Into midfield, I have two Sheff Utd players in Gustavo Hamer (£4.9m), who is currently their leading points scorer in FPL this season, and January signing Ben Brereton Diaz (£5.0m), who will be my captain. With four goals since joining, I am hoping he will add to that tally in DGW34.
Mohamed Salah (£13.5m) makes the line-up despite his disappointing returns of late, given his Double Gameweek against Fulham and Everton.I have gone with Kai Havertz (£7.4m) as my Arsenal midfielder. He is playing very centrally and far forward, often alongside Gabriel Jesus (£7.7m) in a forward role. The German has had four double-digit returns over his last eight appearances, so he has strong upside this week against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea.
My final midfielder is Eberechi Eze (£6.0m). He netted in Gameweek 33 against Liverpool and now has two home games against West Ham and Newcastle, who have both struggled defensively this season.Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.0m) is the first forward selected, with the Frenchman benefiting from a run in the side under Oliver Glasner to score four goals across his last seven starts.
The final spot in my line-up is taken by Oli McBurnie (£5.4m). He is finding some form recently, with three attacking returns in his last three starts. The Scotland international will be my vice-captain.
This could be the highest-scoring FPL Challenge yet, given so many teams are playing twice. I’m looking forward to joining the 100-point club!This will be the largest Double Gameweek of 2023/24, with SEVEN sides playing twice – Arsenal, AFC Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Everton, Liverpool, Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Scout is comparing players in each position who have a Double Gameweek 34 (DGW34) to help Fantasy Premier League managers make the right moves.What are their chances for clean sheets?
Analysing the opposition attacks over their respective last six matches can help give a better indication of each DGW34 side’s potential for clean sheets.
Can Luton build on home form at this crucial juncture?
Luton Town beat Bournemouth 2-1 in their last match at Kenilworth Road.They are yet to win back-to-back home Premier League contests this season, something that has to change if Luton are to pull Everton, Nott’m Forest or this weekend’s opponents Brentford into the bottom three.
The 5-1 defeat at Man City last weekend got their final big match out of the way.
Their only remaining opponent in the current top 10 is West Ham, who sit eighth, and more importantly Luton have three winnable matches at Kenilworth Road: Brentford, Everton and Fulham.
Win all three, and Luton – just one point behind Forest – will surely stay up.With Sheff Utd the only one of the promoted clubs playing twice in DGW34, hosting Burnley before visiting Manchester United, I’ve included FIVE of their players in my team. What could possibly go wrong!
In goal is Ivo Grbic (£4.5m). I will be hoping for a clean sheet against Burnley and some save points versus Man Utd. Dean Henderson (£4.4m) will be my substitute goalkeeper.It’s a similar thought process behind including Anel Ahmedhodzic (£4.3m) in defence. Jayden Bogle (£4.5m) is the other obvious Sheff Utd defender to go for given his attacking threat, but the wing-back is an injury doubt.
Elsewhere in defence, I’ve gone with Ben White (£6.0m). Arsenal have wobbled slightly, conceding twice to both Bayern Munich and Aston Villa last week, having previously been racking up the clean sheets.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.4m) is the final defender. Returning from injury, his minutes look far more secure with Conor Bradley (£4.3m) ruled out for around three weeks with an ankle injury. My two defenders on the bench are Virgil van Dijk (£6.6m) and Daniel Munoz (£4.5m).
The Oliver Glasner era started on Sunday. He’s been in the job since 19 February and taken charge of eight Premier League matches, but the new Crystal Palace head coach didn’t really get going until last weekend’s stunning 1-0 win at Anfield.It had all the hallmarks of Glasner’s football: hard pressing to unsettle the opponent, fast transitions and sharp pre-meditated interchanges in the final third. It was hugely impressive and an exciting glimpse of what’s to come.
Replicating that performance at Selhurst Park is the next step, but it won’t be easy.
West Ham represent an entirely different kind of challenge and their propensity to sit back might force Palace into a slower possession game of the sort Glasner would prefer to avoid.
Then again, West Ham have won just two of their nine league matches following a European midweek match this season, drawing four and losing three. Any tiredness will be pounced upon by Glasner’s aggressive midfield.
Will set-pieces give Everton the edge in six-pointer?
Only one point separates Everton and Nott’m Forest in 16th and 17th respectively, making this arguably the biggest match of the Premier League weekend.Sean Dyche’s side have a clear advantage, both in this meeting and in the battle against the drop.
For starters, they have played a match fewer than Forest, as well as the benefit of playing four of their final six matches at Goodison Park, whereas Nuno Espirito Santo’s side only have two more encounters at the City Ground – and the visitors are Man City and Chelsea.
As for Sunday’s contest, Everton’s set-pieces give them the edge. They have scored 15 non-penalty set-piece goals this season, the second-most in the division, and are top of the charts for non-penalty set-piece xG, with 16.06.That’s significant because Forest have conceded more non-penalty set-piece goals, with 21, than any other team in the Premier League this season.
But most of that is down to their home form. They have only won five away matches all season, and only one of those opponents, seventh-placed Man Utd, currently sit above Bournemouth, who are 13th.Their 2.81 Expected Goals (xG) in the defeat to Crystal Palace was the most by a Premier League side who failed to score this season – and formed part of a worrying new trend.
Across Liverpool’s three-match winless run – against Man Utd, Atalanta, and Palace – they scored just two goals from an xG of 9.10.
In the last six Premier League matches, they have scored nine goals from 15.9 xG, a worrying underperformance.
A trip to Craven Cottage is not at all what Liverpool need right now.Only the current top three have conceded fewer home goals than Fulham’s 16 in the Premier League this season.
They have also kept six clean sheets at home, and since losing 3-0 to Brentford in their first home match of the season, have conceded only 13 goals in 15 matches (0.9 per game).
In better news for Liverpool, both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota should be fit to start.
Alexander-Arnold has created the second-most chances (54) in the Liverpool squad despite only starting 19 Premier League matches this season, while Jota is the only Liverpool forward who has outperformed his xG, scoring nine goals from 4.91 xG.
Jota in particular needs to hit the ground running if Liverpool are to break Fulham’s mean defence and save their season.
Can Glasner build on victory at Anfield?