If you’re in a rush and need some last-minute Fantasy Premier League (FPL) advice, here’s a quick round-up of what you need to know about Gameweek 27.
WHEN’S THE FPL GAMEWEEK 27 DEADLINE?
All transfers and team selections need to be done by 13:30 GMT on Saturday 21 February.
HAALAND UPDATE
Amongst some notable high scores came a few Double Gameweek 26 disappointments.
Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.1m) – dubbed ‘Mr Consistent’ due to his rare blanks – could only deliver seven points for Triple Captain users. 14 of 18 ‘The Great and the Good’ managers chose this chip.
We also saw nothing from Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m), Bruno Fernandes (£9.8m), Morgan Rogers (£7.7m) or Daniel Munoz (£5.9m), while Erling Haaland (£14.8m) netted but had to come off at half-time.
Unused in Manchester City’s subsequent FA Cup victory, an emphatic nod from Pep Guardiola thankfully suggests that the Norwegian will be fine for Gameweek 27.
PLAYERS TO TARGET
For many, the immediate thought is to get Cole Palmer (£10.6m) or Joao Pedro (£7.7m) versus Burnley. Neither of these unanimous Scout Squad picks played in the cup, making them fresh.
Chelsea have, by far, the most expected goals (xG) over these last six matches. Odds back them for attacking returns and a clean sheet.
However, the Blues’ schedule very quickly gets tougher, and stats – unsurprisingly – say that Palmer tends to do worse against ‘better’ teams.
Monday’s FA Cup fifth-round draw will affect how bosses approach these next few weeks. Lateriser really likes the upcoming Liverpool and Brentford fixtures. Virgil van Dijk (£5.9m) bagged 17 points in Gameweek 26, set up by Mohamed Salah (£14.0m).
Both the Egyptian and Igor Thiago (£7.0m) are due an imminent goal. Some may also want to double up on the Bees’ attack, so we’ve compared wingers Kevin Schade (£6.9m) – back from suspension – and Dango Ouattara (£5.8m).
Over at Bournemouth, January signing Rayan (£5.5m) has scored in successive outings. He’s a recommended buy.
Meanwhile, the tactic of targeting matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest may need to be paused. Igor Tudor and Vitor Pereira have replaced Thomas Frank and Sean Dyche.
CHIP STRATEGY
A lot of FPL managers are likely waiting to Wildcard in Gameweek 31, but we’ve provided a couple of drafts for those who can’t wait any longer.
If you’ve recently used it, Zophar gives Q&A advice on how to approach the anticipated big Double Gameweek 33. He speaks about Antoine Semenyo (£8.0m) and Arsenal assets, too.
Former champion Simon March has even dropped by, claiming that the ‘collect four or five transfers’ strategy mightn’t be a good idea.
BEST FPL GAMEWEEK 27 CAPTAIN
Penalty-taking Cole Palmer is the recommended armband recipient of our Rate My Team (RMT) algorithm – but what does our Captain Sensible article think?
It’s neck and neck between Palmer and teammate Pedro in the Scout users’ captain poll, too.
TEAM REVEALSSCOUT PICKS + DIFFERENTIALS
Our weekly selection – which is essentially a Free Hit in all but name – goes all in on Chelsea.
Joining Rayan in the trio of differential picks is Michael Kayode (£4.5m) and Nico O’Reilly (£4.9m).
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
We’ve predicted the starting XIs of all 20 Premier League teams.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck with FPL Gameweek 27!
