The big one has arrived! Double Gameweek 37 (DGW37) sees 12 teams play twice as the final postponed fixtures are played before the season ends next weekend.
As a reminder, the team's playing twice are:
- Arsenal
- Brighton
- Chelsea
- Huddersfield
- Leicester
- Man City
- Man United
- Newcastle
- Southampton
- Swansea
- Tottenham
- West Ham
This Double Gameweek presents an enormous opportunity but also some serious risks.
Teams like Leicester and Newcastle are safe; Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have nothing to play for in the league and are focussed on a cup, while Manchester City are just tearing teams apart for the sheer joy of it.
If you get a decent squad out, then you should make over 100 points this week but be wary of rotation.
Finally, way back at the beginning of the season, we promised a cash prize for our mini-league. This has now been set at £50 and it’s a three-horse race at the top.
Current leader Rob Lucci sits on 2225, followed by Bryte Carlton and Calvin Healy 11 and 13 points behind.
The league is now officially closed to new entries to stop anybody from swooping in to claim the prize. Good luck to all those in with a chance!
Fixtures
Reuters/John Sibley
Best: Man City – Huddersfield (h), Brighton (h), Southampton (a)
They may have literally nothing tangible left to play for but City are not taking their foot off the accelerator. Pep is going after records for points, goals scored, points margins and more!
They have a very kind run-in so you need a Manchester City player (or three).
REUTERS/Toby Melville
Worst: Brighton – Man United (h), Man City (a), Liverpool (a)
What better way to finish your first season in the top flight in decades than to play each of the top three!?
Main Men
Reuters/Carl Recine
Harry Kane (FWD, 12.9m, West Brom away and Newcastle at home)
Spurs ideally need two more wins to cement their place in next season's Champions League, and these are the fixtures they would want to make that happen.
First, they play West Brom, who are hanging on to Premier League survival by their fingernails, then Newcastle who are on the beach having guaranteed their safety.
Kane has looked a little slow in recent weeks but he bagged a goal against Watford and now he has a week to relax before hitting the golden-boot chase hard.
He is four goals behind Mohamed Salah but he scored seven in the final two weeks of last season so I wouldn't write him off just yet.
All of this together means he is essential for your teams in the final weeks of the season, and if you have the triple captain chip left, then now is the time and Kane is the man.
Reuters/John Sibley
Gabriel Jesus (FWD, 10.4m, Huddersfield at home and Brighton at home)
Jesus is nailed on in the Manchester City line up due to Aguero’s injury and that is exactly what you should look for.
These fixtures are perfect for Manchester City to break the records for most wins, most goals scored and various others I'm sure Guardiola has set his sights on.
He has scored four in his last five matches and notched two assists in that time as well.
A quick note on the other Manchester City assets: David Silva was granted time off to spend with his family last week, if he returns then I would expect him to be in the goals as he will be fully recharged, just keep an eye on the press conferences for news of him.
Leroy Sane was rested for the win over Swansea, so he could be the most likely to play in the coming weeks, and he is cheaper than Sterling.
Speaking of which, Raheem Sterling has been outstanding with three goals and six assists in five games! There's a possibility he will also get a rest, but even in one game he can outscore many other options.
Kevin De Bruyne is always impressive and dictates the whole game for Manchester City but that is not represented in his returns, so I think he's too pricey.
Finally, Bernardo Silva is often the forgotten man of this squad but if you're willing to take a serious gamble, he could pay off. He has a great record when he plays, but that is sporadic at best, so this is only a gamble for the bravest and most desperate FPL managers!
Gamble Picks
REUTERS/Rebecca Naden
Jordan Ayew (FWD, 5.3m, Bournemouth away and Southampton at home)
Swansea are not safe yet but a couple of wins this week could propel them up the table and secure their Premier League status.
Ayew offers the potential of a super cheap enabler with decent fixtures and strong motivation to perform. He has only scored once in the past three matches since returning from suspension but, in fairness, they played Manchester City and Chelsea.
REUTERS/Toby Melville
Marko Arnautovic (MID, 7.0m, Leicester away and Man United at home)
The fixtures for West Ham are not quite as enticing as others but there are points in their favour.
The Hammers still have the motivation to perform as they are not yet safe from the drop either, they are playing two teams with no motivation whatsoever and "Arnie" is still playing Out Of Position.
He has had the ball in the net multiple times in recent weeks but has been unlucky with some decisions that have ruled out all but one of his goals!
If you need a cheaper midfielder so you can afford more heavyweight players then Arnautovic is a good option.
Defensive Picks
REUTERS/Andrew Yates
Kyle Naughton (DEF, 4.6m, Bournemouth away and Southampton at home)
Naughton has only missed a handful of minutes so far this season. He has not had too many attacking returns (just two assists) but that is not for a lack of trying.
As Swansea try to secure their place in the top flight, I would expect them to keep it tight, so he has clean sheet potential and, if they go behind, then I would also expect an all-out assault on the opposition, so he would have attacking potential as well.
Reuters/John Sibley
Danilo (DEF, 5.0m, Huddersfield at home and Brighton at home)
You can tell where I think all the points will be this week... Manchester City have two home fixtures against promoted sides who have struggled for goals all season, so a double clean sheet is a definite possibility.
Picking the right Manchester City defender seems like a tough choice as Guardiola likes to rotate, but an injury to Kyle Walker could provide us with a cheap route into the backline.
There’s every chance Danilo will also be rotated with Fabian Delph filling in and Benjamin Mendy working his way back to full fitness but, at this price, you can afford to risk it.
Steer Clear
Reuters/John Sibley
Selling Salah
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you should not sell Salah! The only exception to this is if he gets stretchered off against Roma tonight.
The hero of this season, Salah is still fighting for the golden boot. I like to think he’s fighting for the highest FPL total ever and Liverpool also need to get a win to guarantee Champions League football next season.
I understand those managers selling off Roberto Firmino and Liverpool defenders to maximise Double Gameweek players, but Salah is the exception.