The Scout highlights the opportunities available for managers who have the Assistant Manager chip active in Blank Gameweek 29 (BGW29) of Fantasy Premier League.
Who is the best Assistant Manager for Blank Gameweek 29?
If you are one of the 352,459 Fantasy managers who activated their Assistant Manager chip in Gameweek 27, there is now just one Gameweek remaining to earn more points.
On top of that, more than 290,000 managers activated the chip for Gameweek 28, and a further 63,000 managers have hit the button ahead of BGW29, meaning a total of 700,000+ have their Assistant Manager chip in play.
A number of those managers will need to use a transfer this week. Arne Slot (£1.5m) is the most-owned Assistant Manager, selected by 25 per cent of those who have the chip active, while Oliver Glasner (£0.8m) is third with nine per cent. But neither man has a Premier League fixture in BGW29 so they will score zero points, along with Eddie Howe (£1.5m) and Unai Emery (£0.8m).
So who is the best pick for the BGW29 fixtures?
There are two tactics to consider with the Assistant Manager chip.
You can pick a top-five club with a favourable fixture - a tactic which is more reliable but has a low ceiling for points.
Alternatively, you can target managers from clubs who can earn table-bonus points - a riskier approach which has a greater ceiling.
See: All you need to know about Assistant Manager chip
But only two managers (in bold below) can earn table-bonus points against a team who are ranked at least five places higher in the Premier League table at the start of BGW29.
BGW29 fixtures
Everton v West Ham
Ipswich v Nottingham Forest
Man City v Brighton
Southampton v Wolves
AFC Bournemouth v Brentford
Arsenal v Chelsea
Fulham v Spurs
Leicester v Man Utd
Moyes the most reliable pick
Only Slot has scored more Assistant Manager points than David Moyes (£0.5m) since Gameweek 23. The Everton manager has returned a minimum of four points in every match since being added to Fantasy, while also getting three double-digit hauls.
Everton, who are unbeaten in eight Premier League matches, host West Ham United in BGW29.
The Hammers have won just one of their last four Premier League away matches, conceding seven goals in that time.
Iraola v Brentford?
AFC Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola (£1.1m) showed his potential in Gameweek 23 when he returned 13 points in a 5-0 win against Nottingham Forest.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), the Cherries have the joint-best match in BGW29, with their home fixture against Brentford being rated as only a two.
Brentford have struggled away from home in 2024/25. Only four clubs have picked up fewer points on the road.
Elsewhere, Forest’s Nuno Esprito Santo (£1.1m), Wolverhampton Wanderers' Vitor Pereira (£0.8m) and Manchester United's Ruben Amorim (£0.8m) take on the promoted trio of Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City respectively.
Van Nistelrooy the best for table bonus?
As mentioned earlier, only two managers can collect table-bonus points in GW29.
This applies to Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna (£0.5m) and Leicester’s Ruud van Nistelrooy (£0.5m).
For both those two managers, recent form is admittedly poor. Leicester have won just one of their last 13 matches and haven’t scored a goal since Gameweek 23. Meanwhile, Ipswich are without a win since Gameweek 19.
However, there are reasons for optimism when looking at their BGW29 opponents.
McKenna’s Ipswich come up against a Forest side who have lost their last three away trips, conceding 11 goals.
However, Van Nistelrooy arguably has the best fixture of the two managers this week, at home to Manchester United.
The Red Devils have won just two of their last seven matches and have only kept two clean sheets in 17 since Ruben Amorim took charge. Furthermore, Manchester United come into GW29 after a high-stakes UEFA Europa League tie that is evenly poised going into the second leg.
So, who is the best pick for BGW29?
If you’re looking for a reliable source of points, albeit with a lower ceiling, then Moyes has to be the top pick, followed by Iraola.
However, if you are willing to accept the riskier approach then Van Nistelrooy appears the most likely to deliver a big table-bonus return.
