Our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers provide Fantasy Premier League (FPL) tips and advice throughout the season. Here, two-time Indian FPL champion Lateriser reveals his current Free Hit draft for Double Gameweek 34.
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In this article, I am going to take you through my Free Hit plans for Double Gameweek 34.
Please take note that this is my current draft as of Friday morning. As has been the trend of recent FPL times, I have the right to make a late change or two.
ALL-IN ON PALACE
Firstly, let’s talk about Crystal Palace. It’s a weird Fantasy world where I wish I had four or five spots for their players, rather than just three. They are the team that offers the highest differential upside, in my opinion.
I always feel that whenever Eberechi Eze (£6.1m) and Michael Olise (£5.6m) play together, Palace as a team are just a lot sexier and their goal-scoring potential goes up exponentially. Add Jean-Philippe Mateta‘s (£5.0m) menacing recent performances to the fact that they aren’t coached by Roy Hodgson anymore and the attraction goes up a lot more.
Additionally, their initial opponents West Ham United are playing after a three-day gap because of European commitments and they’ve generally looked leggy afterwards.
With this in mind, Eze and Mateta are pretty nailed on for me. Especially as the former is on penalties and some set pieces, playing a lot more centrally for Oliver Glasner. Right now, I’ve even got the captain’s armband on him due to his fixtures, multiple routes to points and high expected minutes.
Mateta has passed the eye test under Glasner and I now believe he’s firmly their first-choice forward. I would love to pick Olise too and he’s very tempting but, having just returned from injury, I think his minutes will be managed just like Eze’s were.
Defensively, there’s a chance that I swerve the Daniel Munoz (£4.5m) pick in case this Olise temptation becomes too much. The wing-back’s underlying numbers haven’t been that great but, to overrule this, I’ve seen lots of the Eagles over the last few weeks and noticed he tends to just chill in the box. So I feel like a goal is due. He scored plenty of them at his former club Genk.
LIVERPOOL ROTATIONS
Whereas with Liverpool, my biggest worry is their fixture schedule. The Atalanta trip was the first of four consecutive away matches, with three taking place within six games. Jurgen Klopp firmly believes in sports science and I’m therefore worried about expected minutes for everyone except Virgil van Dijk (£6.6m) and Alisson (£5.7m).
The latter makes my draft because, unlike Arsenal stopper David Raya (£5.2m), he is capable of saves and bonus points.
Andrew Robertson (£6.4m) is another whose minutes I’m worried about but he’s looked really good of late, creating four chances in last week’s league defeat. He can still become van Dijk if I decide to be safer, although the centre-back’s opponents aren’t known to be defensively suspect from set pieces.
Liverpool don’t generally do clean sheets but having all of their front five fit has me thinking that they’ll each – including Mohamed Salah (£13.5m) – be limited to 120 or 150 minutes. This is why I’m captaining Eze over the Egyptian.
The away ties won’t be easy, either. Fulham have been very good at Craven Cottage, then it’s the typically cagey Merseyside derby. You can bet your bottom dollar that Sean Dyche will enforce a defensive approach after losing 6-0 at Chelsea. However, if Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.3m) is ruled out for the double, I could still be tempted to double up on Liverpool’s attack rather than defence.
ARE ARSENAL TIRED?
Meanwhile, there’s a similar debate for Arsenal assets. Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.4m) picks himself but, beyond that, my decision came down to two things.
I have a big weakness for undervaluing penalties this season. That’s why Eze, Salah, Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) and Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) make this Free Hit draft. Spot kicks are playing a huge role in this campaign, where big picks can be slightly off-form but still just need a penalty to achieve a double-digit haul.
Additionally, Kai Havertz (£7.4m) is as important to this Arsenal team as Saka and Martin Odegaard (£8.6m) are. There is a concern that the players look tired but the Gunners now only have the league to focus on.
Havertz has started 10 consecutive league games, registering five goals and six assists. He’s currently the talisman of this team and I don’t want to compromise on him. Not that I think his and Saka’s expected minutes are fully secure.
Above: Kai Havertz’s recent game time
Elsewhere, Ben Brereton Diaz (£5.0m) is a full ‘eye test’ pick as I simply view him as a natural goalscorer. Playing against two of the league’s worst defences – Burnley and Manchester United – definitely helps. He’s the added sexiness to my Free Hit draft.
Just missing out are players like Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.8m), Matheus Cunha (£5.6m) and Darwin Nunez (£7.7m). They’re definitely on my mind and still have time to find their way into my draft.
That is it for now. If you want more content, there is an extra Free Hit draft video in addition to Tuesday’s full podcast which can be viewed below.
