FPL Blank Gameweek 34 | The full briefing.

The Stuff You Should Know

🚨 Blank Gameweek 34’s deadline is Saturday, 26th April, 11:00 BST.

❌ Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Man City and Arsenal will not play.

♾ Lots of engaged managers are playing their Free Hit this week.

👀 Man United, Spurs and Chelsea all have big semi-finals in Europe after Blank Gameweek 34, which might mean rotation.

📩 Sign up to the 1440 newsletter for free and get their free, unbiased news briefing every day.

Keep reading for multiple Free Hit teams you can steal.

Alright?

Here’s real-life footage of us looking for the positives from Double Gameweek 33 (The Professor is the one in the white shirt):

Onwards and blankwards.

Whilst some managers dread blank gameweeks, others see a big opportunity.

You see, every league is dirtied by the lingering cobwebs of teams that were abandoned by their managers back when we still thought Rico Lewis was the answer to all our problems. These dead teams find a way to cling on - like a horse that’s lost its jockey in the Grand National.

In this regard, we should be thankful for Blank Gameweek 34. It’s a feather duster, sweeping away derelict teams and finally putting them to rest.

There’s no escaping the reaper. But with smart chip usage and some fantasy strategy, we can avoid its keen grasp for another week.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of Blank Gameweek 34: the biggest blank of the season.

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Blank Gameweek 34’s Fixtures

Some facts about Free Hitting this week.

Summary for the Lazy: Lots of managers have already spaffed their Free Hit.

It’s easy to think that everyone is playing their Free Hit this week. But that’s simply not the case.

• 33% of the top 100k have already used their Free Hit chip.

• 48.3% of the top 1m have already used their Free Hit chip.

Don’t be fooled into thinking you need to pick a squad of hipster differentials on your Free Hit to get a green arrow. In reality, you could pick the most obvious, AI-generated template Free Hit team and still get a big green arrow if the players perform.

Likewise, if you’ve already used your Free Hit, you’re in pretty good company. Don’t be disheartened if you’re not fielding 11 great picks this week either.

So - what’s the best Free Hit strategy?

Free Hit strategy 101.

Summary for the Lazy: If you’re playing your Free Hit, you’re playing a slightly different game.

For 37 gameweeks of the season, FPL means incrementally improving our squad. As such, we’re forced to think in the medium to long term.

But for 1 gameweek a season, we have to change our outlook. All the good stuff we usually bang on about - patience, long-term holds, captaincy rotations, strong benches - a lot of it can be chucked out.

The Free Hit means maximising your points for one particular gameweek. As such, we’re essentially playing a game of Daily Fantasy. Let’s talk about that.

What is Daily Fantasy?

Daily Fantasy is a form of fantasy football where gameweeks are played in isolation. In other words, your team and your points tally reset every gameweek rather than every season.

This breeds a different type of gameplay. Whilst FPL rewards patience, forward-planning and restraint, Daily Fantasy rewards an ability to identify and capitalise on flash-in-the-pan opportunities.

The key to a good Free Hit

It comes down to a simple question: What do you think is going to happen this gameweek?

If, for example, you think Liverpool are going to batter Spurs, but might concede in the process, you should be investing heavily in Liverpool players who regularly get goal involvements. If you think Wolves will keep a clean sheet against Leicester in a low-scoring game, you are strategically obliged to double or triple-up on their defenders.

Shape your Free Hit squad around the outcomes you predict. Pick the players most likely to benefit from these outcomes.

Three under-the-radar players for your Free Hit.

All three of the newly promoted and soon-to-be relegated teams are playing this gameweek, which means there are some pretty juicy fixtures. Look at the Free Hit template and you’re likely to see:

• 2/3 Wolves players (they have Leicester at home)

• 3 Newcastle players (they have Ipswich at home)

• 2/3 Fulham players (they have Southampton away)

• Plenty of Liverpool players (they have Spurs at home, and will win the league at Anfield with a win or draw)

All of this is totally reasonable, and, between those four teams, you could comfortably make a starting 11.

The problem, of course, is that everyone playing a Free Hit is thinking exactly the same thing. Here’s a composite of 100 Free Hit drafts by top managers, created by FPLMate. The narrative might’ve shifted in a few areas since it was published, but it gives you an idea of where the collective FPL brain is at:

What if Ipswich have one of their good games? What if Leicester decide to shut up shop? In an effort to throw in some custard creams amongst the digestives, here are three good players we’re not seeing much of in the infinite number of Free Hit drafts currently in circulation:

1) Jarrod Bowen (away at Brighton)

Bowen’s 5 goal contributions in his last 8 Premier League games mean he’s more than capable of returning against an out-of-form Brighton, who actually have the fifth-worst expected goals allowed (xGA) in the league over the past five gameweeks (even worse than Southampton’s).

2) Yoanne Wissa (away at Nottingham Forest)

Fun fact: Nottingham Forest have the fourth-worst xGA in 2025. Only the teams-who-shall-not-be-named are leakier.

Meanwhile, Wissa is the fifth-highest scoring forward in the game and he has the third-highest expected goal contributions amongst forwards this season too. If Danny Welbeck is in the conversation, surely Yoanne Wissa ought to be too?

3) Raul Jimenez (away at Southampton)

It would be unsurprising to see Jimenez surge in popularity as we approach the deadline. Rodrigo Muniz is injured for the Southampton game, which means Jimenez is one of the most likely starters this weekend. An attacker starting against Southampton? Go on then.

Below you’ll find a squad of 15 slept-on picks, too.

Some passable Free Hit squads.

In this section, you’ll find two Free Hit drafts.

The first is the official LazyFPL draft. Whilst it’s not The Professor’s team, it’s endorsed by The Professor and our wider team of FPL experts. It also factors in a poll we conducted among our premium members and their picks.

The second draft is a differential team. We don’t advise you go for it. In essence, it’s 15 decent differentials that most managers aren’t considering. Maybe you’ll be intrigued by a couple of ‘em.

1) The Official LazyFPL Free Hit Squad:

We’ve given Justin Kluivert the nod over Jacob Murphy, primarily because of Mike Tindall’s comments after the last Newcastle game, in which he described the squad as “tired”. With Anthony Gordon fresh and vying for a start, there’s an element of risk for Murphy, despite his excellent recent form.

Remember: this team is full of popular Free Hit players, but this particular combination will still be a huge differential this week. It’s yours if you want to steal it.

2) Differential United - the non-template squad:

Again, unless you really enjoy stress, we’re not recommending that you go for this.

Beyond Blank Gameweek 34.

With all of this excitement, it’s easy to forget that there are gameweeks after the blank.

Ben Crellin released an updated fixture chart last week, giving us a better idea of which teams are the most likely to have a Double Gameweek in Gameweek 36 (and subsequently blank in Gameweek 37:

This is worth keeping top of mind, particularly if you’re not on a Free Hit this week. Speaking of which…

What if you’re not on a Free Hit?

Plenty of you won’t be playing a Free Hit this week.

You might be like my Dad, for example, who accidentally played his Free Hit instead of his Wildcard a few weeks ago.*

But if you’re a regular Lazy reader, you’ve planned for this gameweek ahead of time. Your job is to cover the players that most Free Hit teams will include. Here’s the spine that will form the vast majority of Free Hit sides:

GK: Sa/Leno
DEF: Ait Nouri, Sessegnon
MID: Palmer, Mbuemo, Salah (c)
FWD: Cunha, Isak

Even managers like my Dad have a shot if they can cover most of these.

Looking beyond Blank Gameweek 34, here are some guidelines:

• Hold your Newcastle players - they won’t blank between now and the end of the season.

• Target teams like Brentford and Fulham, who have good fixtures this week and also won't blank this season.

• Bournemouth may look tempting this week, but they have a 43% of blanking in Gameweek 37 (as Crellin’s chart illustrates).

*The more you reflect on this error and its ramifications, the more you can start to appreciate why it ruined a decent chunk of his holiday.

The best captain for Blank Gameweek 34.

Mohamed Salah will be the most popular captain for active and non-active managers alike, but Free Hit weeks are interesting for captaincy because those playing it have the pick of literally any player in the league.

As such, just like in a public swimming pool, we often see armbands on a wide array of weirdos. Everyone from Strand Larsen to Antonee Robinson is being floated, but that’s ultimately what they are: Floaters.

When the chips are down, those contemplating a renegade pick still tend to sink to the level of the common manager eventually. And the common manager is picking Mohamed Salah.

Our top three captaincy differentials:

1) Cole Palmer. At home against Everton. Surely due a haul soon?

2) Raul Jimenez. With Rodrigo Muniz confirmed out for Blank Gameweek 34, Jimenez is as nailed as a player can be against the worst team in the league (and, possibly, the history of the Premier League).

3) Trent Alexander-Arnold. The narrative here is quite seductive. Will Trent score the goal that secures Liverpool the Premier League?

The Professor has entered the top 100k for the first time this season after an 87-point haul in Double Gameweek 33.

This week, he’s playing his Free Hit.

In crucial gameweeks, we keep The Professor’s team under lock and key so that only LazyFPL Premium subscribers can see it. Luckily, if you visit his last newsletter and join premium, you’ll be able to see his Free Hit team straight away if you want.

As a premium member, you’ll also get access to our WhatsApp community, ad-free lazy and loads of other perks.

The Key Stats for Blank Gameweek 34

Note: Transfer numbers don’t include players being purchased on a Free Hit. 

Other stuff we found interesting.

1. Southampton and Leicester have been given a 1 rating on FPL’s fixture difficulty scale. Man United and Spurs are a 2.

2. Bryan Mbeumo becomes the second player in the game to reach 200 points.

3. Leicester have been relegated since the last newsletter.

Whilst there are fewer fixtures this weekend, Blank Gameweeks are still exciting in their own, sadistic way.

It’s kind of like how one might describe an ultramarathon as exciting: It’s going to be pretty gruelling throughout, but by the end, you might just feel like you’ve accomplished something.

See you next Thursday evening.

Stay lazy,

The LazyFPL Team.