With the end of the campaign approaching, Fantasy Premier League managers are turning to players still motivated by an end-of-season goal: Champions League qualification.
A handful of teams are still in the hunt for a valuable place in Europe’s premier competition: Leicester, West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham are separated by just seven points from third to seventh.
With everything to play for, it’s safe to assume players from these teams won’t be easing up just yet.
Lingard leads the way
The only thing more unpredictable than West Ham sitting in a Champions League spot in April might be Jesse Lingard‘s comeback story.
The England midfielder’s loan spell with the Hammers has been sensational, with five double figures FPL points returns in only nine games.
Lingard’s price has risen from £5.9m to £6.5m in that time, still ludicrously low for the in-form player in the division, while his ownership has gone from 14,855 to more than 1.75 million in the same period.
Elsewhere, Chelsea’s Mason Mount is thriving under new boss Thomas Tuchel, with four goals in nine games – thousands have backed him ahead of GW32 as a result.
The England international is also the number two-ranked midfielder for Creativity this season, while the Blues face Brighton, West Ham and Fulham in their next three.
And Tottenham’s Son Heung-min ended his eight-game goal drought in the league against Manchester United.
That has been enough for his ownership to increase by more than 200,000 ahead of GW32, with Spurs not facing any of the traditional top six for the rest of the season.
Fox finds form
Two strikers who could hold the fate of their teams in their boots are Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho and Tottenham’s Harry Kane.
Regular minutes for the former in the last six games have produced unbelievable results – Iheanacho has seven goals in that period, including a hat-trick against Sheffield United.
The 24-year-old has been snapped up by a net total of more than 300,000 managers ahead of GW32, while his side have four games ranked just two on the FPL’s Fixture Difficulty Rating system up next.
Kane meanwhile looks to have rediscovered the all-around ability that made him irresistible at the start of the campaign, with six goals and two assists in his last seven.
The England forward now leads the race for the Golden Boot, while he registered a mammoth Threat score of 126 against Newcastle in GW30.
His ownership has increased by more than 80,000 ahead of the coming gameweek.
Trent to Buy
Last but not least, Liverpool’s defenders are enjoying renewed popularity ahead of their Champions League push.
Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s ownership has risen by more than 50,000 ahead of GW32, while his colleague Nathaniel Phillips has also enjoyed an increase.
Alexander-Arnold remains expensive for an underperforming defender at £7.4m, but a goal, assist and two clean sheets in his last three games hint at a return to form.
Phillips meanwhile has enjoyed four consecutive starts in the league after injuries to Virgil Van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez – he has earned two clean sheets in that time, and is priced at just £4.1m.
And with Leeds only four points off a Europa League spot, thousands of FPL bosses are backing Stuart Dallas to maintain his form during the run-in.
Dallas has played in every league game this season, accruing seven goals, three assists and nine clean sheets, including a brace against Manchester City in GW31.
‘Maybe I’ll be signed by Wrexham, who knows? English football would suit me – if an offer came, I wouldn’t think twice, I’d go immediately’ Euro 2024 cult hero reveals his UK dream
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023
