In his latest article, Lateriser, a three-time top 200 player, talks about the FA Cup fifth round draw and the two teams he will be actively buying players from in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Double Gameweek 26 is behind us and we now have to look at future planning.
There’s a fairly clean record until Blank Gameweek 31, in which Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers will certainly be blank, while Manchester City and Crystal Palace almost certainly will.
The draw for the fifth round of the FA Cup was interesting because, apart from Man City visiting Newcastle United, most of the top clubs avoided each other. This means that we can have a substantial number of teams play twice in Gameweek 33 and then not at all in Gameweek 34. Free Hit can be a very useful chip for either of these two moments.
Last season, one match of Gameweek 34 remained there, as both sides were out of Europe, while the other two moved to Double Gameweek 33, on which the 2025/26 assumption is based.
BUY BRENTFORD
If you have already used a Wildcard, or plan to do so in Gameweek 32, you can target two teams on a match-by-match basis.
Liverpool and Brentford are in the top four in terms of expected goals (xG) over the last six gameweeks, and are in decent form. In fact, the Bees have collected the second-most chances (20) during this period.
I love that Keith Andrews tends to reward form, and isn’t afraid to sit on the bench Mikkel Damsgaard (£5.6 million) and Nathan Collins (£5.0m) if others are having a good time.
Next opponents Brighton and Hove Albion aren’t in a great place at the moment, then it’s Burnley, Wolves and Leeds United in the next four. This trio are all in the worst five for expected goals conceded (xGC) over their last six games.
Even if you are hunting and want to pick differences, there is no reason to ignore Igor Thiago (£7.0 million). The center forward is alone behind Erling Haaland (£14.9m) for total xG, big chances and shots in the box.
It’s a wonder he didn’t score past Arsenal. Non-owners like me have certainly gotten away with it in recent weeks, but I don’t think we should risk it any longer.
The great thing about Brentford is that their games in Gameweek 32 and 33 are also quite good, while they host West Ham United in Gameweek 35. So your Wildcard intentions don’t matter.
For those looking to add a Bees midfielder to their ranks, Scout has a comparison article Kevin Damage (£6.9 million) and Dango Ouattara (£5.8 million).
Damage tends to start, but I would like to mention that he was just suspended for a while. Maybe wait and see if he faces Brighton, as Andrews could hold Keane Lewis Potter (£4.8m) in the team.
Maybe I’m being too cautious, but in my opinion, give it another week.
BIG IN LIVERPOOL
Then there is the Liverpool issue. One tweet caught my attention this week, regarding Mohammed Salah (£14.0 million).
For the few who already own Salah and want to become a captain, he is the one. Put yourself in a position to be lucky.
That said, Florian Wirtz (£8.4m) just looks more dangerous, and Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m) has a higher number of recordings.
Liverpool have been in the top three for xG and xGC for the last six Gameweeks. In the four games for which Salah returned, Ekitike has scored the highest number of big chances (seven), while Wirtz and the Egyptian have two.
That said, Salah beats both in terms of close-range attempts (13) and expected goal involvement (xGI, 2.73).
Are we looking at another Palmer situation, where a small number go to Salah but are handsomely rewarded for doing so?
Ekitike beats his teammates for xG (2.18), but eye test winner Wirtz has xG and xGI figures lower than Domink Szoboszlai (£6.7 million).
Like Brentford, the Reds are still having good games after Gameweek 31, and there is the motivation to compete to secure a European place.
In my defense, Virgil van Dijk (£5.9m) is a strong option as he had great success with clean sheets and goals. They arrived in Sunderland in a huge haul of 17 points.
So while Bournemouth and Fulham also have good short-term fixtures, I prefer to buy from Liverpool and Brentford.
That’s all from me this week. For those who want to delve deeper into the impact of the FA Cup draw and how to plan for the future, we discuss it on this week’s episode of The FPL Wire.
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