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After the international break, not only are we treated to the return of Fantasy Premier League, but we’ve got a Double Gameweek to enjoy.
Hopefully, you’ve planned for this because Double Gameweek 32 presents an opportunity for a mammoth points haul. Whether you’re using one of your chips or considering other options, we discuss strategy in this column too.
First though, lets look at the best FPL assets to consider for DGW32 and with Fulham, Manchester City, Brighton, Wolves, Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Watford, Cardiff City, Chelsea and Tottenham all in action twice, naturally we’ll be focusing on their players.
CAPTAIN – SERGIO AGUERO | MANCHESTER CITY | 11.8M
City didn’t have a fixture in Blank Gameweek 31 but enjoy an enticing double-header this time around. They travel to Fulham on Saturday before hosting Cardiff on Wednesday.
With 180 minutes to play against two poor sides languishing in the relegation zone, this may be the perfect week to hand Sergio Aguero the captain’s armband. Of course, he’s always a worthy candidate but under the circumstances, he should be guaranteed to deliver.
Granted, two games within a few days historically suggests Aguero wouldn’t start both but after two seasons at the helm, Pep Guardiola seems to have worked out how to manage the 30-year-old. Apart from the four games he missed through injury, Aguero has been named on the bench just once, starting the remaining fixtures.
Even though he’s often brought off early, he’s clocking a lot more minutes than he used to. Despite that four-game absence, the striker has registered more Premier League minutes this season than the likes of Leroy Sane, David Silva and John Stones while being within touching distance of Fernandinho, Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling.
Having been omitted from Argentina’s squad, Aguero is well-rested, boosting his chances of featuring heavily over these two fixtures. He’s already bagged points against his upcoming opponents this season, scoring away to Cardiff and bagging two assists at home to Fulham.
Aguero has already plundered three hat-tricks this season on his way to a tally of 18 goals and should he hit his stride in at least one of these games, he could deliver big. If nothing else, the prospect of him blanking in both matches seems impossible so you can likely bank on some returns.
Sergio Aguero is in fine form.
ALTERNATIVES
EDEN HAZARD (10.9m) is likely to keep frustrating and delighting FPL managers with equal measure. With Cardiff and Brighton to face this GW though, he’s impossible to ignore. He’s bound to earn some returns in those fixtures and may be a great differential captain.
RAHEEM STERLING (11.6m) may be the popular choice and with good reason. His hat-trick at home to Watford was still fresh in the memory when he bagged another treble, this time for England, against the Czech Republic before adding another goal to his recent run against Montenegro.
However, given that he started both games, playing 160 minutes of them, Guardiola may choose to rest him for one of the fixtures this week.
BOLD CHOICE
HARRY KANE (12.5m) has flown under the radar this season. His long injury lay-off saw him lose plenty of ownership and even since his return he hasn’t exploded into life. Instead, he’s been chipping away with the odd goal, scoring one in three of his last four outings and now just nine points behind Aguero.
Kane also scored once in each of England’s two Euro 2020 qualifiers over the international break. With Liverpool and Crystal Palace to play, not many will back him for the captaincy but his quiet consistency of late suggests that he’s simmering and primed to boil over soon.
Harry Kane is a bold choice for captain.
TWO TO WATCH
KEPA ARRIZABALAGA | CHELSEA | 5.4M
If you’re Free-Hitting in DGW31, Kepa Arrizabalaga may be the way to go in goal. Chelsea are hardly the most reliable of defences but they do face Brighton and Cardiff, two of the worst attacks in the league. Even without a Free Hit, the Spanish custodian makes sense since Chelsea play in BGW33 as well.
JEFFREY SCHLUPP | CRYSTAL PALACE | 4.5M
Jeffrey Schlupp has come out of nowhere and become the most productive defender in recent weeks. Part of that is down to the fact that Roy Hodgson has been playing him in midfield.
He’s registered one goal, three assists and a clean sheet in the last six GWs. He faces Huddersfield and Spurs in DGW32 before taking on Newcastle in BGW33.
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK STRATEGY
Most FPL managers are probably playing their Free Hit for DGW32 and Wildcard ahead of DGW35 which remains a good strategy. It helps get the most out of the double fixtures while also making sure you have enough players for BGW33.
It is a bit of a balancing act though. You don’t want to focus too heavily on one or the other. If you are Free-Hitting, remember to use your normal free transfer first to plan for BGW33 before activating the Free Hit chip.
Alternatively, you could play your Wildcard now and then Free Hit in DGW35 but that may not be ideal. It makes sense to use your Wildcard later to then account for the rest of your season.
If you’ve only got your Wildcard available then hold off this week and use that in DGW35 unless you also have your Bench Boost. In that case you should activate your Wildcard in GW34, preparing for DGW35 where you would then utilise the Bench Boost.
You may even consider using your Triple Captain chip now for DGW32 with the likes of Aguero, Hazard, Sterling and Kane offering good options.
If you’ve only got your Free Hit available, then you’re going to have to choose between one of the DGWs to play it. Finally, if all your chips are used, you’ll have to take it one GW at a time and hope for the best.
