Launched in late March, the official Fantasy Challenge game is offering managers a fresh twist for Gameweek 34.
Separate from the main Fantasy Premier League (FPL) format, Fantasy Challenge is essentially a series of independent weekly Free Hits but each one comes with a stipulation.
For example, Gameweek 34 gives double points to players from the promoted sides – Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton Town.
ENTER YOUR GAMEWEEK 34 TEAM HERE
Point-scoring is the same, it’s still a 15-man squad and the budget remains £100m. A captain and vice-captain need picking too, with prizes on offer.
But two big differences are that you’re allowed up to five players per Premier League team and the line-up can be edited at any point up until there are less than four teams left to play in the Gameweek.
FANTASY CHALLENGE GAMEWEEK 34: SCOUT PICKS
This stipulation comes at an interesting time, as Sheffield United are the only one of the trio about to feature twice. So while they essentially have a Quadruple Gameweek 34, players from Burnley and Luton Town have the same double that six other sides do.
It’s just a shame that so few Blades assets have any sort of FPL appeal. In fact, there’s only one team whose top scorer has fewer points – Burnley.
Attention naturally goes towards Ben Brereton Diaz (£5.0m) – a legitimate candidate for Free Hit squads. The Chilean from Stoke has four goals in eight games, on loan from Villarreal after bagging 36 of them in the previous two Championship seasons.
Combine this with two – but, in essence, four – matches against the Clarets and Manchester United and suddenly we have a standout captaincy candidate. Both these opponents rank inside the worst five teams for conceding attempts, shots on target and expected goals.
A second attacking spot goes to Oliver McBurnie (£5.4m) rather than their leading points scorer Gustavo Hamer (£4.9m). The latter delivered an attacking return in four successive outings before last week’s defeat. Yet McBurnie has two goals and an assist from his latest three starts.
At the back, not many top-flight teams hold much appeal these days. So let’s pick Ivo Grbic (£4.5m) for his save points and the league-high crosses (284) of Luton’s Alfie Doughty (£4.5m). It’s unfair to leave Burnley out, especially when their ‘double’ is purely versus Sheffield United, who they beat 5-0 in the reverse fixture. Cheap forward David Datro Fofana (£5.0m) gets the nod.
Elsewhere, we fill the spots with some of this week’s Scout Picks. Between them, Arsenal duo Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.4m) and Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) bring coverage of an elite defence, a goal threat from set pieces and a premium penalty-taking midfielder. As do Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk (£6.6m) and Mohamed Salah (£13.5m) – minus the ‘elite’ bit.
Spot kicks are also the main reason why Eberechi Eze (£6.1m) edges ahead of Crystal Palace team-mate Michael Olise (£5.6m). Either is fine though, given central ‘number ten’ roles in Oliver Glasner’s system.
Finally, Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) is ticking along nicely with goals. Three from five matches takes him up to 17 for the whole campaign and he’ll be confident of netting at least once in this double.
ENTER YOUR GAMEWEEK 34 TEAM HERE
JOIN THE FANTASY FOOTBALL SCOUT MINI-LEAGUE
By the way, you can join the mini-league that we’ve created.
Simply follow this link and you’ll be added automatically once you’ve entered the game.
League Code: 59d69w
FANTASY CHALLENGE PRIZES
END-OF-SEASON DRAW
- Trip to New York City
- Exclusive tour of the NBC Studio
- Includes flights and accommodation for five nights
Eligibility to win this random draw requires you to have joined the game and entered a team before 2023/24 ends. Each Gameweek team entry is an entry to the prize draw.
WEEKLY PRIZES
The top three each receive an official Premier League Nike match ball, the EA SPORTS FC game and a bundle of FPL merchandise that includes a rucksack, t-shirt, mug and more.
On top of this, the weekly winner will get a signed Premier League shirt.
