Final Word Gameweek 37 | Supercoach EPL trades, captains, PODs

Well, last week did not go as planned, although it could have been much worse.

Pep Guardiola wound back the clock and brought back his favourite casino game rendition of ‘Pep Roulette’.

If you have never heard this term used before, well, lucky you.

I think it was FPL managers who actually brought it to use to describe Pep Guardiola’s very unpredictable rotation of his Manchester City side week to week.

Of course, he waited for the second game of their double gameweek to toy with us.

Haaland, Cherki, Doku, and O’Reilly were all amongst the names benched for City’s second fixture of the week against Palace.

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My apologies for not flagging the possibility of this with their upcoming FA Cup Final this weekend, but I really did not think Pep would rotate that drastically.

In a way, it kind of saved me from a captaincy disaster, though, as I went a POD route, captaining Cherki over Haaland.

After the game vs Brentford, Haaland was sitting on 21 and Cherki 7, I think.

Thanks to some great fortune, Haaland never made it on the field vs Palace, and Cherki picked up an assist in his short 10 minute cameo, which brought his score to a respectable 16 for the week.

In a week I chose to attack in the hope of a big rank rise, I was disappointed to drop a singular rank to now sit at 87th overall.

Anyway, enough rambling on about last week, let’s take a look at the gameweek ahead, the penultimate round of the EPL Supercoach season.

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Trade Targets

I am out of trades, but for those who aren’t, let’s go through a few guys I would be targeting for the last two gameweeks.

Arsenal have one and a half hands on the trophy now; the only teams lying in their way have a combined single Premier League win in the last two months.

They should be the most motivated side in the league over the next two games, and nerves aside, they should dominate both Burnley and Crystal Palace.

I would be targeting Arsenal players.

Most managers already have Gabriel and Raya for the clean sheet points; you could even add Saliba if you are confident they won’t concede in either of the games.

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Declan Rice is definitely the most reliable option if you are searching for a midfielder.

His form has dropped off a bit from a Supercoach perspective, as he hasn’t picked up a goal contribution in his last 7 games.

But his floor remains high, so if he can jag an attacking stat or two, you are cashing in on a massive haul of points.

If searching for a forward, I think Bukayo Saka is your guy.

He is their star boy, and he will be as hungry as anyone to ensure Arsenal win the League.

He is also the most nailed-on out of all their forwards, with Arteta liking to rotate their forward options.

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If you want more of a POD, I also love a Trossard or Gyokeres play if named to start.

Speaking of motivated sides with something big to play for, at the other end of the spectrum, you have the relegation battle.

The last relegation spot is between Tottenham and West Ham, and both sides have okay fixtures to end the season.

Tottenham have a severely out-of-form Chelsea side this week, followed by Everton at Home in GW38.

Pedro Porro is my pick of the Spurs boys.

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He has been on fire as of late, with a 5-week average of 12.8 and a low score of 9.

What may be more impressive is that in this time, he has had just one attacking contribution and one clean sheet, showing off his impressive scoring floor.

Bowen is obviously the man at the Hammers, while Mavropanos is the pick of the defenders.

Another team I like the look of for the two weeks is Everton, with fixtures of Sunderland (H) and Tottenham (A).

Tarkowski is a very popular option this week, coming off a monster 29-point performance, and I can’t knock the trade in.

However, as of late, Everton games have involved plenty of goals, with an average of 3.8 goals per match over their last six.

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For that reason, I love a POD punt on Garner, Dewsbury-Hall, or Ndiaye.

If you are searching for upside, Dewsbury-Hall is your guy.

He has quietly been on fire as of late, with an impressive 5-week average of 11.

But this form isn’t new; in fact, KDH has scored 12+ in 5 of his last 9 outings.

I will mention a couple of more guys, both midfielders who have proved themselves as Supercoach studs throughout the season, now standing as the 4th and 6th highest averaging players of the season, respectively.

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Bruno Guimarães is back fit and healthy, and has favourable fixtures to finish the season in West Ham (H) and Fulham (A).

He is coming off two double-digit scores, but let’s not forget his form before his injury.

Bruno G was averaging a ridiculous 17.2 points in the six games before his injury.

Another POD play with plenty of upside.

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The last guy I will touch on is Anton Stach, who has been a revelation for Leeds this season.

Also, recently fresh back from injury, his 9.9 season average speaks for itself.

With fixtures of Brighton (H) and West Ham (A) to finish the season, look for Stach to finish strong.

Captaincy Talk

With no teams on the double this week, captaincy picks are wide open, and for those that are out of trades, a POD captain could be the way to go.

Erling Haaland is currently the most popular pick, but I don’t love the matchup against Bournemouth.

I still expect City to win, but the Cherries have been so good this season, in fact, they have won 4 of their last 5 and haven’t lost since the 4th of January!!!

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Bruno Fernandes up against Forrest at Old Trafford is probably as safe a pick as you can make.

If you are looking for a different choice, Arsenal vs Burnley is about as tasty a matchup as you will get.

Gabriel and Saka are my favourite captaincy picks out of the Gunners players.

Harry Wilson also finds himself in a great matchup against Wolves this week, if you wanted to go there.