Double Gameweek 34 was the final nail in the coffin for those of us who have endured a frustrating season.
Wildcarders watched on in horror as the players they shipped out racked up the points while the new recruits failed to fire.
Going into the Brighton vs Cardiff game on Tuesday, I was on a measly 31 points, meanwhile my old friend Callum Wilson (£6.6m) and his teammate Ryan Fraser (£6.3m) (both of whom were in my Gameweek 33 team and blanked) had managed 31 points between them in the 5-0 hammering of Brighton. Talk about kicking a man when he’s down.
Two points from captain Shane Duffy (£4.8m) was painful. Never captain a defender they said. They were right. Brighton are in big trouble. Shipping their assets for a hit this week is not the worst idea as they face two difficult away matches now.
Manchester City and Spurs treated us to one of the most entertaining Champions League matches in recent memory on Wednesday night.
City won 4-3 on the night but Spurs qualified for the semi-finals on the away goals rule.
It was frustrating to watch in a way as a Fantasy manager with the likes of Raheem Sterling (£11.5m), Kevin De Bruyne (£9.7m), Sergio Aguero (£11.7m), Son Heung-min (£8.8m) and Christian Eriksen (£9.3m) heavily involved in the goals. Let’s hope for more of the same in the league fixture on Saturday so we can reap the rewards.
More importantly, City going out of the Champions League bodes well for their assets in FPL.
We should see less rotation now from Pep Guardiola as they aim to fight off the challenge of Liverpool for the title.
This makes Sterling and co. even more attractive for the run-in. A City triple-up will be on the minds of managers between now and the end of the season.
On the other hand, Mauricio Pochettino is likely to manage the minutes of his players with the games against Ajax on the horizon. The good news is that Son picked up a yellow card against City, so he’s now banned for the first leg of the semi-final making him less likely to need a rest.
Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) and Sadio Mané (£10.1m) continued their fine form with a goal apiece against Porto which sealed Liverpool’s passage to the last four.
The Reds face Cardiff (away) and Huddersfield (home) in their next two games. If you don’t own either, it’s advisable to get at least one of them in.
Some managers who set up to Bench Boost this week are now having second thoughts particularly if they own Troy Deeney (£5.9m) and double/triple Brighton.
There is logic to postponing it especially if you still have your triple captain chip which could be used instead this week. It’s worth considering at least.
You could save a transfer this week with a view to Bench Boosting in Gameweek 36 or 37.
Gameweek 38 feels risky for that chip as there is often rotation on the final day.
There is a wide range of captaincy options for Double Gameweek 35 which should make it an interesting one. Like we saw in Blank Gameweek 33, the lack of a massive standout candidate means it’s a good week to go for a differential and make up major ground in mini-leagues and in overall rank. Nailing the right captain will be key.
The City assets are more attractive now having been knocked out of the Champions League.
Son will be popular following his performance and yellow card midweek.
Raúl Jiménez (£6.9m) currently leads the captaincy poll ahead of two home games against Brighton and Arsenal. The Mexican should get close to 180 minutes over the two matches which makes him a great option.
Salah and Mane shouldn’t be ignored either despite having just one game versus Cardiff (away).
There are plenty of other options too. For those chasing, maybe it’s time to take a punt with the armband this week!
Good luck for the Double Gameweek and enjoy your weekend folks.
