Eight-time top 10k finisher Zophar hosts his weekly Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Q&A ahead of Gameweek 36. Here, topics include the best remaining Triple Captain picks and which of the ‘template’ front three to sell.
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Q: With only three Gameweeks remaining and no Double Gameweeks scheduled, is a Triple Captain on Kevin De Bruyne in Gameweek 36 a good option? Which other options would you consider?
Q. Will Kevin De Bruyne play/start and smash it?
(via PEP ROULETTE and THE FPL UNITS)
A: Looking at the fixtures for the next three Gameweeks, there are a few Triple Captaincy options that come to mind.
Gameweek 36
Kevin De Bruyne away to Southampton/Bryan Mbeumo away to Ipswich
Kevin De Bruyne (£9.5m) looks like he has a point to prove and has scored two goals since his return to the Manchester City side in Gameweek 31. His role as a false nine rather than the usual deeper position has led to an improvement in shot volume and xG as well. However, could this change if we see Erling Haaland (£14.8m) starting against Southampton? Man City will almost certainly change their system then and what would this mean for De Bruyne? I still think he will start but maybe in a more deeper, creative role with less goal threat? I still think he is potentially the second-best, if not the best, option for the remainder.
Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2m) has been a flat-track bully, only blanking against Leicester at home in five of his match-ups against the promoted sides. With Leif Davis (£4.2m) still missing, he should profit with Brentford looking to target Ipswich Town’s left flank. With relegation sealed, this could be an open game at Portman Road with goals for both teams. He’s a great option but like we saw last weekend, there can be games where Mbeumo has minimal involvement (0.28 xGI in Gameweek 35) and that worries me a little bit.
Gameweek 37
Ollie Watkins at home to Tottenham Hotspur/Cole Palmer at home to Manchester United
If the Aston Villa game was originally on Sunday 18 May as previously scheduled, Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) would be the top Triple Captain candidate for me. He’d likely be facing a heavily rotated Spurs side with a potential Europa League final on Wednesday 21 May. However, with the game moved to Friday 16 May, I think Spurs will play a strongish side and look to build rhythm. With their first team playing today and resting on the weekend, it would be an extremely long break if they were rested against Villa as well.
The recent Donyell Malen (£5.3m) sub on has dampened my enthusiasm too, as Watkins looks to be a 70-75 minute man even in Marcus Rashford’s (£6.6m) absence.
The same would apply to Manchester United, as well. I think they will put out a reasonable side at Stamford Bridge and while Cole Palmer (£10.5m) looked back to his electric best against Liverpool, I still haven’t seen enough recently to trust him with the Triple Captaincy.
Gameweek 38
Bukayo Saka away to Southampton/Evanilson or Justin Kluivert at home to Leicester
Arsenal are knocked out of the UEFA Champions League now and have no reason to rest/rotate players. Bukayo Saka (£10.3m) should start against Southampton in Gameweek 38, a day which traditionally has loads of goals.
As we saw against Paris Saint-Germain last night, Saka is still getting good quality chances and has penalty-taking duties and set pieces as well. The Saints are likely to be even more open than usual in their last home game and there are plenty of goals in the offing for the Gunners, who will want to end the campaign on a high. They might even need the win to secure second place, depending on how the next few results go.
With Bournemouth, I think they spread the returns around too much to trust them with the Triple Captaincy. It could be any one of Evanilson (£5.8m), Justin Kluivert (£6.0m), Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) or Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m) hauling on their day.
I think Saka is potentially more talismanic for Arsenal than De Bruyne is for Man City, which would put him as the top option for me. It’s close, though. As someone with the Triple Captaincy chip in hand, I will be monitoring Pep Guardiola’s press conference and any early team news very closely. If I hear that Haaland is benched, I would be more inclined to Triple Captain the Belgian.
Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) isn’t a bad pick for Gameweek 37 or 38 either but it just doesn’t feel right with the way Liverpool might randomly rotate.
Q: Would you do Bukayo Saka to Kevin De Bruyne this week?
Q. Who is a better pick out of Kevin De Bruyne and Bukayo Saka for the final three Gameweeks? Who do I drop out of Mohamed Salah, Bryan Mbeumo, Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Elanga and Morgan Rogers? I’ve got £5.6m in the bank.
(via @alexwaterbaby and P-h-o-e-n-i-x)
A: I think I prefer De Bruyne over Saka for the last three Gameweeks but I am not sure I would commit a transfer to it now, unless you are set on captaining the Belgian this week. Mbeumo is a perfectly good alternative who could outscore him.
While De Bruyne should play in Gameweek 37, opponents Bournemouth are no pushovers. Fulham away in Gameweek 38 will not be a walkover, either. Saka has Newcastle at home in Arsenal’s final home game of the season and is the standout captaincy option in Gameweek 38.
From the midfielders mentioned, I would sell Anthony Elanga (£5.4m) for De Bruyne.
Q: Would you consider selling Alexander Isak to fund Kevin De Bruyne?
(via @superkaizen07)
A: No player has been afforded more big chances (10) than Alexander Isak (£9.6m) over the last six Gameweeks. A haul is around the corner, Newcastle have two of their remaining three games at home and I would not part ways with the Swedish international.
Q: With one free transfer, is it worth holding Jean-Philippe Mateta against Spurs (I’ve got no Yoane Wissa v Ipswich) to have an extra free transfer for future Gameweeks (eg to get two Bournemouth players in Gameweek 38). Or is Wissa worth the transfer now for any of the template three forwards?
Q. Is it worth selling Jean-Philippe Mateta for a hit?
(via DARE TO BISCAN and @Karan_G14)
A: While Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m) is a great pick for this week against a leaky Spurs side that should rotate, he is almost a ‘must-sell’ in Gameweek 37. Palace play Wolves that week, a few days after the FA Cup final, so it is highly possible that Eddie Nketiah (£5.9m) starts that game. They then end the season away at Anfield, when Liverpool will likely put out a strong team on their last home game.
While I wouldn’t take a hit to ship him, I think the free transfer from Mateta to Yoane Wissa (£6.7m) is still worth it. Brentford have been bullies against the promoted sides and are highly motivated, so there’s no reason not to buy Wissa.
Q: Which forward to sell from the template front three (Alexander Isak, Omar Marmoush, Jean-Philippe Mateta) if making a forward transfer?
A: For the reasons mentioned above, I still think I would sell Mateta of the three, unless we get some sort of indication in Pep Guardiola’s press conference about Omar Marmoush’s (£7.6m) minutes being dodgy.
You’ll want to leave this transfer late as Man City are the first kick-off slot close to deadline again, so some early team news might drop. If that’s the case, you would want to sell Marmoush over the Frenchman.
Q: With one free transfer, who is the one player, forsaking all others, that you absolutely positively must have in your team this week?
(via SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY)
A: As always, we look to the teams playing the promoted sides: Man City, Brentford and Forest. I think all three have excellent options, like De Bruyne, Mbeumo, Wissa, Chris Wood (£7.1m) and Elanga. All are great picks, but I think if we get some sort of news that Haaland is starting, he is the one I would want.
If this question were six weeks ago, I would have said Wood, but the recent underlying numbers are so poor.
We discuss these questions and more in the Gameweek 36 pod of The FPL Wire. You can check it out here.
