Lateriser's Blank Gameweek 29 Free Hit team

In his latest article, two-time Indian Fantasy Premier League (FPL) champion Lateriser offers up his own hypothetical Gameweek 29 Free Hit.

It is Free Hit week for a fair few managers in FPL and with lots of coverage already on this website, I thought I’d weigh in and add some unsolicited advice for the Free Hitters.

I decided to make a Free Hit draft and this is what I came up with.

LATERISER’S GAMEWEEK 29 FREE HIT DRAFT

First and foremost, my advice to Free Hitters is always that the shorter the duration you are picking your players for, the greater the unpredictability of the same. Football by nature is a low-action, random game and the randomness (read unpredictability) is heightened when predicting events for a single week. I just wanted to set expectations in place before going in.

Let’s get into things, then.

KLUIVERT IMPRESSES IN GAMEWEEK 28

First and foremost, Bournemouth have been one of the most impressive attacking outfits of late and Brentford do tend to offer some chances to the opposition in every game.

Keeping that in mind, I’ve gone for Justin Kluivert (£6.2m), who really should have had a couple more returns against than the one assist he did manage.

He’s also on penalties and some set pieces, which helps.

HAALAND AMONG THREE FORWARDS

Raul Jimenez (£5.5m) plays against a Spurs team that tend to crumble after Europe. We already saw how Bournemouth played against them last week and after an important tie on Thursday, I expect them to rotate in the league. This is definitely a high-ceiling game for Jimenez at home to Spurs.

Now, the other two strikers pretty much pick themselves. Even though Brighton and Hove Albion have significantly improved of late, I do think that this game does have potential for goals on both sides of the pitch.

Above is the six-game rolling average table featured in this article. What I like is that there are a few greens with Erling Haaland’s (£14.7m) rolling xG and his big chances. His finishing is also improving. While Manchester City have been a bit hot and cold, Haaland is still one of the best FPL picks in the game and in a week where Free Hitters don’t need the funds for Mohamed Salah (£13.8m), this becomes kind of obvious to me. It is also worth mentioning that Haaland clocked 1.38 xGI in the reverse fixture against Brighton and Hove Albion.

Chris Wood (£7.3m) is playing an Ipswich Town team that has prominently featured in the ‘teams to attack’ and are currently third worst for xGC in the last six Gameweeks.

UNITED TRIPLE-UP

Coming to the midfield, let’s talk about Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m). Fresh from a hat-trick in the Champions League, I must say that the last 135 minutes from Manchester United have featured some of the better football we’ve seen in years. I am hoping that this team chemistry continues to push on and I suspect that this might be the beginning of a decent (and not depressing) period for United.

It doesn’t matter to me much whether Fernandes plays in the front three or in midfield. Even in midfield, he’s getting in some really good positions of late and Ruben Amorim is really beginning to get the best out of him. With four returns in his last three league starts, as well as an eye-catching performance in Europe, Bruno is definitely one to go for on the Free Hit. The likes of Joshua Zirkzee (£6.5m) and Alejandro Garnacho (£5.9m) around him are in good form, as well, which is only good for him.

While we’re on the topic of Manchester United, you might find it bizarre that I have gone for two defenders from Amorim’s squad. The only reason I am doing that is because the wing-backs are beginning to look like ‘attackers’ and are finding great positions. They might be good for some attacking returns. Diogo Dalot (£5.0m) scored in midweek against Sociedad and Noussair Mazraoui (£4.3m) found himself in goalscoring positions in the centre of the box a couple of times against Arsenal. In a week where no team has clean sheet odds higher than 40%, I would take the template on and chance on this. It also helps that Leicester City are rock bottom for xG in the league in the last six matches.

DIFFERENTIAL MUNETSI

One attacker I do like and have an eye on is Marshall Munetsi (£5.0m), who plays a leaky defence in Southampton (although the Saints have improved of late). I do expect Southampton to be a lot less reserved against Wolves and Munetsi (if fit) plays as one of the tens behind Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.2m).

He strikes me as someone who will be involved in the goals when looking at the eye test. As Neale pointed out, since he’s made his debut in the league, he’s third amongst midfielders for non-penalty xG.

FOREST DILEMMA

When talking about Nottingham Forest, let’s have a look at some of their numbers in the last six Gameweeks.

Anthony Elanga (£5.3m) has a healthy non-penalty xGI, almost similar to that of Wood. Honestly, though, I don’t have a strong preference between any of the three midfield picks as Morgan Gibbs-White (£6.6m) is on penalties and Ipswich concede a ton of chances and goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s (£5.2m) side.

In defence, Neco Williams‘ (£4.4m) numbers look encouraging and if picking a Forest defender, I would go for him or Nikola Milenkovic (£4.8m) for the set-piece threat.

GOOD LUCK!

That is all from me this week. I hope you enjoyed my notes on this Free Hit. Don’t forget to back your gut. It is a one-week fling only and the only time you can really back your wild (or not-so-wild) ideas without any consequences.

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