Our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers are writing about all things Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in 2023/24. Here, it’s FPL Blackbox co-host Az talking about his favourite Gameweek 38 punts.
So, the season is nearly over. It’s not been a great one for me and I’m already looking forward to kicking on with the next one.
Because of too many bad selections, captaincy calls and lost points, I’m fighting to beat my worst-ever season from way back in 2008/09, where I came 341,221st globally. It’s going to be touch and go, so I need a couple of last-day differentials to get over the line.
BRENNAN JOHNSON (£5.8m)
- Club: Tottenham Hotspur
- Overall ownership: 1.8%
- Top 10k ownership: 6.8%
Five goals and 11 assists is a decent return for someone who was a bit-part player for Spurs until around Gameweek 12, when regular league starts began to take place.
Since then, his 114 points is the same number as Alexander Isak (£8.4m), more than Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m, 109) and Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m, 106) and only slightly less than the 118 of heavyweight Mohamed Salah (£13.4m). In fact, over this period, only six players in the league can beat Johnson’s expected goals (xG) from open play (8.62) and his total number of big chances (18).
On the final day, Johnson goes away to Sheffield United. To put into context how bad the Blades’ defending has been at Bramall Lane, they have faced the most attempts (313) and shots on target (130). During 37 overall outings, they’ve conceded the most goals in Premier League history (101).
Additionally, Chris Wilder’s lot has this campaign’s worst home record for conceding crosses (208) and chances (83) down their left-hand side – the area Johnson will likely be.
Above: Chances and crosses conceded at home
It’s almost certain Johnson will get chances and, with a lack of clear-cut options in Spurs’ attack other than the misfiring Son Heung-min (£10.0m), backing Brennan could be a shrewd tactic.
No double-digit returns for Johnson all season is a slight concern. But he needs three goals to match last year’s eight. Is it inconceivable that he scores a hat-trick? Although unlikely, at 1.8% ownership he could be the difference maker in your mini-league.
LEANDRO TROSSARD (£6.5m)
FINAL THOUGHTS
FPL squads are probably pretty settled going into the final day but there’s always room for a differential. I’m not yet sure which I’ll be going with but I’ll almost certainly try one final roll of the dice in my quest for a semi-respectable season.
I just want to say thank you to everyone for reading my articles this season, as well as watching Sam and myself on the Friday Q&A videos. For your support to Mark and me on FPL BlackBox, too. It’s been a frustrating season but I still love doing the streams and crunching the numbers.
After taking a bit of a break to recharge, I will be back again next season, ready to do it all again.
Have a great summer everybody!
