Excerpted from last gameweek’s episode description: “We certainly hope that Double Gameweek 33, possibly the largest double gameweek of the season, ushers in more shout-outs than whisper-ins next week.” Update: that did not happen. Double Gameweek 33 was underwhelming, to say the least: the only attacking return from my entire attacking 7 came in the 83rd minute of the last game of gameweek, and Jakub Kiwior singlehandedly outscored my entire Bench Boost. It seems like every episode, our mantra is to keep looking ahead, and look ahead we shall do! Most FPL managers will be activating their Free Hit, so we take the bulk of this episode to logically work through the ideal Free Hit draft. There does appear to be a strong template, but nonetheless, there certainly are opportunities for mavericks to think outside the box (anyone fancy a Sessegnon-Robinson double-up?). Finally, in the Captaincy segment, we put on our divination hats—a voice in Jacob’s head calls out to him, "16, 13, … 6?" What could it possibly mean?

KEVIN DE BRUYNE! marco asensio. ANTOINE SEMENYO! chelsea fc. What’s this, you ask? A textual demonstration of our latest innovation, of course: the shout-out and whisper-in mini-segment, which will now be embedded within the Gameweek Review. We certainly hope that Double Gameweek 33, possibly the largest double gameweek of the season, ushers in more shout-outs than whisper-ins next week. For the bulk of this episode, we try to parse through the best assets from Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, and Manchester City. Though it seems like the obvious goal would be to triple up on both Arsenal and Man City, the more we talk about their players, the more uncertain we feel about them; we share a similar lack of enthusiasm when looking at Villa and Palace. Captaincy isn’t clear-cut either, with all of the options giving us reason to question their candidacy. Is it time to captain a defender again? Or David Raya, anyone? How about a cheeky little Jakub Kiwior?

Last gameweek’s average score, a measly 34 points, was the lowest one we’ve seen all season. Indeed, every single player more expensive than Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m) blanked, and the savior of the gameweek was Jacob Murphy (£5.1m). Thankfully, there are exciting times ahead: Newcastle and Crystal Palace have upcoming double gameweeks, which means we’ll be taking a deep dive into the best assets from those two teams (we also keep an eye out for the even bigger Double Gameweek 33 that’s just around the corner). Given that Salah has one fixture while Isak has two, it seems like the armband might finally swing away from Salah, who yet again seems to be going through a slump in performance in the spring. Perhaps he should try his hand (or rather, try his leg) at a weak-leg Nordic hamstring curl? Mo—if you’re listening, we here at the Fortress challenge you. Do you accept?

In the midst of what has undoubtedly been a prolonged lull in the game, Jacob and Jiayang look ahead to the final stretch of the season. Jacob wildcarded last gameweek, unfortunately to little success. How can FPL managers who still have their second Wildcard (like Jiayang!) take full advantage of it? Is this gameweek the best time to press the button? After this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-finals, the teams that double and blank in GW 33 and GW 34 will be finalized. A shockingly high number of teams with relevant FPL assets have favorable fixtures ahead, such as Arsenal, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Newcastle, and Nottingham Forest. Which players from these teams should we be targeting? Despite Arsenal’s, Liverpool’s, and Newcastle’s good fixtures, does an optimal triple-up even exist?

This may not be the first time you heard this, and it probably won’t be the last: the Assistant Manager chip has to go. Adding a manager adds another dimension to the game, overcomplicating it and distancing it from the beautifully simple yet also endlessly stimulating concept of picking the PLAYERS you think will get the most points. What do you mean, DAVID MOYES has scored the same amount of points as MO SALAH in their last four games? But alas, we are stuck with the chip this season at least, and therefore we must try to optimize our strategy given the conditions under which we’ve been placed. So, for those with Slot and Emery—stick or twist? If twisting, play it safe with Arteta or chase the table bonus with Glasner or McKenna? Perhaps I must begrudgingly admit that certain elements of the chip are rather well designed. But before we get to that, in our Gameweek 25 review, we laugh at Spurs and Man United and admire the new Egyptian Prince in town, though the reigning Egyptian King won’t be superseded anytime soon. As for captaincy—does Salah’s difficult fixture against City (though maybe we really need to stop thinking of City as all that difficult) open the door for another option? Dare I say, one that costs £4.6 million?

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Bournemouth have become somewhat of a juggernaut of late, and FPL managers have the tricky task of weighing three fantastic budget midfielders in Semenyo, Kluivert, and Ouattara. Each of them have their own pros and cons, but which one tickles your fancy? After discussing whether transferring Mbeumo in for Gordon is a good idea, we also devise a brand new, state-of-the-art metric (read: questionable numerical manipulation) to decide whether to play Gabriel against Man City or Ben Johnson against Southampton. But the question at the forefront of most managers’ minds is whether or not to triple captain Salah ahead of away trips to a high-flying Bournemouth and a resolute Everton. On top of the tricky fixtures on paper, it seems like Salah has, in classic Salah fashion, begun to tail off in the second half of the season. But given the new Assistant Manager chip—which will prevent managers from using any other chips while it’s in effect—is now simply the best time to get the Triple Captain “out of the way,” all things considered? The more we talk, the more we realize that it might not be possible to reach a satisfying conclusion…

As Liverpool and Everton’s double gameweek gets ever closer, we really drill into the question of who our third Liverpool asset should be—and note the use of the word “asset” instead of “player,” because that asset, other than Díaz, Gakpo, or Konaté, could very well be Arne Slot! As for Everton? Jacob brings up the point that if the “extra” Liverpool game didn’t exist, we wouldn’t be talking about Everton assets at all—and “extra” is in quotes because, well, is there really that much value added when the game is against Liverpool? This leads us to consider the more macro question: What is a game in hand, anyway? How would our perception change if Everton’s “original” fixture were against Liverpool and their “extra” fixture were against Leicester?

Welcome to the 100th episode of the FPL Fortress! Our first episode was released all the way back in March of 2021, back when we were sophomores in high school. Now, we’re sophomores in college, and we thought we’d take this moment to reflect on the past four years of FPL by creating a list of the 100 most memorable players that we’ve had the pleasure (or displeasure) of encountering. The list is split into four categories: all-timers, honest workers, trolls, value picks, and those who can only be described as “vibes.”

As we go through these players, we relive some of the memories from this most recent era of FPL history that have imprinted themselves irrevocably in our minds. Highlights include the legendary Wolves double over Manchester City in the 2019/2020 season, in which Adama Traoré humiliated the City defense; West Ham’s tactical shift to 3-4-3 in the 2020/2021 season to accommodate both Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Cresswell (who is actually featured heavily in our very first episode!); and the Mateta-Eze-Olise trio that burst into life at the end of the 2023/2024 season, creating perhaps the most unadulterated embodiment of pure vibes this sport has ever seen. Throughout the episode, Jacob recalls specific moments from specific games with shocking clarity—a performance that may even outclass Lord Lundstram’s 21-pointer in terms of sheer impressiveness.

Finally, we contemplate the continuity that FPL has provided us over the past four years, as well as the numerous ways in which it has enriched our lives. It’s been a real treat to produce the FPL Fortress for 100 episodes, and here’s to the next 100!

In this first episode of 2025, we go back in time ten years—Mikel Arteta is back on the menu! With the brand new Assistant Manager chip, FPL managers can earn points from having Mikel Arteta in their team again—though this time, it’s in a managerial capacity. (Speaking of Premier League managers who used to be players themselves, did you know that Andoni Iraola once played in a midfield trio with Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard at NYCFC, feeding balls through to Jack Harrison?) We take our first careful look at the chip, breaking down the two preeminent strategies: pick a manager from a top team and rely on victories by large margins, or pick a manager from a lower-ranked team and bet on upsets. The former is the safer option, while the latter is high risk, high reward. What whets your appetite? The answer may be more complicated than you think. And then there’s the question of when to play the chip—though playing it in a double gameweek gives you an extra fixture, it also precludes you from playing another chip. Much to consider…

In FPL, much like with the study of history, we must analyze the past to better inform our actions in the future. We must never repeat the same mistakes—such as buying Diogo Jota. He was part of a combined Liverpool and Arsenal sextuple-up that netted me a grand total of two returns. How glorious. In response, we conduct a thorough dissection of the best players to invest in for FPL managers who still have their first Wildcard. Who can replace our underwhelming Liverpool and Arsenal assets (read: liabilities)? We explore the potential of Crystal Palace players with an excellent upcoming fixture run, the possibility of an Ollie Watkins resurgence sans Jhon Durán, and the fearsomeness of an in-form Newcastle attack powered by Joelinton. The indefatigable Brazilian also prompts us to look into the prevalence of true ambipedality in the Premier League. Who knew Aaron Hickey and Santi Cazorla had so much in common?

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