Fantasy expert Neale Rigg reveals the dream line-up for Double Gameweek 35 (DGW35) of FPL Challenge, with players from five London clubs - Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur - scoring double points.
Chelsea players not only get double points in this week’s FPL Challenge, but they also play twice.
So, any midfielder or forward lasting more than an hour in both of the Blues’ DGW35 fixtures begins with a healthy base of eight points, provided they don't pick up a yellow or red card.
We don’t need any further encouragement to include Cole Palmer (£6.2m), who is expected to recover from illness to feature on Saturday. The midfielder has averaged 8.8 points per start, more than any other active Premier League player this season.
His 10 double-digit hauls in 2023/24 Fantasy also rank top among all players.
Chelsea’s DGW35 fixtures look tricky on paper, visiting high-flying Aston Villa before hosting Spurs in a London derby.
But, crucially for Palmer and Nicolas Jackson (£6.8m), those two sides also place in the bottom half of the table for Expected Goals Against (xGA).
Jackson’s highest Gameweek score came against 10-man Spurs in the reverse fixture, when the Chelsea forward bagged a hat-trick.
He’s in promising recent form, too, with six returns in his last eight starts.
Djordje Petrovic (£4.6m) is our third and final selection from Mauricio Pochettino’s side. He’s delivered 15 save points in 16 starts since his debut, so can compensate for a likely lack of clean sheets.
Porro fit to return
Ange Postecoglou revealed on Friday that Pedro Porro (£5.8m) will be fit to return against Arsenal this weekend, with the right-back recovering from a minor injury picked up in the Gameweek 33 defeat at Newcastle United.
In any case, FPL Challenge managers can at least see the teamsheets from the north London derby before deciding on which players to start from the two sides. The deadline for the encounter with Arsenal is at 14:00 BST on Sunday.
Porro’s appeal is based as much on attacking threat as it is on clean-sheet potential. He's the leading shot-taker among defenders this season, with 42. He also ranks in the top 10 for shots in the box, penalty area touches and chances created.
There is another reason why Spurs players are strongly under consideration: they, like Chelsea, have two fixtures in DGW35.
Their first opponents, Arsenal, do boast the best defensive record in the division, both for clean sheets and fewest goals conceded.
But Son Heung-min (£9.8m) loves a derby: his last brace of goals, indeed, came against Mikel Arteta’s title challengers back in Gameweek 6.
In-form Palace demand attention
Players from Arsenal, Palace and Fulham will also be awarded double points in this week’s FPL Challenge.
The Gunners and the Eagles may only play once, but they are teams in form and demand attention.
Crystal Palace have won three matches in a row going into Saturday’s trip to Craven Cottage.
Since Oliver Glasner’s first match in charge in Gameweek 26, Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.1m) has scored eight goals, more than any other Fantasy forward.
Michael Olise (£5.6m), meanwhile, is behind only Palmer for points per start this season, with 8.4.
A cameo off the bench for Olise in midweek suggests Glasner may have been saving him for a start against Fulham this weekend.
As for Arsenal, midfielder Kai Havertz (£7.4m) is enjoying playing as an "out of position" centre-forward.
He has delivered 13 attacking returns over his last 12 starts, most recently scoring twice against Chelsea on Tuesday.
Ben White (£6.0m) does come up against one of our midfielders in Son, but it seems unwise to back against the defender, who has blanked in only one of his last 11 starts.
No FPL defender has scored more goals this season than White's four, while the Gunners defender, like Porro, also features in the top 10 players in his position for chances created, with 33.
Go BIG on Newcastle at home
FPL Challenge managers shouldn’t overlook teams from outside the capital this week, however.
Newcastle are back on Tyneside, hosting a Sheffield United side that they beat 8-0 last September.
Eddie Howe’s team have kept eight Premier League clean sheets on home soil, more than any other club this season.
Joining Fabian Schar (£5.7m) in the line-up is Anthony Gordon (£6.2m), who has delivered more attacking returns in home matches than any other player, with 20.
