Gameweek 35 of Fantasy Premier League gets underway tomorrow, and with the Premier League season entering its final stretch, managers will be focused on finishing strong by staying on top of the latest news and key statistics.

In this article, we highlight the player attracting a surge of transfers ahead of the deadline, compare two of the season’s standout forwards, and take a closer look at the defenders currently most likely to find the back of the net.

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FPL Gameweek 35 Deadline

The Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 35 deadline is Friday, 1 May 2026, at 18:30 BST

FPL Gameweek 35 Fixtures

Leeds have a home game against Burnley.

West Ham are away to Brentford.

Newcastle will be hosting Brighton.

Sunderland travel to Wolves.

Arsenal play Fulham at the Emirates.

Crystal Palace will visit Bournemouth.

Manchester United face Liverpool at Old Trafford.

Spurs are heading to Aston Villa.

Chelsea welcomes Nottingham Forest.

Manchester City are away to Everton.

FPL Assets Leading On Form For Gameweek 35

Let’s start by looking at the current form amongst the best FPL players for Matchweek 35 before getting into our free fantasy football tips.

(Form is a metric that’s issued on the official FPL platform, which uses a player's average score per match, calculated from all matches played by his club in the last 30 days.)

Goalkeepers: 

  1. Bernd Leno moves to first with 6.3 points
  2. Bart Verbruggen is second with 5.7 points
  3. Gianluigi Donnarumma is third with 5.0 points

Defenders:

  1. Konstantinos Mavropanos remains first with 10.3 points
  2. Nico O’Reilly remains second with 9.0 points
  3. Marc Guéhi moves to third with 7.7 points

Midfielders:

  1. Morgan Gibbs-White stays first with 11.7 points
  2. Noah Okafor stays second with 10.3 points 
  3. Casemiro moves to third with 8.7 points

Forwards:

  1. Jarrod Bowen jumps to first with 8.7 points
  2. Igor Jesus moves to second with 7.7 points
  3. Ollie Watkins drops to third with 6.7 points

FPL Managers Move For Rayan Cherki

Manchester City’s midfield summer signing, Rayan Cherki, has become one of the most creative players in the Premier League during his first season with the club.

With 14 goal contributions in 1,559 minutes in the Premier League, Cherki is averaging a goal or assist every 111.3 minutes.

It is rare for a player to be nailed on every week in Pep Guardiola’s team, which has always influenced FPL managers when considering investing in Manchester City players.

However, given that Cherki has featured in every league game Manchester City has played since Gameweek 8, FPL managers are feeling much more comfortable bringing him in.

In FPL terms, Cherki has been good value for money this season, with a total of 123 points and a current price tag of £6.5m.

For many, Cherki represents a budget-friendly way of investing in a very potent Manchester City attack, and with a double gameweek coming up for Manchester City in Gameweek 36, it is easy to understand why Rayan Cherki is the most transferred-in player ahead of the new gameweek.

Igor Thiago vs Jarrod Bowen

Brentford’s Igor Thiago is in a battle with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen to see who finishes second behind Erling Haaland for the most points by a forward in FPL this season.

They are both currently on 169 FPL points, 43 points behind Haaland, who has 212.

Thiago is currently priced at £7.6m, while Bowen is priced at £7.8m.

With them so closely matched in terms of price and points, who is the better option when looking at their performances on the pitch?

Both players have made 34 appearances for their clubs this season, with Bowen spending a total of 3,047 minutes on the pitch and Thiago having played 2,924 minutes.

When it comes to scoring goals, Igor Thiago looks like the better option by quite some margin, with 21 goals this season compared to eight from Bowen.

However, it is Bowen’s creative side that makes him an intriguing option, with 10 assists so far this season compared to one assist from Thiago.

To put Thiago’s finishing ability into perspective, he has taken the same number of shots as Bowen inside the opposition box this season, with 31, and has taken fewer shots than Bowen from outside the box, with two compared to Bowen’s 12 attempts.

Bowen has also had more overall touches in the opposition penalty box this season, with 155 compared to 152 from Thiago.

It is important to note that seven of Thiago’s goals have come from the penalty spot, compared to one penalty taken and scored by Bowen.

With Bowen playing wider than Thiago, it is normal to see Bowen delivering far more crosses into the box than Thiago, with 81 compared to 15.

Bowen has also completed five through balls this season, which is only one more than Thiago’s four.

Bowen is the more lively dribbler of the two, with 109 dribbles completed compared to Thiago’s 47.

In the air, however, Thiago has a clear advantage over Bowen, with 100 aerial duels won compared to 27 by Bowen.

With Bowen and Thiago being two forwards who have completely different profiles, it will be interesting to see which of them finishes the season with more FPL points.

Top 5 Defenders With The Highest xG

Let’s take a look at the defenders with the highest expected goals: 

Nico O’Reilly

xG: 5.21

Goals: 5

FPL Points: 152

Ownership: 15.9%

Price: £5.1m

Jurriën Timber

xG: 4.71

Goals: 3

FPL Points: 149

Ownership: 18.6%

Price: £6.1m

Malick Thiaw

xG: 3.98

Goals: 4

FPL Points: 119

Ownership: 5.7%

Price: £5.0m

Marc Guéhi

xG: 3.84

Goals: 3

FPL Points: 158

Ownership: 32.8%

Price: £5.1m

Virgil van Dijk

xG: 3.01

Goals: 54

FPL Points: 156

Ownership: 33.3%

Price: £6.2m

Top 3 FPL Gameweek 35 Captain Picks:

  1. Erling Haaland vs Everton
  2. Igor Thiago vs West Ham
  3. Bruno Fernandes vs Liverpool

Differential Captain Pick Of The Week

Ollie Watkins

Aston Villa’s forward was brought in by a large number of managers in Gameweek 34, and with Villa facing a struggling Spurs side at home, Ollie Watkins might be a popular differential captaincy pick this weekend.

If Villa can carve Spurs open in the same way other teams have done this season, Watkins could be in line for a big haul of points.

Playing Your Free Hit? 

FPL managers who are considering using their Free Hit Chip this weekend might find some value below in our FPL Tips for GW35:

GK: Robin Roefs (£4.8m) 

 

DEF: Nordi Mukiele (£4.6m)

DEF: Gabriel Magalhães (£7.2m)

DEF: Daniel Muñoz (£5.8m)

 

MID: Bruno Fernandes (£10.4m)

MID: Declan Rice (£7.2m)

MID: Antoine Semenyo (£8.2m)

MID: Mikkel Damsgaard (£5.6m)

 

FWD: Ollie Watkins (£8.8m)

FWD: Erling Haaland (£14.5m)

FWD: Igor Thiago (£7.4m)

 

BENCH: Tom Heaton (£3.8m)

BENCH: Josh Acheampong (£3.7m)

BENCH: Max Dowman (£4.2m)

BENCH: Amara Nallo (£3.7m) 

Final Thoughts

Gameweek 35 is here, and with the season now edging towards its conclusion, FPL managers are running out of time to make up ground or protect their rank.

At this stage, every decision carries added weight, with fine margins likely to determine mini-league battles and overall positions.

With a double gameweek in GW36 announced for Manchester City, form and fixture quality remain as important as ever. 

Captaincy could once again prove decisive, with a handful of standout options offering both form and favourable fixtures.

As always, staying alert to team news and late injury updates will be crucial, particularly with rotation risks continuing to grow as the season winds down.

One or two smart decisions could still make a significant difference as the finish line comes into view.

Here’s to a successful Gameweek 35!