Q: Since Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Leicester City have excellent fixtures and Manchester City and Liverpool are fighting it out on the final day for the title, can you suggest a combined top three players to target from these five teams for someone who is chasing in a mini-league? (@appshaank)
A: Since you have mentioned these are for players who are chasing, I won’t mention the obvious picks like Harry Kane (£12.4m) and Son Heung-min (£11.1m).
Sadio Mane (£11.8m) was left out of the Liverpool squad completely against Southampton in midweek, which bodes well for a start and 90 minutes against Wolves. I’m fully expecting Jurgen Klopp to go with his first-choice front three which we have seen in recent weeks, comprising of Luiz Diaz (£8.1m) on the left, Mane at centre-forward and Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) on the right – fitness permitting. Mane has scored three goals in Liverpool’s last six matches and just from memory, I recall him finishing the final day strongly. Diaz is also a decent option, of course, so it’s a coin toss between him and Mane.
Jamie Vardy (£10.3m) has registered four goals, 10 shots in the box and four big chances in his last two appearances, putting the veteran firmly on the radar for Gameweek 38. A rest against Chelsea would make him even more appealing and the Southampton defence is likely to prove extremely obliging.
It’s rare that Phil Foden (£7.8m) is left out of a Manchester City line-up and the youngster saw zero minutes against West Ham. I expect him to slot back into the City team against Aston Villa, either on the left wing or at centre-forward. It would have been easy for me to pick the obvious Kevin De Bruyne (£12.1m) here but if money is an issue, Foden is your man.
In defence, I think any of the Chelsea wing-backs who are rested against Leicester are good picks against Watford in Gameweek 38.
Q: I’ve been wanting to bring in Christian Eriksen for a while. As someone with a Spurs triple-up in attack, I’m thinking Dejan Kulusevski for Eriksen on a free transfer. Is this a crazy punt and is it smarter to stay with Kulusevski? I’m at an overall rank of 138k in my first season and aiming for the top 100k. (@fpl_firefly)
A: First off, kudos to making it to Gameweek 38 and above all, I hope you have had fun this year. FPL seasons are not always this demanding and you have done well in your first campaign to adjust to the constantly changing landscape.
I think Dejan Kulusevski (£6.3m) is a great differential against Norwich in Gameweek 38, as almost everyone will have Son and many will have Kane. He is capable of double-digit returns himself and I would possibly look elsewhere for upgrades. That being said, if you do want to transfer Christian Eriksen (£5.6m) in, he’s not a bad shout this week. Brentford have a bit of rivalry against Leeds from their time in the Championship and the Bees will want to sign off in front of their fans in style. It is about having fun at the end of the day and if you feel owning Eriksen will make the final Gameweek of the season more enjoyable for you, by all means go for it. We won’t have any football for a couple of months and the last thing you want to feel over the summer is that you didn’t back your gut.
Q: Who are the best differential and sensible captain punts to make big rank gains on the last day of the season? ( @FPL_Rony)
A: Son will likely be the most popular captain choice and in my opinion the best one as well. When this is the case, I can’t really advocate going against it. However, if you really fancy plumping for a differential, then Kane is an option. Looking away from Spurs, I like the look of Vardy against Southampton. One of the Liverpool midfielders, Mane or Diaz, also appeals and De Bruyne is worth a look, too. Because so many of the top teams have an incentive to do well on the final day, there is no shortage of candidates. Heck, even Romelu Lukaku (£11.4m) against Watford is an option.
Q: Bukayo Saka to Luis Diaz for a -4? (@shmirofpl)
Q: Is it worth taking a -4 hit to bring in Ivan Toney for Emmanuel Dennis in Gameweek 38 and bench Eddie Nketiah? My free transfer is Ollie Watkins to Harry Kane. (@RedDevil4everr)
A: I’ve combined these two questions as they essentially cover the same topic: Arsenal. The Gunners will no doubt be affected mentally by the last two defeats but they still would want to put up a good performance in front of the fans on the final day. A lot depends on the result for Everton against Palace on Thursday; the Toffees are guaranteed safety with a win against the Eagles and if they do achieve that, then we are likely going to see a very relaxed, obliging outfit turn up at the Emirates. If Everton do have something to play for, I expect to see them to set up extremely defensively and play on the counter, which might not suit Mikel Arteta’s side. I still don’t like the idea of benching/selling Arsenal assets but I can understand the appeal if Everton are still in the relegation dogfight. If they’re safe, I’d definitely stick.
Q: Mohamed Salah to Sadio Mane or just hold? I’m looking for the next ’30-pointer’. (@TropicalFPL)
A: This is a question that many Gameweek 37 Free Hitters are likely to be asking. Salah, at the time of writing, is expected to make the Liverpool squad against Wolves but this does not necessarily mean a start for the Egyptian. The fact that he is just one goal ahead of Son in the Golden Boot race makes selling him a scary prospect as if he does start, he will surely be looking to rack up a couple of goals to seal that personal accolade. The possibility of a cameo is quite real though and if you have no other priorities in your squad, I think moving him on for someone like Mane, who is guaranteed significant game-time, could work. A lot would depend on Salah’s training minutes etc during the week and what Klopp says in his press conference.
Q: Is using our last transfer on defenders like Marcos Alonso or Andrew Robertson worth it? Or should we be focused on bringing in attackers on the last day? (@Aaronjc77)
A: I think this answer is completely squad dependent. If you have a hole in your defence, for instance, then I think that should be prioritised. I know there are usually goals on the final day with clean sheets few and far between but the likes of Reece James (£6.4m), Marcos Alonso (£5.7m) and Andrew Robertson (£7.3m) are so attacking that they are very capable of a 15-point haul on their day. Aim to add the player you feel will give you the marginal gains to your squad. With the Chelsea wing-backs, look to see who is rested against Leicester.
Q: Philippe Coutinho to Mason Mount, Phil Foden or Luis Diaz? (@iamRohanPandit)
A: This answer would apply to most Villa attackers – I think they are a sell. Mason Mount (£7.7m) has the easiest fixture on paper and if he is rested against Leicester, that is definitely where I would go. A start against the Foxes would put slight doubts in my mind and that would tilt me towards Diaz. Foden feels the most punty of the two but I would argue he has the greatest incentive.
That’s all for me for this season, folks. Have a great final week and see you again soon!
Full-year memberships, monthly subscriptions and a FREE trial are all now available.
Join now to get the following:
- Plot your transfer strategies using the fully interactive Season Ticker.
- Get projections for every Premier League player provided by the Rate My Team statistical model.
- Use Rate My Team throughout the season to guide your selections and transfers.
- Get access to over 150+ exclusive members articles over the season.
- Analyse our OPTA-powered statistic tables specifically tailored for Fantasy Football Managers.
- Use our exclusive tool to build custom stats tables from over 100 OPTA player and team stats.
- Enjoy our Flat-Track Bully feature which introduces an opposition filter to your tables.
- View heatmaps and expected goals data for every player.
- Use our powerful comparison tool to analyse players head-to-head.
ALREADY A USER? CLICK HERE TO UPGRADE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT
NEW TO SCOUT? CLICK HERE TO START A MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT