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 his usual weekly FPL Q&A ahead of Gameweek 37.
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READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 37 team news: Friday’s live injury updates
Q: Is it worth selling Alejandro Garnacho (£5.0m) for a hit?
(via KARAN14)
A: This is a dilemma I’m facing myself, as the remaining front seven are stable and I have loads of money in the bank. With triple-ups on Newcastle United, Chelsea and Manchester City already in place, the only place I can go with Garnacho is to either upgrade him to Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) or sell him for a Spurs midfielder like Richarlison (£6.8m).
I’m writing this on Friday morning and – based on what we know from Thursday’s training pictures – Marcus Rashford (£8.4m) and Lisandro Martinez (£4.7m) are back in training but Fernandes wasn’t in any of them.
It’s possible that he trained and was just not pictured but we don’t have access to that information yet. This rules out the Fernandes upgrade but also makes Garnacho a worse asset, with Rashford likely to take his place on the left and there being no Fernandes to create his chances.
Looking at potential replacements, Richarlison should start against Burnley and has massive haul potential, knowing the Clarets will probably go all-out for the win. We’ve seen what Richarlison can do as a centre-forward, even in limited minutes against Liverpool. His ceiling is high when compared to the Argentinian.
However, Spurs’ turnaround between the two games is quite short, playing on Saturday and then Tuesday. Given what Ange Postecoglou said post-match about Richarlison only being available for 30 minutes, I remain slightly hesitant. On paper, he should start all three remaining games but I think that largely depends on how his knee and body react to Saturday’s exertions.
If you are chasing, it makes sense to sell Garnacho but if you have a comfortable rank, maybe stick. Another thing that puts me off – and this might sound unreasonable – is that a Richarlison purchase gives me a big benching dilemma for Gameweek 38.
With Anthony Gordon (£6.4m) to Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) likely to be my final transfer, it’d mean sidelining one of Richarlison, Saka, Son Heung-min (£9.9m), Cole Palmer (£6.3m), Phil Foden (£8.4m), Alexander Isak (£8.4m), Erling Haaland (£14.2m) and Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m). It could go very wrong. But random benchings and injuries often occur on the last day so it might work out well, who knows.
Q: No Bench Boost left but I only have Pedro Porro (£5.8m) and two Arsenal defenders for this Double Gameweek. Is it worth buying Josko Gvardiol (£5.1m) for a hit? I’d be getting him in for Fabian Schar (£5.6m), whose season looks done.
Bigger picture – would you rather have Gvardiol or Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m) as your third Man City player? Is either worth a hit over Gordon, Son or an Arsenal defender?
(via FP ELEPHANT)
A: Last weekend showed the pitfalls of owning De Bruyne. He is an outstanding player and on some days is a great FPL asset but it’s also entirely possible that Man City score five without the Belgian notching any returns.
Meanwhile, defender Gvardiol was practically playing as a left-winger in that game. He showed plenty of goal and assist threat and could easily have racked up a double-digit haul. With so many midfield options available to us, I prefer the Croatian to the Belgian for these remaining two Gameweeks.
I think he is worth taking the hit too. You’re giving yourself a higher ceiling, compared to the Arsenal guys.
Q: Is it worth taking a four-point hit to replace Fernandes and Chris Wood (£4.8m) with Gordon and Jackson? This would give a front eight of Haaland, Isak, Jackson, Palmer, Saka, Foden, Son and Gordon. But since I don’t have a Bench Boost, one would have to be dropped.
(via REDLIGHTNING)
A: Saka is a perfectly good player this week, so I wouldn’t be looking to bench him. I’m guessing you need the midfield downgrade to fund a Jackson move but I’d rather just do that as a standalone move and start Saka.
Q: If you are chasing, who is the best Triple Captain in Double Gameweek 37?
(via FPL VIRGIN)
A: There are two options I like if you want to swerve the Haaland captaincy – Palmer and Isak. There are caveats to both though.
Chelsea have been significantly better at home and both their games are away, versus sides that have decent underlying defensive numbers on their own turf. Although Palmer has looked a bit tired recently, we know he’s capable of going big and Chelsea are very much the Cole Palmer team.
With Isak, Callum Wilson’s (£7.8m) return to fitness is a concern. There were midweek rumours that Wilson had picked up another injury but they seem false. With Wilson pictured at the training ground, let’s assume he is fit and available.
Newcastle deployed both forwards up top at Burnley, so it’s not like Isak will be shunted wide like last season. But Wilson will likely take a share of the goals and Isak is suddenly less talismanic. That’s why, if Wilson is indeed fit, I like a Palmer captaincy over Isak.
Q: What should I do with Malo Gusto (£4.3m)? I’m on triple Chelsea with him, Palmer and Djordje Petrovic (£4.7m). Is it worth taking a hit to move Gusto to Porro and Darwin Nunez (£7.5m) to Jackson? I already own Haaland and Isak.
(via @jjeltema)
A: Chelsea have recently deployed Marc Cucurella (£4.8m) as an inverted full-back that moves into midfield and it has been very successful for them. It allows more control in midfield and enables Conor Gallagher (£5.4m) to get forward more often and do what he does best.
Yet this requires the other three defenders to stay back and defend more, which doesn’t suit Gusto’s skill set. Despite how good the Frenchman has been for the Blues, I’m worried about his game time over the closing three matches due to the new tactical set-up. With this in mind, I think Gusto is a sell and Jackson is a much better asset for the remaining outings.
Q: Best replacements for Schar, Harry Maguire (£4.3m) and Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.1m)?
(via @Amber_red_devil)
A: It’s very difficult to find good defensive picks from the six Double Gameweek teams. I think Dan Burn (£4.7m) is a good option – he is their primary target for set-pieces now.
I can’t recommend a move for any Manchester United defender right now, such has been their poorness, so I think about looking outside of this doubling half-dozen – specifically Crystal Palace and Everton.
The Eagles have been brilliant under Oliver Glasner and Daniel Munoz (£4.5m) looks capable of a double-digit haul at any time. Similarly, the Toffees play their last home game of the season against Sheffield United, who’ve shown frailty from set pieces. It makes Jarrad Branthwaite (£4.5m) a good option.
We discuss these dilemmas and more on this week’s episode of The FPL Wire. You can check it out below:
