An early FPL preview for Gameweek 34
As the next Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Gameweek draws nearer, here is an early preview of what lies ahead.
FPL Preview
Firstly, these are the fixtures.
| Saturday | 12:30pm | Arsenal vs Man United | ||||
| Saturday | 3:00pm | Leicester vs Aston Villa | Man City vs Watford | Norwich vs Newcastle | ||
| Saturday | 5:30pm | Brentford vs Tottenham | ||||
| Sunday | 2:00pm | Brighton vs Southampton | Burnley vs Wolves | Chelsea vs West Ham | ||
| Sunday | 4:30pm | Liverpool vs Everton | ||||
| Monday | 8:00pm | Crystal Palace vs Leeds | ||||
| Thursday | 7:45pm | Man United vs Chelsea |
Secondly, the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline is at 11:00 (GMT) on Saturday 23 April.
Strong Fixtures
MAN CITY
Regardless of how both Man City and Liverpool fare in midweek against Brighton and Man United respectively, this title race will reach the final few games. The problem is predicting how much ‘Pep Roulette’ will occur, considering league meetings with Watford and Leeds sit next to both legs of the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
Joao Cancelo has been almost free of this all season – only missing two matches – and Kyle Walker‘s recent injury could reinforce that security. Further up, Phil Foden has out-of-position potential but just two goal involvements from his ten pre-Brighton outings. The return of Ruben Dias could increase the chances of an Aymeric Laporte rest, whilst Kevin De Bruyne comes at a premium £11.8m price that many can’t afford.
TOTTENHAM
Saturday’s surprise home defeat to Brighton was the first time both Harry Kane and Son Heung-min blanked since Gameweek 26, whilst Dejan Kulusevski was lucky to stay on the field after a first-half elbow on Marc Cucurella.
Before then, four of their previous seven matches had been a win by at least four goals. Antonio Conte will be determined to not let that bad day repeat itself in the race for fourth place. Unlike many teams, Spurs have something to play for and need their reunion with Christian Eriksen to end in victory.
Weak Fixtures
WATFORD
The Hornets are both low on goals and in poor form. In the absence of injured Cucho Hernandez, the return of Emmanuel Dennis to the starting XI brought a well-timed goal versus Brentford. Their remaining fixtures are mostly good but not in Gameweek 34, where the daunting trip to Man City will not be good for Ben Foster‘s owners.
EVERTON
The Toffees will hope to enter this Merseyside derby on the back of a Wednesday win over Leicester. If they don’t, the following fixtures against Liverpool (a) and Chelsea (H) could leave them in a desperate position by Gameweek 36. Everton has been in the top flight for all but four seasons in their history and a record 119 in total. Their current streak extends to 1954, where only Arsenal goes back further.
Yet their FPL season has been just as dire as reality. Heading into Gameweek 33, no player has over 87 points, which is a league-low. Their double-double over Gameweeks 36 and 37 offers appeal to Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anthony Gordon but they still come with a huge risk.
According to the Fantasy Football Scout Fixture Ticker, here are the Gameweek fixtures ranked by difficulty:
