Fantasy Premier League, Gameweek 34 tips: A false double gameweek, reaping benefits of Tottenham's injuries and more

Normal service resumes? Not quite. After a double and a truncated gameweek in the past fortnight, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers are bracing themselves for another double gameweek in the coming weekend, albeit of a much milder magnitude. Brighton and Cardiff are the only teams that play twice in the coming gameweek. This should excite few FPL managers but the hype around double gameweeks may coax them to stuff in as many double gameweek players as possible. [caption id=“attachment_6438721” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Gameweek 34 fixtures[/caption] Brighton have two home games against Bournemouth and Cardiff. They seem attractive on paper, but Brighton are no poster boys for consistency themselves. Glenn Murray and Shane Duffy have been Brighton’s top FPL properties all season, but haven’t been in best of form lately. Murray has one goal in the last seven games, while Duffy has helped Brighton keep just two clean sheets in the last ten matches. Known for his prowess at the other end, Duffy is more than just a defender but he has just one goal to his name in the last ten matches. Cardiff are flirting with the drop and face two away games. Their away record is quite poor. Neil Warnock’s team have won just two away games all season and chances of a miraculous change in fortunes just in time to benefit the FPL owners is expecting too much. So the coming double gameweek is a false one and efforts to make the most of the additional fixtures could go in vain. Another reason to ignore the additional fixtures could be some other games with a higher potential of return. Spurs face relegated Huddersfield, in-form Everton face Fulham, Manchester United host West Ham, while Leicester are at home to Newcastle United. Tottenham have made a winning start to life in the new stadium and Huddersfield would be really up against it at the weekend. Using up the full quota of Spurs players in this gameweek makes complete sense with Mauricio Pochettino’s men having two fixtures in the next gameweek. Picking Tottenham players has been a real pain thanks to Pochettino’s squad rotation policy, but injuries are likely to force his hand at the weekend. That is a blessing in disguise for FPL owners who would have had a real tough time picking Spurs players otherwise especially with their Champions League quarter-final second leg happening on Wednesday. Harry Kane (ankle injury) and Delle Alli (fracture) are set to miss the game. So Heung-min Son and Lucas Moura who have been subject to rotation in recent weeks are almost certain to start. Previously in Kane’s absence, Son, who at times played as the centre forward, enjoyed his best spell in front of goal. Thus the South Korean is the most purchased player this week brought in by over 3.5 lakh owners. There was no Spurs defender who wasn’t spared in the rotation. It made choice very hard for FPL managers. However, injury to Serge Aurier means Kieran Trippier is likely to start for Spurs at right back for the coming weeks and hence FPL managers can go for Trippier in their teams without hesitation. Here are some of the other players that FPL managers must look at at this week: Youri Tielemans (Leicester City): The Belgian midfielder has made a flying start to life in England. Four assists and two goals in his last six games make him the in-form player in the league. Priced at just £6.1m, the Leicester midfielder has become a must-have. Chris Wood (Burnley): If you are looking for a quick fix in the forward position, then Burnley’s Wood is a perfect fit. With two goals and an assist in his previous two matches, Wood is in fine form to feature on the scoring charts against Cardiff City. At a price of just £6.2m, Wood is an excellent option. Fernando Llorente (Tottenham Hotspur): With Kane out, Llorente is expected to be played in his place. The Spanish forward couldn’t have picked a better game to return to the fold than Huddersfield. Llorente can get among the goals straightaway and ease himself into some kind of form ahead of the final few gameweeks. For FPL managers, he could prove to be trump card at a price of just £5.1m. Captain’s conundrum: Deciding on the captain is going to be a task this week. Many would like to go with one of the Spurs duo of Eriksen and Son. However, Brighton’s Murray, Leicester’s in-form Jamie Vardy, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku are all top options. My pick would be Son considering his record in Kane’s absence.