FPL expert Sam Bonfield reveals her approach for the Fantasy Challenge in Double Gameweek 35 (DGW35), with players from clubs involved in London derbies, Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Spurs, all scoring DOUBLE points.
DGW35 is the first of two Doubles for Spurs and Chelsea over the run-in. They will be teams that managers are looking to invest in for their main FPL teams, but they will also be popular in Fantasy Challenge. As a minimum, two sets of appearance points will result in an eight-point return.
As ever with FPL Challenge, the excitement of having teams getting double points means that our original thought is to go all in with players from the five teams. But is this the right thing to do?
There are a number of teams who have great single Gameweek fixtures. The likes of Manchester United, Newcastle and Wolves all have the potential to score well. Managers will therefore have to weigh this up when selecting their teams.
Take a chance on in-form Johnson?
I’m not sure whether being a Spurs fan is a help or a hindrance for this week's FPL Challenge! Destiny Udogie’s (£5.0m) injury makes me even more wary of backing Spurs' leaky defence.
Ben Davies (£4.3m) has been a great stand-in over the course of the season and has filled in for both Udogie and Micky van de Ven (£4.4m), picking up two attacking returns and a clean sheet. However, Spurs have kept only six shutouts this season and of those, only one has come over their last 15 Premier League matches.
For that reason, Pedro Porro (£5.8m) is the only defensive option. The right-back is currently an injury doubt, so it will be important to keep an eye out for Ange Postecoglou's press conference. Porro has had 42 attempts on goal this season, more than any other Fantasy defender. He has also created 45 chances, more than any other Spurs defender and only fifth among defenders in FPL. However, I am not convinced that Spurs will keep a clean sheet in either fixture, so we are all aboard the Porro attacking threat train with this pick.
I am planning to double up on Spurs midfielders, with Brennan Johnson (£5.8m) and Son Heung-min (£9.8m). Spurs will have had 14 days off ahead of their match against Arsenal on Sunday, while Arsenal have played two Premier League matches and two Champions League matches in that time. Hopefully this means that the Spurs players are well-rested ahead of this first London derby. Arsenal have been excellent defensively this season, so I am not expecting many attacking returns. The reverse fixture did finish 2-2, though, with Son scoring twice.
Johnson is arguably the in-form Spurs midfielder, with returns in four of his last seven Premier League matches. If you want to triple up on the attack, go for James Maddison (£7.8m), who picked up both assists in the reverse fixture against the Gunners.
Only two from Chelsea?
Cole Palmer (£6.2m) missed out against Arsenal due to illness. However, if he is back for the weekend, he picks himself and is the standout captain pick.
With Malo Gusto (£4.3m) a major doubt to face Aston Villa, I will likely swap him for Palace's Daniel Munoz (£4.5m), who boasts some attacking potential and will have his points doubled.
Palace triple-up?
Palace might only have one fixture in DGW35, but they are going into it in fantastic form. Much like many managers did with their main FPL teams in Double Gameweek 34, doubling up with Eberechi Eze (£6.1m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.1m) could prove to be a shrewd move. Mateta is top for attacking returns for Palace this season, with 15. Eze runs him a close second, with 12. Eze has also had 67 attempts on goal this season, of which 36 have come from inside the box and 11 have been big chances. Both these players have a high points ceiling for their trip to Fulham.
Despite the own goal in DGW34, Dean Henderson (£4.4m) is still in my view the best goalkeeper option if you want to go for one who doubles their points. Between Gameweeks 30 and 34, Henderson has made 18 saves and picked up four save points - almost averaging one per match, while also claiming two bonus points. So even if he doesn't keep a clean sheet, he's still likely to score well after his total is doubled.
Value on offer at Fulham?
Fulham are quite unpredictable at the moment. They have had some major highs, such as the 3-0 home victory over Spurs, and some disappointing lows, like the 3-3 draw at Sheffield United. That being said, Rodrigo Muniz (£4.6m) has been the standout budget forward over recent months. Muniz has returned 74 points for his owners since Gameweek 23, producing three double-digit hauls.
Bernd Leno (£4.8m) also looks a good option in goal, for much the same reasons as Henderson. The goalkeeper has made 122 saves this season, the third-most in the league, helping to rack up 26 save points. He has also registered 15 bonus points, second only to Emiliano Martinez (£5.3m) among goalkeepers.
They'll both be on my bench this week.
Risk Gabriel Jesus?
Like Fulham and Palace, Arsenal only have one fixture this week - the all important north London derby against Spurs. I don’t fancy the Gunners for a clean sheet, but the way that my FPL challenge team is built, a defender and a forward from Arsenal works best, even though I would have like to find a spot for Kai Havertz (£7.4m) after his two-goal performance against Chelsea.
Despite Ben White's (£6.0m) brace on Tuesday evening, Gabriel (£5.4m) still has the most attacking threat when looking at the underlying stats from the Arsenal defenders. The centre-back has had 28 attempts on goal this season, with 26 coming from inside the box and six classified as big chances. The Brazilian has four attacking returns to his name this season and has also returned six bonus points and three double-digit hauls.
Alongside him I have plumped for his compatriot Gabriel Jesus (£7.7m). It worries me that he didn't start in midweek, so I may rethink this as the week goes on. The Arsenal forward has only made 17 starts this season as a result of injuries, but he has registered 10 attacking returns, 10 bonus points and two double-digit scores. With good options from the Spurs and Chelsea midfields and the extra fixture, having a forward from Arsenal instead of one of the midfielders seems to make the most sense.
