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 36 Perfect XI
So, what is Perfect XI? Similar to 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.
DGW36 Preface
GW36 is all about your appetite for risk and where you fall in the table currently. Do you chase the highest upside options that aren't very likely to start 2 games or play 150+ minutes? Or do you take the good, but not great options that are near locks for 2 starts and 150+ minutes. That risk-reward tradeoff is ever present but particularly during this crucial late-season DGW. We'll lay out some options on both sides of that predicament.
GK: Ederson
Two games and two 50%+ chances at clean sheets this week for Ederson. He faces Newcastle at home and Wolves away, who have been on an awful run and forgotten how to score altogether. Limited downside, high upside, this is about as good as it gets for a PXI goalie pick.
Pivot: Edouard Mendy
DEF: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo, Marcos Alonso
It looks like standard procedure with these 3 guys, but things are a bit trickier than they appear. On paper, Chelsea may have the best matchups in Leeds and Wolves, but questions remain over whether James or Alonso will start two. I'm opting for Alonso here as his starting record recently has been a bit better than Reece, but its really a tossup. Trent and Cancelo appear to be much safer picks to start 2, but Joe Gomez has seen effective time at RB recently and Kyle Walker may or may not be healthy to lineup across from Zinchenko or Ake. Still, I think Cancelo and TAA are practically locks in every lineup unless they do not start their first game. Robbo is an equally quality pick if he was to start 2, but a lot of minutes recently has many doubting whether he'll start 2 or Tsimikas may steal 1. Rudiger is likely a safer option to start 2 if you want to go that route. These guys are all studs, not a lot of need to justify them, but the matchups are good and their production is among the best.
Pivots: Reece James, Andrew Robertson, Antonio Rudiger
MID: Bukayo Saka, Kevin De Bruyne, Mason Mount, James Maddison
Midfield is an interesting one this week. I think Saka is practically the only DGW team talisman who's guaranteed to go two, so he's the first name on my team sheet. He's 53% likely to score across 2 and 43% to assist anytime. Next up is KDB who may or may not get 2 starts but is the most productive mid per minute and will almost definitely get 110+ minutes. He has the highest assist odds across 2 at 58% and highest goal odds for a Fantrax mid at 56%. Mount is the most consistently picked Chelsea attacker, and despite not being in the best form (him or Chelsea) I think his upside (and floor) across 2 decently likely starts is a good one to chase. Maddison may be my riskiest pick of the week, in terms of likelihood to start 2. Leicester have rotated a ton recently, but the risk calculation here is that Leicester has bowed out of Europe, and will field most of their big names for the rest of the season. Plus, they have the best attacking matchups of the week in Norwich and Everton. If Maddison does go 2, he's one of my favorite picks of the week. The City mids (Foden, Grealish, Bilva) offer some higher risk, higher reward plays but are less likely to start 2. Raphinha and Martinelli are far more likely to start 2 but facer tougher matchups and lower ceilings.
Pivots: Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Youri Tielemans, Raphinha, Gabriel Martinelli
FWD: Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Eddie Nketiah
Forwards are harder than you'd think this week. The Liverpool lads are the seemingly obvious choice but with 4 or 5 attackers for 3 spots and no obvious pecking order (outside of perhaps Salah up top) each pick comes with some level of risk. I've decided Salah is a must, and least likely to be benched. He has the highest anytime goal chances at 71% vs Spurs + Villa. Mane is a riskier pick, and very likely could be benched for Jota or Diaz in 1, but I'm betting on Klopp not messing around and trusting his more established names in the title chase. Finally, my most unorthodox pick of the weekend is Nketiah. He faces Spurs and Leeds and has 56% chance to score at least once and 29% to assist. He could have better matchups but is on a bit of a run and proved his ghost point scoring abilities vs West Ham last week with 13. The Arsenal attack is clicking, and even just the Leeds matchup makes him viable this week. I expect a hard fought battle in the derby and plenty of offense in a back and forth affair. If you're not an Eddie believer like myself, you can risk a City option like Sterling, who didn't start in the UCL, or Jesus who's on a heater. You can't really have much confidence in any starting 2, but if you want a safer route you can pick Anthony Gordon who gets Leicester and Watford in must-win games for Everton, or Harry Kane who's hot but has tough matchups vs Arsenal and Liverpool. I'm fading Spurs entirely this week personally.
Pivots: Harry Kane, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling, Dioga Jota, Anthony Gordon
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