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Welcome to Gameweek 38, RotoBallers! Like the previous campaign, we are continuing our soccer coverage to include the great game of the Fantasy Premier League. So even if you are a seasoned veteran or a rookie navigating your first 38 gameweeks, we will set you straight. We're here to provide advice to help you snag those weekend-making green arrows and avoid the doom and gloom of a red arrow.
This is a wrap on our second season of the FPL Roundtable at Rotoballer. The whole squad appreciates you taking time each week to read our advice and support the article. With some preseason content in the works, we will be back bigger and better for the 2023/24 campaign. Hopefully, we've helped you win your mini-leagues, and we look forward to another season after a much-needed summer holiday.
The Gameweek 38 deadline is 10:00 AM Eastern on Sunday, May 28. Also, check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the team gets you all set for every English Premier League and UEFA Champions League slate from a DFS and betting perspective.
And of course, #FPL can translate into #DFS, all of which we have plenty of at @RotoBaller https://t.co/U9pKeHkJYv pic.twitter.com/z2ubf1KeKj
— Jamie Steed (@Baseball_Jimbo) February 4, 2023
RotoBaller FPL Staff Roundtable - Gameweek 38
The Staff Roundtable is an attempt to get you inside the mind of our FPL staff. Our top soccer writers will answer questions each gameweek to give you an idea of how they view the games. So without further ado, let's kick off Double Gameweek 38!
Double Gameweek 37 was full of rotation. Are you expecting more of the same for the final day, with only the relegation battle in the balance?
- Euan Leith: Man City's rotation has been mind-boggling since Arsenal handed them the title, and I would expect more of the same on Sunday. Man United only needs a point against Chelsea tonight (Thursday) to secure Champions League football next season. If they do that, Liverpool may rotate a lot, with several veterans leaving the club. The leaks have been coming thick and fast on FPL Twitter recently, so watch for the lineups on Sunday afternoon.
- Jamie Steed: The two Manchester clubs will no doubt rotate, and I highly doubt West Ham plays anything resembling a strong team. But outside of that, maybe one or two players will be rested by most teams, but nothing that would cause me much concern.
Who has been the biggest surprise of the 2022/23 FPL campaign?
- Euan Leith: Kieran Trippier. He showed flashes of brilliance in his first few games at Newcastle, but I don't think anyone pegged him to have a 200-point season and lead all defenders in points. The right-back started the year at £5.0 million and was up to £6.2 million a few weeks ago. The England international will be right up there with Trent Alexander-Arnold as one of the most expensive defenders for the 2023/24 campaign.
- Jamie Steed: Maybe not for me, as I knew he was this good, but Martin Ødegaard being the fourth-highest points scorer will have surprised many. I also expected Brentford to struggle this season, so in terms of points accumulated, seeing Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo in the top-6 among strikers and David Raya ranking second among ‘keepers have been surprises.
The most #FPL points of an @Arsenal player since 2016/17!
How good has Martin Odegaard been for your #FPL team? 🙌 pic.twitter.com/GIk2Nxeqsj
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) May 15, 2023
Who was the most underrated player this year?
- Euan Leith: Somehow, Harry Kane is not getting the accolades he deserves. If it weren't for Erling Haaland, Kane would be the story of the season. With one game to go, he's tallied 28 goals, eight assists, and 247 FPL points. That's a new career high for the Spurs star, making it his second 240-point season in the last three. Hopefully, he'll be on a better team next year. Maybe the red side of Manchester to battle Mr. Haaland?
- Jamie Steed: Players like Eberechi Eze and Morgan Gibbs-White have had strong finishes which jumped them up the rankings, but across the season, Ben White has scored just two fewer points than Trent Alexander-Arnold (despite being £2.8M cheaper) and is the third highest-scoring defender with no fanfare whatsoever.
28 goals ⚽️
8 assists 🎯
45 bonus points ✨Another superb #FPL season for Harry Kane 💪 pic.twitter.com/nOUhSCyg6l
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) May 20, 2023
Who was the biggest disappointment?
- Euan Leith: It feels a bit unfair, but it's Jarrod Bowen for me. After 29 goal involvements in the 21/22 season, he fell back to Earth and has 15 with one game to go. I thought West Ham would kick on from their terrific prior season, but they barely survived the drop. It will be interesting to see if one of the top six or seven teams calls for his services over the summer.
- Jamie Steed: Jamie Vardy came into the season as the third most expensive striker but is currently ranked 21st with just 81 points. Honorable mentions to Raheem Sterling and Son Heung-min, who have both come nowhere close to providing value for their price tags.
What lessons will you try to take into next season as we head into the summer break?
- Euan Leith: 3-4-3 is the optimal formation. Having some extra defenders is nice, but the wingbacks consistently let us down this year. TAA, Andy Robertson, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, and Joao Cancelo were major flops before Trent's resurgence over the last few weeks.
- Jamie Steed: Don’t be afraid to pay up for defenders and goalkeepers, as there are always cheap midfielders who finish up in the top 10-20 range.
Who's keeping a clean sheet in Gameweek 38?
- Euan Leith: Aston Villa needs a win to guarantee European football next season, and Brighton has already secured a Europa League spot. Roberto De Zerbi has shown his willingness to rotate a leggy Seagulls squad in recent games, and this should make Emmy Martinez's afternoon a lot easier.
- Jamie Steed: Crystal Palace at home to a Nottingham Forest side that secured their safety last weekend and is the league’s lowest scorers away from home (ten). Forest left it all out on the pitch last weekend, and I expect this to be one of the weekend's more “end of season” type games.
Which defensive player is providing an attacking return?
- Euan Leith: Fabian Schar has underperformed his expected Goal Involvement numbers for the second half. So it wouldn't be FPL unless he trolled us with an attacking return in the final game after we all gave up on him. On the season, he has a 4.95 xGI but only has one return to his name. The -3.95 delta is the fourth biggest margin in FPL behind Patrick Bamford, Kai Havertz, and teammate Joe Willock.
- Jamie Steed: Bournemouth leads the league in goals conceded from set-pieces (21), and Everton will be looking to exploit that given their struggles for goals in open play. Yerry Mina was their hero last weekend, scoring a 99th-minute equalizer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he (or James Tarkowski) popped up with a goal this weekend.
Who's a midfielder or forward rostered on less than 10 percent of teams that will grab us those FPL points?
- Euan Leith: Cody Gakpo looks vital to the Liverpool rebuild heading into next season. He's only 5.2 percent of FPL rosters, and a date with relegated Southampton is on the calendar. However, a couple of attacking returns will have the avid Anfield fans ready for the 2023/24 campaign to come sooner rather than later as they dream of a return to challenging for the title.
- Jamie Steed: Eberechi Eze has eight goal involvements in his last nine games and is the eighth-highest-scoring midfielder this season following his strong finish. But he’s still only on 8.5% of teams and could be a league winner for someone.
If you could bring in any player you don't have on your team for this gameweek, who would it be and why?
- Euan Leith: Depending on the result of the Man United-Chelsea contest, I could be on the outside looking in at the top 100k for the season. If so, I will take the ultimate gamble and sub out Erling Haaland for Harry Kane. The Spurs forward is two goals shy of a 30-goal season, and he could quickly get there against a desperate Leeds side.
- Jamie Steed: I can bring in anyone I want, given I’ve yet to use my transfer and have no restrictions. But I have no money in the bank and will not take a minus for two transfers, so Mo Salah is one star. I expect to start this Sunday and bag himself a nice-points haul. He’s set to be my FOMO this week.
Who's getting the Captain's armband?
- Euan Leith: I'm 20 points down in my most crucial mini-league, so I won't play it safe with Haaland. Kane or Mohamed Salah will be the two leading candidates to make up a massive gap on the final day.
- Jamie Steed: Martin Ødegaard. Despite Arsenal’s struggles of late, he’s still performing at an exceptional level, and Arsenal’s best player this season will want to go out with a bang.
Finally, what's your bold prediction for this weekend's slate of games?
- Euan Leith: Leeds escaped the drop on the final day last season, but it doesn't happen again. Instead, Leicester comes through with a surprise win against West Ham and sends Leeds and Everton down to the Championship. And, if Man City decides more rest is needed for their main players after a long season/hangover, then Brentford adds them to their list of teams to have lost at the Gtech Community Stadium this season.
- Jamie Steed: I can easily make a case for the three relegation candidates (Everton, Leeds, and Leicester) all to win, but I suspect one of them drops points. Wouldn’t it be typical of the Premier League that the only gameweek in which all three of them win is the season's final weekend, though? And we always seem to see one team score five or more to finish the season. So I don’t think this weekend will be an exception, with Arsenal or Liverpool being my pick to do so.
Is there a question you would like to have answered every week? Hit us up on Twitter @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
