Here we go again, folks. This weekend presents Manchester City with their first opportunity to wrap up the Premier League title. Standing in their way? Fierce rivals Manchester United, in a game that’s easily the tie-of-the-round.
Sure, the trophy-race could well be all done and dusted when the dusk settles on gameweek 33, but for us Fantasy Premier League bosses, the fun is only just beginning. With just six fixtures left, the mini-league competition is seriously heating up, so let’s hope our weekly picks send you to the summit of your table.
Three players to buy
Luka Milivojevic – Crystal Palace - £5.0million
It comes as no real surprise that the Crystal Palace midfielder is amongst the most transferred-in players for GW33, particularly after two goals in his last two outings.
I’ve said it on numerous occasions, but midfield has been my problem area all season long, and having the Serb as a third or even fourth option is an absolute steal at just £5million. I do expect his value to rise, so pick him up ASAP.
Dele Alli – Tottenham Hotspur £8.9million
With his World Cup starting spot in doubt, Dele Alli certainly silenced a few doubters with his two-goal haul against Chelsea on Super Sunday. That’s now four-goal contributions during his last two games and he seems to be hitting form at just the right time.
Sure, £8.9million is an expensive chunk out of your budget, but so far I’m surprised that only 25,000 bosses have drafted the Englishman into their squads. If you cannot afford Alli, take a look at Heung-Min Son, who’s £0.6million cheaper.
Chris Wood – Burnley - £6.3million
With four goals in his last three appearances, Chris Wood is doing everything he can to keep Burnley in seventh place. The 26-year-old has had a patchy season at Turf Moor, but he’s certainly in a rich vein of form at the moment.
My favourite thing about the New Zealander? His 1.8% ownership. When such a small portion of FPL bosses own a player, it provides you with a great opportunity to make up the ground where the vast majority won’t be profiting from Wood’s points. It’s a gamble, but one worth taking if you need to make up some points.
Make sure you vote for:
Ashley Barnes (goal) ⚽️
Chris Wood (player) ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
Sean Dyche (manager) 🔥🔥💯
Three players to sell
Ahmed Hegazi – West Bromwich Albion - £4.7million
The Egyptian was that cheap gem at the start of the season, scoring points for fun due to keeping clean-sheets while adding the odd goal. It’s fair to say there has been a rather steep drop-off, though. After no clean-sheets in nine, I’m shocked that almost 20% still have him in their sides.
He’s a cheap option, but that’s no good to anyone if he cannot help stop the other team from scoring. £4.7million is actually a pretty decent budget for cheap defenders, and your money can certainly be spent better elsewhere. Take a look at Kyle Naughton (Swansea).
Ben Mee – Burnley - £4.9million
It’s a similar story to Hegazi. One clean sheet in ten outings just isn’t good enough, and his high ownership just doesn’t represent good value in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I like him as a defender, in fact, I’d probably have him in the England setup ahead of James Tarkowski…
As is sometimes the case, real-life performances don’t directly translate to racking up those points in FPL, hence why I selected Chris Smalling last week.
Sergio Aguero – Manchester City - £11.7million
There is a chance the Argentina international could be fit to take on United this weekend, but I just don’t see Pep Guardiola risking him, particularly with their second leg against Liverpool coming just 72 hours later.
I wouldn't be wholly against throwing Gabriel Jesus into my side as his replacement. Sure, he didn’t have the best of outings in the aforementioned Champions League tie, but I fancy City to beat United pretty comfortably, and I always fancy a Guardiola-managed-striker to score.
Enjoy the weekend’s fixtures and hopefully, we’ll all be looking at those beautiful green arrows come Monday morning.
Good luck!
