In his latest Fantasy Premier League (FPL) article, three-time top 200 finisher Lateriser picks out a good final day team to buy players from, before writing a love letter to the game we play.

For us managers, this weekend is the final roll of the dice, just like it’s the end for Pep Guardiola and his 10 years at Manchester City.

That makes me think that their home game against Aston Villa will be one to target from an FPL perspective. Highly motivated to give the most important person in their entire history a proper send-off, they face a team that won the Europa League on Wednesday and will likely be ‘on the beach’.

Therefore, it’s a difficult moment for managers who want to zag the zig of an Erling Haaland (£14.7m) captaincy. That said, Pep is unreliable, and we can only guess what type of team he’ll put out. So try to be around social media on Sunday, if possible, in case early news comes through.

PICKING CHERRIES

In terms of reliable punts to take, I understand why going for West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton and Hove Albion attackers might be attractive. At home, they all have an ideal ‘motivated team vs beach team’ situation.

Yet, outside of these, the one team I really like is Bournemouth. Okay, going away to Nottingham Forest can be tough, but I was genuinely surprised by the amount of space they afforded Manchester United last week, allowing Bryan Mbeumo (£8.3m) to accumulate 2.21 expected goals (xG).

Bournemouth, in my opinion, are a highly functional team, fresh from a top performance against Man City. They sit third for xG across the last six matches, and I don’t mind purchasing their attackers at all.

Eli Junior Kroupi (£4.7m) is the one who has my spidey senses tingling, as he ticks the important boxes of motivation, penalties, a good team, and some exceptional individual form. If you’re shopping in the midfield bracket, I think I prefer Rayan (£5.4m) over Marcus Tavernier (£5.3m) now that Kroupi seems to have penalty duties.

Everything about Sunday feels a bit ambiguous. My general advice is to wait until near the deadline, but lock your team half an hour in advance, as there could be a fair few last-minute transfers.

WHY I LOVE FPL

From a personal perspective, it has been another below-par season for me. I don’t really see myself as a top-level FPL manager anymore, but that hasn’t dwindled my love for the game at all.

I love doing written and video content for you guys, and I love being a part of this amazing community. It still amazes me that just by virtue of being passionate about this silly game, which is mostly heartbreak in the chase for one moment of dopamine, I’ve found a second ‘profession’ and access to so many beautiful people and stories.

Over the last few underperforming campaigns, I’ve been led to a very stark and real observation about our relationship with FPL.

Now I talk purely to those of us whose moods are massively affected by outcomes that aren’t in our control, amongst competition that is getting smarter by the day. The game shouldn’t affect us for long spans of time, if at all, and we need to recalibrate such a relationship if it isn’t the healthiest.

The last couple of years have tested me on a personal level, and that has made me appreciate the FPL community even more.

No matter how deep the shade of my red arrow is, I always love to problem-solve and think of the next optimistic move I can make when chatting with my friends and pod partners Zophar and Pras. It is something I ALWAYS look forward to.

STAYING OPTIMISTIC

My last three armbands have gone to Nico O’Reilly (£5.3m) as a normal captain, O’Reilly as a Triple Captain, and then the benched Viktor Gyokeres (£9.1m). It really hasn’t worked out, but I’m still as optimistic as ever.

I have very conveniently adjusted my FPL goals, in the hope that all my good variance will eventually gather for one overdue generational season that completes a hat-trick of finishes inside the top 100.

It allows me to play my own game. And, while the trend towards analytics keeps growing (which I don’t ignore), I realise that I still love to base my decisions on the eye test, and what I read about clubs from a ‘footballing’ point of view. First and foremost, I am a football fan. That drives my love for FPL and not vice versa.

THE END OF 2025/26

My last word here is that, while the last couple of years have been personally tough, they’ve made me notice the value of FPL and its wonderful community.

We must never forget the bigger picture because, at the end of the day, FPL is a game that’s supposed to give us an escape from the general challenges of life. Let’s treat it exactly that way.

A game that makes us meet silly, like-minded people from all over the world, with whom we share our bizarre ideas and forge bonds over a nice beverage. The pain and frustration of red arrows are not worth feeling bad about.

I’m no Roy Keane when it comes to celebrations. In fact, I’m the anti-Roy Keane. Celebrate your victories, honour your hauls and blame all that has gone wrong to variance.

See you next season. From someone who loves the game as much as you do, have a delightful summer!