Double gameweek 33 will be a popular free hit week for those who did not set up for a bench boost. In this article, we break down the top picks from the doubling sides and put together a free hit draft based on these options.
Teams and Players to Target on Free Hit
Manchester City:
The Blues host league leaders Arsenal before an away trip to strugglers Burnley. With the league title firmly in their sights, the triple up is the right play.
Erling Haaland (£14.4m) will be captained by most, primarily for the Burnley fixture, against whom he scored 16 points last time around. However, his rout of Liverpool in the cup aside, he has been quiet and peripheral of late. In his last five, he has just one assist to his name. For those chasing, going against the big Norwegian could be a viable play, but it is not for the faint of heart. Burnley have been by far and away the worst defence in the league and could be there for the taking.
Nico O’Reilly (£5.0m) came off at the weekend with a potential hamstring injury. If the news is positive, there might not be a better pick in the game this week. The young left back has four goals in his last five starts and looks like a real threat. He is often stationed in the box and is a huge presence for City.
Antoine Semenyo (£8.2m) has the upside to do very well in the double. His output and minutes for City have been very assured since his arrival, where he has outperformed even Haaland. No team has conceded more key passes down their left side than Burnley, either.
Chelsea:
Having been on the receiving end of a thrashing in gameweek 32, Chelsea and Rosenior will be looking to put things right against Manchester United and Brighton in the double.
Cole Palmer (£10.5m) is looking sharp and, importantly, fully fit at last. Man United looked very fragile defensively in gameweek 32 and will now also be without Martinez in the backline. Brighton might be a sterner test, but Palmer did score four against the Seagulls not too long ago. With penalties and some set pieces in his locker, you can never rule out Cole Palmer. He is a viable captain option for those brave enough to go against Haaland.
Joao Pedro (£7.7m) has been quiet in the last few, but in his run between gameweek 22 and 29, he scored eight goals and provided six assists. His upside is enhanced as he nearly always gets bonus points whenever he does return. He has 28 on the season already. Pedro looks to be one of the standouts on free hit, with the most shots in the league in the last six.
Bournemouth:
With a trip to a faltering Newcastle side and a visit from Leeds, Bournemouth have one of the more appealing sets of fixtures for gameweek 33.
Marcus Tavernier (£5.4m) is the talisman in this Bournemouth team and has some penalty share. He reliably plays 90 minutes every week and takes a lot of their set pieces. Aside from the Arsenal game in gameweek 32, his underlying numbers have been strong recently. With two bites at the cherry in gameweek 33, maybe this is where the returns start to flow.
Alex Scott (£5.0m) has really been going from strength to strength this season since coming into the Bournemouth starting XI. He is reliable for defcon, shares some set pieces with Tavernier, and has quietly been ticking along with some positive underlying data. His goal in the Arsenal game was just reward for how he has been playing.
Marcos Senesi (£5.2m) and James Hill (£4.2m) have been defcon kings at the back for the Cherries. While the defensive numbers have been far from convincing, they have managed three clean sheets in their last six. Both have provided multiple assists from centre-back this season.
Brighton:
With three wins on the bounce, Brighton find themselves 9th and pushing for a European spot. They face relegation candidates, Spurs and then Chelsea in the double.
Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m) has been a key part of Brighton’s defensive improvements recently. Like Bournemouth, the Seagulls have kept three clean sheets in their last six. Unlike their south-coast counterparts, Brighton have been good value for these clean sheets. They conceded less than one xG in five of their last six. Verbruggen has a save point in five of these and got two bonus points in gameweek 32.
Van Hecke (£5.3m) has also been a key figure in Brighton’s improvements at the back. He has the added bonus of defcon in his locker, having returned the two extra points four times in the last six weeks.
Pascal Groß (£5.5m) offers great creativity in this Brighton side and chips in with the odd defcon as well. The German is Brighton’s main set-piece taker and has provided three assists in his last six outings. With a high floor, he is a strong pick for the double gameweek.
Leeds:
Facing Wolves on the back of their 4-0 defeat, and Bournemouth, Leeds also have a kind double gameweek as they continue their survival push.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.6m) is in a poor run of form, but looked excellent against Man United in gameweek 32, racking up 1.3xG from five shots. His performance lacked the finishing touch, as has often been the case in his career, but what he brings to this Leeds team cannot be questioned. With a tempting double and potentially penalties, Calvert-Lewin offers a budget forward option in a limited pool of strikers.
Jaka Bijol (£3.9m) has started the last three and returned defcon in all of them. Leeds have also kept two clean sheets in this time, which reflects well on Bijol’s performances. With everything still to play for, you can expect that Leeds will continue to put up resolute performances until safety is guaranteed.
Pascal Struijk (£4.3m) is another solid option in the Leeds backline, with slightly less defcon potential than Bijol, perhaps. For someone chasing upside, Jayden Bogle (£4.4m) is given license to attack from wing-back and put up 0.89 xA and an assist in gameweek 32.
Gameweek 33 Free Hit Draft
