Our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers are writing about all things Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in 2023/24. Next up, seven-time top 10k finisher Zophar takes a Wildcard special of his usual weekly FPL Q&A.
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- READ MORE: Chelsea + Spurs set for Double Gameweek 35
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 32 team news: Friday’s live injury updates
Q: Who is the best defender to replace Jamaal Lascelles (£3.9m) with the Free Hit in Gameweek 34 and Bench Boost in Gameweek 37 plan? Not Spurs, Malo Gusto (£4.3m) or Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.7m) as I’ve already got them.
(via SHULTAN)
A: Looking around this price range, there are very few candidates now – especially with Chris Richards (£3.9m) also injured. I think Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.1m) is probably the standout option. He and Lewis Dunk (£5.2m) have been consistently starting for Brighton and Hove Albion in league and European matches and the team’s defensive numbers have improved significantly.
Outside of that, Harry Maguire (£4.2m) should get consistent minutes with Raphael Varane (£4.9m) and Lisandro Martinez (£4.7m) injured but Manchester United look so poor defensively. Tino Livramento (£4.1m) is out for a while which means Lewis Hall (£4.2m) – a bonus points monster – should now be starting. There’s Dan Burn (£4.5m) for slightly more. Again, clean sheets look sparse for Newcastle United but at least both sides have a Double Gameweek 37 coming.
Looking at single Gameweek picks, Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.3m) has some good fixtures on the way and possesses some goal threat. Everton need to win these home games against Burnley, Brentford and Sheffield United.
Q: Is Nicolas Jackson (£6.8m) a good option now if I’m opting for Free Hit in Gameweek 34? Get him for the Sheffield United fixture and, if he gets booked, you’re only losing him for one match.
(via WILLY)
A: As the suspension tightrope article states, Chelsea have two more fixtures before the endpoint for suspending 10 yellow cards. This means that you could buy Jackson now and he could get booked in Gameweek 34, making him unavailable post-Free Hit for Gameweek 35. So, I wouldn’t buy him until after the Free Hit in Gameweek 34.
Q: What to do with Ivan Toney (£8.1m)? Good fixtures but he’s in some bad form. A move to Alexander Isak (£7.8m)?
(via @tanyasharma)
A: This is a bit chip strategy dependent. If you’re looking to Wildcard in Gameweek 35 you could possibly hold onto Toney for another week because he faces Sheffield United in Gameweek 33.
But Isak looks good right now and also has a decent fixture against Spurs that week, so I wouldn’t put you off doing that transfer. If fit, you’ll definitely want Isak from Gameweek 35 onwards.
Q: Sell Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) to Phil Foden (£8.2m)? I have Free Hit 34 coming.
(via @fpl_sk)
A: This move makes perfect sense on paper but it feels a bit like chasing last week’s points. I’m also on a Free Hit in Gameweek 34 strategy and it’s a move I’m looking to make in Gameweek 33 if we get news that Foden will start against Luton. Then, if Saka is still down as an injury doubt, the move makes even more sense.
Q: Who is best to captain this week?
A: There was no specific question on captaincy but, with such a short turnaround, I thought I’d give my quick thoughts on the subject. Each of Erling Haaland (£14.3m), Cole Palmer (£6.0m), Son Heung-min (£10.1m) and Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) are great picks and picking which one of them scores higher comes down to variance.
Haaland has been written off a bit. It wasn’t long ago that we were all on perma-cap Haaland and Palace do have some defensive injuries. On paper, Palmer’s match-up is best but I still don’t trust Chelsea as a fan. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Chelsea drop points at Bramall Lane after the high of their dramatic midweek win.
Salah’s early substitution was surprising, perhaps made with an eye on the Manchester United fixture. With Maguire and Willy Kambwala (£3.9m) the likely pairing, I think Liverpool could score a few here and Salah is currently my armband choice.
As for Son, I am expecting Nottingham Forest to play with a deep block and we might see Richarlison (£6.9m) as a centre-forward, which puts me off Son slightly. It’s likely to be one of Haaland, Salah and Palmer for me.
