gabriel can play together if that's the way we want to play. If you want to play with wingers it is more complicated for them to playâ. So it stands to reason that the opposite is true, clearing the way for the pacey German to take on the Palace, Leicester, West Brom and Watford defences in Cityâs final four matches.
Given the recent rotation and injury uncertainty, the Man City defence is a veritable minefield, although the value offered by is hard to resist.
Tottenham
Of the rest of the teams with four fixtures remaining, Tottenham continue to be the form team in the league and cannot be ignored.
The likes of , and hardly need highlighting at this stage, but their goalscoring exploits have taken some of the attention off a defence that has returned an incredible five clean sheets in their last six games.
A stubborn injury to Danny Rose has seen lead a somewhat charmed life in the Spurs rearguard - but it looks set to continue for another while yet.
Danny Rose continues to step up his recovery from a knee ligament injury "with a view to returning to full training next week." #COYS
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) May 4, 2017
For those looking for a completely risk-averse Spurs option, is nailed-on and has taken to venturing forward lately, registering six goal attempts in as many matches.
Best of the rest
players will also feature heavily in wildcard teams, but come with a health warning.
Should The Blues wrap up the title by GW38 (or earlier) expect to see the likes of John Terry and Nathan Ake feature as Conte rests key players ahead of their FA Cup final on May 27.
Indeed, end-of-season matches traditionally see heavy rotation as managers of teams with nothing left to play for begin experimenting with new formations and fronge players.
Whilst this shouldnât dominate your team selection, it provides yet another reason why those âon the beachâ teams are probably best avoided - along with players who are veritable FPL kryptonite at the moment.
Anyone with no Double Gameweek worth considering?
With all these Double Gameweeks on offer, any investment in a player without at least one represents a mathematical risk.
may tempt some, but they have looked rather toothless of late and FPL managers could be better served by waiting until GW38 when they face Middlesbrough at Anfield.
The form of has tailed off lately, but thereâs certainly a case for including him as he eyes this seasonâs Golden Boot.
At best, using your wildcard on any player with just three fixtures remaining represents a gamble.
There is one notable exception to this however, in the form of the almighty.
An injury to Benik Afobe should promote him to the role of Bournemouthâs lone striker, providing another (by now superfluous) reason why you absolutely have to get this seasonâs Riyad Mahrez into your squad.
And donât forgetâŠ.
The next two Gameweek deadlines come on a Friday evening rather than the usual Saturday afternoon, so get those transfers sorted in plenty of time.
Just noticed that we have 2 x Friday deadlines coming up in #FPL
— Andy (@LetsTalk_FPL) April 25, 2017
GW36 deadline = 7pm, Fri 5th May
GW37 deadline = 6:45pm, Fri 12th May
QUICK TIP
For those on or looking to wildcard, took some time off from shutting down internet haters recently to provide a top-notch analysis of how player ownership can be used to tailor your list of transfer targets and is well worth checking out.
I cannot possibly do a RMT for every Wildcard squad I'm seeing (most of them are template anyway) so here's my generic advice.#FPL #GW35 pic.twitter.com/stHOWLi10p
— GadFly* đ» (@FPL_Fly) April 29, 2017
BUY
With huge numbers expected to captain him this week, anyone defending a high ranking would be well advised to have in place.
For those looking to make up ground, form players like of and could run riot when they face Middlesbrough and Watford respectively.
#watfordfc face a defensive crisis. Kaboul and Cathcart are already ruled out while Mazzarri won't know until Friday if Holebas can feature.
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) May 4, 2017
TRY
For those who have already played their Bench Boost, could be an intriguing option.
Spurs needn't worry if Kyle Walker leaves in the transfer window as Kieran Trippier is a great replacement https://t.co/4HPb9Ppt8T #THFC pic.twitter.com/tHcUSalGae
— 11versus11 (@11versus11) May 4, 2017
A mere ÂŁ4.8m for an attacking left-back in the best defence in the league is the stuff FPL dreams are made of, and want-away Kyle Walker is seeing his starts curtailed by his notoriously hardline manager.
Pochettino confirms Kyle Walker is in contention to face WHU, but won't respond to questions on whether the full-back is unsettled. #COYS
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) May 4, 2017
Trippier could be a fantastic cheap differential, but a note of caution here - he has been subbed on late in three of the last seven games.
GOODBYE
Fit or not, represents a massive outlay that is better spent elsewhere, most notably on the player likely to take his place in Man City's forward line.
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