Fantasy Premier League: Analysing every chip strategy for Gameweek 32 and beyond

New York Times

11-04-2025

We have another double gameweek in Fantasy Premier League, with Newcastle United and Crystal Palace having two fixtures apiece as they face each other on Wednesday evening.
With a further confirmed double in Gameweek 33 for Crystal Palace, along with Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa, this is an optimal time to play any remaining chips.
Of course, we could also have another double in Gameweek 36 caused by the FA Cup final, which could create one or two blanks, so how should you maximise your chips for Double Gameweek 32 and beyond?
It has quickly become clear that the new Assistant Manager chip is the most powerful one in the game, with its table bonus creating significant point swings for managers if played correctly.
Consecutive double gameweeks for Crystal Palace provide plenty of opportunity to utilise this booster on Oliver Glasner (£0.8m), who has recorded three double-digit scores since the chip was introduced.
Managers looking to play the chip this week should be aware of the disruption to the schedule coming in Blank Gameweek 34, where there's no fixture for the four teams who double in Gameweek 33.
The Assistant Manager chip is active for three consecutive gameweeks, which would then block the Free Hit chip but will still be a very popular strategy play.
Managers who activated the chip in Gameweek 31 should be looking to switch to Glasner this week if they aren't currently tripled up on players for Crystal Palace.
Advertisement
Eddie Howe (£1.5m) is another worthy contender for this week, and with a fixture for Newcastle United in the blank, you could theoretically stick with him for a three-gameweek period.
Newcastle have the more attractive fixtures for Gameweek 32, with home games against Manchester United and Crystal Palace. They then travel to Aston Villa in Gameweek 33 before hosting Ipswich Town in Gameweek 34.
Another manager well worth looking at is Aston Villa's Unai Emery (£0.8m), who is second in the form charts over the last four gameweeks, earning three wins from three FPL fixtures.
Villa's focus is, of course, the Champions League, but they still managed a 2-1 win against third-placed Nottingham Forest last time out, despite fielding a rotated team.
We can expect this again for their attractive trip to Southampton in Gameweek 32 before the double in Gameweek 33 against Newcastle United and Manchester City.
By using an Aston Villa slot on the manager, owners will be immune from the heavy rotation expected in their starting XI in the next two gameweeks while hopefully still capitalising on significant results.
For those managers who activated the Assistant Manager chip in Gameweek 31, I also like the look of Mikel Arteta (£1.5m) for the next two gameweeks. His team entertain Brentford this weekend before facing Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace in their double in Gameweek 33.
Arsenal now have a significant advantage going into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid after winning the home game 3-0, which should minimise rotation in the Premier League.
The most challenging chip in the game to get right is the Bench Boost. The initial aim in theory is to build a squad of 15 players who all have a double gameweek to fully maximise the chip.
However, Double Gameweek 33 is set to be the biggest double of the season, with just four sides playing twice, allowing a maximum of 12 doublers. This considerably weakens the value of the chip.
Advertisement
We tend to play the Bench Boost close to a wildcard in order to spread funds across our squads to invest carefully in all 15 positions, rather than the traditional setup of 11 'first-team' scoring players.
On paper, Gameweek 33 looks to be the best time to use the Bench Boost, but this is very much team-dependent. If your Gameweek 32 bench has all starters with a reasonable selection of fixtures, don't be afraid to activate it this week.
We expect less rotation in Gameweek 32 from the sides still involved in the FA Cup, with their semi-final ties to be played on the weekend immediately after the midweek Double Gameweek 33 fixtures.
It is worth looking ahead to Gameweek 33 and the potential bench for that gameweek before making a final decision on which week would be better for your squad. This chip can also be saved if you haven't yet wildcarded.
For managers who have arrived at Double Gameweek 32 not close to a full complement of Newcastle and Crystal Palace players, the wildcard should be considered the best course of action.
The look of your wildcard team will depend vastly on whether you have Free Hit available for Blank Gameweek 34 and also Bench Boost for Double Gameweek 33, which would be the optimal play during this period.
If you have both chips remaining, then you can go all in on the next two blanks by tripling up on players from Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Manchester City.
Palace's double-double makes their assets highly attractive, with Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.7m) leading the way for fantasy points and defender Daniel Munoz (£5.2m) boasting nine goal involvements.
At Newcastle, the second-highest owned player in the game, Alexander Isak (£9.5m), is a must, with 20 goals this season. It could well be worth doubling up on their attack with the in-form Jacob Murphy (£5.1m), who is friendly on the budget.
And for Manchester City, it's Omar Marmoush (£7.6m) taking the headlines in the absence of Erling Haaland (£14.8m). You should pick up a defender, too, after consecutive clean sheets since the international break; Josko Gvardiol (£6.1m) has five goals this season.
I would be less bullish on Aston Villa and Arsenal assets given their continuous involvement in the Champions League, with Villa also competing in the FA Cup.
Advertisement
Playing the minutes game, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m) and midfielder Morgan Rogers (£5.6m) are the best options from Villa for this immediate period.
Arsenal star man Bukayo Saka (£10.4m) started in the Champions League on Tuesday but limped off as he works his way to full fitness, but he is perhaps worth the risk on a wildcard.
And don't overlook the record-breaking Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) in any wildcard team, despite no doubles forecast for Liverpool in the remainder of this season. He is still the best player in the game by some margin.
If your strategy doesn't suit any of the chips above, then the Triple Captain chip is the one to play for Gameweek 32. I expect the majority of managers with this chip remaining to have it in play for this gameweek.
Newcastle star Isak is the best candidate on paper, with 25 goal involvements for the campaign. His biggest barrier to points is his minutes, as a groin complaint has hampered him in recent games, but he's expected to be fit for this weekend.
His team-mate Murphy has outscored him in recent games and played more minutes and shouldn't be ignored in the captaincy conversation, but it would be a big risk to back him with the triple captain chip.
Newcastle have better fixtures than Crystal Palace, but some will be tempted to back striker Mateta for captaincy this week too, and that's a move well-justified given he scored double digits the last time he played Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Of course, there's always the option to wait until Gameweek 33, where Saka or Marmoush would be among the leading options.
There's also the potential to wait until Gameweek 36, where Haaland could be back in the frame or simply save the chip for a single gameweek option over the run-in.
For my team, with just a wildcard and the Bench Boost remaining, I won't be playing a chip at all in Gameweek 32, but I will have the maximum six doublers from Newcastle and Palace.
I plan to Bench Boost in Gameweek 33, which has marginally better fixtures for my squad, before deploying the wildcard in Gameweek 34 or Gameweek 35 to set me up for the remaining gameweeks of the season.