EPL DGW-37 FPL Player Picks

The Premier League season is in its final stage, the penultimate game-week upon us, when five teams play twice. We’ll run down players at each position.

If you still have your free hit, this is the last best time left play it. If you have just the usual free transfers available, then you’ll need to play them smartly to gain decent returns and end the season on a high note.

The following are the 5 teams with doubles in GW-37:

• Everton
• Leicester
• Aston Villa
• Crystal Palace
• Burnley

Among these teams, Everton (vs Brentford & Palace), Villa (vs Palace & Burnley) and Palace (vs Villa & Everton) have nice fixtures. Some premium players from the top clubs do too — West Ham vs Man City, Southampton vs Liverpool, and Tottenham vs Burnley.

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Goalkeepers

Jordan Pickford (£4.8m, Everton vs Brentford; Everton vs Crystal Palace)

With the Toffees fighting their way out of the relegation zone, Pickford has been in superb form with over 32 saves in the past eight appearances. Against Chelsea and Leicester the English keeper earned 16 points. He has two more chances for a clean sheet this week.

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Emiliano Martínez (£5.5, Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace; Aston Villa vs Burnley)

Martinez registered two clean sheets in his last three fixtures before facing Liverpool where Steven Gerrard’s men lost 2-1 at Villa Park. However, the Argentinian number one has made crucial saves and with Villa’s improving form despite the defeat to the Reds, Martinez may very well look for his 12^th clean sheet of the season facing Palace and Burnley.

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Defenders

Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.9m, Everton vs Brentford; Everton vs Crystal Palace)

Mykolenko has started the last eight games for the Toffees, picking up a goal and an assist, and looks good for two starts this week. Frank Lampard’s Everton have been strong enough at the back recently to claim three clean sheets from their last four games, which came against Chelsea and Man United, and Norwich; the lone concession coming against Leicester City.

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Lucas Digne (£5.0m, Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace; Aston Villa vs Burnley)

Over the past three games, Villa’s Digne has contributed an assist and a clean sheet while creating more than nine chances, which is four more than any other teammate. Gerrard’s men have kept 11 clean sheets and conceded an xGC of 46.1 this term, the side conceding just two goals in the last four matches. Digne is a set-piece specialist and that could help him end the season on a high note.

Similarly, Matty Cash (£5.3 m) is also a worthy option, with three goals and three assists this season.

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Marcos Alonso (£5.7m, Chelsea vs Leicester)

The Chelsea left-back, owned by just under 15% of fantasy managers, is always a good player to have in the squad. His consistent runs into the opposition’s box lead to dangerous crosses and assists. With his reasonable price tag and his major contributions to Chelsea’s play, Alonso is a decent choice.

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Andrew Robertson (£7.3m, Southampton vs Liverpool)

If you can’t afford Trent Alexander-Arnold (8.4m), then Robertson is the Reds defender to go for. The Scotsman was rested in Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Aston Villa, so he will surely start in the FA Cup final against Chelsea and likely again vs. Southampton to keep the pressure on Man City. Let’s not forget: the left-back has two goals and 11 assists this season, with an xG of 2.12 while creating 64 chances with an xA of 5.94 (2nd amongst defenders).

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Joao Cancelo (£7.2m, West Ham vs Man City)

Except for Kevin De Bryune, Cancelo is one of the last players that Pep Guardiola would ever dream of putting on the bench at this stage of the title race. The Portuguese deserves the spotlight for his performances, especially during his away fixtures, with Mo Salah being the only player who has accumulated more points on the road.

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Midfielders

Anthony Gordon (£4.7m, Everton vs Brentford; Everton vs Crystal Palace)

Since Lampard’s arrival at Everton, only Richarlison and Pickford have played more minutes than the 20-year-old Anthony Gordon, who has now made himself undroppable. The youngster is a great budget enabler who has team-leading totals of eight key passes and two big chances created. He also ranks 2nd for touches in the opposition box with 19, only three behind Richarlison.

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Wilfried Zaha (6.9m, Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace; vs Everton vs Crystal Palace)

Though Palace’s two fixtures are both on the road, Zaha has been Patrick Vieira’s top goal scorer so far with 13, seven of which have come in his previous 10 appearances. In fact, since GW-26, only Kevin De Bryune and Son Heung-min have scored more goals among midfielders than the Ivorian attacking winger.

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Mason Mount (£7.7m, Chelsea vs Leicester City)

Mount earned 13 points due to his goal plus assist in the Blues’ 3-0 win over Leeds in GW-36. His role is important for Chelsea so he’s certain to start in Saturday’s FA Cup final against Liverpool, but he will also likely feature when hosting Leicester afterwards.

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Son Heung-min (£11.0m, Spurs vs Burnley)

There are always single-game players that end up amongst the top scorers during double weeks, and given his excellent form, Son is a must-have. Potentially captain worthy for the final remaining GWs, the South Korean is just a couple of goals behind Salah. Son’s goal total is even more impressive when you consider that none of his strikes have come via the penalty spot. With Burnley up next, Son will look to add more goals in the race for the golden boot.

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Kevin De Bruyne (£12.0m, West Ham vs Man City)

One has to say this out loud, kudos to those who chose to captain Kevin De Bryune in GW-36, as the Belgian bagged four goals in City’s 5-1 thrashing of Wolves and showed off future teammate Erling Haaland’s celebration. His performance was worth 27 points, or a huge 54 if you captained the Belgian playmaker. KDB has paired eight goals with five assists and only blanked once in his previous eight appearances since GW-28.

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Mo Salah (£13.3m, Southampton vs Liverpool)

Salah has recently called himself the best player in his position, if not simply the best player in the world, and it’s tough to argue with him (although perhaps Kevin De Bryune or Karim Benzema might disagree). The Egyptian was on the bench for most of his team’s win over Aston Villa, but he’ll certainly feature in the FA Cup final against Chelsea. Regardless, he also wants to land the golden boot, and there is no better chance to add more goals than against a leaky Southampton backline.

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Forward

Richarlison (£7.5m, Everton vs Brentford; Everton vs Crystal Palace)

The Brazilian Richarlison has been as critical to Everton’s upturn in fortunes as Pickford has been at the other end. Everton’s forward has taken responsibility for leading the team from the front, scoring four goals in his past eight appearances.

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Danny Ings (£7.7m, Aston Villa vs Crystal Palace; Aston Villa vs Burnley)

With Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) not having trained since subbing off with an injury against Liverpool, Ings has to take the lead in a promising pair of fixtures. Despite missing two massive chances against the Reds, his constant threat in the opposition box is something to consider. The double gameweek will be a big opportunity to prove his worth to manager Steven Gerrard for his role next season.

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What do you think of our picks this week? Are you going to use your free hit, bench boost chip or even triple captain if you have any left? What is your FPL strategy? Who will be a hit or a miss? Who’s on your watch-list? Please let us know in the comments below!

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