I’ll get into all things GW 32 relevant in just a second, but first I need to tell you that this is a safe space.
For all my fellow Foden-non-owners, that is.
Wow, that 20-pointer did some damage. Much like a blunt arrow stabbing you repeatedly in the heart. Or just being a Manchester United fan. I’m not sure which hurts more.
But I can help stop this pain in the future. And so can LazyFPL. So, you know, subscribe to the free LazyFPL newsletter and find the secret recipe to winning more by doing less.
Blank and Double Gameweeks
Gameweek 34 is a confirmed blank and double gameweek:
- Arsenal: Wolves (A) + Chelsea (H)
- Bournemouth: Villa (A) + Wolves (A)
- Crystal Palace: West Ham (H) + Newcastle (H)
- Everton: Forest (H) + Liverpool (H)
- Liverpool: Fulham (A) + Everton (A)
- Sheffield United: Burnley (H) + Manchester United (A)
- Wolves: Arsenal (H) + Bournemouth (A)
- Spurs: Blank
Double Gameweek 35 is now a double gameweek:
- Chelsea: Aston Villa (A) + Spurs (H)
- Spurs: Arsenal (H) + Chelsea (A)
And lastly, all my picks are going to be for a four gameweek horizon, so as to find the middle ground between WC35’ers and non WC’ers. So, I’ll cover gameweeks 32, 33, 34, and 35.
Who to Buy in FPL Gameweek 32?
Gabriel and William Saliba
Look, we all know how good Arsenal are defensively. So I won’t go on and on about how you should have one of (if not both) of Arsenal’s centrebacks; instead, I’ll tell you with a poem:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Arsenal’s xGA is 0.30/90 less than City’s
And they’re set-piece threats, too.
Wait, that doesn’t rhyme. What a pity.
Josko Gvardiol
For some reason that simply defies logic, I can imagine Josko Gvardiol in a Game of Thrones episode.
You’ve heard of Hodor, I assume?
Hold the clean sheet. Hold the clean sheet. Hold clean sheet. Clean sheet.
Until Ederson decides to let in a 0.01 xG chance, because that’s just who he is.
All jokes aside, Gvardiol’s minutes should be fairly secure with Ake’s injury, and he plays for the second-best defence in the league.
With fixtures of cry, LUT, bha, nfo. For £4.8m.
Just buy him. Or Rúben Dias if you have money to spend (in this cost of living crisis?!)
Mykolenko or Tarkowski
Suggesting an Everton defender should be a war crime.
But wait. Put aside those pitchforks and hold up pictures with Sean Dyche’s smouldering face on them instead, because:
Both cost only £4.6m.
With fixtures of BUR, che, NFO+LIV, BRE.
While being in the 7th best defence for xGA over the season, with decent attacking data (especially Tarkowski through set pieces).
What I mean to say with all these obvious reasons you should buy an Everton defender is that if you don’t, Sean Dyche will haunt your dreams in his classic Brexit manner.
Midfielders
Let me get the obvious ones out of the way: Salah, Palmer, and Saka.
And as I mentioned last week, Ødegaard and Luis Diaz are spectacular assets. They’re arguably the fourth and fifth-best midfield options.
So here are some punts instead:
Gabriel Martinelli
Whoop, whoop!
No, that’s not the sound of the police. It’s me telling you that Martinelli’s only worth it if you think his xMins are good. Like, at least 70 minutes every game good.
Why? So you can make the most out of his fixtures of: bha, AVL, wol+CHE, tot.
And his npxG+xAG/90 of 0.55/90, while playing for a ridiculously good team as a very attacking inside forward.
He hasn’t had the best season so far, but we know how good Martinelli is. And the goals will come.
Bruno Fernandes
I was about to make a joke, until I realised that Manchester United ARE the joke.
No seriously. Call him Erik Ten Hague, because he needs to be tried for his crimes.
But Bruno has actually had a pretty good season in terms of potentially scoring FPL points, with an npxG+xAG/90 of 0.49.
And he’s likely to take most of the penalties United get in pressure situations (which is all of them, considering they always let in goals).
Maybe it’s worth waiting a week to buy Bruno since he plays Liverpool (H) this week, but that’s followed up by bou, SHU, BUR.
It’s not ideal, given he doesn’t double, but hey, it’s a punt.
Dominic Solanke
Dominic should be happy he’s not French, because, frankly, Monsieur Dominique Solanke doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Well, at least if he were French, he’d be the best French striker in the world.
Kylian Mbappe wishes he had fixtures of lut, MUN, avl+wol, BHA in his next four.
And Solanke is also the talisman of his team, nailed on for 90 and on penalties, with a consistently good npxG+xAG/90 of 0.60/90.
Yes, he hasn’t scored many recently, but that doesn’t mean that the points won’t flow in soon.
And all this for just £7.2m? Oui, oui.
Ivan Toney
If Apple made a vehicle, what would it be called?
An iVan. But would it have windows?
Toney’s great for all the same reasons Solanke is: nailed on, a 90-minute man, on penalties, and some free-kicks.
Yes, he doesn’t double in GW 34, but his fixtures? avl, SHU, lut, eve.
So if you’re free-hitting in GW 34, Toney could be a pretty shrewd option.
Just ask my orthopaedic doctor. He loves Toney. Wait, maybe he loves toe-knees. Hmm.
Nicolas Jackson
Forwards who play for Chelsea bring out the sadistic side in me. Particularly Jackson, since he’s on 9 yellows.
Look, there is, of course, a big risk in going with Jackson since another booking would mean a ten game suspension, but if you’re willing to stomach some risk, he has fixtures of shu, EVE, ars, avl+TOT, and an npxG+xAG/90 of 0.76.
Whilst being nailed on in every sense of the word for a pretty good Chelsea side (going forward at least), who are fifth in the league for xG.
And, as mentioned recently, Darwin Nunez and Alexander Isak are great options.
Who to Captain in FPL Gameweek 32?
Heung-min Son
Son plays a Nottingham Forest side at home, who aren’t as much of a forest as, well, deforestation. Plus, he’s likely to play as Spurs’ CF given that Richarlison is injured.
Son’s underlying data is excellent. His actual G+A is even better. And the market odds love him like a son this week.
If you have Son, captain him. He’s an excellent choice, and he should be a differential too.
Mohamed Salah
I think I’ve overdone it on the Manchester Disjointed jokes, so here are some numbers:
Salah has an npxG+xAG/90 of 0.97 with 25 G+A in 24 appearances. Oh, and Manchester United have let in the most shots of any team in the Premier League in 2024 and are 16th for xGA over the season.
Salah is predicted to be one of the highest scorers this weekend, and for good reason. Manchester United are… awful.
Alternatives
Haaland, Palmer, and Solanke, in that order.
FPL Challenge
- This week, Manchester United and Liverpool players get double the points.
- I’m tempted to get five Liverpool (3 attackers + 2 defenders), and maybe some United attackers. Essentially, I plan to hedge my bets against United.
- I’d also have a few City defenders, Solanke, and the likes.
As always, I’d like to end with a story. The story of how my meeting with Bukayo Saka led to me getting Ait-Nouri off my bench in GW 31.
You see, I met Saka this week. I ran up to him, and he must’ve thought I wanted a picture, or maybe some of his new Nandos Sauce. I nodded no and asked him to miss the next game because I’d benched Ait-Nouri’s goal after weeks of pain.
He smiled, and he told Arteta that he wanted to be benched. In fact, he said, “I’m a part of the Lazy Revolution.”
And you should be too.
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