Fantasy Football tips and advice: Gameweek 36 transfers, selections and captain choices

By Tom Carnduff

Football

Sat May 13, 2023 · 2y ago

Gameweek 35 was a tough one for many, a crash back down to reality after a few consecutive high scorers.

The popular Erling Haaland not scoring, despite coming incredibly close on multiple occasions, had a serious impact on overall points tallies.

Other high-owned options such as Kieran Trippier, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw all blanked, meaning those with plenty of differentials were rewarded.

Attention quickly shifts to Gameweek 36 and how to bounce back as we enter the final stage of the campaign.

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When is the FPL Gameweek 36 deadline?

The FPL Gameweek 36 deadline is Saturday May 13 at 11:00 BST, with the first game kicking off at 12:30.

How do the FPL chips work?

Bench Boost: This counts the points of those on your bench alongside your starting XI - this can only be used once a season
Triple Captain: The captain earns 3x the amount of points for that gameweek - this can only be used once a season
Free Hit: This allows unlimited changes for one gameweek only. A team reverts back to how it was before once this has been played - this can only be used once a season

Who has the best fixtures in Gameweek 36?

The main two teams to target this week are BRIGHTON and NEWCASTLE.

The rearranged fixture between the pair makes their Gameweek 36 a double, meaning you are getting more games for a single transfer.

Newcastle have the better fixtures of the pair as they go to Leeds on Saturday before hosting Brighton, while the Seagulls face a trip to the Emirates to take on Arsenal.

Other fixtures look fairly tricky to navigate through, although it may be worth keeping faith with LIVERPOOL even if they are on the road this weekend.

They go to Leicester, who saw Fulham hit five past them last time out. The Reds have now won their last six in the league with 17 goals scored.

Exercise some caution with MANCHESTER CITY who go to Everton - they are in the middle of a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid so rotation is possible.

Who are the best players to bring in for Gameweek 36?

For obvious reasons, this section will focus on Brighton and Newcastle players to consider.

Unless absolutely desperate, taking points hits to bring in players should be avoided where possible. It's especially true if there's only a couple of points in it for league position.

The benefit for both teams is that they have decent games to come, so you shouldn't need to take players out afterwards.

It's particularly the case for Brighton who also have a double Gameweek 37. Treble up if you haven't already.

Alexander Isak

Position: FWD
Club: Newcastle
Opponent: Leeds (A), Brighton (H)
FPL Price: £7.0m

The fact that Eddie Howe has been starting both Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak together is a positive for fantasy football players, and the latter has been finding the net in recent weeks.

His 18 league appearances have delivered ten goals and 7.96 xG. That's impressive when we consider that he's only started in 13 of those.

It leaves Isak with a goals/95 rate of 0.74 which is very high. Those who own him on FPL have been rewarded with 90 points despite him missing a large part of the season through injury.

Newcastle are on team to target this week as you get two games for the price of one.

Joe Willock

Position: MID
Club: Newcastle
Opponent: Leeds (A), Brighton (H)
FPL Price: £4.7m

A solid differential at a good price and one who plays twice this week.

Joe Willock finds himself in 1.4% of teams at the time of writing, but he's returned two assists in his last four appearances. In fact, he's had five goal involvements across his last ten.

Despite the fact he's only found the net once across that period, the underlying numbers highlight that it should have been more.

Willock has registered 24 shots for 3.3 xG from the 2-1 win over Wolves onwards - with Newcastle winning eight across that period.

Alexis Mac Allister

Position: MID
Club: Brighton
Opponent: Arsenal (A), Newcastle (A)
FPL Price: £5.5m

We've discussed recently that Brighton assets are well worth having due to their fixture list before the end of the season, this remains true despite the hammering by Everton.

Even with tricky games at Arsenal and Newcastle, you're still getting two games out of one option and Mac Allister's own form has been good.

I've stuck with him despite others largely looking at Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma, and Mac Allister has scored in each of his last two outings.

He is Brighton's penalty taker which is a bonus, while he continues to post shots despite his new deeper role in midfield.

Pascal Groß

Position: MID
Club: Brighton
Opponent: Arsenal (A), Newcastle (A)
FPL Price: £5.4m

Pascal Groß has not massively been involved in the fantasy football conversation for Brighton, but he has been delivering throughout the season.

He is in 9.1% of teams but you don't seem to see many looking towards him over others in this Seagulls squad, yet he has eight goals and six assists on his tally.

Changing between right-back and centre midfield, Groß is averaging 2.2 key passes per game (the highest in this Brighton squad) alongside 1.1 shots.

His eight goals have come from 5.27 xG while he's seen 9.00 xA for his six helpers. He should continue to deliver points before the conclusion of the campaign.

Who should I captain in Gameweek 35?

You could go for the safety net of ERLING HAALAND, but remember that Manchester City have that Champions League encounter coming up.

That could force Pep Guardiola into making some changes, and even if Haaland starts, he may be taken off early if they are in command at the break.

Considering the fixture list and targeting a player on a double gameweek could have a big pay-off, with Newcastle looking the better of the two.

One of those to look at is ALEXANDER ISAK for the reasons mentioned above. Even if he doesn't start one of the games, he has scored from the bench on a couple of occasions already.

He's also registered at least two shots in five of his last six league games, and the one game that didn't see it had an assist against Southampton.

JOE WILLOCK may be an alternative captain that pays off in a big way if he can continue his good recent attacking form, but that may be a move to make if you're playing catch-up in leagues.

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