While it’s still early days in our on-site poll, a lot of Fantasy managers are set to play their Bench Boost in Gameweek 33.
Many of these managers will already be set up for the Bench Boost. Gameweek 30/31 Wildcards, for example, will have been prepared with this in mind.
But whether it’s an injury to Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.2m) or Phil Foden (£9.2m) or ongoing uncertainty over rotation, there’ll be a few shopping around for an emergency replacement this week.
With that in mind, here are a few ‘single Gameweekers’ to consider for a Gameweek 33 Bench Boost.
WHY ONLY ‘SINGLE GAMEWEEKERS’?
Firstly, we’ll be ‘Scouting the Doubles’ for Aston Villa, Arsenal and Manchester City in separate articles later this week. Most of us will already have three Crystal Palace assets in place from their double in Gameweek 32, as well.
And secondly, the maximum number of ‘doublers’ you can have in a Gameweek 33 squad is 12. If you weren’t on a Bench Boost, most/all of these would be in your starting XI anyway.
So, there’s a good chance that 2/3/4 of your nominal ‘substitutes’ would be those players with just one fixture.
GAMEWEEK 33 FIXTURES SORTED BY DIFFICULTY
Above image from our customisable Season Ticker
WEST HAM UNITED
On paper, a home fixture against Southampton is about as good as it gets.
Saints have lost 13 of their last 15 league fixtures, failing to keep a clean sheet in that time. A league-high 41 goals have flown in over those matches, with only 12 scored at the other end.
They are, as you’re fully aware by now, completely out of their depth.
It’s West Ham’s turn to face the sorry Saints this time.
The Hammers haven’t exactly set the world alight recently, either. Winless in five, they’re in a lower position now (17th) than they were when Julen Lopetegui got the boot (14th). Since Graham Potter came in, indeed, they sit 18th for goals scored (12 – only one more than Southampton).
They still should be too good for Simon Rusk’s side, however. They were 1-0 winners in the reverse fixture, with Jarrod Bowen (£7.6m) scoring and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.5m) scooping maximum bonus. If we were putting money on it, a narrow West Ham win would probably be the likeliest scenario again, given the Hammers’ own struggle for goals.
Those two players above are probably the stand-outs. Bowen is the Hammers’ leading shot-taker under his current boss, with seemingly a license to chance his arm whenever he feels like it. Wan Bissaka – not known for his attacking potential – is impressively second for chances created in the Potter era:
Improved second-half showings against Bournemouth and Liverpool give a bit more confidence, too. Niclas Fullkrug (£6.7m) has had an impact since returning from injury, scoring last week and hitting the bar on Sunday. There’s a very decent chance that he starts in Gameweek 33, with the horses-for-courses 3-5-2 at Anfield giving way to a more offensive 4-2-3-1.
While Fullkrug is one for the utter mavericks, Alphonse Areola (£4.2m) – better in Gameweek 32 than he had been the previous fixture – is a viable alternative to Wan-Bissaka.
As you’ll see from the ticker above, the Hammers have some reasonable fixtures beyond Gameweek 33 if you’re looking at a medium-term purchase.
LIVERPOOL
If you’re not hosting Southampton, you’d want to be facing Leicester City.
An eight-match goal drought was broken by the Foxes in Gameweek 32 but they’ve still only won once in 17 league games, failing to score in 13 of those.
Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) is, obviously, someone who Bench Boosters and Free Hitters, chip users and non-chip users alike will be fielding this week. Despite the lack of a ‘double’, he’s still a very early third in our Gameweek 33 captain poll.
What about complementary Liverpool picks, however?
Conor Bradley‘s (£4.7m) name is doing the rounds, and understandably so. An all-action right-back, he made his return to the starting XI after injury on Sunday. While he was hooked early, this seemed to be a clear case of minute management after his recent lay-off – and replacement Jarell Quansah (£3.9m) once again proved that he is no full-back.
With five returns in as many appearances, Luis Diaz (£7.5m) is the pick of the ‘other’ Liverpool midfielders/forward at present.
£7.5m may be a little rich for some but with Erling Haaland (£14.8m) injured and Cole Palmer (£10.7m) arguably dispensable for the rest of 2024/25, funds won’t be a problem for many.
Over the last six matches, the Colombian is the leading Red for everything from shots and chances created to non-penalty expected goal involvement (NPxGI, below):
He was benched in Gameweek 31 but this came off the back of a Wednesday-Sunday turnaround. Liverpool are playing only once a week until the end of 2024/25, while Diogo Jota (£7.2m), Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) and Darwin Nunez (£7.0m) have all been very poor recently to assuage any rotation fears.
The performances of Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.3m), a once-viable midfield pick from Liverpool, have also deteriorated to cool any Gameweek 33 interest in him. He was, in fact, benched on Sunday.
BEST OF THE REST
Some other players could prove to be worthy Bench Boost fillers when taking form, medium-term fixtures and the opposition into account.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.4m) has five goals in his last four matches and is FPL’s ‘form’ forward at present:
The recent fixtures have been kind for Wolves – and they continue to be. Just as Vitor Pereira’s side entertained Tottenham Hotspur at an opportune time (ie in between a Europa League double-header), they now face Manchester United less than 72 hours after the Red Devils clash with Lyon.
14-goal Matheus Cunha (£6.8m) is back, too. While Vitor Pereira pledged to stick with his current starting XI ahead of Gameweek 32, an injury to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (£4.9m) could open up a spot for the mercurial Brazilian. One to listen out for in Pereira’s presser later this week.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.9m), the leading defender for shots over the last six matches, is always an option at the rear.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Similarly, Nottingham Forest will be locking horns with Spurs just after the Lilywhites have travelled to Frankfurt in a season-defining game. Attention has clearly been diverted away from the league of late (one win in six, against a shocking Southampton), so this could be a great chance for Forest to rebound.
Faith in the Tricky Trees might be shaken a bit after recent losses. The manner of Saturday’s defeat was the most concerning, and hinted at nerves creeping in. Nevertheless, Nuno Espirito Santo has repeatedly proven critics wrong throughout the season whenever there’s been talk of a slump.
While even a much-changed Spurs side could pose a goal threat, the fit-again Chris Wood (£6.9m) and Anthony Elanga (£5.4m) could get plenty of joy from a wobbly backline that has not kept a clean sheet in seven games.
As is the case with Wolves, Forest have some decent medium-term fixtures remaining. They’re good pick-ups for those without a Gameweek 34 Free Hit, too:
BRENTFORD
Finally, while rotation rages elsewhere in the division, Thomas Frank largely sticks with the same team.
Brentford will be encountering a Brighton and Hove Albion side in a bit of a funk at present, winless in four league games and looking flat since their FA Cup elimination. They’ve conceded nine goals in those four matches, too, including two to a Leicester side that hadn’t scored since January!
A potentially good time for Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) and Yoane Wissa (£6.5m) – who have 31 league goals between them – to be facing the Seagulls, then.
14 days, 15 hours agoCan people stop hating on the bottom 3 please and start dishing out some sympathy
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