Top three picks for Gameweek 30
David Munday is back with his top three picks for the upcoming gameweek. This week he takes a look at his top three picks for Gameweek 30.
The best FPL transfers for Gameweek 30 are likely going to involve investing in a heavy hitter at Manchester City. Whether that’s Kevin De Bruyne (£12.0m) or Erling Haaland (£12.0m) likely relies on the next rather unhelpful “we’ll see” from Pep Guardiola. Either way, you need to find some cash, right?
As the cost of living crisis extends its squeeze onto FPL wallets. There’s never been more need for a budget enabler somewhere in your team. That’s why I’ve picked out three value midfielders who could really energise your squad as we head into the home stretch.
Two of them are under five per cent ownership. The other has fallen out of the meta enough that he’s probably a bit of a differential among engaged players too. So sit back and relax as we examine who’ll be unlocking your next big move in FPL.
Eberechi Eze
Meet the new boss, the same as the old boss; literally, in Crystal Palace’s case. The decision to make Patrick Vieira the slice of meat in a Roy Hodgson sandwich on the List of Managers section of the Eagles’ Wikipedia page has been met with some criticism. But, as the saying goes, the proof is in the… well, not pudding, but you get what I mean. And nobody is happier to see bread and butter back on the menu than Eberechi Eze (£5.4m). His place in the Palace starting XI was restored in the 2-1 win over Leicester at the weekend.
In his first 90-minute outing since Gameweek 15, Eze proved Roy was right to bring him back into the fold with an impressive performance. He came away with the assist for Daniel Iversen‘s (£3.8m) own goal. If you’ve seen the footage, you’ll know he was unlucky not to have chalked up his fifth strike of the campaign.
Accurate from set pieces and very creative in open play, Eze is sure to be a key man for Palace as they look to propel themselves further from the drop zone. An injury to Wilfried Zaha (£7.2m) will only help put the onus on the former QPR man to deliver. He’s more than capable of that, in my opinion, when you consider he offered both goal and assist potential against Leicester. He was behind only Zaha for shots in that game and ranking second among all players on the pitch for key passes. And no Palace player has created more chances in their past four matches than Eze.
Crystal Palace on the Fixture Ticker
Palace’s fixtures are also very appealing. Every team is different, of course, but I’m looking at dead-ending my team into Gameweek 31. Then using the Free Hit in Blank Gameweek 32 and Wildcarding for Gameweek 33 ready to, in all likelihood, Triple Captain a Manchester City player in Double Gameweek 34. With that in mind, I’m browsing the Fantasy Football Scout Season Ticker for the next three matches. When you apply that filter and sort it by attacking potential, no team has better fixtures than the Eagles. They face Leeds (away), Southampton (away) and Everton (home) in that time.
Andreas Pereira
Another cheap enabler is our good friend Andreas Pereira (£4.3m). He has dropped to a shockingly low price after a raft of sales in recent months. But the Fulham man has 16 points across his last four matches.
The Season Ticker is a useful tool in his case too. The Cottagers are second only to Palace for attacking potential in their next three matches. They face a leaky West Ham defence at home, Everton (away) in Gameweek 31 and Leeds at home in Blank Gameweek 32.
Aleksandar Mitrovic‘s (£6.6m) suspension is, of course, a bit of a concern but Fulham have got results without his involvement before. Their 2-1 home win over Chelsea in Double Gameweek 19 came when the Serbian international was suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards. He was also missing for a 1-0 away win at Brighton in Gameweek 24 and a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves in Gameweek 25.
With Pereira grabbing a goal in the defeat to Bournemouth, he has returned in two of the past four Fulham matches without Mitrovic. It’s worth pointing out the Serb is the only Cottager to record more shots on goal than him in their past four matches. Indeed, no colleague can top him for chances created over that period.
Jack Harrison
Now this is a guy in serious form. Jack Harrison (£5.7m) has three goals and an assist in his past four matches, scoring a total of 7.5 points per game in that time. With upcoming fixtures against Crystal Palace (home), Liverpool (home) and Fulham (away), I think taking a chance on a Leeds player is worth doing.
The Eagles have one clean sheet since Gameweek 22. Only two teams have conceded more big chances in their last four matches than a Liverpool side hit for four at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and one of those is the Cottagers, who Leeds face in Gameweek 32. With the stakes high and nine goals in their last four, Javi Gracia’s men will be hunting goals, goals, goals.
Harrison’s points-scoring form speaks for itself here, but it looks sustainable too. Only two colleagues are ahead of him for chances created over their past four outings and he tops the charts among all Leeds players for shots, shots on target and expected goal involvement (xGI) in that time.
