The decision to buy and captain Callum Wilson (£7.2m) helped the current world No 1 extend his lead in Fantasy Premier League with just two Gameweeks remaining.
The front runner of the 11.4 million managers by 16 points heading into Gameweek 36, Ali Jahangirov, handed Wilson the armband after recruiting him as part of a double transfer with Alexis Mac Allister (£5.6m).
Wilson immediately repaid his faith with a 48-point captain haul thanks to three goals, an assist and six bonus points over Newcastle United’s two matches.
Additional double-figure returns from Mohamed Salah (£13.1m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.7m) and Kieran Trippier (£6.1m) took Arsenal fan Ali up to 2,663 points for the season, 19 ahead of his closest rival.
| Rank | Team name | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FPL Gunz | Azerbaijan | 2,663 |
| 2 | Raging Devils FC | Singapore | 2,644 |
| 3 | Twist Tigers | England | 2,637 |
| 4 | AZZURRI | Egypt | 2,635 |
| 5 | slam tent | Scotland | 2,635 |
| 6 | BruYES Fernandes | Singapore | 2,627 |
| 7 | Ica | Egypt | 2,624 |
| 8 | Ayman Team | Egypt | 2,624 |
| 9 | Korma Chameleon | Ireland | 2,621 |
| 10 | Blue London | Saudi Arabia | 2,618 |
But Ali won’t be counting his chickens just yet with his advantage far from insurmountable.
At the same stage last season the eventual FPL winner Jamie Pigott, and his team Futbolislife;), was in 10th and 38 points off the top.
An exceptional Free Hit chip in Double Gameweek 37 catapulted Pigott into first, a position he retained to become the 2021/22 champion.
This season only one member of the top 10 has any of their chips left, with seventh-placed Monique Ihab yet to use her second Wildcard.
Manchester City, Manchester United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea all play twice in Double Gameweek 37, and Monique may decide to load up on players with two matches.
Or, instead, she might prefer to use the chip in Gameweek 38 in order to optimise her squad for the final round of matches.
Indeed, Monique already has seven Double Gameweek 37 players along with the in-form quartet of Salah, Alexander-Arnold, Trippier and Wilson, who all play once.
| Rank | Team name | DGW37 players | Transfers/Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FPL Gunz | 8 | 1 |
| 2 | Raging Devils FC | 8* | 2 |
| 3 | Twist Tigers | 8 | 2 |
| 4 | slam tent | 7* | 1 |
| 5 | AZZURRI | 8* | 1 |
| 6 | BruYES Fernandes | 7 | 1 |
| 7 | Ica | 7 | 1 + Wildcard |
| 8 | Ayman Team | 7 | 2 |
| 9 | Korma Chameleon | 8 | 1 |
| 10 | Blue London | 8 | 1 |
*goalkeeper and back-up ‘keeper both play twice
Three managers in the top 10 have two free transfers for Double Gameweek 37.
JY Lye and Joanne Hales-Owen, second and third respectively, along with Ayman Aly zein Ewida in eighth, all have a little more flexibility when it comes to recruiting their desired transfer targets.
Meanwhile fourth and fifth-placed Craig Marshall and AZZURRI both already own a potentially key figure for the next round in Bruno Fernandes (£9.5m).
Man Utd travel to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday before hosting Chelsea next Thursday in two appealing fixtures
Pep Guardiola’s team selection for the encounters with Chelsea and Brighton could have big implications in the race to be crowned FPL champion.
Erling Haaland (£12.4m) is universally owned among the leading 10 managers but only Mishary, in 10th, and Ayman have Julian Alvarez (£6.1m) in their 15-man squads.
Elsewhere, first-placed Ali has a big call to make on Kevin De Bruyne (£12.2m).
None of the other nine managers own the Belgian, making him a huge differential. But De Bruyne has played in just one of Man City’s last four Premier League matches, and Ali must decide if that trend is likely to continue.
Rotation fears could force him to opt for Fernandes, or even one of De Bruyne’s team-mates.
Get it right and Ali will be one step closer to claiming ultimate glory.