Need to save your season? Captain Haaland – FPL tips & team of week
Thomas Woods
BBC Sport Senior Journalist
Three games of the season to go and it’s that time of year where some teams become unreliable.
Cases in point being Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester United, who all have a focus on Europe, and Liverpool with the Premier League title wrapped up.
You want to use your precious remaining transfers on teams with something to play for – those chasing European spots.
So this week’s team of the week is heavy on Manchester City and Nottingham Forest – two clubs with a top-five spot, and Champions League football, in their sights.
Don’t miss our FPL special week 36 Q&A with expert Gianni Buttice, live on the BBC Sport website at 15:30 BST on Friday 9 May
How did last week’s team of the week do?
Kevin de Bruyne (11) and Jamie Vardy (9) led the way to an acceptable 56 points in week 36.
Listen to the latest Fantasy 606 podcast on BBC Sounds.
Gameweek 36 team of the week
Keeper and defence
Matz Sels, Nottingham Forest, keeper, £5.2m – Leicester (h)
This is one of the two standout fixtures of the week and hopefully you’ve got a Forest player or two in your side.
No overthinking here – the top-scoring keeper in a defence that has kept 13 clean sheets.
Yes, Leicester have improved in attack since their relegation was confirmed and Forest have also been wobbling recently, but they are the most likely team to keep a clean sheet.
Neco Williams, Nottingham Forest, £4.6m – Leicester (h)
I love a defensive double up and full-back Williams offers an attacking threat too.
Has the most shots (37) and key passes (16) of any Forest defender this season – and he is the cheapest option on top of that.
Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City, £6.4m – Southampton (a)
City are the other side you’d expect to keep a clean sheet this week.
In the spirit of ‘not overthinking things’, Gvardiol is one of the first names on the team sheet. His switch to centre-back recently has had no impact on his ability to earn bonus points and City have four clean sheets in their past six games.
Ryan Sessegnon, Fulham, £4.2m – Everton (h)
Sessegnon might be a minutes risk but given his price, this week’s opponent and the fact he’s a defender playing as an attacking midfielder, he’s the kind of punt worth taking.
Midfield
Time for a Bench Boost, & is Trent the GOAT?
Kevin de Bruyne, Manchester City, £9.5m – Southampton (a)
De Bruyne has had two double digit hauls in the past four weeks.
He’s started the past five games, so worries about his fitness should not be an issue and the Belgian only has three league games left in his City career.
If he’s going out with a bang, this game against one of the worst teams in Premier League history is the perfect setting.
Bryan Mbeumo (vice-captain), Brentford, £8.2m – Ipswich (a)
If he is not in your side, I’d highly recommend targeting Mbeumo for the run-in.
Brentford are chasing Europe and have three attractive fixtures against Ipswich, Fulham and Wolves.
Mbeumo has 26 FPL returns this season and six double-digit hauls – so you are buying both the security of a likely return and the potential of a huge points score.
And that is the kind of player you want to propel you up your mini leagues in an end-of-season charge.
Alex Iwobi, Fulham, £5.6m – Everton (h)
Iwobi has been on fire in the past five gameweeks with 30 FPL points (tied with Sessegnon for highest Fulham scorer).
He’s had more shots, goal involvements and big chances created than any other Fulham defender and faces an Everton side with one clean sheet in 10 matches.
Yankuba Minteh, Brighton, £4.8m – Wolves (a)
A bit of a flyer but Minteh is a fine FPL pick when he gets minutes on the pitch.
The Gambian has started four of the past five games for Brighton and his 5.38 points per 90 minutes is the highest of any Seagulls midfielder this season.
Brighton are another team chasing European qualification, so it makes sense to target their assets.
Six goals and five assists in just 17 starts for Yankuba Minteh this season
Strikers
Yoane Wissa, Brentford, £6.7m – Ipswich (a)
Wissa is having an elite season that is going slightly under the radar.
His 18 league goals have put him joint fifth in the scoring charts and he has four and one assist in his past four games.
As mentioned with Mbeumo, Brentford have great fixtures too before the end of the campaign.
Form plus fixtures = a strong FPL pick.
Chris Wood, Nottingham Forest, £7.1m – Leicester (h)
One goal in seven games might put you off Wood but, unlike Wissa, fixture wins over form here.
Leicester have conceded 76 goals this season at an average of more than two per game.
Wood has been involved in 42% of Forest’s goals this season so if they score a couple he will likely return.
Erling Haaland (captain), Manchester City, £14.8m – Southampton (a)
If you are trying to make up points in FPL then why not take the ultimate gamble and captain Haaland?
Will he start? That’s not even guaranteed with the Norwegian returning from injury, but Pep Guardiola will want him match fit in time for the FA Cup final on 17 May. This is the last game before that.
And if – IF – he does start then this is instantly a match with haul potential. Southampton’s defence is the worst in the league, their season is over.
In normal circumstances, Haaland would be the best captain pick this week. If you fancy a gamble, you have the approval to go for it.
Subs bench
Alisson, Liverpool, keeper, £5.1m – Arsenal (h)
Amad Diallo, Manchester United, midfielder, £5.1m – West Ham (h)
Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves, defender £5.1m – Brighton (h)
Calvin Bassey, Fulham, defender, £4.5m – Everton (h)
Team total cost: £96.9m
The team of the week is selected based on current FPL prices to fit within a £100m budget, as if you were playing a Free Hit.
