Fantasy Premier League: How to play the final two gameweeks

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Time has run out for long-term planning. Any move has to deliver immediate upside. Context becomes crucial: your strategy should depend on your rank or mini-league situation. Managers protecting a strong position should approach the final weeks differently from those desperately chasing points. Here’s how to attack the final stretch of the season. Playing it safe rarely works when you are chasing. If you are behind in your mini-leagues or aiming for a big jump up the rankings, you must be prepared to take risks. Only through variety will opportunities open up to gain points on the managers above you. Target good players with lower ownership. Template picks will be less helpful, but bringing in random low-owned players is not the answer, either. Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) could be an ideal option. He is owned by only 16 per cent of managers, a figure that will likely be lower among engaged managers. Arsenal face Burnley at home on Monday, followed by a final-day trip to Crystal Palace, who are bound to field a rotated side before their Conference League final three days later. Although he has not been as prolific as some fans expected, Gyokeres has proven he can score — he has scored 14 Premier League goals, 13 of which have come against sides currently in 11th or lower. Jeremy Doku (£6.5m), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.2m) and Bruno Guimaraes (£6.8m) are a few other examples of low-owned players who could haul in points. Picking players for two weeks also means higher variance, so going for players based on eye test or gut feeling is fine, too. Just make sure they have two good fixtures, are unlikely to be rotated, have something to play for and, crucially, have a low ownership. For managers leading mini-leagues, the approach should be very different. Protecting rank often means blocking the most dangerous threats — in practice, captaining the highly owned players and avoiding unnecessary risks. If Erling Haaland (£14.7m) is the standout captaincy option, don’t overthink it. Go with him rather than trying to be clever. If highly owned players, such as Bruno Fernandes (£10.4m) or Igor Thiago (£7.3m), are heavily backed by engaged managers, going without them can become extremely dangerous. One player’s haul could wipe out weeks of progress. Reduce volatility and protect your position. ‘Effective ownership’ (EO) swings drastically alter rank, making your captaincy decision even more important. EO is the percentage of managers starting a player, adjusted for captaincy. If you are defending a lead or happy with your rank, Fernandes and Haaland are your best bets this week, as they are likely to be the most captained players. If you are chasing, backing the obvious captain every week can make it difficult to gain ground. This is where going down a different route can pay off — and you can gauge your risk based on player ownership. For example, Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) is going to be a popular buy this week. He won’t be a huge differential but he should provide enough variety to get you a decent rank jump. However, FPL managers chasing a big deficit will need to look at players with lower ownership. Good fixtures are still crucial in these scenarios. Gyokeres won’t be as highly captained and Leandro Trossard (£6.5m) could be a shrewd punt — he has played 90 minutes in both of Arsenal’s last two games, scoring one goal and registering one assist, and Burnley at home is an enticing fixture. Looking early at Gameweek 38, Dominic Szoboszlai (£7.0m) plays Brentford (H) and Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) faces Leeds United (H), so they look like good differential captains. Going above your free-transfer limit, which incurs a four-point deduction per transfer, becomes less appealing towards the end of the season because there is less time for those recruits to pay off. But sometimes, hits can be necessary. If your team is carrying injuries, or contains rotation risks or players in poor fixtures, taking a hit can still be worthwhile. For example, offloading Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.6m), who we know is likely to be a minutes risk at Crystal Palace, and bringing in Danny Welbeck (£6.4m) or Gyokeres could be worth the hit. Midfielders and forwards should be prioritised over defenders and goalkeepers because attacking players have higher ceilings. Late-season rotation can become chaotic, especially once teams achieve their objectives. Press conferences, injury updates and leaked line-ups can provide an edge over your rivals. Waiting closer to the deadline before making transfers mitigates against unnecessary mistakes. This becomes especially important in the final gameweek, when all matches kick off simultaneously and leaks often emerge shortly before the deadline. There is no single correct way to approach the final two gameweeks — everything depends on your rank and your goals. If you are chasing, you should back explosive differentials, take calculated risks and captain players who can deliver huge swings. Players protecting rank should focus on popular, reliable assets, safe captaincy picks and players with secure minutes. Either way, players’ motivation and fixtures — and, of course, team news — should drive every decision until the end of the season. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms