With only three gameweeks of the season left in Fantasy Premier League, we have to be very careful with our transfers, making sure that we are maximising each one.
At this point, they are more valuable than ever, as we have less time for them to pay off. Taking hits becomes even more difficult, too, as we also have a shorter period for gambles to be proven right.
Now we have to play FPL a bit more meticulously and adjust our play to our season’s goals. So here’s how best to maximise your team and points for the final few weeks of the season.
Should you take hits?
The closer we get to the end of the season, the less likely it is that taking hits will pay off. However, that’s not to say we should discount this tactic completely, and at this point in time, it could be a considered move for a lot of managers.
If your team is in bad shape, you can usually sort it out over several weeks with free transfers, but that’s not the case at the end of the season.
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If your team needs surgery — say you have injured players or players with bad fixtures — then moving them on now, even for a hit, might be the best course of action.
Looking for players with winnable fixtures for the last three gameweeks (and selling those with bad fixtures) can still pay off.
For example, if you own Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m), then a move to one of Yoane Wissa (£6.7m), Chris Wood (£7.1m) or Matheus Cunha (£7.1m) for a hit right now might be worth it.
All of them have solid fixtures in the next three, and Crystal Palace have Tottenham Hotspur (A), Wolves (H) and Liverpool (A) in their final games.
Mateta hasn’t been getting as many minutes as earlier in the season and is likely to get subbed off early again against Spurs in Gameweek 36, with the FA Cup final in mind six days later. Wolves at home comes three days after that final on Saturday, May 17, so there is likely to be rotation there and, of course, Liverpool away is the toughest fixture of the season — even if it might not be as daunting now they have wrapped up the title.
Whatever transfer you are looking at, weigh up the pros and cons and make your decision. It could be better to take a hit now than play with a subpar team for the remaining games.
Mateta could be at risk of reduced minutes (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Transfers are more valuable than ever
Making the most optimal transfers are vital at this stage of the campaign. Look at moves which are going to give you the most upside. This means that looking at which positions you use your transfers on is vitally important.
Generally, it’s unlikely that a goalkeeper or defender move will yield many points. So if your only weakness is in these positions, then of course make the move, but transfers for midfielders and forwards are where we should be focusing.
Also, analyse transfers you can ‘daisy-chain’. For example, for my team, I am planning to do Mateta to Wissa as I think the Brentford forward is a better option this week, but this also gives me enough cash to buy Bukayo Saka (£10.3m) in Gameweek 37.
With Arsenal out of the Champions League, he should start games and get minutes for Newcastle United (H) and Southampton (A).
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Look for the teams with something to play for
There are also plenty of teams who will be ‘on the beach’. Targeting teams who are vying for European places should be high on the priority list when contemplating reasons to bring a player in. Chances of rotation will be slim and the motivation will still be there.
On the other hand, teams who are safe from relegation and can’t qualify for Europe will have higher chances of rotation and less incentive. Therefore, we probably should be offloading their assets too.
We have already seen this happen with Liverpool as they rotated quite heavily against Chelsea in Gameweek 35 after winning the title, and subsequently paid the price in a 3-1 loss.
Playing safe if you’re not chasing rank
If you are happy with your rank or leading your mini leagues, then there’s no need to take any risks on your captain or by picking differentials.
If you are behind your goals, though, then the chase should start now. Three gameweeks isn’t a long time but you can still make up plenty of points by doing your research and a bit of luck.
Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) and Erling Haaland (£14.8m), who have been the most popular captains for most of the season, won’t be highly captained for the remaining three weeks, so captaincy is one place where you can differ.
Also, when picking low-owned players, you don’t have to go ultra-differential. Just going for the lowest-owned player from a pool of options is enough.
For example, many will be making a move to buy Wood, Wissa or Cunha. By looking at their overall ownership and how many transfers in they have had on the FPL website, you can make a rough estimation.
Last week, Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2m) and West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) were both great options to go for, but Bowen was transferred in by far fewer managers, and he ended up outscoring the Brentford man.
Bowen remains relatively low-owned (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Keep an eye out for team news and team leaks
This is always important, but even more so as we get to the end of the season. Team value becomes pretty much irrelevant now and information trumps all. Watching all the press conferences and keeping up to date with injury and rotation news is vital at this time of the season.
If you’re on social media, then there is every chance we get early team news for certain clubs, which has become much more prevalent in the past few seasons.
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There is no early kick-off in Gameweek 36 and Manchester City are one of the teams who are among the first kick-offs at 3pm (GMT).
They will be the most sought-after for early team news this week too, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne (£9.5m), Omar Marmoush (£7.6m) and Haaland set to be popular.
Also, in Gameweek 38, all 10 games kick off at the same time, so waiting until close to the deadline can give you an edge if early team news gets leaked.
(Top photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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