The takeaways from Gameweek 38 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) will no doubt be long forgotten by the time 2025/26 gets underway.
But for the completionists, and for those wondering where the heck Danny Welbeck (£5.5m) was, here are our notes from the remaining five final-day fixtures:
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Gvardiol top-scoring defender, Semenyo goes big in GW38
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 38 round-up: Goals, assists, bonus points + stats
WHY WELBECK MISSED OUT
Welbeck was the subject of over 100,000 transfers in ahead of Gameweek 38 but on what was a miserable day for most of the well-owned forwards, he missed out on Brighton and Hove Albion’s 4-1 win in north London.
The veteran striker, along with Pervis Estupinan (£4.9m), was injured.
“They had a minor injury and we had to take care of them.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Danny Welbeck and Pervis Estupinan
With Joao Pedro (£5.5m) also not considered, Fabian Hurzeler instead went with two ‘false nines’: Jack Hinshelwood (£4.9m) and Brajan Gruda (£5.4m).
Hinshelwood hit a brace but it had little to do with his starting position, as both strikes were from corners.
It wasn’t just a question of who was going to lead the line in the absence of Pedro and Welbeck but who would deputise on penalties, too.
Substitute Matt O’Riley (£5.5m) answered that, despatching a late spot-kick after Diego Gomez (£5.5m) had been felled. Gomez himself was to bag a Goal of the Month candidate in injury time.
Neither player has been able to establish themselves in Hurzeler’s starting XI in their debut Premier League seasons but the Seagulls rarely sign duffers, and it’ll be interesting to see whether they can kick on from here.
Kaoru Mitoma (£6.3m) hasn’t been part of the Albion line-up for seven Gameweeks but for another reason: his fitness. Still, he bagged his fourth return in five substitute appearances on Sunday.
As for Spurs, few connected with the club will give two hoots about losing after Wednesday’s win in Bilbao.
Dominic Solanke (£7.3m) netted from the spot and Brennan Johnson (£6.2m) and Mathys Tel (£5.8m) spurned huge chances but the shot count read 4-23, with the Lilywhites running on empty by full-time.
“Yeah. The emotion of the last three days, aside from the game itself. Obviously the players were allowed to celebrate that but irrespective of that the emotions of the last three days meant it was always going to be a tricky one for us. First half we competed well. We could’ve had a second goal which would’ve made it easier for us. Even second half Brennan’s got a good opportunity but you could tell last 35 minutes we ran out of legs and kind of understandable for the players.” – Ange Postecoglou on whether Spurs ran out of steam
NO CALAFIORI, ARTETA ROTATES
Like Welbeck, Riccardo Calafiori (£5.8m) was a surprise absentee on Sunday.
And as was the case with the experienced forward, fitness was behind the decision.
“We pushed Richy a lot to make sure that he was fit for the last few games and he was two, three weeks ahead of schedule in his injury. He’s been constantly dragged into areas where he was really, really stretched and he wasn’t comfortable the last week or two. With a lot of things, he still wanted to carry on but we decided to give him a break. He needs a rest, he needs to now make sure that he has proper preparation, a clear pre-season and give him the best chance to have a successful season next season.” – Mikel Arteta on Riccardo Calafiori
There were Gameweek-ruining team calls from Mikel Arteta elsewhere, with Bukayo Saka (£10.4m) among the regulars benched. Looking at the starting XI, it’s possible that as few as two or three – David Raya (£5.6m), Declan Rice (£6.3m) and maybe Gabriel Martinelli (£6.5m) – will be lining up in Gameweek 1 after the expected summer transfers in central midfield and up top, as well as the return from injury of several first-teamers.
One of the biggest Fantasy disappointments this season, Martin Odegaard (£8.2m), popped up with a fine late goal to seal all three meaningless points. He’s returned in six straight Gameweeks, which accounts for half of his dozen attacking returns in 2024/25. More of that next season, please, especially at a lower starting price.
There have been myriad ‘nearly’ moments in Saka’s eight consecutive season-ending blanks. Here there were more in a lively cameo, including a disallowed goal and a near-assist for a blocked Oleksandr Zinchenko (£4.8m) shot.
Really, though, this utterly inconsequential game will be remembered for two fond reasons: goals for the exit-bound Kieran Tierney (£4.3m) and the blighted-by-injury Ross Stewart (£4.4m).
THE CASE FOR CHELSEA’S DEFENCE
Raya ended up sharing the Golden Glove with Matz Sels (£5.2m), whose clean sheet was spoiled by Levi Colwill‘s (£4.8m) winner.
While the predicted Gameweek 38 goalfest failed to materialise elsewhere, this Champions League shootout, with the stakes so high, always looked like being a jittery, low-scoring affair.
So it was, with only seven open-play shots all game. There were more efforts (nine) from set pieces, indeed.
Both sides’ line-leading strikers Chris Wood (£7.2m) and an out-of-position Pedro Neto (£6.1m), couldn’t keep down first-half ‘big chances’. Forest’s Kiwi forward then blazed over in injury time; the Wood of earlier this season would have likely bagged both opportunities.
And that, pretty much, was that in terms of meaningful goalmouth action, aside from Colwill’s winner. Cole Palmer (£10.5m) finished 2024/25 with a 10th blank in 13 appearances, being denied an assist when Neto spurned that aforementioned chance.
A lack of recent shut-outs hasn’t distorted the picture that Forest’s defence has been one of the division’s best. Chelsea’s backline is less heralded but they’ve looked so much more solid recently, with eight clean sheets in their final 12 games. In the end, the Blues’ 43 goals conceded was a tally that only the top two clubs could better.
HOWE ON ISAK, PICKFORD SECURES TOP-SCORING ‘KEEPER CROWN AGAIN
Talking of nervy performances, Newcastle delivered a supremely fidgety display in defeat to Everton and nearly blew a Champions League place.
The Magpies had several openings, with two centre-backs accounting for almost half their shots: three for Sven Botman (£4.4m), a joint-game-high five for Fabian Schar (£5.5m). Both stoppers should have scored.
Schar, incidentally, finished the season with 18 attempts in the final eight Gameweeks. No other defender came close to that.
But Everton had just as many significant chances, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.4m) wasting two late big openings to add to Carlos Alcaraz‘s (£4.7m) opener.
It’s been an excellent second half of the season for Everton. Under David Moyes, the Toffees have produced top-half-level results and only two sides have conceded fewer goals (19). Jordan Pickford (£5.2m) even finished the season as the top-scoring FPL goalkeeper, defending his crown from 2023/24.
Above: The Premier League table since David Moyes’ appointment
Alexander Isak (£9.4m) blanked and again looked like he needed a period of sustained rest. A bit of downtime worked well earlier in the season and after a summer of recuperation, there’s every expectation that he’ll be hitting the ground running in Gameweek 1.
“I think whenever a player misses even that small amount of time, you lose a little bit of sharpness in your game, and I think that was possibly the case. But credit to him, he put himself available, he wanted to play, he wanted to try and make the difference. He had a couple of chances in the game, so I was just very pleased that he was so desperate to play.” – Eddie Howe on Alexander Isak
20-GOAL MBEUMO
Bryan Mbeumo (£8.3m) capped off a superb season by bagging his 20th goal of the campaign on Sunday. Yoane Wissa (£6.9m) almost did similar and was unlucky to blank, nearly scoring a fine goal of his own and seeing an assist go up in smoke when Keane Lewis-Potter (£5.0m) spurned a great chance.
Brentford’s failure to qualify for Europe could be viewed as a positive in FPL, with their players more dependable for starts in 2025/26 when nine other clubs will be juggling continental commitments with domestic duties.
Whether Mbeumo and Wissa will still be in west London is another question. If Mbeumo leaves but Wissa stays then yes, the latter may be affected by his good friend’s absence. But it’s worth pointing out that he may inherit spot-kick duties, too.
Impressively, all 19 of Wissa’s goals in 2024/25 were non-penalties.
Thomas Frank’s side started the better on Sunday but, perhaps with news filtering through that their European dreams were gone, the game went a tad flat in the second half.
Marshall Munetsi (£5.0m) scored an absolute thunderbolt of a goal to level the scores, while Matheus Cunha (£7.0m) registered a Gameweek-high eight shots.
The Brazilian finished the season as the forward with the most attempts (110) in the Premier League.
