The Hard Tackle brings you all the Fantasy Premier League tips for the final time this season.
This season, the popular Fantasy Premier League reached out to its largest audience till date as a total of 4,502,388 players registered their teams.
For some, FPL is a mere incentive along with league football while for others it is a lot more serious. Every week, millions of transfers are made with managers often losing sleep over certain permutations so as to make their team good enough to compete with the world.
After 37 thrilling gameweeks, it’s now finally time to bid goodbye to the game for this season, as we’re now hours away from the end of the season. However, due to an extended deadline, managers will be looking to make some last minute changes for the final time in 2016/17.
The likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool have been handed easier home games while Arsenal will host Everton at the Emirates in the standout fixture of the round.
The Gunners are hoping for a Liverpool slip-up to break into the top four, but they will have to do their bit and win against Everton on Sunday. After a double gameweek that saw Alexis Sanchez (11.6) score a personal best of 27 points, he is expected to be among the top five transferred in.
However, in case you do not have the funds to rope in the Chilean, his strike partner Olivier Giroud (8.1) may well be given a look in. The much maligned Arsenal forward has been given an extended spell in the first-team of late, and is expected to lead the line against Everton.
Giroud picked up 18 points in Arsenal’s double gameweek as he scored two and assisted once in the matches against Stoke City and Sunderland, and more importantly, played over 80 minutes in the both the matches. Thus, it is a safe bet to bring him in for the final weekend.
Another striker in the same category, but who commands a slightly higher fee, is Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus (9.0). The Brazilian is on the back of a phenomenal double gameweek that saw him notch up 19 points and will be in the eleven as the Citizens travel to Watford.
The Hornets are deeply hit by injuries, and will not have their best eleven available for City’s visit. This could be a field day for Jesus, who is expected to continue his good run of form and end the season on a high.
Bournemouth midfielder Josh King (6.2) has become the talk of the FPL bandwagon towards the business end of the season and his hype has not diminished as the weeks have progressed as he has been one of the Cherries’ key figures.
A similar hype surrounded Watford’s Etienne Capoue at the start of the campaign, but it eventually faded away. However, King has continued to perform beyond expectations, and at 6.2 is a must have in your FPL team.
After securing the Premier League title, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte decided to shuffle his pack and made a total of nine changes to the side that started against West Brom last Friday. This undoubtedly frustrated a number of FPL managers, and it is best advised to refrain from buying Blues players.
Chelsea go into the final day with nothing to play for, but have a big FA Cup final against Arsenal next weekend. Conte will be looking to claim the domestic double, and will be looking to rest a number of players.
The same can be said about Manchester United and their manager Jose Mourinho, who has publicly stated that he will play a number of youngsters against Crystal Palace on Sunday as they cannot break into the top four.
He decided to prioritise on the Europa League a number of weeks back, but always left the Premier League as an option. However, with a loss and draw against Tottenham and Southampton respectively, that no longer remains an option.
It’s also United’s first European final in six years, so Mourinho will want his first team players all fit and unavailable rather than have them out injured, as has been the case for the majority of the season.
THT Team of the Week
Points won last week: 154
Goalkeeper: Eldin Jakupovic (Hull City)
Defenders: Marcos Alonso (Chelsea), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Rob Holding (Arsenal).
Midfielders: Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Leroy Sane (Manchester City), Josh King (Bournemouth).
Forwards: Diego Costa (Chelsea), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal).
Bench: Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Swansea), Marc Albrighton (Leicester City), Marc Wilson (West Brom), Stephen Kingsley (Swansea).
