The stuff you should know.
⏰ Gameweek 29’s deadline is Tuesday, 3rd March, 18:00 GMT ⏰
🙃 Erling Haaland’s availability for Gameweek 29 remains unknown. Pep has said he “will be back”, but the context makes it unclear. We’ll dig into it and tell you what to do.
🤕 Harry Wilson “twisted the ankle a bit”. It’s a wait-and-see.
🤦 Arteta: Declan Rice "asked to be substituted, and he is going to have to be checked and see if he’s available for Wednesday."
👀 Arteta on David Raya: “I don't know what happened...He had some niggles this week, so I don't know if he's related to that.”
🤢 Joachim Andersen was missing from Fulham’s Gameweek 28 squad due to illness.
🔴 Florian Wirtz is ruled out of Gameweek 29. Slot expects him back “somewhere next week”.
🧤 Caoimhín Kelleher missed Gameweek 28 due to the birth of his child (selfish, really). He’ll return this week.
Alright?
Gameweek 29 isn’t waiting around. The toilet seat is still warm from Gameweek 28’s clammy thighs, yet it’s already in situ, flicking through the tattered, piss-splattered pages of the 2002 Guinness Book of World Records that has somehow remained in the downstairs loo for the last 24 years.
Luckily, a former version of yourself had the intellectual acumen to subscribe to this newsletter, which means you’ll be ready for anything it might throw at you.
And whilst these short gaps between gameweeks are usually pretty devoid of significant news, the same can’t be said for the 47.5 hours between the end of Gameweek 28 and the start of Gameweek 29.
Sorry, Rod Stewart, but we’re going to have to talk about it.
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Gameweek 29’s fixtures.
Erling Haaland is MIA. What gives?
Lazy Summary: Haaland’s status is unclear. Keep him until we have more categorical news. Don’t captain him if he’s still a doubt come the deadline.
Erling Haaland was missing from Man City’s squad at the weekend. You might’ve noticed. Here’s what we know:
The timeline
First comments:
Pep Guardiola - always one to rush to the aid of FPL managers - was quick to quell any concern: he said he “doesn’t know” when the Norse God will return after the game.
Pep’s chat with the reporter:
In an exchange with a reporter that emerged later, he said the following:
Reporter: "What do you need to do to make the games easier where possible?"
Guardiola: "It was easier [vs Leeds] than the past, for the way we played, we controlled. It’s not easy when they make a lot of transitions, have chances, and they didn’t have much. We didn’t have much, but we built up. Some players are coming back, Jeremy [Doku] is back, Erling [Haaland] will be back. As much as you have players fit, we'll do it."
On first glance, it seems like Pep is suggesting that Haaland “will be back” for Gameweek 29. But he wasn’t talking about Gameweek 29 - he was talking generally about the season. All Pep has really said is that, at some point, Haaland will be back.
Haaland’s tweet:
Then, on Monday, Haaland shared this pic on socials:
Surely you don’t wear double denim if you’re injured?
It’s not exactly conclusive, but he’s not on crutches either. Anyone an expert in gait analysis?
What does it all mean?
At the time of sending, we don’t know whether Haaland will be fit for Gameweek 29 or not. It seems like a minor injury, based on Haaland’s pic and Pep’s hints, but that isn’t entirely clear either.
Which is fine, really.
Until we know anything categorical, we don’t advise you sell Haaland. Don’t bench him either. There’s still every chance he plays in Gameweek 29, and if he does, you’ll probably be glad you kept him.
But a captaincy feels too risky as things stand. Maybe Pep wants him to get a few minutes in his legs at the end of the match. Maybe he starts and is withdrawn at half-time for precautionary reasons. The armband needs reliability, and Haaland isn’t a reliable pick at the time of sending.
Keep Haaland. Heck, put him in your starting 11, too. Just make sure you have a solid bench option.
Strategy corner: The art of the dead-end.
Lazy summary: You might hear the phrase “dead-ending” in FPL circles more than usual. Read the lilac bit for a definition.
The world of FPL parlance is full of exotic, sexually-charged terminology, like “Nailed”, “Asset” and “Bench Fodder”.
Those will carry you in most pub chats. But what if you have the misfortune to find yourself stuck in a room full of FPL diehards?
You’ll definitely need to know what dead-ending means. Particularly at this time of the season. That’s right: Now is a great time to be thinking about dead-ending.
Simply put, dead-ending is when you make an FPL transfer(s) knowing that the player(s) will only be in your team for a limited amount of time.
It’s easier to illustrate with examples:
Let’s say you’re playing your Wildcard in Gameweek 32 (that’s when we’d recommend you play yours, btw). You might dead-end Raúl Jiménez into your team in Gameweek 31 (he plays Burnley at home), knowing you can Wildcard him out after that if you want.
Or perhaps it’s Gameweek 36. This is a great opportunity to dead-end some fruitier picks with good fixtures into your team, safe in the knowledge that you won’t have to deal with their mediocrity once the season is over.
So, dead-ending is only possible in the weeks before a Wildcard and the end of the season.
Cool, but why does this matter?
Dead-ending isn’t some hipster tactic for crackpots and doomsdayers. The best managers in the world will be thinking about dead-ending over the next few gameweeks, as the prospect of playing the second Wildcard comes into sharper focus.
It’s something that we’ll reference now and again, too.
Also - and this shouldn’t go unmentioned - dead-ending is fun. It’s a transfer without any long-term repercussions. A one-gameweek-stand. It’s one of the few times in the season where even the fusty, frigid pedants like us will allow ourselves a glance at the exposed ankle of a differential harlot.
Now you know. Welcome to the inner circle of FPL nerdery. Nope, we’re afraid there’s no escaping it now.
Chip butty.
Lazy summary: If you already know how you’re playing your chips, you can skip this part.
A quick reminder, for those who need it, of the official LazyFPL party line on chip usage:
Double Gameweek 26 - Possible Triple Captain
Blank Gameweek 31 - Use Free Transfers
Gameweek 32 - Pre-Bench Boost Wildcard
Double Gameweek 33 or 36 - Possible Bench Boost
Blank Gameweek 34 - Possible Free Hit
All of our resident pundits will adopt this approach, so it would be weird for us to recommend doing anything different.
The best captain for Gameweek 29.
Lazy summary: It’s Erling Haaland if we get news that he’s available. If we don’t, Bruno Fernandes just beats Hugo Ekitike for us.
There aren’t a huge number of great captaincy prospects in Gameweek 29. Everton host Burnley, and the other two promoted sides play one another.
It leaves Man City’s home fixture against Nottingham Forest, Man United’s visit to Newcastle and Liverpool’s trip to Wolves as the eyebrow raisers.
Erling Haaland’s fitness status is an inconvenience. As we explained in the dedicated section above, if we don’t get more definitive news about his availability for Gameweek 29, the armband is too great a risk. Even if he starts, he could be withdrawn early.
There are two stand-out alternatives here: Hugo Ekitike (Wolves away) and Bruno Fernandes (Newcastle away).
Hugo Ekitike
Whilst the prospect of travelling to Wolves might’ve been more appetising in the first half of the season, they still have the highest expected goals allowed (xGA) over the last six gameweeks. For all of their spirit, they’ve been fortunate to pick up the occasional clean sheet in recent games.
Liverpool - and Ekitike - were rampant against West Ham. He’s a good pick.
Bruno Fernandes
Newcastle are still yet to win a Premier League game whilst missing Bruno Guimarães, and they’ve conceded 11 goals in their last four home games.
Fernandes edges the captaincy over Ekitike for us, on the basis that he’s on penalties and a midfielder. But it’s close.
The Professor is rolling a transfer, preparing for the upcoming Blank Gameweek 31.
Bruno Fernandes currently has the armband, but the Professor remains eagle-eyed for definitive news on Erling Haaland. If we know he’s playing, he’ll get the Prof’s armband vs Nottingham Forest.
Here’s his team 👇
Of course, the best place to get Haaland news - and every other bit of key news, for that matter - is the LazyFPL Broadcast WhatsApp chat, available exclusively for premium members. Join here.
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Player form (Last 6)
Team form (Last 6)
Your Gameweek 29 checklist.
🔒 Keep Erling Haaland unless we get definitive news that he’s not out for an extended period of time.
🪑 Make sure your bench is well prepared if he does miss out.
👀 And stay diligent for any pre-deadline updates that might give us some clarity.
🔄 Transfers should still be used with Blank Gameweek 31 in mind, when Arsenal and Man City miss out.
A miniature hiatus for more FA Cup action this weekend means we’ll be back in your inbox next Friday. Friday 13th. What could possibly go wrong?
Stay lazy,
The LazyFPL Team.