The Fantasy Premier League season all comes down to this, the final gameweek of 2023-24.
As ever, FPL managers have experienced the full range of emotions while playing this silly little game, from the highs of picking a low-owned differential who has scored a hat-trick to the lows of wasting the Triple Captain chip on a misfiring forward. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Gameweek 38 tends to be more exciting and nerve-shredding than almost all of the 37 that precede it given it represents one final chance for FPL bosses to surge up the overall rankings or earn delicious bragging rights over their mini-league rivals. With every game kicking off at the same time, all you can do is sit back, relax and hopefully watch the points adding up.
There is less jeopardy in Sunday’s fixtures than is usually the case, with the title race now firmly in Manchester City’s favour. The top four positions have all been filled with Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa joining City in next season’s competition.
The relegation slots have effectively also been taken up with Burnley and Sheffield United all condemned to their fate and Luton requiring a highly unlikely 13-goal swing in their favour to stay up at the expense of Nottingham Forest.
That should make for a fun finale as clubs around the division attempt to give their supporters a send-off to savour ahead of a long summer break. Thankfully, we’ll have the Euros and the Olympics to keep us occupied during the Premier League’s hiatus. We hope that you’ve found these tips useful over the past nine months and will see you again in August when the fantasy fun returns.
The Gameweek 38 deadline is at 2.30pm on Sunday 19 May.
i‘s top scorers in Gameweek 37
- Josko Gvardiol – 27 points vs Fulham/Spurs: The Croatian enjoyed some capital comforts over the past week with two goals and a clean sheet at Craven Cottage followed by another shutout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Gvardiol has averaged 11 points per game in his last six appearances.
- Erling Haaland – 15 points vs Fulham/Spurs: The most popular captain of the gameweek by a mile frustrated his owners in the first of City’s matches, but made amends in the second with both goals in that vital win over Spurs.
- Cole Palmer – 14 points vs Nottingham Forest/Brighton: An assist in Chelsea’s first game followed by a goal in the second took Palmer 12 points clear at the top of the FPL leaderboard heading into Gameweek 38. It’s remarkable to think he was just £5m back in Gameweek 1…
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Gameweek 38 fixtures
Sunday 19 May
*All matches kick-off at 4pm
- Arsenal vs Everton
- Brentford vs Newcastle
- Brighton vs Man Utd
- Burnley vs Nottingham Forest
- Chelsea vs Bournemouth
- Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa
- Liverpool vs Wolves
- Luton vs Fulham
- Man City vs West Ham
- Sheffield Utd vs Spurs
Michael Olise (Crystal Palace)
Crystal Palace have been flying since Oliver Glasner took charge at the end of February and are probably playing Aston Villa at a good time considering Unai Emery’s side are now assured of Champions League football for next season.
The fact that Villa’s official X account was posting pictures of champagne-soaked celebrations on Tuesday night suggests the players are already in party mode, as of course they have every right to be.
Palace certainly have the firepower to take advantage of any hangovers in the Villa ranks and in Michael Olise have one of the most in-form midfielders in the division. The 22-year-old has scored four goals and registered two assists in his last four starts.
On the one hand, it has been a frustrating campaign for Olise who has struggled with hamstring injuries, but on the other, he has already enjoyed the most prolific scoring season of his career with 10 goals in only 18 matches. He looks like a great final day punt.
Price: £5.7m Points: 119 Gameweek 38 fixture: Aston Villa (h)
Josko Gvardiol (Man City)
Unusually, given the final gameweek of the season is usually packed full of goals, a defender is currently top of the most bought charts in FPL.
Josko Gvardiol managed to emulate Ben White’s efforts from a few weeks ago by scoring twice and keeping two clean sheets in a double gameweek to claim 27 points from Manchester City’s wins against Fulham and Spurs.
The 22-year-old has made a welcome habit of racking up big scores of late. Since Gameweek 33, a period that spans six City matches, Gvardiol has totalled 66 points which includes individual scores of 12, 15 and 21 points.
City have been extremely solid of late, recording four clean sheets in their last five league games, and with the title champagne still on ice, they will be looking to stay compact one last time against West Ham on Sunday.
Price: £5.1m Points: 121 Gameweek 38 fixture: West Ham (h)
Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
Banking on Arsenal to win their final fixture of a Premier League season is a pretty safe bet considering the last time they failed to do so was a 2-2 draw against Fulham in May 2011. Since then, they have won 12 in a row including 5-0 against Wolves last season and 5-1 against this weekend’s opponents Everton the year before.
With Arsenal needing to win and Everton guaranteed to finish either 15th or 16th, everything points towards another routine home win at the Emirates. It looks like an ideal gameweek to have a full complement of Arsenal assets in your starting XI.
It’s always fun to take a gamble on a player you wouldn’t ordinarily own on the final day, and Leandro Trossard is a great differential worth considering given he is owned by less than three per cent of managers.
The Belgian has been preferred to Gabriel Martinelli of late, starting in each of Arsenal’s last six games, and he has justified Mikel Arteta’s faith by scoring four goals in that period.
Price: £6.5m Points: 136 Gameweek 38 fixture: Everton (h)
Mo Salah (Liverpool)
Yes, they may have had a little tiff in east London recently, but Mo Salah and Jurgen Klopp have been brilliant for one another over the past seven years.
Salah has scored more goals (211 and counting) for Liverpool than any other player in the Klopp era and the outgoing boss has played a significant role in Salah’s evolution from a highly rated winger to a world-class superstar.
Given their shared history, it’s difficult to envisage Salah not producing a goal or two in Klopp’s Anfield finale. The fact that Liverpool’s opponents Wolves have won just one of their last five games makes that prospect seem even likelier.
The captaincy debate is wide open this weekend with Erling Haaland set to face competition from Bukayo Saka and the rest of Arsenal’s attackers. But don’t discount Salah producing the goods on an emotional occasion.
Price: £13.4m Points: 205 Gameweek 38 fixture: Wolves (h)
Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)
Those FPL managers who invested in Nicolas Jackson ahead of the first of Chelsea’s two double gameweeks in 35 have been rewarded handsomely with the striker hitting a purple patch of form at just the right time.
Jackson has scored in three games running – managing four in total – to help the Blues beat Spurs, West Ham and Nottingham Forest ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Brighton.
Although the Senegal international has been heavily criticised at points this term, his numbers are actually pretty encouraging. He has scored 14 goals (none of which have been penalties) and registered six assists in 29 games.
You’ would expect there to be goals in Chelsea’s final fixture considering they are pushing for a Europa League place and are in action against a Bournemouth side that can afford to play with freedom having already enjoyed their best ever top flight season.
Price: £7m Points: 138 Gameweek 38 fixture: Bournemouth (h)