Cianan’s Column: GW37: Penultimate pandemonium

The FPL season is nearing its end, and with only two gameweeks left to make gains in your mini-league, it begs the question of what you should be doing from here on out: play it safe, or take some punts? I think it’s worth all managers asking themselves what their objective is from here on out. Is there a particular person you want to jump in your mini-league, or a specific overall rank threshold you want to reach? If you don’t mind taking risks to try and achieve these goals, then there’s no time like the present, but there’s nothing wrong with consolidating your rank, either.

Ahead of Burnley (H), and back to their defensive best with three consecutive clean sheets, managers are pivoting their back lines to Arsenal. Looking to see out their league title, 45.3% already own Gabriel, who is an essential asset, but a double-up also seems pertinent. Raya and Saliba offer consistent minutes, though they are pricey at £6.1m and £6.2m, respectively, and thus I’ll pay some lip service to Mosquera/Hincapié (£5.3m/£5.1m). Contingent on Calafiori being sidelined, as White and Timber are already confirmed to be, the pair are likely to start as fullbacks against one of, if not the, weakest attacks in the league. The risk comes in whether they’ll retain strong minutes against Crystal Palace (A) in the last game of the season, but there’s little point in speculating until we hear from Arteta in the Gunners’ press conference, so watch out for that.

Elsewhere for Arsenal, you can also look at Lewis-Skelly, who’s listed in defence but is playing in midfield. There is, of course, a rotation risk, and while I don’t quite see the appeal given he may be playing higher up the pitch than FPL thought, he still has little attacking threat. He has zero goal contributions this season, so the DEFCON defenders are simply more appealing to me. Speaking of Englishmen, Saka remains the talk of the town despite his whopping two-pointer last time out, and you can’t go too wrong with him, nor Gyökeres (though there’s a minutes risk because of Havertz), as both are capable of a massive haul.

The name that I personally can’t escape this week is Thiago of Brentford. He actually faces Liverpool (A) in GW38, which is far from ideal, but with 22 goals this season and squaring up against a Crystal Palace side whose season has become entirely European-focused, it seems risky to go without him. Would I go so far as to captain him? Probably not, as one of the Arsenal attackers simply needs to score against Burnley, and Thiago offers a sufficient edge without the need for the armband.

The other team worthy of discussion here, simply on the basis of popularity, is Everton. The Toffees have most likely squandered their European chances, but still have something to play for, and have arguably one of the best sets of remaining fixtures in Sunderland (H), followed by Spurs (A). Keane has stellar DEFCON numbers, Tarkowski is coming off the back of a 15-pointer, while Dewsbury-Hall has been an incredible value-for-money asset all season long, so some managers are looking for one last hurrah. Ndiaye is also an option, and on penalties, but has somewhat underwhelming output all season. There is every chance these players do well in the final two games, but in all honesty, Everton are a hard team to place, and their results are often sporadic, so tread carefully.

Rapid recommendations

● Don’t be too hasty with transfers this week! We need all the information we can get from the press conferences about the likes of Calafiori, Timber, O’Reilly, etc. If you rush into moves, you might find yourself with a massive hole in your side.
● I think we will see the return of Cherki to the starting lineup against Bournemouth (A), so while it isn’t guaranteed, I wouldn’t worry too much about moving him on.
● As an alternative City asset, Doku is the most transferred-in player this week, and it’s easy to see why with his red-hot form. If you don’t mind a streaky punt (and for some reason don’t own three City players), then there is utility there.
● In terms of differentials this week, Trossard has scored and assisted in his last two matches, played 90 minutes on both occasions, and is owned by only 1.1% of managers.
● We haven’t talked about him in a while, but Fulham’s Wilson faces relegated Wolves (A) this week and then Newcastle (H) in the last match of the season. Though his goal contributions have dried up as of late, these are prime fixtures to end this season on a high.

The Boar Standings

1st: Dwight Club (2205) – managed by Cianan Sheekey
2nd: Meganerd FC (2174) – managed by Megan Green
3rd: parths11 (2131) – managed by Parth Malik