The relentless march of Fantasy
Premier League goes on as a third deadline in a week approaches for managers, with a fast turnaround from the midweek action meaning all changes must be made by 11am BST on Saturday morning. Rotation proved the bane of many FPL managers in midweek with the likes of Erling Haaland and Bukayo Saka missing out completely and a third Premier League fixture in seven days will offer further concern of big names missing out. Most of the top teams have friendly fixtures on paper but, as ever with FPL, there is no guarantee of that turning into fantasy points (cc Mo Salah’s blank at home to Sheffield United on Thursday evening...), so juggling big-hitters and cheaper enablers with upside is critical. Here are our tips for transfers ahead of gameweek 32. Ben Brereton Diaz - midfielder, Sheffield United, 5.0m If you’re looking for a cheap, differential player with upside to fill your fifth midfield spot, then you could do worse than Ben Brereton Diaz. Sheffield United have been a laughable mess for most of the season but have shown signs of life in the past few games with draws against Bournemouth and Fulham (with the latter being a golden opportunity to register a win) and a valiant display in a narrow defeat to
Liverpool. Brereton Diaz has been key to that turnaround since returning from a hamstring injury with two goals and an assist against Fulham. His underlying stats are very promising from a very attacking role and a home fixture against a leaky
Chelsea defence that just conceded three goals to
Manchester United appeals. Chuck in an enticing pair of games against Burnley and the aforementioned Man Utd in double gameweek 34 and he also has decent mid-term prospects. Erling Haaland - forward,
Manchester City, 14.3m Fancy a game of Pep roulette? Erling Haaland’s midweek benching undoubtedly left a slew of FPL managers frustrated and City’s scintillating performance against Aston Villa without the titanic Norwegian worryingly suggested they didn’t miss him at all. But we all know his class in front of goal and being sidelined in midweek makes a starting place, and possibly a full 90 minutes, in an appealing fixture against a shaky Crystal Palace side at Saturday lunchtime all the more likely. Don’t make the mistake of rage-transferring him out of your side in response to the Villa disappointment. Pedro Porro - defender,
Tottenham, 5.9m Tottenham’s clash with Nottingham Forest looks like one to target this weekend and Pedro Porro offers scoring potential at both ends of the pitch. Forest’s tally of 39 goals this season hardly makes them an attacking powerhouse, so clean-sheet potential is there for Spurs. Porro is also a legitimate point-scoring threat in attack with his dangerous crosses from the right flank and the fact he is still on set-pieces for Spurs making him an attractive proposition. Dominic Calvert-Lewin - forward, Everton, 5.8m Everton’s winless Premier League run now stretches to 13 matches, so targeting a Toffees attacking asset may seem foolhardy but there were positives on display during the creditable midweek draw with Newcastle. Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring his first league goal since October was chief among them and the
England striker has pedigree when it comes to top-flight goals, even if his form over the past couple of years is poor. A home game against Burnley is a prime opportunity to end the win drought and, in fact, Everton’s previous victory came against the Clarets way back in December. If they do triumph, a potentially rejuvenated Calvert-Lewin is likely to be involved. Moussa Diaby - midfielder, Aston Villa, 6.3m Aston Villa have been the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde side in recent weeks, so you can almost count on a bounce-back from the 4-1 demolition at the hands of Man City when they face Brentford on Saturday afternoon. The Bees have had their struggles and could be the perfect opponents for the hurting Villans. Villa are suffering from injuries to key players but creative midfielder Moussa Diaby is fit was sublime in scoring one goal and creating another against Wolves last weekend. He’s also banked another two assists in the past five games and will be looking to spark his side to victory this weekend.