There’s a midweek round of Fantasy Premier League action for managers to get their teeth into including “The Big One” at the Etihad.
Manchester City and Arsenal fans have had Wednesday’s Premier League title showdown circled in red on their calendars for months and finally, it is upon us. It isn’t quite a winners take all affair, with more matches still to come, but it certainly has the feel of one given Arsenal’s recent wobble.
When two heavyweight titans are drawn together in a pivotal clash, it can be tempting to bench your players from those teams or remove them from your squad entirely in the expectation that they will end up cancelling each other out. That shouldn’t be a concern in this one.
It is probably a good idea to sit your City or Arsenal defenders out on this occasion, however leave those attackers right where they are. There are bound to be goals given the firepower both sides possess.
Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish all have the potential to score big given City’s imperious recent form, as do Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with Arsenal’s recent issues occurring at the other end of the pitch.
Gameweek 32 top scorers
Goalkeepers:
- Johnstone (Crystal Palace) – 10
- Pickford (Everton), Fabianski (West Ham) – 6
Defenders:
- Cresswell (West Ham) – 12
- Coufal (West Ham) – 11
- Castagne (Leicester) – 10
- Mykolenko (Everton), Schar (Newcastle) – 8
Midfielders:
- Saka (Arsenal), Murphy (Newcastle) – 13
- Joelinton (Newcastle), Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest) – 12
- Pereira (Fulham) – 10
- Martinelli (Arsenal), Wilson (Fulham), Alcaraz (Southampton), Rice (West Ham) – 9
Forwards:
- Jota (Liverpool), Isak (Newcastle) – 13
- Toney (Brentford) – 9
- Iheanacho (Leicester), Cunha (Wolves) – 8
As much as it feels like a one match gameweek, there are other fixtures of significance taking place in the Premier League including relegation six-pointers between Leeds and Leicester and Southampton and Bournemouth as well as an intriguing clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where a bruised Spurs host Manchester United.
The Gameweek 33 deadline is on Tuesday at 6pm.
Gameweek 33 fixtures
Tuesday 25 April
Aston Villa vs Fulham
Leeds vs Leicester
Wolves vs Crystal Palace
Wednesday 26 April
Nottingham Forest vs Brighton
Chelsea vs Brentford
West Ham vs Liverpool
Man City vs Arsenal
Thursday 27 April
Everton vs Newcastle
Southampton vs Bournemouth
Spurs vs Man Utd
Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace)
Sam Johnstone has been in inspired form for Crystal Palace since coming into the side in Gameweek 30, earning himself four save points and two sheets in that run.
Only Palace and Everton have scored fewer goals at home than Wolves this season, which boosts Johnstone’s chances of keeping a third successive shutout.
Price: £4.4m Points: 23 Gameweek 33 fixture: Wolves (a)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Liverpool continue to look shaky at the back – conceding twice at home to Nottingham Forest is some achievement – but Trent Alexander-Arnold looks to have reclaimed his status as the best attacking defender in FPL of late.
Alexander-Arnold has provided as many assists in his last three appearances (with four) as he did in his first 27 games of the season. He has created more big chances (with five) than any player since Gameweek 30 and also ranks top for expected assists in that time too.
Price: £7.5m Points: 115 Gameweek 33 fixture: West Ham (a)
Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)
Kieran Trippier’s owners were left frustrated when he only managed two points from a 6-1 victory over Spurs at the weekend but while his attacking returns have dried up recently he remains a great FPL asset.
The issue is not that Trippier is creating fewer chances, it’s that fewer of them are being converted. He is joint-top of the standings for chances created over the past four gameweeks and given the form that Newcastle’s attackers are in right now, his fortunes are bound to improve sooner rather than later.
Price: £6.2m Points: 173 Gameweek 33 fixture: Everton (a)
Pervis Estupinan (Brighton)
Similarly to Trippier, Pervis Estupinan’s assist threat has tailed off in recent weeks, with the Ecuadorian going eight games without one.
It hasn’t been for the want of trying, though, as during that period he has been the fourth-most creative defender in the league, behind Alexander-Arnold, Trippier and Ben Chilwell, all of whom have at least one assist.
Considering Brighton have three double gameweeks to cram in before the end of the season, Estupinan is a great pick for the final stretch.
Price: £4.8m Points: 89 Gameweek 33 fixture: Nottingham Forest (a)
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Kevin De Bruyne was kept in reserve as City breezed past Sheffield United in the FA Cup so will be fully rested for Arsenal’s visit.
The Belgian amassed 13 points in the first meeting between the two at the Emirates and has stepped up his productivity in recent weeks with a goal and four assists in his last four games.
De Bruyne evidently enjoys playing against the Gunners too: he has scored six goals against them, more than any other club in his career.
Price: £12.8m Points: 159 Gameweek 33 fixture: Arsenal (h)
Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton)
Brighton will have to pick themselves up after their Wembley agony when they face Nottingham Forest in midweek. It was a huge blow for the Seagulls but they can still end a superb season on a high by clinching a European spot.
Kaoru Mitoma had a frustrating day up against Aaron Wan-Bissaka but still looked the sharpest of Brighton’s attackers on the day. Forest put in a spirited display at Anfield, but confidence will be low with their winless run now standing at 11 matches. They have also conceded 24 goals in that period.
Price: £5.6m Points: 114 Gameweek 33 fixture: Nottingham Forest (a)
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Too many Arsenal players failed to show up during Friday’s draw against Southampton, but Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard were the obvious exceptions, all three playing their part in salvaging a point from what appeared a hopeless situation.
They could pick up points at the Etihad, but it feels like more a game for Saka or Martinelli given Arsenal may need to play on the counter more than usual. City are short of numbers at left-back with Nathan Ake an injury doubt which could work in Saka’s favour.
Price: £8.5m Points: 185 Gameweek 33 fixture: Man City (a)
Marcus Rashford (Man Utd)
Tottenham were utterly shambolic in defeat against Newcastle and Manchester United will back themselves to inflict further misery on them on Thursday after a morale-boosting FA Cup semi-final win.
Marcus Rashford has scored just once in his last six games in all competitions, but encouragingly given his recent injury issues, he looked sharp during the extra-time period against Brighton on Sunday. United will no doubt look to utilise Rashford’s pace and movement against Pedro Porro after his nightmarish display at St James’ Park.
Price: £7.1m Points: 174 Gameweek 33 fixture: Tottenham (a)
Erling Haaland (Man City)
Erling Haaland bullied Arsenal’s central defenders in the corresponding fixture at the Emirates in February and that was when they had their first-choice pairing in place. Rob Holding has struggled to fill the sizable void left by William Saliba with Arsenal conceding nine times in their last five league matches with the Frenchman missing.
Haaland also has a good record against the “Big Six” sides plus Newcastle this season, scoring six goals and providing one assist in nine matches at an average of 5.6 points per game. Across the whole campaign, Haaland has scored 20 goals in only 14 home matches, eight more than any other player in the division.
Price: £12.2m Points: 227 Gameweek 33 fixture: Arsenal (h)
Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester)
Leicester fans could have been forgiven for fearing the worst on Saturday when James Maddison joined Harvey Barnes on the sidelines, but the Foxes managed to secure a vital three points against Wolves to boost their survival hopes.
Kelechi Iheanacho played a key role in the win, keeping his composure to cooly score from the spot. The Nigerian has scored in back-to-back games under Dean Smith and can extend that sequence against a Leeds side that has shipped 11 goals in their previous two matches at Elland Road.
Price: £5.9m Points: 74 Gameweek 33 fixture: Leeds (a)
Diogo Jota (Liverpool)
Diogo Jota is renowned for scoring in spurts having done so throughout his career in English football and after netting four times in his last two games, he looks to be embarking on another hot streak.
It’s a small sample size, but over the past two gameweeks, Jota ranks top of all players for goals (with four), shots (nine), big chances (four) and xG (1.88). He is a rotation risk with Jurgen Klopp spoilt for choice up front, but given his recent exploits it seems unlikely that he will drop down to the bench against a West Ham side in decent form.
Price: £8.8m Points: 57 Gameweek 33 fixture: West Ham (a)
