The Scout reveals the line-up for Double Gameweek 34 (DGW34) of FPL Challenge, with players from promoted clubs Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United scoring double points.
Blades doubly attractive
Sheff Utd are one of seven clubs with two fixtures in Gameweek 34, so double points on top of that gives them an extra allure.
Any Blades player lasting more than 60 minutes against both Burnley and Manchester United would already have eight points as a base to work from.
And that’s before we consider attacking returns.
Oliver McBurnie (£5.4m) has delivered five of them in his last seven starts, while Ben Brereton Diaz (£5.0m) has four goals and an assist across his eight Premier League appearances.
Classified as a midfielder, Brereton Diaz has been used "out of position" in a promising-looking strike duo with McBurnie of late.
Their team-mate, Gustavo Hamer (£4.9m), has also been in good form recently, blanking in only one of his last five outings.
There’s an argument to say that Sheff Utd have the best fixture double-header in DGW34.
Man Utd's 17.9 shots per match allowed are more than any other team this season. Only two clubs, meanwhile, have conceded more goals than Burnley's 68.
Get in early for double points
Fantasy managers wanting to take advantage of the double points on offer will need to be quick off the mark.
Burnley, Luton and Sheff Utd are all in action at 15:00 BST on Saturday.
So any players from those three sides have to be selected by the first FPL Challenge deadline of DGW34.
Load up on title contenders
Liverpool and Arsenal also play twice this Gameweek.
Players from the two title rivals will form the backbone of many FPL Challenge teams. Ours is no different.
Midweek exertions in Europe should be a consideration, as we could see Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp rotate given the tight turnaround between matches.
That’s partly influenced our selections of Virgil van Dijk (£6.6m), William Saliba (£5.9m) and Bukayo Saka (£9.0m), who haven’t been benched once in the league this season.
Mohamed Salah’s (£13.5m) only two substitute appearances came off the back of injuries, meanwhile.
Fantasy managers will at least get to see the teamsheets from both clubs’ first DGW34 fixtures before finalising their squads.
The Gunners are in action at Wolverhampton Wanderers at 19:30 BST on Saturday, while Liverpool visit Fulham the following day, at 16:30 BST.
It’s not just the security of starts that is important, of course.
Salah and Saka are the top two midfielders for Expected Goal Involvement (xGI) this season, with 25.1 and 22.7 respectively.
Virgil and Gabriel (£5.4m), meanwhile, are first and second among defenders for shots in the box, with 32 and 26 respectively.
Back Solanke’s away record
Three more players with two Gameweek 34 fixtures round off our line-up.
All three are in action on Sunday.
Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) has more attacking returns (11) and points (79) on the road than at home this season, so his two away fixtures shouldn’t be a deterrent.
Elsewhere, Eberechi Eze (£6.1m) is among the top 10 midfielders for non-penalty xGI since he made his first start under Oliver Glasner.
Those two picks both take penalties for their respective clubs, too, offering a further route to points.
Jordan Pickford (£4.7m) lines up between the posts. Among goalkeepers, he’s joint-second for clean sheets (nine) and joint-third for bonus points (14) in 2023/24 Fantasy.
