DPLCommLeague have brought the concept over to Fantrax, and it is sensational. We're here to provide Draft Premier League managers with our very own Perfect XI tips for each gameweek. Details of the concept and rules can be found here!
Check out DPLCommLeague for further information on the format, regular updates on the latest standings, as well as information on how you can enter.
Fantasy EPL Gameweek 38 Perfect XI
So, what is Perfect XI? Similar to the Official Fantasy Premier League game, all managers have full access to the entire player pool each week, meaning multiple teams within the league could be completely identical. The main departures from OFPL are the Fantrax Default Scoring, unlimited transfers each week, no budget/salary cap, and live lineup changes available. This means that each week you can select a dream team of Fantrax assets who you think will score the most points on a given gameweek, and have the added bonus of being able to see the real-life lineups before your players lock in. Magic.
Check out our Perfect XI tips below. These are our recommendations for the best XI this weekend! For statistical predictions for these players and any others, check out our weekly projections, available exclusively to our Inner Circle subscribers.
DGW38 Preface
Our final week of the season and it's a SGW where all the EPL teams play at the same time! Your strategy this week should be entirely dependent on where you fall in your league table and your end of season goal. If you're near the top and want to be most likely to stay there, you play it safe with the tried and true options. But if you're further down the table and looking to make up significant points and places, you have to be bolder and take more risks. We'll set you up for success on both fronts. On a personal note, I've absolutely loved participating in, writing about, and discussing PerfectXI with you all this season. Thanks for being a part of that.
GK: Allison
Allison or Ederson are the safe options in terms of likelihoods to get clean sheets (51% and 49%). If you want a floor of saves and a decent shot (27%) at a clean sheet, go Nick Pope. If you want to play the hot hand(s), go Fabianski, who has scored 9 or over (with only 1 clean sheet) in his last 4 games.
Pivot: Lukasz Fabianski
DEF: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marcos Alonso, Reece James
First up in our defense is the constant, TAA. Top scoring defender this season, 14% to score, 31% to assist, 51% to get a clean sheet. You're only leaving him out if you're drunk or you want to go uber-differential. Equally great options this week are Chelsea's wing back duo, who are facing a second tier (soon to be officially) Watford side at home. Reece has the highest defender assist odds with 34% and Alonso the highest goal odds at 23%. There should be ghost points, of the attacking variety, galore against Watford. However, the important callout here is that Thomas Tuchel may rotate heavily in a game that means nothing to his guaranteed-3rd side. He hinted as such in his pressers. If either Chelsea wing back doesn't go, Cancelo and Robbo are the next logical alternatives. But if you want to get weird, you can take Emerson Royal against Norwich, Trippier in his return from injury, or set-piece taking Telles in a game where he'll do his best to show out for his new boss (Erik Ten Hag), who will be in attendance. Narratives abound. A mega-differential would be Lucas Digne, who faces Manchester City, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it.
Pivots: Joao Cancelo, Andrew Robertson, Emerson Royal Further Differentials: Kieran Trippier, Alex Telles
MID: Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Mason Mount, Bukayo Saka
There are simply a ton of options in the midfield this weekend. Attempting to pick out the best, I have first landed on KDB, who is expected to perform in City's must win game against Villa at home. He's 36% to assist, 38% to score, and is averaging the most fppg this season of any midfielder. Guess who's second in that category? Indeed, it's Brentford's own Christian Eriksen. He's scored over 10 points in 8 of his last 8 starts, and closer to 20 in 5 of them! This week, he'll face one of the worst defenses in the league in Leeds. If Brentford manage to score 1 goal, the game is going to open up dramatically as Leeds try to avoid relegation. Eriksen is 20% to assist and 11% to score, but he's regularly put up double-digit ghost points, helped by his monopoly on set pieces. Next up, we have the recently rested/benched Mason Mount who has even better offensive upside than his wing back teammates mentioned above. He's 35% to score and 30% to assist and has a track record of dismantling bottom 6 sides. Finally, we have Arsenal's talisman, Saka, facing a now on-the-beach Everton. Lampard has said he'll rotate his troops and considering the state of their defense pre-rotation, let's just say Arsenal have a great shot at scoring multiple goals (and boy do they need it to have any chance at UCL). Saka is 35% to score and 28% to assist. If you're looking for riskier options, you always have the other Man City mids in Foden and Grealish, or Raphinha in a must-win game, or Deki Kulu against Norwich. Harrison and Ward-Prowse offer even further differentiation. Pick Coutinho if you want to be that contrarian guy or you're a desperate Liverpool fan (or both).
Pivots: Hakim Ziyech, Bruno Fernandes, Dejan Kulusevski, Raphinha
Further Differentials: Christian Pulisic, Phil Foden, Jack Harrison, JWP
FWD: Harry Kane, Son Heung-Min, Mohamed Salah
Spurs offer the most obvious of forward choices given that they face Norwich in a game they can't lose. Kane has nearly the highest anytime goal odds at 52% and Son isn't far behind at 44%, with 31% assist odds to boot. It's your last shot to play attackers vs Norwich (or at least until their inevitable return in the 23/24 season)! Rounding out our side is the potentially unlikely to start, but impossible to not include, Mo Salah. The highest scoring fantasy player of the season (he is currently only 5 points up on 2nd place Son) was injured in the FA Cup final and missed Liverpool's last game but he's back in training. If he's starting, I think it would be silly not to include him. He has the highest projection of the week, outside of the 2 Spurs forwards, with the highest goal odds at 53%, highest assist odds at 36%, and is competing for the Golden Boot (with Son). If he doesn't end up starting you can pivot to one of his teammates, Mane, Diaz, or Jota, or instead opt for the recently-firing Lukaku who may start against Watford (and is 48% likely to score). Mahrez offers his high floor, high upside as always, Toney has the pleasure of facing the Leeds defense, and Ronaldo offers the harder-to-attain multiple-goal upside differentiating factor.
Pivots: Romelu Lukaku, Riyad Mahrez, Ivan Toney Further Differentials: Dioga Jota, Luis Diaz, Cristiano Ronaldo
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