By Graham Ruthven, in conversation with Jonas Sand Låbakk
Introducing our expert
Jonas is a 21 year old student who, like FotMob, hails from Norway. He was Fantasy Premier League champion for the 2023/24 season, finishing ahead of 11 million other managers. So who better to provide expert advice?
Read his expert advice every week.
*Don’t forget the FPL deadline for this round – make your transfers and get your team sorted before 11.00 BST on Saturday 12th April*
The Eye Test vs. The Stats
Eberechi Eze (6.8m) is in sparkling form at the moment. While the Crystal Palace attacker has struggled for his best form over the full season, he has registered a goal and three assists in his last three matches in all competitions.
Two of those three assists came in the win over Brighton in GW31. This was despite Eze charting just 0.02 in Expected Assists (xG) with the England international setting up Jean-Philippe Mateta and Daniel Muñoz in front of goal.
This column has focused a lot on Palace recently, but for good reason. Oliver Glasner’s team are on a run of five wins in their last six games and now have two double gameweeks in a row to look forward to.
While fixtures against Manchester City, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Arsenal will be tricky, Palace have shown they can compete against the best recently. Eze should certainly be on your radar.
If you don’t already own Alexander Isak (9.5m), now would be a good time to invest in the Newcastle United striker.
Isak has enjoyed a tremendous season, notching 20 goals and five assists in the Premier League. While the Swede failed to score against a poor Leicester City team, he is still ranked sixth for Expected Goals (xG) per 90 minutes this season. He is also ranked second for goals and assists.
Not only is Isak prolific, he has a double gameweek in GW32 against Manchester United and Crystal Palace at home. This will be a double opportunity for the centre forward to deliver a big points haul.
Owned by 60% of FPL managers, Isak will likely be the most-captained player this week. Many will use their Triple Captain chip on the Swede. You can’t afford to go without him in your FPL team this weekend.
Long shot
Marco Asensio (6.2m) has made a profound impact since joining Aston Villa in the January transfer window.
The Spaniard has scored three times and registered one assist in just over 300 Premier League minutes for his new team. The only reason Asensio can be classified as a ‘long shot’ is that he hasn’t been a guaranteed starter. This is something to consider from a FPL point of view.
Aston Villa have a favourable fixture against Southampton in GW32, but it’s difficult to predict how Unai Emery will rotate his team before next week’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.
Having played just 30 minutes in the first leg on Wednesday, Asensio is a good bet to start against Southampton. He could be set for a big weekend.
Upcoming games to follow
The double gameweeks are the ones to follow this week.
Crystal Palace have a number of players worth weighing up with Mateta (7.7m), Eze, Ismaïla Sarr (5.7m) and Muñoz (5.2n) all on the list of potential assets. Newcastle’s Isak, Jacob Murphy (5.1m), Tino Livramento (4.6m) and possibly Harvey Barnes (5.9m) are also options from the Magpies ahead of their home clash against the Eagles.
The meeting between Brighton and Leicester on the south coast could see several players for the home team deliver.
Leicester City have failed to score in any of their last eight Premier League matches and have conceded 18 times over the course of this run. This is encouraging for the likes of João Pedro (5.6m), Yankuba Minteh (5.0m) and Pervis Estupiñán (4.9m).
Southampton might be already relegated and sitting at the foot of the Premier League table, but Aston Villa’s European duties make this weekend’s match difficult to predict.
Ollie Watkins (8.9m) only came off the bench in the second half against PSG on Wednesday and could therefore start against Southampton. It would be wise to target him and Asensio. Morgan Rogers (5.6m) could also deliver.
Finally, Chelsea’s home game against Ipswich Town is worth highlighting.
Cole Palmer (10.7m) was surprisingly benched against Brentford last weekend, but is expected to feature from the start against the Tractor Boys. Nicolas Jackson (7.7m) might be a good differential, but it’s slim pickings from a Chelsea point of view.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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