FPL Top Picks for Gameweek 29

We’ve arrived at another Blank game week in the 2023/24 FPL season, which means many fantasy teams are about to suffer.

Managers with chips (Free-Hit and/or Wildcard) will be forced to use them. Carefree ones without any chips will take hits to transfer in some players and hope their FPL managerial experience can make up for the lost points in subsequent weeks.

There are only four matches to pick from for game week 29 thanks to the FA Cup quarter-finals happening on the same weekend. Here is our analysis and best tips for the incoming blank game week.

Gameweek Analysis

The matches available for player selection in week 29 are Burnley vs Brentford, Luton Town vs Nottingham Forest, Fulham vs Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United vs Aston Villa.

Many managers will sigh with disappointment as half of the teams in action are the teams with the least selected players in this season’s FPL. Due to a number of teams participating in the FA Cup, there will only be four Premier League games this weekend.

Regardless, there are some interesting games which can provide good returns in this fixture lineup.

The most obvious one is West Ham vs Aston Villa at the London Stadium. Players to choose from include Ollie Watkins (£9.0m), Leon Bailey (£5.7m), Douglas Luiz (£5.7m), Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m) and Mohammed Kudus (£6.8m).

The reverse fixture in Gameweek 9 produced a goal fest which saw four of our recommended players picking up many points from that game.

Villa have slowed down a little in the past few weeks, but Watkins, Bailey and Luiz continue to be pivotal to their top-four charge this season. The Hammers, meanwhile, are picking up speed. The renaissance of Bowen, rewarded with an England call-up for this month’s EURO 2024 preparations, is also giving the team a lot of confidence, as well as David Moyes’ choice to include Mohammed Kudus more.

Unfortunately, only three players each can be selected from one real-life team into a fantasy team, or else many managers would hedge their bets on this one match.

Those who would max out on the allotted players per team for Villa and West Ham could be missing out on the potential of Burnley vs Brentford. The Bees defeated the Clarets 3 – 0 in London and are poised to do it again, thanks to Vincent Kompany’s team being the poorest in the league this season.

A good selection from this game is Neal Maupay (£4.9m), Brentford’s biggest goal threat. He has fewer chances to start over star striker Ivan Toney (£8.1m), so managers will be taking a risk on him. This makes Toney a better option for the Burnley game for managers who want to select only one of them. Those who bring in both of them could be swimming in points by the end of Gameweek 29.

Best FPL Players for Week 29

Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) – Aston Villa

Most managers probably have the England international in their squads already. Those who do not will definitely be making him their first transfer in.

He is currently the most transferred in player for the blank Gameweek 29 and for good reason too. With a form rating of 9.2, he is the top ranking striker out of the 109 strikers/forwards in the FPL database.

With 26 goal involvements (16 goals and 10 assists) for Villa in 28 Premier League games so far this season, he is also the most prominent player in the FPL this season having amassed the most points. Watkins has also created more big chances — nine — than any other forward in the league and is second only to top goalscorer Erling Haaland for both shots and shots on target.

Managers can also bring him in ahead of Gameweek 30 when Villa will face Wolverhampton Wanderers, who rank fifth in the league for xGC (expected goals conceded).

Son Heung-min (£9.9m) – Spurs

Spurs will take a small trip across London to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in Gameweek 29. Son Heung-min will be with them once again, as he has no fitness issues or international duties to attend to.

Many managers have counted on him for the longest time and were proven right after his three goal involvements against Aston Villa in Gameweek 28. Watkins and co were silenced at Villa Park thanks to the South Korean’s brilliance. Fulham are flying as high as they can at the moment, with the potential to fly higher. However, they do not yet have the ability to deal with Son, who will be supported by a resurgent James Maddison and Timo Werner, who has a point to prove since returning to the Premier League.

The absence of Richarlison due to injury is also a reason why Son will take centre stage in this game. He is also our pick for captain of the week.

Managers can also consider him for future game weeks, with Luton Town, West Ham and Nottingham Forest being Spurs’ next three fixtures.