Fantasy Premier League: Rotation risks and nailed-on Double Gameweek picks

Double Gameweeks are the most enjoyable part of the season for the majority of Fantasy Premier League managers but we need to tread carefully with them.

We should aim to get as many Double Gameweek players as possible but also be wary of rotation. Naturally in a double, the teams who play twice will do so in the space of a few days, therefore the chances of rotation are much higher.

This is why it’s best to fill our teams with as many nailed-on options as possible. Here we will look at some popular players who are potential rotation risks and options that are fairly safe for Double Gameweek 34.

Liverpool

Liverpool are one of the top two sides to invest in for Double Gameweek 34 but are the team with the most rotation-risk players.

Darwin Nunez (£7.7m), Luis Diaz (£7.7m), Andrew Robertson (£6.4m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.4m) and Diogo Jota (£7.9m) are all great FPL picks but none of them are nailed-on to start both games.

However, with Liverpool being one of the best attacking and defensive sides in the league there is scope to take more of a gamble with their assets as they head to Fulham and then Everton.

Nunez, Diaz and Jota all being fit means they will all take minutes off each other but I still think there is a good chance that the former two get a reasonable amount of game time. Jota, meanwhile, is just back from injury so it seems unlikely he will get two starts.

Robertson and Alexander-Arnold are undoubtedly first-team regulars in their respective positions. However, the Scotsman has Konstantinos Tsimikas (£4.4m) as competition and Joe Gomez (£4.6m) can deputise there, as well as at right-back. With the two first-choice full-backs not long back from injury there is no guarantee they start two games in Double Gameeweek 34. Both are explosive assets though, and some players are worth risking. In my opinion they fall under that category.

Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have recently returned from injury (Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Alternatively, Mohamed Salah (£13.5m), Virgil van Dijk (£6.6m), and Alisson (£5.7m) are the safest options and I’d be very surprised if they don’t start both games in Gameweek 34.

Arsenal

Arsenal are the other title-chasing side with a double incoming, comprising of a trip to Wolves on Saturday evening and a home game with Chelsea on Tuesday. The biggest rotation spots in the Arsenal team are the full-backs.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.0m) and Jakub Kiwior (£4.3m) will compete for the left-back position and because the latter played well in Zinchenko’s absence while he was injured there is every chance he starts one of the two matches. There’s now the complication of Takehiro Tomiyasu (£4.5m) having played there for Arsenal in their midweek Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich. The Japan international can also deputise for Ben White (£6.0m) at right-back but that seems less likely at present, especially with White’s increased importance to Arsenal’s attacking build-up.

Central defenders Gabriel (£5.4m) and William Saliba (£5.9m) are the most secure Arsenal defenders without a doubt.

In attack, I think Kai Havertz (£7.4m) has built enough credit to make him nailed-on for Double Gameweek 34 at least. He has started every league game since Gameweek 23 and since Gameweek 25 he has scored five goals and recorded five assists. No player in the game has scored more FPL points (70) than him during this period.

Havertz has started every league game since Gameweek 23 (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) and Martin Odegaard (£8.6m) are as reliable as they come and barring any niggles or injuries should start both games.

Crystal Palace

Eberechi Eze (£6.0m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.0m) are the most reliable starters from the Crystal Palace attack. They will be highly owned whether you are Free Hitting or not, and rightly so.

Eze is on penalties, has both goal and assist threat while Mateta is Palace’s main centre-forward now — he has started every league game since Gameweek 17, scoring six goals in that time.

Michael Olise (£5.6m) should also start both games, against West Ham and Newcastle, but is likely not to play as many minutes as the aforementioned two. He has had an injury-plagued season and you imagine manager Oliver Glasner will be slightly cautious with him.

From their defence, Daniel Munoz (£4.5m), Tyrick Mitchell (£4.5m) and Joachim Andersen (£4.7m) are all assured starters and have attacking threat too. They are all decent options for those on a Free Hit this week.

Wolves

Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.8m) would have been a popular pick this week if he had started last gameweek but he didn’t recover in time from his calf injury picked up in Gameweek 32 against West Ham.

It’s probably too risky to opt for the Algerian now as his expected minutes have taken a nosedive.

I am confident that Matheus Cunha (£5.6m) and Pablo Sarabia (£4.8m) start both games and they are the only two Wolves attackers I would be interested in.

Hwang Hee-chan (£5.4m) is the best Wolves attacker when they’re all fit but the South Korean is fresh back from an injury. He played 31 minutes against Nottingham Forest last gameweek after being out since early March.

If you still own him he is worth keeping but if you’re on a Free Hit or want to bring in a Wolves attacker then Sarabia or Cunha are the best bets.

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Bournemouth

Dominic Solanke (£7.2m) is as nailed-on as they come. He has started every league game this season while also playing the most minutes (2,853) of all midfielders and forwards. The 26-year-old is also enjoying his best-ever season in the Premier League with 17 goals scored.

He is one of the most talismanic players in the league — scoring 36 per cent of his team’s goals — so even though Bournemouth’s double isn’t the most attractive on paper he is still a fantastic option for Double Gameweek 34. Andoni Iraola’s team play Aston Villa (A) and Wolves (A) this week.

Solanke is in great form (Lee Parker – CameraSport/Getty Images)

He is the only Bournemouth attacker I would go for in the double and if I was on a Free Hit this week, I would avoid their defence. From their defenders, Illia Zabarnyi (£4.5m) is the only one who is truly nailed-on to start both games, while Marcos Senesi (£4.4m) is the exciting pick as he’s the defender with the most attacking threat. He has three goals and four assists this term.

The table below ranks the most popular players from the teams embarking on a Double Gameweek — hopefully this gives you a handy overview ahead of a crucial week in FPL.

(Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)