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Fantasy Football tips and advice: Gameweek 27 transfers, selections and captain choices

By Tom Carnduff

Football

Sat March 11, 2023 · 2y ago

Gameweek 26 was a low-scorer, with a number of fancied players failing to return a serious amount of points.

It's rare we say that when Mohamed Salah scored a huge total of 21, and well played if you gave him the captaincy, but his ownership rate standing at 27.5% shows the shift in attitude and focus this season.

Popular picks such as Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Harry Kane all blanked, while the great Erling Haaland could only deliver four following his assist in Saturday's early kick-off.

Gameweek 27 can be a better one, with a few teams playing twice opening up the possibility of strong returns.

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When is the FPL Gameweek 27 deadline?

The FPL Gameweek 27 deadline is Saturday March 11 at 11:00 GMT, 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 27?

BRENTFORD come into Gameweek 27 buoyed by victory over West London rivals Fulham last time out, and the two games on their list makes them a very attractive team to target.

The Bees may be away twice but they come against strugglers Everton and Southampton. They will fancy their chances of at least three points across those two outings.

In fact, with the next three gameweeks looking quite tricky, Thomas Frank's side are the only ones to be playing the maximum five times.

The below chart outlines who is playing and who isn't playing between GW27 and GW29. Green = playing; red = not playing.

BRIGHTON also have good fixtures, although be aware that they don't have involvement in Gameweek 28 due to the FA Cup.

Roberto De Zerbi's brilliant side travel to Leeds on Saturday before a home encounter against Crystal Palace on Wednesday. It wouldn't be a surprise to see them win both of those.

From those playing just once, LIVERPOOL have every chance of more goals as they go to Bournemouth in the early kick-off.

Of course, they scored seven last time out and this struggling Cherries defence will be worried of a potential repeat - they did concede nine in their trip to Anfield earlier this season.

It's well worth considering those future weeks when making transfers now. Manchester City only play twice out of a possible five times - time to free up budget by transferring Haaland out?

Who are the best players to bring in for Gameweek 27?

Any Gameweek 27 decisions are going to be made with Gameweek 28 and Gameweek 29 in mind.

We can get away with including double gameweek players for this one if we have sufficient cover next weekend, just try to avoid getting caught out with 7/8 players during the FA Cup quarter-final period.

We'll be focusing on those teams mentioned above. That is the best possible way to maximise returns.

Bryan Mbeumo

Position: FWD
Club: Brentford
Opponent: Everton (A), Southampton (A)
FPL Price: £5.8m

A cheaper option and one that is well worth bringing in ahead of Gameweek 27. Bryan Mbeumo has had nine direct goal involvements this season but could have had more based on chances.

His five goals scored have come from 41 shots and a much bigger 7.06 xG. He's also returned 3.94 xA - we should have seen more than the 84 points on his tally.

The £5.8m price tag also frees up some budget to use elsewhere, that makes him £1.9m cheaper than Ivan Toney.

Everton and Southampton have been conceding plenty of chances in recent weeks, meaning that Mbeumo should see plenty of chances to score.

Ethan Pinnock

Position: DEF
Club: Brentford
Opponent: Everton (A), Southampton (A)
FPL Price: £4.4m

Ethan Pinnock scored the opening goal as Brentford beat Fulham on Monday - rather annoying having backed him to score a few times in other games but not this one.

It moved Pinnock onto a total of 55 points for the season but it's worth remembering here that he had no involvement whatsoever until Gameweek 10.

If we work on average points per game, Pinnock would have been on 90 points with full involvement throughout the season. Six points less than Ben Mee but you're saving £0.7m by going for Pinnock instead.

We could easily see Brentford keep a clean sheet in one of these two games, and Pinnock feels a must-have given their short-term involvement.

Mathias Jensen

Position: MID
Club: Brentford
Opponent: Everton (A), Southampton (A)
FPL Price: £4.8m

Yes, this is a column all about Brentford but it's hard not to talk loads about them when we consider the fixture list.

Mathias Jensen netted their third - and as it turned out winning - goal against Fulham, continuing his recent good form when it comes to goal contribution.

Jensen has scored three goals and contributed an assist across his last seven Premier League outings - with a total of eight shots and 1.1 xG outlining that he does get involved.

He wouldn't usually be high on my priority list for transfers, but the midfielder is worth consideration across the next few weeks.

Alexis Mac Allister

Position: MID
Club: Brighton
Opponent: Leeds (A), Crystal Palace (H)
FPL Price: £5.4m

As mentioned earlier on, only consider Brighton assets if you're sure of another cover for Gameweek 28 when the Seagulls face Grimsby in the FA Cup quarter-final.

While attention has been on other options, Alexis Mac Allister has seemingly gone under the radar for fantasy football players despite his recent showings.

The midfielder scored and assisted another in the 4-0 hammering of West Ham in Gameweek 26, but the underlying numbers highlight that he should have had more across the past three weeks.

Despite scoring just once, Mac Allister has seen 14 shots for 3.4 xG across his last three Premier League outings.

Who should I captain in Gameweek 27?

Gameweek 27 presents a genuine dilemma for captaincy options, with those on the double gameweek not the usual teams to target for double points.

The obvious one from Brentford is IVAN TONEY, and he could well still be a good differential as players would prefer the 'safety' of a big hitter despite single involvement.

His goal from the penalty spot moved him onto 15 for the season, with three assists also contributed for a total of 130 points.

BRYAN MBEUMO has been mentioned already and he is certainly in the 'differential' category if you're feeling braver or need to make up gaps in mini-leagues.

ERLING HAALAND is an obvious one but it may well be worth taking him out of teams for the next three GWs as they only play twice - one of those is also against Liverpool.

Just note budget requirements to bring him back in, ensure there's still a little buffer zone for a transfer ahead of Gameweek 30. If he smashes in a hat-trick against Palace, so be it.

ALEXIS MAC ALLISTER and KAORU MITOMA are the two Brighton assets who catch my eye for captaincy, with fixtures that appear winnable ahead of them sitting out Gameweek 28.

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