Following a dramatic season of high and lows for millions of Fantasy Premier League managers, it’s Lovro Budisin, from Croatia, who looks set to be crowned FPL champion barring an historic final-day comeback from one of the chasing pack.
Aiming to become the first manager from Croatia to win the title, Budisin enjoys a 40-point lead over his closest challenger heading into the final Gameweek of the 2024/25 season. Such a significant advantage has never been overturned before on the final day.
Budisin could yet break the record for FPL points in a season, but he would need a big score. He's 92 points adrift of Jamie Pigott's mammoth landmark from 2021/22 Fantasy.
Top 10 managers in the world
| Rank | Team | Pts | Pts behind No 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aina Krafth Bree | 2,752 | 0 |
| 2 | Hakuna Mateta | 2,712 | 40 |
| 3 | The Palmer Trees | 2,702 | 50 |
| 4 | @miguelpiccand | 2,700 | 52 |
| 5 | Levenshulme Utd | 2,697 | 55 |
| 6 | Beaven on Earth | 2,694 | 58 |
| 7 | Anorthosis Strovolou | 2,692 | 60 |
| 8 | salah and inshallah | 2,690 | 62 |
| 9 | CarlSkyldig2Whiskey | 2,686 | 66 |
| 10 | team name | 2,686 | 66 |
Hoping to make history in overturning such a big deficit on the final day is second-placed Jack Brennan, who is on a run of eight consecutive green arrows.
Brennan, from England, can call upon the in-form Yoane Wissa (£6.9m), who has amassed 45 points over the last six Gameweeks, the most of any forward in Fantasy.
And he has a decision to make about another of his key differentials, Alexander Isak (£9.4m), who missed Newcastle United's Gameweek 37 defeat at Arsenal through injury, and remains a doubt.
Otherwise, there's little to separate the top two managers overall; they have both used all their chips, they share 10 players and each have one free transfer available.
What’s more, Budisin would seemingly have the edge in midfield, owning Kevin De Bruyne (£9.6m), while Brennan has Savinho (£6.0m). De Bruyne, set to make his farewell appearance for Manchester City, has started all of the last seven matches, whereas Savinho has started just one of those games.
Differentials between top two managers
| Manager | Differentials |
|---|---|
| Lovro Budisin | Areola, Livramento, De Bruyne, Wood, Mateta |
| Jack Brennan | Martinez, Bradley, Savinho, Wissa, Isak |
If Brennan and the rest of the top 10 are looking for a glimmer of hope, they can take encouragement from 2017/18 winner Yusef Sheikh.
The Tanzania manager was sixth and 33 points behind leader Bharat Dhody heading into Gameweek 38.
But 93 points, including 33 from his Triple Captain Mohamed Salah (£13.6m), catapulted him into first place, as he won the title by eight points.
Assistant Manager advantage
On this occasion, of those in pursuit, only fourth-placed Miguel Piccand will have a chip in play during the final round. Piccand, from Switzerland, activated his Assistant Manager chip in Gameweek 36 and has one match left to earn points.
Piccand collected 19 points last time out thanks to Fabian Hurzeler (£1.1m), who claimed a table-bonus win in Brighton & Hove Albion's 3-2 triumph at home to Liverpool. There will be no table bonus on offer in Gameweek 38, however, as Brighton travel to the UEFA Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur, sitting 17th in the Premier League.
Table bonus is crucial to obtaining a big points haul, so Piccand may consider using a transfer. Indeed, had the Assistant Manager chip been available since Gameweek 1, all 38 of the top match scores for Assistant Managers would have included a table-bonus win.
Among the options available to Piccand in Sunday's concluding matches are Marco Silva (£1.1m), with Fulham hosting Manchester City, and Oliver Glasner (£0.8m), as Crystal Palace visit Liverpool. The Reds are without a win since claiming the Premier League title in Gameweek 34.
Differentials between chasing managers and world No 1
| Position | Manager | Differentials to Lovro Budisin |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Keyuran Govender | Martinez, Bradley, Sarr, Cunha, Isak |
| 4 | Miguel Piccand | Martinez, Ruben, Saliba, Schar, Rogers, Murphy, Marmoush |
| 5 | Max Littleproud | Martinez, Ruben, Konate, Schade, Rogers, Sarr, Haaland, Isak |
| 6 | Joshua Beaven | Martinez, Trippier, Rogers, Isak, Wissa, Marmoush |
| 7 | Constantinos Hasikos | Saliba, Rogers, Wissa, Isak |
| 8 | Ahmed Muayad | Martinez, Ruben, Saliba, Rogers, Beto, Isak |
| 9 | Nils Malmstrom | Martinez, Ruben, Merino, Wissa, Isak |
| 10 | Blythe Oakman | Verbruggen, Milenkovic, Bradley, Savinho, Cunha, Isak |
Despite opening up a formidable lead, Budisin's journey to the top didn't get off to the best of starts.
After four Gameweeks, the current world No 1 was ranked 2.88m overall following a round score of just 23 points, proving that a successful season isn't made or lost in August.
It wasn't long before he began to find his feet, however, with a succession of green arrows propelling him into the top 1,000 by Gameweek 12.
He then moved into first place in Gameweek 31, a position he's held ever since.
Who will win the FPL Cup?
In the final of the FPL Cup, Finland's Aleksi Koskelo and his team Lapaset will take on Sebastian Pineda's Bennys Redeem Team of Sweden.
Differences between cup final teams
| Manager | Team | Differentials |
|---|---|---|
| Aleksi Koskelo | Lapaset | Henderson, Dias, Livramento, Salah, Eze, Palmer, Evanilson, Marmoush |
| Sebastian Pineda | Bennys Redeem Team | Areola, Munoz, Burn, De Bruyne, Sarr, Bowen, Watkins, Mateta |
Ranked at 1,543 overall, Koskelo is the slightly higher-ranked manager heading into the showpiece event, with Pineda at 11,596.
Each manager has used all their chips and has one free transfer. However, they share just seven players, suggesting that the final is unlikely to end in a draw.
Pineda has a larger budget available to make improvements to his squad, with £5.5m sitting in the bank, compared with £0.6m for Koskelo. The Swedish manager has also proven the bigger risk-taker, accumulating 36 points worth of transfer hits during the season, while Koskelo has yet to take a single one.