Fantasy Premier League: How to build a Free Hit team for Gameweek 34
Gameweek 34 is going to be the biggest blank of the season, which makes it a good time to play your Free Hit chip if you still have it.
Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City do not have a fixture this week and with all four having just had a double gameweek, their players will be heavily owned.
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Here we will have a look at a Free Hit draft for Gameweek 34 and look at some alternative players depending on whether you are playing safe or chasing.
How you pick your Free Hit team this week may depend on your overall rank or mini league goals.
Here is my current draft…
According to the bookmakers, Newcastle, Chelsea and Wolves are three most likely sides respectively to keep a clean sheet:
GW34 clean sheet % 🥅🧤
NEW: 50%
CHE: 45%
WOL: 43%
LIV: 42%
FUL: 40%
BHA: 38%
BOU: 36%
NFO: 29%
BRE: 23%
EVE: 18%
WHU: 17%
LEI: 17%
SOU: 17%
MUN: 17%
IPS: 8%
TOT: 7%
Source: Oddschecker
— Abdul Rehman (@FPL_Salah) April 22, 2025
Therefore, going for the three most attacking defenders from those teams seems ideal. Marc Cucurella (£5.4m) has four goals and two assists and Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.9m) has four goals and six assists.
Although Kieran Trippier (£5.6m) has only one assist, this is mainly because he has not played much. But he is nailed to start, is on set pieces, and has the highest chance of a clean sheet.
Fabian Schar (£5.5m) is a good alternative to Trippier. He has the better goal threat and has scored four times. Keep an eye on this week's press conferences as Jason Tindall mentioned he was subbed against Villa due to a tight hamstring.
Liverpool and Fulham are close in the odds but I think Bernd Leno (£5.0m) has more upside than Alisson (£5.5m) as he is he likely to make more saves.
I like Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) as he will be fairly low-owned. He is first choice and, with 20 minutes under his belt last gameweek, he should start against Tottenham Hotspur.
Ryan Sessegnon (£4.1m) is looking fantastic value and is an explosive pick. The 24-year-old will also be a big differential against those who are not playing their Free Hit this week.
He is listed as a £4.1m defender in FPL but has been playing on the wing, and has started the last three games. Sessegnon has three goals and two assists in only 320 minutes of football. Fulham play Southampton, this week which is a great fixture for both clean sheet and attacking purposes.
They have conceded the most goals (77) and also scored the least (23), so Sessegnon should have ample opportunity at returns at both ends of the pitch.
Liverpool and Newcastle also have the best fixtures from an attacking point of view, so a double-up on both of their attacks make sense.
Looking at the anytime scorer odds on a Free Hit is really useful as it's a one-week team and especially when there are so many good attackers, like this gameweek.
GW34 anytime scorer % ⚽
Isak: 61%
Salah: 58%
Cunha: 45%
Wood: 43%
Jota: 42%
Jimenez: 42%
Palmer: 40%
Evanilson: 40%
Barnes: 40%
Muniz: 39%
Larsen: 37%
Gakpo: 36%
Diaz: 36%
Welbeck: 36%
Jackson: 35%
Gordon: 35%
Dango: 33%
Kluivert: 32%
Murphy: 29%
Mbeumo: 29%
Gibbs-White: 29%…
— Abdul Rehman (@FPL_Salah) April 23, 2025
Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) should be nailed in your team as he's the best captaincy option and Luis Diaz (£7.5m) is next best and most nailed attacker for them.
Harvey Barnes (£6m) has four goals and four assists in the last six games. However, with Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) fit, it makes him a slight risk. With how well he has been playing and the fact he is the biggest goal threat in the team after Alexander Isak (£9.5m), he gets the nod again and is worth the risk. Also in the last two matches, it's Jacob Murphy (£5.2m) who has come off for Gordon.
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Cole Palmer (£10.6m) and Salah are locked for me, but the Diaz and Barnes spots are flexible. Justin Kluivert (£6m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£7.9m) are safer picks if you are looking to consolidate rank. Both are on penalties.
Going for Palmer is a great opportunity to gain rank. He hasn't been great lately and will be owned by few managers that are not free-hitting, and he won't be hugely popular for those using the chip. He is an elite player, who is the talisman for his team and on penalties. A home game against Everton isn't the worst fixture and surely he starts scoring again sooner rather than later.
Isak should be the first forward in your squad on a Free Hit team despite his underwhelming scores recently. Ipswich at home is one of the best fixtures of the season.
Matheus Cunha (£6.9m) has been fantastic when he's been on the pitch and is too good to turn down with Leicester at home. Fourteen goals and five assists is phenomenal for a budget forward.
Danny Welbeck (£5.5m) is a great punt. He won't be highly owned and with Joao Pedro (£5.6m) suspended, he should get more minutes, and there is also a good chance he will take penalties. Brighton play West Ham at home.
Fulham's Raul Jimenez (£5.3m) looks a great option if Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m) is ruled out.
The two have been sharing minutes, but Muniz was not in the squad last gameweek against Chelsea due to an injury picked up in training.
Marco Silva's side play Southampton, so we should see some goals scored by them and the Mexican is their first-choice penalty taker.
Chris Wood (£6.9m) is the safe pick and a lot of those managers who are free-hitting will include him. He is a solid option who is clinical and on penalties.
My draft above has a combination of solid and safe picks, with a blend of differentials. It isn't a full XI of maverick picks and to make up ground — I don't think it has to be.
The more points you need to make up, the more differentials you should go for and you can also look at betting against Salah for captaincy with Isak.
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Another way of chasing the upside is 'stacking' on teams: for example, going with a double defence from Newcastle or Chelsea, or double attack on a certain team.
If you are ranked high or are well ahead in your mini-league and you want to consolidate your rank, then you could go for Mbeumo, Murphy or Kluivert instead of Barnes and Diaz.
There are a lot of good fixtures this gameweek, which means more options. This means there is not a template Free Hit team and with many options so close in terms of expected points, this is a week where you can go with your gut for a lot of picks.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
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