In ‘Frisking the Fixtures’, we pick out the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) teams and players with strong matches from Gameweek 35 onwards.
As always, our colour-coded Season Ticker is the primary source for this piece.
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BUT FIRST…
Obviously, the first place to start with the fixture list analysis is to acknowledge that two teams, Crystal Palace and Manchester City, have more remaining matches than the other 18 clubs.
These two sides ‘double’ in Gameweek 36, so players from these two sides are going to dominate many Fantasy managers’ thoughts over the next two Gameweeks.
With us looking at the Gameweek 36 doublers elsewhere, however, we thought we’d give air-time to the rest of the Premier League in this article.
Quality of fixture, in this case, not quantity.
ARSENAL
We start with the league leaders.
Mikel Arteta’s side has everything to play for, as they try to end their 22-year wait for the Premier League title.
The Gunners are the highest scorers behind Manchester City this season, but such goals have dried up recently. Maybe it’s best to swerve their attacking assets for now. There’s also the added complication of Arsenal’s Champions League semi-final, with the second leg coming between the Fulham and West Ham United matches.
That said, the defence still looks solid. And, while the next two opponents have proven to be bogey teams in the past, one would anticipate several clean sheets from facing Fulham, West Ham, Burnley and a Crystal Palace team that has European distractions of its own.
Encouragingly, Arsenal won all four return fixtures back-to-back without conceding a goal between Gameweeks 7 and 10:
Fresh from picking up his 15th clean sheet in Gameweek 34, Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.2m) looks a must-have, while William Saliba (£6.1m) is a shoo-in to partner him. Behind them, no goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets than David Raya (£6.0m) in their last five matches – or all season,
The full-back options are harder to predict, though. Jurrien Timber’s (£6.1m) injury has Ben White (£5.1m) and Cristhian Mosquera (£5.3m) interchanging at right-back, as the fit-again Riccardo Calafiori (£5.6m) and Piero Hincapie (£5.1m) compete on the left.
LEEDS UNITED
Out of the FA Cup, Leeds are now able to focus their minds on the run-in as they seek to secure top-flight survival. Form and fixtures suggest they will do. Not that the reverse fixtures went well for Daniel Farke’s men, who beat West Ham early on, but not the other three.
That said, West Ham might be the trickiest assignment left, as they could well be battling for their own survival come the final day.
The same goes for Gameweek 36 opponents Tottenham Hotspur, but the arrival of Roberto De Zerbi may have come too late for the north Londoners, who’ve won just twice at home all season. Additionally, their injury crisis seems to get worse by the day.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.7m) appeals for the first two outings, although he’s only scored one goal in nine, missing 12 of his last 14 big chances.
Having returned three goals and an assist in his last three matches, Noah Okafor (£5.6m) has, or had, greater appeal. In that time, only one midfielder has amassed more FPL points (31) or had more big chances (two).
But a calf complaint keeps him doubtful for Gameweek 35.
“There are, after the last game in the cup, one or two question marks. Noah Okafor got a hit against his calf, there’s a little question mark behind his availability.
“Also Jaka Bijol was dealing with some problems with his hip flexor. So, I hope to have them both available but I can’t tell you right now if it’s possible.” – Daniel Farke
Leeds defenders have also been thriving in recent times, with James Justin (£5.2m) a scorer last Gameweek, Jayden Bogle (£4.4m) reaching 16 points across four matches, and perennial goal threat Pascal Struijk (£4.3m) all raising their performances.
Gabriel Gudmundsson (£3.8m) is injured, and Jaka Bijol (£3.9m) may not make the weekend.
Struijk and goalkeeper Karl Darlow (£3.9m) are probably the safest medium-term bets at the back right now.
BRIGHTON + HOVE ALBION
Brighton are on the beach, but only literally speaking, because their form has improved dramatically. Fabian Hurzeler’s side have strung together six wins and a draw from their last eight matches to soar into sixth place, putting them into the Champions League reckoning.
Playing freely, Danny Welbeck (£6.3m) is enjoying the Indian summer of his career with 13 goals and counting. The good thing for him is that Albion only play once a week till the end of 2025/26, so there’s little worry about rotation.
Elsewhere, Kaoru Mitoma (£6.1m) is returning to form after an injury-plagued season, Yankuba Minteh (£5.5m) is back on song, and Pascal Gross (£5.5m) looks better than ever since re-joining in January.
The only midfielder to rack up more assists (five) and create more chances (18) than the latter from Gameweek 28 onwards is Bruno Fernandes (£10.4m).
But ahead of all of the above for goal threat at the moment is Jack Hinshelwood (£5.1m), who is thriving in a more advanced role. His Gameweek 33 goal rewarded owners who had spotted his impressive underlying numbers.
There have also been four clean sheets in eight matches, with Jan Paul van Hecke (£4.6m) returning impressive numbers.
Earlier in the campaign, the Seagulls delivered two wins against these remaining opponents, surprisingly drawing at Wolverhampton Wanderers. But Rob Edwards’ relegated side and Newcastle United’s out-of-sorts defence should offer ample opportunity for Brighton to maintain their momentum.
Leeds may well be safe by Gameweek 37, then it’s Manchester United, who they’ve beaten in seven of their last 10 encounters.
These next two teams have iffy fixtures in Gameweek 35 but more favourable runs thereafter.
FULHAM
It’s unusual to see so many teams still having something to play for, and Fulham harbour ambitions of getting into Europe. Marco Silva’s team, who are typically in their flip-flops at this time, upset convention by beating Aston Villa last week, and will fancy their chances of getting nine points from these closing four matches. A shock win at Arsenal could propel them from 10th to sixth.
After all, the Cottagers did beat Arteta’s lot last season. They’ll hope to capitalise on both the Gunners’ ongoing struggles in front of goal, and being the filling in a Champions League semi-final sandwich.
Facing Bournemouth, unbeaten in 14 and dreaming of Europe themselves, will not be easy. Still, Silva will look to exploit the Cherries’ front-footed approach and catch them on the break, like against Villa. They beat Wolves last autumn and get to close the campaign versus nosediving Newcastle.
Talking of finishing, Harry Wilson (£6,0m) has been carrying Fulham, and will need to rediscover his scoring touch. Since Gameweek 20, only four midfielders have amassed more FPL points than Wilson’s 72 and only three outdo him for goals. All five of the Welshman’s strikes in that time have come at Craven Cottage.
Centre-back Joachim Anderson (£4.5m) might also be a differential to consider. Over the last five Gameweeks, he’s picked up 29 points. Only Bournemouth’s Marco Senesi (£5.2m) can better his 38 defensive contribution (DefCon) points.
EVERTON
Like Fulham, there’s a very tough initial assignment for Everton. But late trips to Crystal Palace and Spurs, alongside a home encounter with Sunderland, offer the Toffees a chance to end the season in Europe.
Of their remaining opponents, David Moyes only masterminded a victory over Palace in reverse but, this time, they have something to play for other than avoiding relegation. Palace have effectively given up on any league aspirations, while Sunderland’s form has dropped off a cliff.
James Garner (£5.3m) and Kiernan Dewsbury Hall (£5.1m) have 148 and 140 points respectively. The cheaper midfielder scored his eighth goal of the season in Gameweek 34 and has an attacking return in three successive matches.
Up front, Beto (£5.0m) has excelled recently, though a concussion forced him to miss last week. Over the Brazilian’s previous six Gameweeks, he produced 10 more points than any other forward (45). This came from an accumulation of five goals, an assist and 10 bonuses.
Finally, we can’t mention Everton without considering their defenders. James Tarkowski (£5.7m) is the game’s sixth-highest scorer in his position, helped by the 38 DefCon points that match Andersen.
Also worth pointing out is his cheaper centre-back partner, Michael Keane (£4.5m), who was playing very well before Jarrad Branthwaite (£5.3m) returned from injury and took his place. Now that Branthwaite’s season is done, Keane is a canny differential with aerial threat that many managers might overlook.
