The Digest – Gameweek 36

The timely return to form of Alexis Sanchez, Manchester City’s multitude of Double Gameweek 37 options and the fall-out from a potential early title win for Chelsea are our main points of note as Gameweek 36 finally concluded on Wednesday evening.

The Player

It says everything about his recent output that Alexis Sanchez headed into Arsenal’s Double Gameweek 36 with just 27% ownership.

The top-scoring player in Fantasy Premier League, the Chilean was captained by only 11.2% of managers (492,990) for encounters with Manchester United and Southampton after netting just one goal in six prior to the Gunners’ pair of fixtures.

Tellingly, however, 53 of the top 100 managers prior to Gameweek 36 kept faith in Sanchez’s armband credentials and were rewarded with a first double-digit haul since Gameweek 25 against Hull.

To underline his explosive potential, Sanchez was the only one of the top 17 captains to deliver at least 10 points, with Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne (sporting 34,365 FPL armbands) the next most selected captain to serve up double figures.

Given that most of us have now played our Wildcards, the final two Gameweeks – as evidenced by last night – could now come down to the Sanchez haves and have-nots and how much faith we place in Alexis.

Encouragingly for his owners, the Gunners’ quest for their annual top-four finish gives the South American plenty still to play for – one thing’s for sure, neither Sanchez nor Arsenal will be lacking the motivation.

While the clamour to acquire Man City’s main assets escalates, Arsenal’s Double Gameweek 37, comprising of a trip to Stoke City and a home encounter against relegated Sunderland, offers the Chilean a chance to build on last night’s renaissance, cementing his place at the FPL summit.

The Team

As the only side offering two home fixtures in Double Gameweek 37, Man City passed their audition for our attention with flying colours in the 5-0 hammering of Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.

From back to front, Pep Guardiola’s side hand us options aplenty.

A third clean sheet in four helped Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi deliver double-digits as both also found the net against the Eagles. Having also scored against Southampton in Gameweek 33, Kompany has delivered 34 points in four appearances to earn over 44,000 transfers-in – more than any other defender in the Gameweek.

Although the 4.7-priced Willy Caballero offers a seemingly secure pick between the posts due to Claudio Bravo’s season-ending injury, most of us are keen to invest in City’s attack as they look to take advantage of upcoming visits from Leicester City and West Bromwich Albion.

With the race for a top three finish now in their hands, Kevin De Bruyne picked the perfect time to deliver his biggest haul of the season. A 17-point return helped the Belgian emerge as the midfielder of choice for the double, acquired by over 63,000 new owners on the back of two double-digit hauls in four. With an ownership at 8.4%, he could prove the ultimate differential and a potential mini-league decider.

Meanwhile, a supporting cast offers value on the flanks. Over the last four Gameweeks, Leroy Sane has produced more shots on target than any midfield team-mate, while Raheem Sterling has fired more efforts inside the opposition box.

At 7.7 and 7.5 respectively, the pair are far easier on the budget for those who baulk at the Belgian’s hefty 10.4 price tag.

Up top, Gabriel Jesus remains the go-to man for FPL managers. Number one for transfers-in (222,000+) last week, he’s once again been subject to more new owners than anyone, with over 108,000 snapping up his services.

Despite picking up just a single assist in the demolition of Sam Allardyce’s side, the January signing still boasts an impressive 7.2 points per start and is the leader in this week’s Captain Poll.

While many sides are already on the beach or perhaps lack motivation, City’s quest for victories could play a prominent part in how the penultimate Gameweek of 2016/17 pans out.

The Talking Point

Gameweek 36 immediately went off-script under the London Stadium lights on Friday night.

Spurs made their way to West Ham on the back of nine straight victories, knowing that a tenth would cut Chelsea’s lead at the summit to just a single point.

Instead, a 1-0 loss has placed many of our best-laid plans in disarray as talk turns to potential rotation and lack of motivation for the remaining two Gameweeks.

As discussed already this week, a win for Chelsea at West Brom on Friday would seal the title before Spurs even take to the pitch.

That would leave the Blues with Watford and Sunderland still to play at the Bridge in addition to an FA Cup final clash with Arsenal on May 27.

As this recent hot topic indicates, Conte has a history of rotating when the title has been sewn up early at his previous club, Juventus.

Although we can expect a degree of tinkering if they get over the finishing line early, the schedule perhaps hints at less chopping and changing than anticipated.

Chelsea have six days between the second match of Gameweek 37 and their Gameweek 38 encounter with the Black Cats, then another six days before the Wembley clash with Arsene Wenger’s side.

Fatigue won’t be an issue, then, although you’d expect the likes of John Terry – in his final year at the club – to start against Sunderland. Meanwhile, Cesc Fabregas could also be assured of starts should Conte keep N’Golo Kante in storage, although the latter has now been passed fit from a thigh problem for tomorrow’s trip to West Brom.

One factor that won’t come into it is winners’ medals.

A player needs to feature at least five times to qualify, and only three Chelsea squad members are under that tally. Unfortunately for Nathan Ake and Asmir Begovic, they’ve played just one league match apiece for the Blues and only have three fixtures left.

Should Conte get all sentimental, Ola Aina – a defender with two brief sub appearances totalling ten minutes – could potentially claim a medal if he plays some part in each of those remaining league encounters.

For Spurs, last year’s end-of-season capitulation – they fell to defeats against Southampton and Newcastle after their title bid was extinguished – is now a factor for many.

Yet while they will lack the motivation of playing for the Premier League crown if Chelsea beat the Baggies, it’s still worth noting that Sunday’s home clash against Man United will be Spurs’ final match after 118 years at White Hart Lane.

Surely, you’d think, Pochettino will name his strongest line-up for such an occasion – regardless of the outcome at The Hawthorns beforehand.

Furthermore, with Harry Kane looking to make up a three-goal deficit on Romelu Lukaku in his quest to reclaim the Golden Boot, Spurs’ main men could still be a factor with clashes against Leicester City and Hull City to follow.