With a few Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadlines remaining, Gameweek 36 is the final chance for 60% of unused Assistant Manager chips to be activated and still get the full three-Gameweek usage.
In this article, we’ll assess the best options for this week as well as the rounds ahead.
- READ MORE: What is the Assistant Manager chip + when can FPL managers play it?
- READ MORE: New Assistant Manager points projections in our Rate My Team page
WHICH MANAGERS COULD GET A GAMEWEEK 36 TABLE BONUS?
One key source of Assistant Manager hauls is table bonus points, whereby Premier League bosses earn extra points if they beat (+10) or draw with (+5) a team five or more places ahead of them in the table at the start of the Gameweek.
For example, of Gameweek 35’s four possible scalps, there was an Andoni Iraola (£1.1m) win away at Arsenal. While Bournemouth went 1-0 down, they turned it around to provide 18 points to their boss.
Fabian Hurzeler (£1.1m) and Oliver Glasner (£0.8m) were able to draw 1-1 against higher clubs for nine points. However, the non-bonus victories of Thomas Frank (£0.8m) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (£0.5m) narrowly scored more.
In Gameweek 36, there are only three such managers eligible for table bonus points out of 10 total fixtures:
- Kieran McKenna (£0.5m) – Ipswich Town (18th) v Brentford (9th)
- Simon Rusk (£0.5m) – Southampton (20th) v Manchester City (3rd)
- Ruud van Nistelrooy (£0.5m) – Nottingham Forest (6th) v Leicester City (19th)
That’s because it’s a weekend where quite a few teams are playing their table neighbours: Liverpool (1st) v Arsenal (2nd), Newcastle United (4th) v Chelsea (5th) and Bournemouth (8th) v Aston Villa (7th) are a few examples.
To have the only bonus candidates come from this already-relegated trio isn’t great. Perhaps Leicester’s win over Southampton can build a momentum that then dents their East Midlands rivals’ Champions League hopes. You can imagine Jamie Vardy (£5.3m) relishing the prospect of netting his 200th Foxes goal here.
Meanwhile, Man City are still chasing a top-five finish, diminishing Southampton’s chances of a shock. The Saints still need one more point to escape being labelled the worst-ever Premier League side.
As for Brentford, they’re chasing a fourth successive victory. Frank’s gathered 59 points from the latest five outings. Last week brought a 4-3 win over Manchester United, just like they did to Ipswich in Gameweek 9.
WHAT THE BOOKMAKERS SAY
Before we dive into point predictions and our recommendations, let’s take a glance at what the bookies think.
Here are the odds, in order, for each of Gameweek 36’s table bonus-eligible managers:
| Chance of a home win | Chance of a draw | Chance of an away win | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kieran McKenna – Ipswich (18th) v Brentford (9th) | 17.3% | 23.2% | 59.5% |
| Ruud van Nistelrooy – Nott’m Forest (6th) v Leicester (19th) | 70.9% | 18.0% | 11.1% |
| Simon Rusk – Southampton (20th) v Man City (3rd) | 8.6% | 14.5% | 76.9% |
CURRENT ASSISTANT MANAGER POINTS PROJECTIONS
The betting market heavily influences these projections, so the odds of each Assistant Manager capable of earning table bonus points are factored in.
Make sure to check this page for any revised projections.
FINAL THOUGHTS: GAMEWEEK 36 IN ISOLATION
Unfortunately, as seen in the above bookmakers’ odds, none of the three table bonus options are particularly exciting. Maybe Ipswich – the best of the bottom three – can do something with their home advantage, versus a team lower than Man City and Forest. But FPL managers are expecting Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2m) and Yoane Wissa (£6.7m) hauls, like in their reverse clash.
Instead, Assistant Manager users might prefer the safer picks at the other side of these three encounters: Thomas Frank, Nuno Espirito Santo (£1.1m) and Pep Guardiola (£1.5m).
FINAL THOUGHTS: LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD
If your Assistant Manager chip will be active beyond Gameweek 36, here are some more things to consider.
This chip’s specialist Rate My Team page currently has Tottenham Hotspur (16.44) and Man United (16.42) on the highest projections between Gameweeks 37 and 38 but, of course, these sides seem on the verge of reaching the Europa League final, where the winner qualifies for next season’s Champions League. That is their priority, as seen by their Gameweek 35 team sheets.
Arsenal (15.21) are next, though they’re without any table bonus potential, whereas 17th-placed West Ham United (14.54) get to host higher-up Forest, then visit Ipswich on the final day.
It gives Graham Potter (£0.5m) the highest Gameweek 37 projection, with Ruben Amorim (£0.8m) ahead for Gameweek 38. Man United will be at home to Aston Villa.
