Welcome to the AM’s Players To Watch for Gameweek 32. As long-time readers of my columns will know, my advice in seasons gone by had revolved around games that would allow you to make unlimited transfers each gameweek, selecting an entirely new 11 players if you so wished. Unfortunately Yahoo Fantasy Premier League is a glorious but distant memory, while Togga, sadly, was not able to return for this campaign which put an end to the Perfect XI column I’d been penning for the past two years.
This season I’ll be a bit more general in my advice. Whether you’re playing Official FPL, FPL or Fantrax Draft, Fantrax Salary Cap, Sky Sports, The Sun, The Telegraph or any number of other the fantasy games available to fans each season, I’ll be offering my top five picks for the week ahead, mixing “must-haves” with hunch picks and players flying under the radar. Hopefully this will offer something for everyone, whether you’re considering captain options, looking to make a transfers or pick up a free agent in draft.
For the third week running we got our captain choice (Sadio Mane) spot on in Gameweek 31, as the Senegalese star grabbed a goal, an assist and maximum bonus points in FPL. Unfortunately there was little to cheer about elsewhere as the expected big hitters (Wilson, Hazard, Salah & Vardy) all failed to produce. Most fantasy managers suffered equally, so let’s not dwell on it too much and move on to Gameweek 32:
Saturday 30 March
Fulham v Man City
Brighton v Southampton
Burnley v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Huddersfield
Leicester v Bournemouth
Man Utd v Watford
West Ham v Everton
Sunday 31 March
Cardiff v Chelsea
Liverpool v Spurs
Monday 01 April
Arsenal v Newcastle
Tuesday v April
Watford v Fulham
Wolves v Man Utd
Wednesday 03 April
Chelsea v Brighton
Man City v Cardiff
Spurs v Crystal Palace
Double Gameweek Klaxon!!! 10 teams find themselves with two fixtures in Gameweek 32: Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Spurs, Wolves, Crystal Palace, Watford, Brighton, Cardiff & Fulham play twice. Given the plethora of options on offer, we should be looking exclusively at teams/players likely to play two matches. Man City’s match-ups look particularly tasty (@Fulham, Cardiff) as do Chelsea’s (@Cardiff, Brighton). As a result of this .... I am playing my FPL free hit. And so, rather than running through the standard format I thought I’d list out my current FH team instead ...
[[ad:athena]]
Ederson - It was a coin toss between Kepa and Ederson, but in the end I’ve favoured City’s Number One given their consistency and quite glorious fixtures against struggling Fulham and Cardiff. Anything less than a 10 point return will be a disappointment.
David Luiz - If this double-week was pre-Christmas then Marcos Alonso would be the top defensive pick by a mile, but his lack of form and uncertain starting status means a spot for occasional party-clown David Luiz. Chelsea have a decent chance of a double clean sheet versus Cardiff & Brighton and Luiz can always pop up with a goal from a set piece.
Jeff Schlupp - With AWB a slight doubt due to injury I’ve decided to turn to Schlupp, who has been operating as the Eagles’ left winger for the past couple of months. Cheap as chips, three assists in his past four games and a home game with Huddersfield first up make this an easy decision.
César Azpilicueta - Spanish Dave completes my defensive line up right now and proves I’m really banking on Chelsea keeping things tight at the back over the course of Gameweek 32. It does leave me without any Manchester United defensive coverage, but I think I’m ok with that.
Luka Milivojevic - Heung-Min Son had been in this spot all week until I decided to strengthen my defence this morning, which meant downgrading to Milivojevic. The Palace man has been entirely reliant on penalties for his fantasy points this season but can also strike a ball from distance and ping over the odd assist. Andros Townsend is also under consideration, but right now it’s Luka’s spot to lose.
Paul Pogba - 99% of active FPL teams are going to have Pogba in their line-ups for the double-gameweek as he looks to push Manchester United back towards the top 4. Hopefully the Frenchman remembers that he owes us a big haul after his shocking yellow card/penalty miss performance in Gameweek 30.
Raheem Sterling - No explanation needed given the fixtures and Sterling’s sensational form for both club and country. The only question outstanding is whether to captain him or Aguero.
Eden Hazard - A Chelsea attacker is a necessity and it’s pretty much impossible to look past talisman Hazard.
Marcus Rashford - There are some concern that Rashford could miss the first game of the DGW after an ankle injury picked up on international duty, but I’m willing to take the gamble that he’ll be ready for Watford on Saturday. This is entirely based on a video I saw posted on Twitter.
Raúl Jiménez - While Jimenez is currently in my forward line-up I fear Wolves rotation with the FA Cup semi-finals on the horizon (that’s the reason for no Matt Doherty). There is a chance I’ll make a switch, with Michy Batshuyi an option. Or alternatively putting a cheap dud striker in his spot, going 3-5-2 and upgrading my 5th midfielder back to Son. Hmmmm.
Sergio Agüero (C) - A no brainer, and currently getting the captaincy nod over Sterling due to penalty duty. The big spending on Aguero, Sterling and Hazard means no place for Sir Harry of Kane, but you can’t have it all.
Bench fodder: Hamer, Simpson, Connolly, Stevens
That’s it for Gameweek 32. Check out the Rotoworld Features page to access a host of fantastic content to get you ready for the double gameweek ahead. If you have any questions about a specific player or your own fantasy team then feel free to post them in the comments below or hit me on Twitter (@nikarg) and I will get back to you.
Thanks for reading - good luck to all managers this weekend.
