Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 38+ Preview – Captain pick, “Who’s hot?”

One of Man United, Chelsea and Leicester will miss out on Champions League football, Spurs could pip Wolves to the final Europa League spot and two of Aston Villa, Watford and Bournemouth will be relegated to the Championship. We look forward to enticing final-day games including Man City vs Norwich which could become a cricket score and Liverpool vs Newcastle which could be equally one- sided.

This week, you’ll gain a huge advantage if you can find early team news before the transfer deadline of 3pm on Sunday 26th July. Good luck!

Follow John Mount (@Gameweek38 on twitter) for more FPL insight.

Captain Picks

Gabriel Jesus (£9.9m) vs Norwich (H)

Man City vs Norwich sets the stage for the league’s best attack to play against the league’s worst defence. If West Ham were able to score four against the Canaries, I see no reason why the Sky Blues cannot score five or more. Jesus has scored three goals and provided three assists since lockdown and over the last four gameweeks, no Man City player has taken more shots or had as many chances from open play. If Jesus starts on Sunday, less than two goal involvements would be disappointing.

Harry Kane (£10.9m) vs Crystal Palace (A)

With four goals over his last two games, Kane has found his best form of the season at just the right time as win vs Palace coupled with a Wolves loss or draw will see Tottenham secure 6 th spot in the league and European football. On seventeen goals for the season, Kane continues to be Spurs’ talisman as no Tottenham player has had more shots, shots on target or touches in the opposition’s penalty area over the last four gameweeks. Also on penalty duty, more goals may be on their way.

Michail Antonio (£7.1m) vs Aston Villa (H)

Although Premier League safety was already confirmed, West Ham delivered a great performance against Man Utd on Wednesday while Antonio scored his eighth goal in six games. Having displaced £45m Sebastian Haller as West Ham’s main striker, Antonio brings speed and agility to the attack which could do well against Mings and Konsa at the heart of Villa’s fragile defence. Over the last four gameweeks, only Mo Salah has had more shots and shots on target than Antonio, showing that for £7.1m, the Englishman is great value for money and has the stats to back up his selection for an outside captaincy choice.

The Form Guide - Who’s Hot?

Anthony Martial (Man United, £8.5m)

Martial’s assist on Wednesday made it five continuous weeks without blanking. Needing a win or draw to secure Champions League football, Man United travel to Leicester who will have a make- shift backline without Soyuncu, Pereira, Chilwell and Fuchs. Likely to come in for Leicester is Wes Morgan, a notoriously slow and sluggish player who will probably struggle to deal with Man United’s pace and agility up front.

Chris Wood (Burnley, £6.2m)

The former Leeds man is having the most prolific Premier League campaign of his career and has the chance to reach the fifteen-goal mark as Burnley travel to Brighton on Sunday. With two goals in two games and thirteen goals so far this season, only Olivier Giroud has had more ‘big chances’ than Wood over the last two gameweeks and sits second in the league for expected goals in the same period.

David Silva (Man City, £7.5m)

Although it’s difficult to predict the Man City line-up, one player you’d expect to start on Sunday is David Silva. This will be the Spaniard’s final Premier League game as he is leaving the club at the end of the season and you’d expect him to leave on a high. Likely to replace De Bruyne if he does start, Silva has had three more shots on target and three more touches in the opposition’s penalty area than the Belgian over the last six gameweeks.

Ones to Watch (Less than 5% ownership)

Marcos Alonso (Chelsea, £6.1m, 3.1%)

It’s been Alonso’s quietest season since joining Chelsea in 2016 as he’s only been directly involved in seven goals this campaign compared to eleven goals in his debut season. In contrast, he has only played around half the number of minutes as he did that year but still maintains a fantasy point every fifteen minutes on the pitch. Maintaining this ratio, assuming Alonso starts, he’ll be on for six points against Wolves, knowing that a win will guarantee them Champions League football.

Ben Davies (Tottenham, £5.3m, 0.3%)

Having started every league game since the restart, Davies has cemented his place in Spurs’ starting eleven ahead of a short trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday. The Welshman has picked up four clean sheets since the break and has had more shots than any other Spurs defender over the last six gameweeks. Palace have failed to score in four of their last five games so another Spurs clean sheet is likely.

Callum Wilson (Bournemouth, £7.4m, 4.2%)

Knowing that only a sizeable win give them a chance of survival against Everton, it’s down to the Bournemouth attack to secure the win. With the most shots in the box over the last six gameweeks and often on penalties, Wilson stands out as the most threatening Bournemouth attacker and in a team which is prone to rotation, he has played more minutes than any Bournemouth outfield player this season.

The Explainer

Transfers

After picking your initial squad, you receive 1 free transfer each Gameweek. Each additional transfer you make in the same Gameweek will deduct 4 points from your score.

If you do not use your free transfer, you are able to make an additional free transfer the following Gameweek. If you do not use this saved free transfer in the following Gameweek, it will be carried over until you do. You can never have more than 1 saved transfer.

For example, since you get 1 free transfer per gameweek, if you make no transfers between gameweeks, you will have 2 free transfers in preparation for the next gameweek. You will incur a 4 point hit per transfer over your free transfer allowance.

Point Scoring

During the season, your fantasy football players will be allocated points based on their performance in the Premier League. Remember, every week your captain scores double points, so pick them wisely!

Points Action

1 For playing up to 60 minutes

2 For playing 60 minutes or more (excluding stoppage time)

6 For each goal scored by a goalkeeper or defender

5 For each goal scored by a midfielder

4 For each goal scored by a forward

3 For each goal assist

4 For a clean sheet by a goalkeeper or defender

1 For a clean sheet by a midfielder

1 For every 3 shot saves by a goalkeeper

5 For each penalty save

-2 For each penalty miss

1 to 3 Bonus points for the best players in a match

-1 For every 2 goals conceded by a goalkeeper or defender

-1 For each yellow card

-3 For each red card

-2 For each own goal

For more information on the rules of the game, visit https://fantasy.premierleague.com/help/rules

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