The Scout assesses which forwards to target in FPL after the Liverpool star suffered a season-ending injury in midweek

The Scout looks at the best replacements in Fantasy Premier League for Liverpool star Hugo Ekitike (£9.2m), who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during the Reds’ UEFA Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.

While Ekitike’s injury is a big blow to his 27 per cent backers, the good news is that there are a host of strong replacements to consider ahead of the biggest Double and Blank Gameweeks of 2025/26 Fantasy.

Six clubs are set to play twice in Double Gameweek 33 (DGW33): AFC Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Chelsea, Leeds United and Manchester City.

But beware! These same six clubs won’t play at all in the following round of matches. They will have a Blank Gameweek (BGW34) and their players will score zero points.

So, who are the best replacements for Ekitike? Let’s take a look.

Erling Haaland (Man City) £14.4m

Man City’s Norwegian is the obvious Ekitike replacement ahead of his DGW33 against Arsenal and Burnley. Haaland’s recent hat-trick against Liverpool in the FA Cup showed he’s back to his best and has finally overcome the injury niggles that have limited his output for a number of matches.

Man City are also expected to have another Double Gameweek later this season when their home match against Crystal Palace is rescheduled. If this falls into Gameweek 36, as expected, Haaland would have back-to-back home matches against Brentford and Palace and will be a standout option for those managers who are yet to play their Triple Captain chip. 

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds) £5.6m

At the very opposite end of the price scale, the Leeds star can provide great value thanks to his kind run-in. According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), as many as four of Leeds’ remaining six matches score no more than two.

As well as his DGW33 against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth, Calvert-Lewin then faces three of the bottom four clubs – Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United – across Gameweeks 35-38. 

That makes him an ideal candidate, in particular, for those managers who are Wildcarding in DGW33 and then playing their Free Hit chip in BGW34 to navigate the reduced round of matches. 

Danny Welbeck (Brighton) £6.3m

The Brighton forward is enjoying his best-ever goalscoring season in the Premier League, with 12 goals so far. Welbeck approaches his DGW33 against Spurs and Chelsea on the back of four goals over the last six Gameweeks, although it’s worth noting that one of those appearances was as a substitute and he is likely to have his minutes managed to an extent over DGW33.

Similarly to Calvert-Lewin, it’s not just about DGW33 when it comes to bringing in Welbeck, with Brighton’s home match against Wolves in Gameweek 36 scoring just one in the FDR. That also makes Welbeck a strong option for those adopting the DGW33 Wildcard/BGW34 Free Hit chip strategy mentioned above.

Joao Pedro (Chelsea) £7.7m

After a run of four blanks in his last five matches, there’s an argument that Chelsea’s Brazilian is now a more appealing option for those managers who are playing their Free Hit chip for DGW33. Those would allow them to temporarily bring in Joao Pedro for his pair of matches against Manchester United and Brighton before turning their attention to in-form alternatives for the run-in.

In saying that, Joao Pedro delivered a massive 19-point haul in his one successful outing across that five-match spell, underlining his high ceiling for big points returns. Favourable home matches against Nottingham Forest and Spurs in Gameweeks 35 and 37 respectively give him further opportunities for big scores. 

Jarrod Bowen (West Ham) £7.6m

If West Ham are able to preserve their Premier League status, their talisman is bound to play a significant part. Bowen is the eighth top-scoring player in Fantasy since Nuno Espirito Santo took charge of the Hammers in Gameweek 6, earning 133 points thanks to six goals, 10 assists and 12 defensive contribution points.

Crucially, West Ham are among the 14 clubs who have a match in BGW34 – at home to Everton – which makes Bowen a particularly appealing pick for managers who don’t have any chips left to play. The Hammers have a decent run-in, too, with only one of their remaining six matches scoring more than three in the FDR. 

Igor Thiago (Brentford) £7.3m 

Brentford’s Brazilian is now just one goal behind Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot, with his brace against Everton last weekend taking him to 21 for the season. 

Thiago has three home matches over the final five Gameweeks to boost his bid to be the league’s top goal scorer, with Fulham, West Ham and Crystal Palace the Bees’ upcoming visitors. 

Similarly to Bowen, he also has a match in BGW34, when Brentford visit Man Utd. Encouragingly for his 33 per cent backers, Thiago scored twice to collect 13 points in the corresponding fixture in Gameweek 6.

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