This week’s FPL Challenge continues with the "Race for Europe" theme. This week, players from the match between Liverpool and Arsenal will score DOUBLE points, with managers selecting a five-a-side team using an unlimited budget.
Here, FPL expert Tom Johnson reveals how he’s tackling Gameweek 36.
It's another week of tricky decisions in the latest FPL Challenge. There are some very favourable fixtures for the Manchester City, Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest, who face Southampton, Ipswich Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City respectively.
Therefore managers will need to decide between investing in these players or opting for Liverpool and Arsenal assets, who will have their points doubled.
Goalkeeper and defence
In goal, I've opted for Forest's Matz Sels (£5.2m), the top-scoring goalkeeper in Fantasy 2024/25 so far. The Belgian has kept a league-high 13 clean sheets, with eight of those coming at the City Ground.
Forest's opponents, Leicester, have scored just 29 goals in 35 matches and have failed to find the net in 12 of their last 15 games.
No team has created fewer Expected Goals (xG) and big chances than the Foxes' tallies of 30.64 and 55 respectively.
I've chosen to avoid both David Raya (£5.6m) and Alisson (£5.5m), despite a clean sheet being worth eight points due to the double points. I expect both Liverpool and Arsenal to score and the save-point potential of both goalkeepers is low.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (£5.1m) takes the solitary defender spot in my 1-2-1 formation.
No defender can match the Wolves wing-back's tally of 11 attacking returns, with three of those coming in his last two home matches.
In that time, Ait-Nouri has produced 25 points thanks to a goal, two assists and a clean sheet. Over the last six Gameweeks, Wolves have conceded just 10 big chances, ranking joint-third for that metric.
Gameweek 36 opponents Brighton have won just once of their last seven matches while Wolves have won six of their last seven.
There is a temptation to double up on Nottingham Forest's defence in the form of Neco Williams (£4.5m), who picked up an assist last time out.
However, Forest's defensive data has been poor in recent weeks, ranking third-worst for Expected Goals Conceded (xGC), with a tally of 11.76 in the last six Gameweeks.
Midfield
The inclusion of Mohamed Salah (£13.7m) needs little explanation, especially with his points doubling in Gameweek 36. No one has scored more points in Fantasy this season.
The Egyptian will also be my captain against an Arsenal team with just one clean sheet in their six matches.
If you wish to double down, chase the high-upside and take advantage of the double points on offer, Luis Diaz (£7.6m) and Bukayo Saka (£10.3m) are great options to pair with Salah.
Despite this, the second spot in my midfield two goes to Kevin De Bruyne (£9.5m), with Man City facing Southampton at St Mary's Stadium this weekend. No team has conceded more goals than the Saints' 82 this season.
De Bruyne has started five consecutive league games since returning to the team in Gameweek 31 and has delivered two double-digit hauls in the last four Gameweeks.
In that time, the Man City playmaker has created three big chances and had four of his own, ranking in the top three among midfielders in both those categories.
Forwards
Yoane Wissa (£6.7m) and Chris Wood (£7.1m) should enjoy themselves against relegated opposition in the form of Ipswich and Leicester respectively.
However, for similar reasons to the selection of De Bruyne, I've picked Omar Marmoush (£7.6m) to complete my five-a-side team.
The Egyptian ranks second for Expected Goal Involvement (xGI), with 4.24, and his 24 attempts on goal ranks first among forwards over the last six Gameweeks. This suggests Marmoush is primed to return points, despite blanking in his last three matches.
It's worth mentioning one of the benefits of Fantasy Challenge, you can swap players in and out up until their match kicks off. In the event that Erling Haaland (£14.8m) is named in the starting line-up, I would transfer him in for Marmoush. Remember there are no budget restrictions in this week's Challenge!
