With an underwhelming set of four matches taking place in Blank Gameweek 29, opinion on activating a Free Hit here is split amongst Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers.
Plenty of chip chatter has been taking place within the FPL community, with our home page poll revealing that 60.54% of managers intend to Free Hit in Gameweek 29 but a sizeable 39.46% will either Wildcard beforehand or use free transfers and points hits to navigate the blank.
So here are the leading names for this latter strategy.
- READ MORE: Factors to consider before choosing an FPL chip strategy
- READ MORE: Wildcard, Free Hit, Bench Boost: Three chip strategies to consider
SEASON TICKER
Using our Fantasy Football Scout Members Area, here is a ranking of fixture difficulty for the eight teams taking part in both Gameweeks.
SON HEUNG-MIN (£9.8m)
Beginning with the most-bought player for Gameweek 27, who started up front in Richarlison‘s (£7.0m) absence and eventually scored in the 88th minute.
The chance of owning Son – one of FPL’s elite assets – as a differential has already disappeared but it could be damaging if managers opt to proceed without him for Spurs’ trip to Aston Villa.
November’s reverse meeting saw the South Korean blank but have three goals disappointingly ruled out for offside. Sunday provides him with another go at breaching Villa’s high defensive line, knowing he also gets a run out at Fulham in Blank 29 and has strong-looking fixtures beyond that.
OLLIE WATKINS (£8.9m)
An even more obvious asset is FPL’s top man for points (183) and attacking returns (31). Already in 56.0% of FPL squads and almost 95% of the top 100k, let’s keep this one brief.
He’s the centre-forward of a team currently inside the top four who is likely to be this season’s first player to reach 200 points. Three double-digit hauls have arrived in the last five outings: if you don’t already own Watkins, try and find a way.
JARROD BOWEN (£7.9m)
In Gameweek 29, Watkins’ opposing forward will be West Ham’s Bowen, except – similarly to Son – this one is listed as an FPL midfielder. He netted 11 times in his first 17 matches but, before his recent hat-trick against Brentford, endured a six-game goalless streak that coincided with Lucas Paqueta‘s (£6.0m) exact absence.
Now back from injury, both Bowen and the Hammers suddenly look a lot better. Therefore, managers may find it hard to resist the upcoming home fixture versus Burnley – one of the league’s worst defences that has conceded 24 goals in nine.
In regards to his team-mates, Mohamed Kudus (£6.8m) has consecutive assists but – despite his weekend penalty save – Alphonse Areola (£4.2m) is the goalkeeper for a back line that’s arguably even worse than Burnley. Only Sheffield United have conceded more chances (456) than David Moyes’ side.
ALFIE DOUGHTY (£4.7m)
The only defender recommended here is Doughty, emphasising that having 11 men for Blank 29 isn’t essential and filling the attacking quota is prioritised. Even here, it’s not about clean sheets because they’re scarce at Luton Town. It’s because Doughty has regular goal involvement.
Nobody throughout FPL beats his 230 crosses and, since Gameweek 11, Doughty is the number one defender for attacking returns (eight). He’s in around 23% of top 100k squads and expect this to increase, as it means owning such a threat on three occasions while over half the teams play just once.
CARLTON MORRIS (£5.1m)
Volleying home a deep Doughty free-kick on Saturday was cheap enabler Morris. This penalty-taker seems to be alternating scoring streaks with Elijah Adebayo (£4.9m) but, with his fellow forward injured, it’s currently Morris’ turn to be in form, bagging five goals and four assists from the last nine matches.
It puts him on 109 points, sitting fifth in the forward rankings. Those without Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke (£7.1m) will certainly want him for the Cherries’ two Gameweek 28 occasions but it’s less complicated for Morris, as he doesn’t immediately blank afterwards. Not only that, when on the pitch, 58.3% of Luton’s goals have involved the 28-year-old.
IVAN TONEY (£8.2m)
Meanwhile, Toney was banned for the first five months of this campaign and exploded back onto the FPL scene with a determination to make up for lost time. But after racking up four goals and an assist in five matches, Brentford’s centre-forward is goalless in his latest three.
Furthermore, he limped off in stoppage time against Chelsea – not that head coach Thomas Frank seemed concerned.
“Don’t know, fingers crossed – hopefully not. Actually, literally don’t know! I haven’t asked anyone, don’t know.” – Thomas Frank on Ivan Toney
Hours later, Toney was curiously seen at the BRIT Awards announcing ‘Producer of the Year’. Well, an enticing trip to Burnley certainly makes him the favourite for having Blank Gameweek 29’s best production.
LEON BAILEY (£5.7m)
Speaking of which, Aston Villa winger Bailey’s corner was nodded in by Watkins at Kenilworth Road, adding to his impressive rate of returns.
He has eight goals and nine assists despite playing just 1,390 of a possible 2,430 league minutes. Such numbers seem to have won over Unai Emery, who has opted to start him in 12 of Villa’s last 14 matches – where the two cameos also brought an assist!
Those who want to take advantage of Villa facing Spurs and West Ham will need a second attacker, knowing Watkins’ heavily-selected status. Douglas Luiz (£5.6m) may have more points (134) and chances created (41) but Bailey beats him for returns and penalty area touches (103).
ANTHONY ELANGA (£5.1m)
Finally, another fast and cheap midfield name. The Nottingham Forest attacker’s last four Gameweeks have involved seven big chances and 3.12 expected goal involvements (xGI). In fact, for the latter, he pips Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.7m) to the honour of being team leader throughout the season (8.87).
His 12 attacking returns are also comfortably ahead of Gibbs-White, Chris Wood (£4.8m) and Taiwo Awoniyi (£6.3m), where the Nigerian’s weekend benching allowed Elanga to play up front and cause havoc to Liverpool’s defence.
The Swede could provide similar worries to Luton in Blank 29, assuming he gets chances to exploit the space behind attack-minded wing-back Doughty. Elanga is budget-friendly but with a superb-looking fixture when needed, offering lots of differential potential.
