If you’re in a rush and want some last-minute Fantasy Premier League (FPL) advice, here’s a quick round-up of what you need to know about Gameweek 38.
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Before we get into the final round-up, however, let us remind you that we’ll be covering the European Championship in detail this summer.
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WHEN’S THE FPL GAMEWEEK 38 DEADLINE?
All transfers and team selections must be locked in by 14:30 (BST) on Sunday 19 May.
TEAM NEWS
Of the ‘official’ team news that emerged from Friday’s press conferences, Guardiola was playing it cool on Kevin De Bruyne‘s chances of featuring.
Eddie Howe also wasn’t sure about Anthony Gordon, although Callum Wilson should return.
Mikel Arteta wasn’t even asked about Bukayo Saka.
Diogo Jota and Andrew Robertson returned to training ahead of the final day, while Chelsea are without Reece James as he begins a four-match ban.
See all the key updates here, and check out our predicted starting XIs of all 20 Premier League teams.
EXPECT GOALS…
We all know what the perceptions of Gameweek 38 are. Sunshine, with drama in some matches and teams ‘on the beach’ in others. A fun festival of attacking football. But is this last one true – are high-scoring season climaxes a myth?
Well no, it’s true. Our research shows that the previous 13 final days each featured more goals per game than that season’s average, usually with a below-average number of clean sheets.
FPL managers have seen Manchester United draw 5-5 in Sir Alex Ferguson’s goodbye match, a Southampton 4-4 Liverpool from last year, Crystal Palace’s 5-3 win to end 2018/19 and various goal-fests involving Tottenham Hotspur.
Without wanting to tempt fate, this campaign has already broken the Premier League record for total goals (1,209) and that happened several weeks ago.
FINAL DAY NARRATIVES
What helps managers is that most of the top eight remain competitive. Manchester City sit in pole position, close to securing their fourth league title in a row. They just need to put in a professional performance at home to West Ham United, while all Arsenal can do is win and hope for a miracle.
In-form Chelsea are looking to ensure European qualification, as are Newcastle United and Man United. The Blues could even overtake Spurs, handing Ange Postecoglou’s lot the motivation to beat Sheffield United.
Over at Anfield, it’ll be an emotional afternoon as Liverpool say farewell to Jurgen Klopp. Their players will want to send him off with a win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
DIFFERENTIAL PICKS
Taking all this into account, the majority of final decisions will balance safety with excitement.
That’s because Gameweek 38 offers one more chance to shoot up rankings and mini-leagues by straying from the template. Buying the right low-owned player can bring massive rewards, as could putting faith in an alternate captain.
Of course, with all 20 teams playing simultaneously, there’s potential for some pre-deadline team leaks. Therefore try to be available and flexible – avoid that trip to the garden centre!
Pro Pundits Az and Tom both like Leandro Trossard (£6.6m) as a differential but Kai Havertz (£7.5m) is still – somehow – in under 10% of squads. Az also explores Brennan Johnson (£5.8m) and some Liverpool names, whilst Tom singles out Eberechi Eze (£6.0m).
Investing in Crystal Palace attackers makes a lot of sense, seeing as opponents Aston Villa are already celebrating a fourth-placed finish. Furthermore, their left-sided weakness could allow Michael Olise (£5.7m) to bag his third consecutive double-digit haul.
BEST FPL GAMEWEEK 38 CAPTAIN
As mentioned, assigning this week’s armband depends on how risky managers would like to be.
At home in a must-win match, Erling Haaland (£14.3m) is the recommended recipient of our Rate My Team (RMT) algorithm.
In second place, it backs Mohamed Salah (£13.4m) to succeed, with Son Heung-min‘s (£10.0m) fixture at Sheffield United placing him third.
TEAM REVEALS
SCOUT PICKS
Our weekly selection – which is essentially a Free Hit in all but name – triples up on both Arsenal and Man City.
Brennan Johnson is liked as a Son alternative and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.0m) has six goals from his latest five outings.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck with FPL Gameweek 38!
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2 months, 8 days agoFfs. Captain fail.