
This article provides a preview of what Gameweek 36 has in store for fantasy managers, including top captain selections and strong picks for the weekly FPL Challenge game.
Chelsea crushed Liverpool, the 2024-25 Premier League Champions, with a 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge, while Man City is only three points behind Arsenal in second place. We have just three gameweeks left, and the season comes to a close. Time to prepare your fantasy teams as we deliver the best FPL recommendations each week.
The FPL Challenge: Race for Europe continues, where players from key matchups score double points each week. As always, we’ll offer weekly breakdowns of the top assets to target and help you maximize your point potential.
The Gameweek 36 deadline for the 2024-25 Fantasy Premier League season is Saturday, May 10, at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Also, check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every EPL and UCL slate with our EPL DFS lineup picks and betting picks.
Which clubs will you target over the final three Gameweeks of the season? 🤔#FPL pic.twitter.com/r2MNtlL80I
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) May 7, 2025
Gameweek 36 FPL Tips
Target Nottingham Forest and Man City's Assets
With only one win in their previous five games, Nottingham Forest is currently outside the top five and could miss out on Champions League football if their poor form continues. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel as the Tricky Trees take on Leicester in Matchday 35.
With a poor defense that has conceded 76 goals so far, the Foxes have nothing to fight for as they have already been relegated. To maximize points this week, selecting a few Nottingham Forest assets could be the optimal move to maximize points this weekend.
It's Leicester at home on Sunday. 🦊 pic.twitter.com/W686BCoTn3
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) May 8, 2025
Still on the subject of Champions League qualifications, Man City is back! The 2023-24 EPL Champions are in their best run of form, winning four of their last five matches, scoring 12 goals, and keeping three clean sheets.
Despite a poor mid-season spell, Manchester City is currently third in the Premier League table and could leapfrog Arsenal this weekend. Arsenal face a difficult clash against Liverpool.
Man City legend Kevin De Bruyne has been a delight to have in our fantasy teams, racking up 31 points in his last five matches. This Saturday, the Cityzens will travel to play Southampton, who are bottom of the table, and could make it five wins in a row.
Kevin De Bruyne is Man City's top-scoring player over their last five Gameweeks 🤝
Is now the time to buy the midfielder ahead of his last three outings? Read what the Scout has to say ➡️ https://t.co/ylNKDFLijT#FPL pic.twitter.com/RFBJpiZ9vf
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) May 7, 2025
To this end, FPL managers are advised to prioritize selecting assets from either Nottingham Forest or Man City for Gameweek 36. According to goal projections, Nottingham Forest and Man City are expected to produce a 2.25 xG and 2.90 xG (expected goals) against their respective opponents this week.
💹 PL GW36 matchups
Early look at market projections for the weekend's round of PL fixtures, covering:
🔹 projected goals & clean sheet odds
🔹 teams to target
🔹 #FPL Assistant Manager projections
🔹 WDL odds pic.twitter.com/0UQX0jOyKx— Rob T (@robtFPL) May 6, 2025
Recommended FPL assets for Gameweek 36
- Nottingham Forest: Chris Wood, Anthony Elanga, and Nikola Milenković.
- Man City: Kevin De Bruyne, Omar Marmoush, and Joško Gvardiol.
Gameweek 36 Top Captain Picks
The weekend fixtures present a list of fascinating options for your captaincy choice. Players like Matheus Cunha against Brighton, Alexander Isak against Chelsea, and Mohamed Salah against Arsenal present strong cases. However, our top two captain picks this week are:
Chris Wood (£7.1m) - Nottingham Forest
The 33-year-old has already scored 19 goals for Nottingham Forest this season and amassed 188 FPL points this season. Chris Wood is just one goal away from hitting a 20-goal season. He is aging like fine wine.
In the reverse tie against Leicester, Wood hit a 13-point haul against the Foxes back in Gameweek 9. The experienced veteran will be eager to replicate the same feat this weekend and is on track to reach 200 FPL points.
He's coming off the back of two consecutive blanks, but Chris Wood's next two fixtures are:
🦊 Leicester (H)
⚒️ West Ham (A)Are you considering a move for the @NFFC forward for these favourable matches? pic.twitter.com/ADoU4AcnmZ
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) May 8, 2025
Bryan Mbeumo (£8.2m) - Brentford
Failing to score in his last two games, Mbeumo has only scored seven points in that time frame. However, Matchday 36 could be the ideal moment for the 25-year-old to repay the faith of those who captain him.
According to player goal projection, Bryan Mbeumo is anticipated to produce a 0.53 xG (expected goals) against Ipswich. The Cameroon international is set to perform well this weekend and is a compelling choice for the captain's armband.
💹 PL: GW36 player goal projections
First look at the top projected scorers for this weekend's Premier League games (and equivalent #FPL goal points), via spread betting markets pic.twitter.com/CsH9wa8Sd3
— Rob T (@robtFPL) May 8, 2025
FPL Challenge: Race for Europe
The FPL Challenge section for the 2024-25 season is back, and RotoBaller remains your go-to source for valuable insights on selecting the right assets for any challenge.
The 35th challenge in the Race for Europe, dubbed "Brighton v. Newcastle," focused on players from Brighton and Newcastle earning double points. A new task in this series is about to begin, and our job is to help you maximize points for each task presented.
In case you missed it, here's a recap of the Race for Europe FPL Challenge.
Fantasy Challenge is LIVE for 2024/25 🚨
Build your squad for Gameweek 1 now 👇#FPLChallengeAccepted
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) July 24, 2024
The Race for Europe event is a five-gameweek run that highlights the top performers in each position while picking at least five players. This series covers five tests that focus on earning points through different players and top-tier matchups until the end of the season.
- Gameweek 33: West London Derby - Players from Chelsea and Fulham earn double points.
- Gameweek 34: Nottingham Forest v. Brentford - Players from Nottingham Forest and Brentford earn double points.
- Gameweek 35: Brighton v. Newcastle - Players from Brighton and Newcastle earn double points.
- Gameweek 36: Liverpool v. Arsenal - Players from Liverpool and Arsenal earn double points.
- Gameweek 37: Arsenal v. Newcastle - Players from Arsenal and Newcastle earn double points.
Race for Europe FPL Challenge: Liverpool v. Arsenal - Players to Target
Week 36 of the FPL Challenge involves selecting a team of five players with an unlimited budget. However, this week's task focuses on selecting players from Liverpool and Arsenal who are set to earn double points.
RotoBaller's top picks for this week's challenge are:
- In goal, Nottingham Forest's Matz Sels is our top goalkeeper to bank on for clean sheet points against Leicester.
- In defense, Liverpool's Virgil Van Dijk is a top defender to bank on for attacking returns, fitting in perfectly with this week's task for double points.
- In midfield, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Man City's Kevin De Bruyne are our top midfield options this week. Mo Salah takes the spotlight as our captain of the week.
- In attack, Brentford's Yoane Wissa completes the attack, rounding off our lineup in a 1-2-1 formation.
Remember, you are free to select any other top FPL Challenge alternatives not mentioned above. Best of luck to everyone participating in this week's challenge!
Stick around for more 2024-25 Fantasy Premier League content coming soon. Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!