⚽ FPL Gameweek 35 Tips

👋 Hello 👋

Welcome to the Gameweek 35 Newsletter!

It's a later deadline this week so for some of us that means a bit of a lie in. Not that I need any more sleep, Gameweek 35 is lining up to be a pretty quiet week, there hasn't been a great deal to think about......so far!

Don't forget - Gameweek 35 deadline - Saturday 6 May, 13:30 UK ⏰

 🔥 Gameweek 35 - Hot Topics 🔥

Brighton Rotation

Gameweek 34 saw the first real rotation we've seen for the core Brighton attackers in our FPL squads.

Kaoru Mitoma (£5.6m) and Alexis Mac Allister (£5.5m) were benched for the Wolves game, and Solly March (£5.3m) didn't come on until the 62nd minute against Manchester United.

I don't think there's really a lot we can (or should) do with these players. They still represent great value and are playing for one of the best attacks in the league. In fact as a team they currently sit at 1.80 xG per 90 minutes which is just behind Arsenal (1.87), and just ahead of Liverpool (1.78)

To give up players that cost most of us less than £5.5m in a team that's so attacking and that gets to play Everton (h) before two Double Gameweeks just doesn't make a huge amount of sense to me.

Facundo Buonanotte (£4.5m) and Julio Enciso (£4.6m) have impressed in the additional minutes they've been given so we shouldn't be surprised to see more rotation with all the games Brighton have remaining this season. I'm just not convinced it will be enough to warrant using transfers on any of the Brighton players we own that are fit.

Man City Punts - Leeds (h)

With the deadline at 13:30 and Man City kicking off at 15:00, lots of FPL managers are hoping for early team news ahead of Leeds (h) with a view to taking a punt on a low owned attacker.

Because City play Real Madrid on Tuesday, we should expect a little bit of rotation in the league. The same could happen against Everton (a) in Gameweek 36 as that's just before the 2nd leg against Madrid on the following Wednesday.

Given City are still fighting for the Premier League title, I wouldn't expect wholesale changes. It might be one of those games where they try and get it won early on and then make early substitutions. Without the early team news I'm not sure how confident I would be guessing the changes, and I certainly don't expect Erling Haaland (£12.4m) to be benched in both games, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if he starts both.

Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m) is a little different in that he would only be a punt in terms of his low ownership. We know that if he's fit he will start the majority of games. He's not someone that I'm looking to bring into my team as I'm happy with Mohamed Salah (£13.0m), but for anyone looking to go a bit different, he could be the one.

If you're thinking about any of Phil Foden (£8.0m), Riyad Mahrez (£7.3m) and Julián Álvarez (£6.0m), they're all great options *IF* we know they're starting.

The value of the punt really depends on whether Haaland is starting or not. If he is then he's the obvious captain and it makes worrying about a one week punt a little less exciting. If he's not starting then suddenly you have the option to go for a low owned captain option against Leeds (h). In that scenario Mahrez is probably my favourite because he'd be on penalties. It may just come down to what slots you have spare, if it's a midfielder then look at Mahrez or Foden, and if it's a forward it would have to be Álvarez.

The only thing to consider is what other transfers you need to make between Gameweek 36 - 38. If this is truly a one week punt, that means you're going to have to potentially remove them again in Gameweek 36, unless they start twice which is possible, but not guaranteed. That means going into Gameweek 37 with just one free transfer which isn't the end of the world, but you're likely going to need to use it because of the Double Gameweek, leaving just one transfer for the last day of the season where where could be other opportunities to punt.

Newcastle Attacking Double up

Since their Double in Gameweek 29, Callum Wilson (£7.0m) and Alexander Isak (£6.9m) have returned 14 goals and assists between them, with Wilson chipping in 8 goals, 1 assist despite only starting twice in that time.

It's no wonder the double up is popular ahead of four fixtures in three Gameweeks which include Arsenal (h), Leeds (a), Brighton (h) and Leicester (h).

With Newcastle not keeping many clean sheets I certainly get the appeal of doubling on the forwards, especially if your team is already well set up to get them both in.

I'm still not fully sold on buying Wilson however. It's great that he's scored so many goals off the bench, but I do wonder how long that can continue for. Everything we have seen for a little while now points to Isak being the forward most likely to start, with Wilson only really starting during midweek matches.

It looks likely that Wilson will start at least one of the games in Double Gameweek 36, and if it's the Leeds game in particular then the returns could be big. But outside of that you are paying £7.0m for a forward who isn't nailed on.

As I mentioned above, if you can get to Isak and Wilson with relative ease and no hits then it might be worth a go. Despite being transferred in by 160,287 FPL managers this week, his ownership is still likely to be fairly low.

But if you're in a similar situation to me where you own two Newcastle defenders and it would mean taking hits to bring Wilson in, I'm not quite sure that's worth it.

If I was buying one this week I would still go for Isak simply because I expect him to start more often, although given Wilson's form, there is a chance that could change soon.

📈 Transfer Activity 📉

One player that hasn't been rotated at all since a lot of us brought him in is Pervis Estupiñán (£4.9m). He's started every single game since Gameweek 14 and made it past 60 minutes each time.

After 16 points in Gameweek 34, he now has 110,058 new owners and looks primed for points against Everton (h). He hasn't had a huge amount of attacking returns recently but when you watch him he's making some great runs into the box and was a little unlucky to not add a goal to his assist against Wolves.

Brighton have six fixtures left this season and there's still potential for a good few clean sheets with Everton (h), Southampton (h) and Aston Villa (a). The other three are a little more difficult with Arsenal (a), Newcastle (a) and Man City (h). Overall I think his price and extra fixtures make him a great option for anyone looking for a new defender.

The Ollie Watkins (£7.6m) hot streak has come to an end, he's now blanked in the last three matches. That probably explains why 95,342 FPL managers have removed him this week.

I don't think it's a particularly good week to remove him though. The main targets people seem to be looking at are a punt on Álvarez or a move to Isak or Wilson.

I understand the move to a Newcastle forward, especially with their double in Gameweek 36, I just don't think there's a need to rush it before Arsenal (h) in Gameweek 35. Watkins plays a Wolves side that just conceded 6 goals, and it would give you another week to think about which is the best Newcastle forward. Wilson has been transferred in by nearly 100,000 more people than Isak, yet Isak is the one who keeps starting. I'd like to see what happens against Arsenal before making a decision unless already committed.

👑 Captaincy 👑

I've just realised if I continue this newsletter next season, I'll have to think of nearly 38 ways to say that Haaland is the best captain...

I mean it's Leeds (h), a team that have conceded 1.64 xG per 90 minutes this season, no other team is worse than that. I know that Sam Allardyce is in charge now, but I'm not sure what good he can do with such limited time in charge.

Obviously if Haaland is benched that opens up other options. The most fun one being to punt on a Man City attacker that you know starts. If we assume they all start, I'd probably put them in this order of preference:

• Riyad Mahrez

• Kevin De Bruyne

• Phil Foden

• Julián Álvarez

The best non-Man City option is probably Salah. With his goal against Fulham he passed the 200 point mark for the 6th season in a row. In fact in the last 14 games he has 11 goals and 3 assists - he's bang in form. Brentford (h) isn't an easy tie, but it's not a team I'd expect to keep a clean sheet against Liverpool.

After that you could look at Harry Kane (£11.4m). We've sort of forgotten about him as a lot of us sold him ahead of Double Gameweek 34. Like Salah he's bang in form at the moment and despite Spurs struggling a little, Kane certainly isn't.

💪 My Team 💪

Another green arrow in Gameweek 34, only a small one, but that's now 11 in a row - the streak continues!

I'm probably rolling the transfer this week. There's just not many players that I need to look at removing.

My Brighton, Man City, Manchester United and Newcastle United players all have at least one more Double Gameweek to come and in terms of minutes are about as good as I can get.

Salah or Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.6m) are two that I could consider selling but I just don't see the point this week with a good home fixture, especially with how attacking Alexander-Arnold has been recently - he has six assists in his last six matches.

Captaincy is Haaland of course, with Salah as the backup. I may get sucked into a one week punt if Haaland is benched but I'm still leaning towards taking some punts in Gameweek 38 instead.

Luke Shaw (£5.1m) or Kieran Trippier (£6.1m) is a close decision. With Shaw playing as a centre back at the moment he's not as attacking but does have a better chance of a clean sheet which is why Trippier is currently benched. That may change before the deadline.

📽️ My YouTube Content 📽️

If you want some more thoughts about my team including future plans then you can check out this video.

The Gameweek 35 Deadline Stream should start at 12:00pm UK time on Saturday afternoon.

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