We’re running down a position-by-position guide to the pick of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) options for Double Gameweek 33, whether you’re using a Free Hit or even just looking for short-term targets with your free transfers.
Over a quarter of the site readers polled in our sidebar vote said they are planning to activate their Free Hit this week, comfortably making it the most popular chip option.
You can read a rundown of the stand-out goalkeepers here and defenders here, while those on a Bench Boost can check out our guide to the best budget assets for the chip.
All stats from this article are from our Premium Members Area.
BRUNO FERNANDES
Eight returns in 15 matches for Bruno Fernandes (£11.6m) under Ralf Rangnick simply isn’t good enough for a premium FPL midfielder as a long-term hold. The Portuguese schemer has an uncanny knack of saving his best for a Double Gameweek, however, with five of those goals/assists arriving in United’s previous two ‘doubles’.
Top for big chances created (nine) among Fantasy midfielders since Rangnick took charge, he’s perhaps been short changed on the FPL returns front: only three orthodox assists have arrived in that time.
Fernandes is also, perhaps surprisingly, second among all Premier League players for xGI minus penalties over the last six matches.
We’ll point you in the direction of Stevie’s Eye Test article on United assets, which profiles Fernandes in a second striker role and the possibility of the Norwich game being a very good fit for him considering the chances he racked up when blanking against Watford recently. Jadon Sancho‘s (£8.9m) credentials are also discussed.
Our Rate My Team tool predicts that Fernandes will be the highest score of the Gameweek but much of that hope rests on Saturday’s match, as not a great deal will be expected from a trip to Anfield in midweek.
BUKAYO SAKA/GABRIEL MARTINELLI
Arsenal’s Champions League push has been derailed over the last fortnight and the FPL returns have dried up too after a long purple patch from December onwards. The absence of Thomas Partey (£5.0m), whose ability to not just break up play but launch attacks, could continue to be keenly felt in the next few weeks.
But Gameweek 33 offers hope for Bukayo Saka (£6.8m) and co, particularly the first fixture against Southampton this weekend.
Saints have conceded more goals than any other team (15) since their form took a turn for the worse in Gameweek 28, not keeping a clean sheet during this period. In fact, their total of 22 big chances conceded in the last five Gameweeks is eight more than any other side has allowed.
Looking at Southampton’s shots conceded map over the last five Gameweeks (above), the Saints are allowing plenty of attempts from a position that Gabriel Martinelli (£5.3m) would expect to capitalise on as Arsenal’s left-sided midfielder – if selected, of course.
The Brazilian and Saka have been fairly closely matched for points potential in 2021/22; the latter has the edge when it comes to xGI over the season as a whole (see image below), while the former has nosed in front over the last six matches.
Where Saka has the advantage is in security of starts, with his only two benchings in 2021/22 coming off the back of fitness issues.
JAMES MADDISON/HARVEY BARNES
The most-bought player ahead of next Saturday’s deadline is James Maddison (£7.0m), who is on a phenomenal run of 14 attacking returns in as many starts – and he even scored another goal arriving as a substitute in Gameweek 27. Even Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) can’t match that level of output, although the Egyptian is predictably trouncing Maddison for expected goal involvement (xGI) in that time.
Harvey Barnes (£6.6m) – who was benched on Sunday – isn’t far off his teammate, with 10 returns in his last 13 starts, and he has had 14 shots in the box since Maddison last had even one such effort. Profligacy is an ongoing issue with Barnes, however, with just three goals arriving in 2021/22 from 53 shots.
Leicester’s double (their first of three in the run-in) ranks them high up the Season Ticker, although they have two away games and both Newcastle and Everton have been much better and more defensively sound on home soil.
Rotation risk is also a big concern with the Foxes due to their continued involvement in Europe and Brendan Rodgers delivered on his pre-match promise of making changes on Sunday, with only four players retaining their places – Maddison being among them.
Does that make Maddison more ‘due’ for a breather than Barnes, then? Quite possibly, and the minutes logged in Thursday’s Europa Conference League clash against PSV Eindhoven may also be crucial when it comes to Gameweek 33 pitch-time. These two can easily grab an attacking return in what pitch-time is afforded to them – just don’t put any money on consecutive league starts.
As for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£4.4m), Sunday’s haul tripled his attacking return count for the season. An average of one shot in the box every 235 minutes suggests he’s not about to go on a run of big scores but he’s a fine option as a ‘fifth’ midfielder in a Free Hit squad and a very competent auto-sub if called upon.
SON HEUNG-MIN
The fact that Son Heung-min (£11.1m) is the second-most-bought FPL asset of Gameweek 33, despite Spurs not having a ‘double’, says much about the South Korea’s recent form.
A total of 48 points have flowed over the last three Gameweeks, more than Ronaldo has managed this calendar year.
And since Antonio Conte first took charge in north London, Son is the leading points scorer among FPL midfielders.
His current rate of returns will soon slow down but that doesn’t mean to say that the goals and assists won’t continue to arrive with more sustainable regularity from now until the end of the season, and this is the sixth straight campaign in which he has banked at least 20 attacking returns in FPL.
He enjoys making a mockery of Opta’s expected goals (xG) stats, too. While he may not be able to match Salah for shots, big chances or xG over an extended period, he has exceeded the data-collectors’ predictions ever since he came to the Premier League:
| Season | The difference between Son’s actual goal involvements versus Opta’s xGI |
| 2021/22 | +6.40 |
| 2020/21 | +11.90 |
| 2019/20 | +8.30 |
| 2018/19 | +7.40 |
| 2017/18 | +3.50 |
As for Brighton, Son’s opponents this weekend, they have kept only clean sheet against a side who are higher than 13th in the Premier League table all season.
BRUNO GUIMARAES
So far, so template? Try Bruno Guimaraes (£4.9m) on for size as a budget-freeing differential.
Ryan Fraser (£5.3m) and Joe Willock (£5.6m) would have featured prominently in this piece were it not for the fact that injury could cost them involvement in Gameweek 33, so midfield options from the north-east are few and far between.
The ‘other’ Bruno is about the best of the rest from the Magpies, and his price reflects his limited points appeal. Nevertheless, his minutes-per-chance average (37) is better than any Newcastle regular this season.
While regularly dropping deep, he’s not quite the stationary midfield axis that Jonjo Shelvey (£5.3m) is in the current set-up under Eddie Howe. Instead, he’s allowed a bit more freedom to get forward as a ‘number eight’, as evidenced by his seven shots in the box in just 407 minutes of game-time.
Above: Shot maps of Bruno Guimaraes (left) and Jonjo Shelvey (right) in 2021/22
Guimaraes went close to an assist and a goal in Gameweek 32, was heavily involved in the first-half Chris Wood (£6.7m) strike that was ruled out for offside and was well-positioned for a free shot in the build-up to Wood’s penalty award.
Expectations have to be tempered but he’s one of the more attractive sub-£5.0m options this week and will be facing two sides in important cup action three days before they head to Tyneside.
JAMES WARD-PROWSE
Southampton have slipped into a bit of an end-of-season coma and are now winless in six matches in league and cup. “Feast or famine” was how we described the Saints in the weekend Scout Notes; it’s certainly not the first time they’ve got stuck in a rut under Ralph Hasenhuttl and embarked on a long run of poor form.
They at least encounter the defences of Arsenal and Burnley at decent times, with the Gunners now looking less formidable at the back to due to injury and the Clarets on the division’s longest current run without a clean sheet.
There aren’t too many stand-out midfield picks from the Southampton squad. Stuart Armstrong (£5.8m) has a better minutes-per-shot average than even Armando Broja (£5.5m) and Che Adams (£6.8m) this season, but over 60% of his efforts have been from outside of the box. Even Saints’ two centre-halves have had more ‘big chances’ than the Scot.
And so we turn, once again, to James Ward-Prowse (£6.4m). We don’t how Hasenhuttl will react to the 6-0 drubbing by Chelsea in terms of personnel changes but we can be pretty sure that the England midfielder will survive any cull, having not been benched once under his current boss in any of the last three seasons. Posing little threat from open play, it’s a bit of a lottery as to when the set-piece whizz and penalty taker will get a chance to rack up points from a dead-ball situation.
But he’s an impressive third among FPL midfielders for chances created this season and his points-per-match average of 4.2 can’t be bettered by any teammate.
OTHER CANDIDATES
Having scored in just one of their last six fixtures, Burnley aren’t exactly commanding our attention for their upcoming double. A new low was also struck with the 2-0 loss at bottom-of-the-table Norwich City last weekend. Maxwel Cornet (£5.9m) is about the pick of a bad lot: he’s first among his teammates for penalty box touches, goal attempts and xGI over the last six matches.
Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City usually form the backbone of Free Hit/Wildcard sides but not so much this week. As well as their lack of a ‘double’, there is their involvement in the FA Cup semi-finals, which take place after Saturday’s FPL deadline has passed – so we can’t react to the latest line-ups and any fresh injuries as we try to second-guess what their managers are thinking. Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m), in fact, is already possibly carrying a knock from Wednesday night’s bruising encounter in Madrid.
The top three do encounter the defences of Brighton, Manchester United and an injury-hit Arsenal at good times, at least, and Salah went bananas in the reverse fixture of next Tuesday’s game, scoring a hat-trick en route to a 24-point haul at Old Trafford. The Egyptian has not quite looked at his best since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations, relying on penalties to paper over the cracks, but he’s still head and shoulders above any other player for xGI in that time. Based on his years of proven pedigree, the ‘underachievement’ surely won’t last too much longer.
GAMEWEEK 33 POINTS PROJECTIONS: WHAT RMT THINKS
Rate my Team (RMT) is a tool designed to give you an approximation of how many FPL points your team will score over a series of Gameweeks.
Our points projections show algorithm-generated predictions for every FPL player both this Gameweek and in future ones.
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