What to do with single gameweek players?
Up next in our ‘What to do’ series is popular single gameweek players. Specifically, should FPL managers keep or sell them?
What to do?
Double Gameweek 29 – the biggest of this season – will occur after the current international break. With 12 teams playing twice, it’s naturally a popular time for FPL managers to stack up on doublers and use their Bench Boost chip.
However, as the likes of Gabriel and Harry Kane showed in Gameweek 27, one-match players can still excel by bringing in a double-digit haul. Assets from these eight clubs shouldn’t be completely discarded.
Each well-owned single gameweek name needs judging on a case-by-case basis: Kane, Erling Haaland, James Tarkowski, Andreas Pereira and those of Arsenal.
Player Form
As mentioned in last week’s piece, Kane had been slightly below-par between Gameweeks 23 and 26 but he’s since followed it with a brace against Nottingham Forest and a goal at Southampton. He brings the reliability of a premium option but rarely produces a score worthy of captaincy.
Before withdrawing from Norway’s squad with a slight groin issue, Haaland was already a tough decision as he’s limited to one Gameweek 29 match versus Liverpool yet has just scored consecutive cup hat-tricks four days apart. Will the 1.3 million recent sellers immediately buy him back? It’d take a brave manager to go without him for any length of time.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have seven players with over 15% top 500k ownership. Defenders have delivered three clean sheets from five matches, alongside goals for Gabriel and Ben White.
No team has scored anywhere near their 19 from the last six outings, a spell that has brought 12 goals and three assists from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard.
It was against the Gunners where things peaked for James Tarkowski, gaining many new owners since the 15-pointer but being restricted to two clean sheets in those seven games.
Through no fault of his own, bargain midfielder Pereira has been the main sacrifice when stocking up on Brighton midfielders. Three recent assists take his seasonal tally up to ten – not bad for a £4.3m enabler.
Team Fixtures
Arsenal, Everton and Spurs will play once in every remaining gameweek. Mikel Arteta’s side is now without any European distractions, so they’ll focus solely on winning the Premier League. Some may prefer moving from three players to two but this single outing versus Leeds looks just as good as most doubles.
The full effect of Antonio Conte’s post-match rant is yet to be seen but Kane tends to have an evergreen quality. You’d certainly back success against Tarkowski, as the Toffees are his second-favourite opponent. 15 goals from 16 meetings.
It begins an unattractive run for Everton’s relegation battle, whilst Fulham are drifting but will have one double later on. Two of these are coming for Man City but Haaland owners will first have to navigate through Blank Gameweek 32.
FPL Alternatives
If the temptation to buy more defensive fixtures can’t be ignored, popular candidates include left-backs Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw. The former is more of an attacking threat but the latter is perhaps more likely to clean sheet.
Elsewhere, Brighton midfielders continue to dominate FPL decisions. Those with Odegaard or Riyad Mahrez may grab at least one of Kaoru Mitoma, Solly March and Alexis Mac Allister. Yet there is also the hauling potential of James Maddison and Bruno Fernandes to consider.
Up front, appealing options are limited but both Ollie Watkins and Kai Havertz justified their Blank Gameweek 28 hype by delivering an attacking return.
Whereas Kane and Arsenal are good to keep, it’s time to ditch Tarkowski and Pereira. As for Haaland, it depends on his state of fitness.
