Who you choose to bring into your Fantasy Premier League (FPL) team over the next week or so will likely be dictated by your Blank Gameweek 29 chip strategy.
With just four teams ‘blanking’ in Gameweek 29, most managers will attempt to navigate the round without using the Free Hit chip – likely saving it for the more impactful ‘blank’ to come in Gameweek 34.
In our recent poll, over 83% of voters said they would be swerving the Free Hit in Blank Gameweek 29.
So, with that landslide in mind, we’ll devote most of this article to the teams and players to target for those not using the chip.
However, for those who are Free Hitting in Gameweek 29, we’ll also include a section for you, too.
- READ MORE: Free Hit or no Free Hit in Blank Gameweek 29?
- READ MORE: When will we get confirmation of Double Gameweek 33 + Blank Gameweek 34?
NO FREE HIT IN GAMEWEEK 29: PLAYERS TO TARGET
ERLING HAALAND
Manchester City host Brighton and Hove Albion in Blank Gameweek 29, before Leicester City visit the Etihad in Gameweek 30.
It creates an opportunity to bring in and captain Erling Haaland (£14.7m) when his ownership will be relatively low.
You will likely need to sell one of Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) or Alexander Isak (£9.5m) to fund it. If you plan to Wildcard in Gameweek 30 or 31, it could be worth it, as you can just buy them back after.
Of course, you might lose a bit of value, but perhaps now is the time to go on the offensive and forget about team value anyway.
Haaland is currently the top-rated player in the RMT ratings for Blank Gameweek 29. He has plundered seven goals and two assists in his last eight Premier League starts, a period that has seen him average 7.5 points per match.
It could have been more, too. The Norwegian had a second goal against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday ruled out for an apparent handball in the build-up.
Haaland’s never blanked against Brighton, either, so he carries appeal as a captain in Blank Gameweek 29, especially with the other main armband contenders all on the road:
- Bruno Fernandes – Leicester City (a)
- Chris Wood – Ipswich Town (a)
- Matheus Cunha – Southampton (a)
Then it’s Leicester at home in Gameweek 30 for Haaland, another captaincy opportunity.
Omar Marmoush (£7.2m) is a viable alternative who is much easier to accommodate. However, if you want a captain who is also nailed-on to start (if fit of course), it’s surely best to try and find the funds for Haaland.
TARGET THE PROMOTED TEAMS
Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich are on track to record the lowest points tally of any Premier League bottom three.
They are also the lowest scorers in the division and have conceded the most goals. Therefore, the shameless targeting of the three promoted clubs should continue.
The outlook looks particularly bleak at Southampton and Leicester.
Ivan Juric’s troops have now lost back-to-back games 4-0. The Foxes lost by the same scoreline in Gameweek 26 and are without a clean sheet in 20 matches.
Jordan Strand Larsen (£5.2m) and Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m) come up against Southampton and Leicester respectively in Blank Gameweek 29.
The reverse fixture for Fernandes brought a season-high 17-point haul.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ assets surely have the edge, however, with the bonus of a trip to Portman Road in Gameweek 31. Appealing home clashes against Everton and West Ham United precede that, too.
Other good Wolves buys include Vitor Pereira’s wing-backs, Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.7m) and Nelson Semedo (£4.5m).
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Cunha to miss Gameweeks 28-30
Meanwhile, Chris Wood (£7.2m) travels to Ipswich in Blank Gameweek 29.
It’s probably best to wait until that point to bring Nottingham Forest attackers in, but it is worth noting that Manchester City gave up quite a few chances to Spurs on Wednesday. Moving a week early could potentially pay off.
Fixtures against leaky Manchester United and Aston Villa follow. Alongside Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White (£6.5m) and Anthony Elanga (£5.3m) should also be considered.
The fixtures for their defenders look a bit iffy, however.
Similarly, Chelsea and Bournemouth face newly-promoted teams, plus Tottenham’s porous defence, in the next three Gameweeks.
The Cherries’ run particularly stands out. All four of their upcoming opponents lie in the bottom half for expected goals conceded (xGC) over the season.
Dango Ouattara’s (£5.2m) minutes may be affected by Evanilson’s (£5.6m) return to fitness, surely leaving Justin Kluivert (£6.1m) and Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) as the best attackers.
Milos Kerkez (£5.0m) and Dean Huijsen (£4.5m) are options at the back, too.
JARROD BOWEN
With West Ham’s plum home fixture against Leicester out of the way, non-owners may feel they have missed the boat. However, Jarrod Bowen (£7.4m) still carries appeal.
He has another decent home clash in the build-up to Blank Gameweek 29, facing a Newcastle United side that will be off to Wembley six days later for the EFL Cup final.
Furthermore, Eddie Howe’s side have conceded 16 goals in their last six games.
Away trips to Everton and Wolves follow. Bowen, who has been directly involved in 50%+ of West Ham’s goals when on the pitch this season, is therefore worth a look.
BRYAN MBEUMO / YOANE WISSA
Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) and Yoane Wissa’s (£6.4m) Gameweek 28 home clash against Aston Villa carries appeal.
The Villans have kept just three clean sheets all season.
This clash is also sandwiched in between two important UEFA Champions League ties against Club Brugge. Villa have struggled in fixtures in/around European clashes all season, losing 2-0 to Wolves and drawing 1-1 at home with West Ham earlier this year.
It admittedly gets tougher for Brentford after (bou/new/CHE), but with 33 attacking returns between this season, Mbeumo and Wissa are more than capable of delivering.
FREE HIT IN BLANK GAMEWEEK 29: PLAYERS TO TARGET
If you plan to use the Free Hit, then the advantage is that you can effectively ignore Blank Gameweek 29.
Taking that round out of the equation leaves the following four-week outlook for each club, ordered by difficulty.
If a Free Hit is activated in Blank Gameweek 29, you can immediately load up on Palace assets, who enjoy a run of IPS/sou/BHA/DGW.
Daniel Munoz (£4.9m) and Eberechi Eze (£6.7m) are the key names to consider, perhaps even Ismaila Sarr (£5.5m).
Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.4m) would of course be on that list usually but he is an injury doubt for Gameweek 28 at the very least.
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Mateta injury latest
Munoz ranks third among defenders for expected goal involvement (xGI) in 2024/25 and Eze has five attacking returns in his last seven starts.
The fact they blank in Gameweek 29 will ensure their ownership remains relatively low, too, at least in the short-term.
Newcastle enjoy a similarly appealing run (whu/BRE/lei/DGW), with Jacob Murphy (£5.1m) and, if fit, Alexander Isak (£9.5m) and Lewis Hall (£5.0m) the standout picks.
This approach could also open up a punt on a second Liverpool attacker in Gameweek 28, like Cody Gakpo (£7.5m), Luis Diaz (£7.5m), Diogo Jota (£7.2m) or Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.3m).
At the time of writing, it’s hard to call who will start, but minutes accrued against Paris Saint-Germain next week could offer clues.
Cunha’s fixtures also appeal, while Chelsea assets have three home matches in four, including two against promoted opposition, potentially creating opportunities to punt on Marc Cucurella (£5.1m) and/or Pedro Neto (£6.2m).
