In his FPL Gameweek 28 review, Fantasy Premier League author David Wardale reports on a double gameweek in which a lot of hope has been invested, with Free Hits, Bench Boosts and even Wildcards coming into play.

Thursday’s four matches produced plenty of goals, but those on Chelsea defenders had a bad time of it.

Monday night football returned with a big win for Spurs against a sorry Everton.

Sunday’s fixtures involved a Manchester derby hammering and an entertaining win for Arsenal at Watford.

Newcastle’s double started with another win, while Wolves’ poor form continued and a forgotten striker hit three for battling Brentford.

Saturday’s late match was a fantasy flop for most, with Liverpool defenders the main points scorers.

A returning Chelsea defender brought in a massive haul for his happy backers, while another popular buy did the business for Aston Villa as they thumped Southampton.

In Saturday’s lunchtime game, new-look Leeds fell to an unlucky defeat at Leicester.

You can catch all of our FPL Gameweek 28 tips right here.

FPL Gameweek 28 Review – Thursday

Norwich 1 Chelsea 3

Chelsea eased (eventually) to an expected win at Norwich in a game of mixed fantasy messages.

The Blues were 2-0 up in a heartbeat thanks to goals from Trevoh Chalobah (£4.7m) and Mason Mount (£7.5m).

One of that pair was in the top five for Double Gameweek 28 transfers-in and it wasn’t the 1.9%-owned defender.

The popular Mount set up Chalobah’s opener for good measure and ended the night with 13 points, while Kai Havertz (£7.8m) rounded off an excellent double with 12 points, to go with the 14 he earned at Burnley, although his bumper haul was enjoyed by just 4.6%.

The Germany international scored late, from an N’Golo Kante (£4.9m) assist, and was the provider for Mount’s goal.

But that was where most of the fantasy joy ended.

A large chunk of managers had already been knocked back by the injury to Reece James (£6.2m) that kept him out of Thursday night’s game.

And they were joined by the 25.6% on Antonio Rudiger (£6.1m) – the gameweek’s most purchased player – as their man was rested by Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.

Even an injury to Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.6m), which meant he didn’t come back after the interval, failed to unstick Rudiger from that bench, Ruben Loftus-Cheek (£5.4m) replacing the Spaniard.

Those who somehow still managed to own a Blues defender then had their clean sheet points scrubbed out by a Teemu Pukki (£5.8m) penalty awarded for a handball.

Pierre Lees-Melou (£4.8m) was awarded the assist for that and, briefly, there were hopes of a stirring Norwich second-half comeback.

Those hopes didn’t last.

Leeds 0 Aston Villa 3

Aston Villa’s return to form continued with an emphatic win over a spirited, if limited, Leeds.

Steven Gerrard’s side made it three wins on the spin, all of them involving clean sheets.

They deserved their victory, out-shooting the home side 15 to 4 and having nine attempts on target to Leeds’ one.

But they needed a touch of fortune to break the deadlock when Philippe Coutinho’s (£7.4m) unconvincing shot took a deflection to beat Illan Meslier (£4.8m).

Not that FPL bosses were complaining. The Brazilian was a popular purchase for the gameweek and his 22.8% ownership – some of whom captained him as well – were treated to 20+ points from his double.

No Villa player enjoyed the fixtures as much as Matty Cash (£5.1m), however.

The full-back made it three consecutive double-digit hauls with a goal, clean sheet and maximum bonus at Elland Road.

Cash has provided 45 points for his 6.1% ownership over the last three gameweeks. No player has produced more in FPL.

A good night for Villa defenders was capped when Tyrone Mings (£5.0m) set up Calum Chambers (£4.2m) to curl home a superb third goal.

The latter has started four of the last five matches and is developing a decent partnership with Mings.

He’s a cut-price way into an in-form defence, although that back line will be tested more sternly over the next few weeks.

As for Leeds, a must-win match with Norwich looms this weekend.

They started well enough against Villa, but lacked confidence, tired badly and even a welcome 32-minute return to action for Patrick Bamford (£7.7m) did little to lift morale.

A number of managers took a punt on captaining Raphinha (£6.5m).

It didn’t end well – he was booked on Thursday and finished the gameweek with just three points to his name.

Wolves 4 Watford 0

Wolves bounced back to winning ways with a surprisingly chunky win over the increasingly wretched Watford.

Having lost three games on the bounce, scoring just the once for bad measure, neither a thrashing nor a clean sheet looked overly likely.

But they produced both, thanks to a blistering start that produced three goals in 21 minutes.

Raul Jimenez (£7.6m) marked his first start in three matches with the opener, before a Cucho Hernandez (£5.0m) own goal and a Daniel Podence (£5.5m) strike put the game beyond Watford with more than three quarters of it still to play.

A Ruben Neves (£5.3m) belter (does he score anything else?) compounded the Hornets’ misery late on.

Assists came from Hee-Chan Hwang (£5.4m), Rayan Ait Nouri (£4.4m) and Chiquinho (£5.5m).

Southampton 1 Newcastle 2

Chris Wood (£6.7m) finally opened his Newcastle account as the Magpies rounded out the first half of their double double with yet another win.

Eddie Howe’s side are in brilliant form – unbeaten in nine and with three consecutive victories now.

And the manager’s decision to hand another new signing, Bruno Guimaraes (£4.9m), his first start also paid dividends as the midfielder scored the winner.

Assists came from Jonjo Shelvey (£5.3m) and Dan Burn (£4.4m).

Southampton were considerably better than they were when getting royally stuffed by Aston Villa at the weekend.

They even opened the scoring when Stuart Armstrong (£5.8m) headed in a Mohamed Elyounoussi (£5.4m) pass.

But Newcastle will not be denied at present and a Double Gameweek 29 involving trips to Chelsea and Everton will hold no fear for them, especially as they are finding goals from a variety of sources.

That, however, diminishes their fantasy appeal.

FPL Gameweek 28 Review – Monday

Spurs 5 Everton 0

A Harry Kane (£12.3m) double helped Tottenham romp to victory against an Everton side on the wrong side of woeful.

The 15.3%-owned striker scored in each half to continue his red hot form, with three double-digit returns from his last four starts.

The match proved to be a fruitful one for fantasy managers as all three of Tottenham’s most popular FPL assets produced points.

Heung-Min Son (£10.8m and 20.7%) also scored to make it four hauls in six games, and even the 10.6%-owned Sergio Reguilon (£5.2m), who hadn’t featured for four matches, came off the bench to find the net 41 seconds into the second half.

He replaced Ryan Sessegnon (£4.3m), who picked up an injury towards the end of a first period in which he’d impressed down the left, earning an assist when Michael Keane (£4.7m) turned the wing-back’s cross into his own net to open the scoring.

Two other home players carried on their recent good work.

Midfielder Dejan Kulusevski (£6.1m) set up two goals and has now scored twice and provided three assists from his last four starts.

And Matt Doherty’s (£4.7m) return to his Wolves form continued to pick up pace.

He followed up a goal, clean sheet and maximum bonus at Leeds in Gameweek 27 with two assists, another shut-out and two bonus points against Everton.

All of that means Doherty has provided 32 points in nine glorious days for his 0.6% ownership.

What’s hard to know for managers keen to jump on such attractive Spurs assets for their Double Gameweek 29 is how good they actually were against the Toffees.

Everton were okay with the ball and truly awful without it, allowing Tottenham to cut through them with ease time and time again.

Neither of their opponents in Gameweek 29 – Man United or Brighton – are in a good place at present.

But, equally, neither are likely to be as bad as Everton were defensively on Monday night.

The Toffees also have a double gameweek next and (count them) four other fixtures still to be rescheduled.

Their form is so bad – seven defeats in the last eight – that it’s hard to find a single player worth considering at present, however.

FPL Gameweek 28 Review – Sunday

Manchester City 4 Manchester United 1

Kevin De Bruyne (£11.8m) illuminated a one-sided Manchester derby with a season’s best 18-point display.

The midfielder, now owned by a mere 8%, scored the home side’s first two goals before setting up the first of Riyad Mahrez’s (£8.7m) two second-half strikes.

The pre-match news was all about the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.3m) from the squad, let along the starting XI.

United boss Ralf Rangnick said the forward was injured, while rumours abounded that he had been benched for tactical reasons and promptly refused to feature at all.

Whatever the truth, the visitors would have struggled to contain a rampant City either way, with the second half a particularly painful watch for the red side of Manchester.

United were well in the match before the break.

A fine Jadon Sancho (£8.9m) finish, from a Paul Pogba (£7.4m) assist, levelled the score and other chances came and went for both sides in a flowing first half.

But it was one-way traffic after the interval and by the end of the game, United were lucky to come off only 4-1 down, having created 0.00(xG) over the second 45 minutes.

Overall, City had 10 shots on target to the visitors’ one.

Bernardo Silva (£7.2m) and substitute Ilkay Gundogan (£7.1m) provided the other assists, but this was De Bruyne’s day.

One missed match and two blanks had prompted nearly half of his ownership to sell him on, with nearly 200,000 getting rid for the derby.

His response was a third double-digit return, and a fourth haul overall, from his last six starts.

Mahrez, meanwhile, made it eight goals in nine matches, two of which have involved cameos from the bench.

The fact that those appearances have come from Gameweek 17 onwards is the main reason behind his lowly 3.9% ownership.

At least those brave enough to sell on City’s most-owned player, Joao Cancelo (£7.0m and 42.5%) – and there were nearly 230,000 of them – didn’t get burned.

His two-pointer paled beside the numbers produced by his likely replacement for many, a certain Chelsea wing-back who brought in 18.

City have one double yet to be arranged and a blank in Gameweek 30, so fantasy attention might well be elsewhere.

United are in the exact same boat, although their double will include a trip to Liverpool.

Sancho, with two goals and two assists from his last four starts, has some form.

But more reliable (and cheaper) players than United’s are available and will have extra fixtures to make them far more attractive to FPL bosses.

Watford 2 Arsenal 3

A masterclass from Bukayo Saka (£6.5m) earned Arsenal a win and his 21.2% FPL ownership 12 points.

The young midfielder was a danger throughout the game and set up Martin Odegaard’s (£5.5m) opener after just five minutes.

He then restored the Gunners’ lead with an emphatic finish following a smart back heel to him from Alexandre Lacazette (£8.3m) half an hour into a thoroughly entertaining match.

In between those strikes, Cucho Hernandez (£5.0m) equalised with an acrobatic volley from Kiko Femenia’s (£4.3m) cross.

Three high quality first-half goals were joined by a fine Gabriel Martinelli (£5.3m) strike six minutes into the second period, with the assist again coming from Lacazette.

Arsenal kept control of the game thereafter, until a late Moussa Sissoko (£4.4m) goal, from a Hernandez pass, provided Watford with an unlikely chance to grab a point.

It was an opportunity they failed to take.

To be fair to Roy Hodgson’s team, they had seven shots on target to the visitors’ four, but Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale (£5.1m) earned a save point with little more than routine stops.

Watford’s most popular player in FPL, striker Emmanuel Dennis (£6.1m and 34.9%), had a day to forget.

He scored after 20 seconds, only for that to be rightly ruled out for offside, and that was as good as it got.

He has one goal since Gameweek 20 while the side as a whole have a real issue playing at home, losing the last eight at Vicarage Road by a combined score of 6-22.

Their second of this double is away at Wolves and the following two are on the road as well, so thank heavens for small mercies, eh?

The Gunners have a double gameweek up next, although the opposition for that – Leicester and Liverpool – will not be as generous as the Hornets were.

Fantasy attention will still be on Arsenal assets, and especially Saka.

He’s produced returns in seven of his last ten starts, including three double-figure scores, two of which have come in the last three matches.

FPL Gameweek 28 Review – Saturday

Newcastle 2 Brighton 1

Ryan Fraser (£5.3m) scored one goal and set up another to steer Newcastle to a fifth win in six matches.

Gameweek 28 is starting to feel pivotal, with big swings in terms of points gained from, say, the ‘right’ Chelsea defender or, in this case, the most productive Newcastle midfielder.

More than 300,000 opted to buy the in-form Joe Willock (£5.8m) for the visit of Brighton.

He blanked, leaving the 65,000 or so who went for Fraser 11 points better off on the day.

A trip to Southampton will round off the Magpies’ Double Gameweek 28. Fraser will travel there with two goals and three assists across his last five starts.

Newcastle went about their business early against Brighton.

Fraser opened the scoring, from a Jacob Murphy (£4.7m) assist, after 12 minutes and Fabian Schar (£4.3m) added a second two minutes later.

The centre-half is in the rarest of form at the moment, with back-to-back double-digit returns and 39 points since Gameweek 23.

That’s a total only six players have bettered, although the gameweek is not yet done. Two of them are Liverpool defenders, two others have played at least two matches more and one of the remaining pair is Fraser.

Despite the Magpies’ new-found defensive assurance – three clean sheets from the last six games – and some bargain bucket prices, back line ownership levels are still low.

Schar is found in just 1.5% of teams and the influential Dan Burn (£4.4m) in 0.5%.

Brighton were second best for much of the match, although Lewis Dunk’s (£4.8m) first goal of the campaign, set up by Pascal Gross (£5.7m), made for a tenser, tighter final 30 minutes.

But the Toon are made of sterner stuff these days and even with a potentially far trickier double against Chelsea and Everton up next, fantasy points could still be there for the taking.

The Seagulls, on a four-match run of defeats now, have an even tougher double involving Liverpool and Spurs.

Neither team features in Gameweek 30.

Wolves 0 Crystal Palace 2

Wolves continued their lurch into mediocrity from another disappointing double gameweek with a third straight league loss, this time to a vibrant Crystal Palace.

Bruno Lage’s side attracted plenty of managers with their Gameweek 25 win at Spurs, especially as they had doubles to come.

But they’ve now kept just one clean sheet in eight games and have scored only one goal in the latest three losses, meaning returns can’t really be had at either end of the pitch.

The team’s most popular attacker, Raul Jimenez (£7.6m and 12.2%), was benched for a second straight game, while Lage’s post-match comments were not those of a happy manager.

He saved much of his bitterness for cut-price defender Ki-Jana Hoever (£3.9m), who was hooked at half-time with a hamstring issue:

“Injuries can happen, but this one happened because he was not prepared, because Ki sometimes doesn’t work in the same intensity. This warning is not only for Ki, it’s for all the kids we have in our team. They need to understand that I don’t waste time with guys who don’t work hard every day to improve.”

Palace are in a much better place thanks to consecutive wins on the road inspired by notable fantasy troll Wilfried Zaha (£6.8m).

The winger scored his fourth goal in as many matches on the road to double a lead given to the Eagles by Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.2m).

That’s two goals from his last two starts for the striker.

Jeffrey Schlupp (£5.4m) provided an assist, his second straight return, while Palace’s defence was bolstered by the return of keeper Vicente Guaita (£4.6m) and kept a first clean sheet in four matches as a result.

Patrick Vieira’s side currently have only three fixtures over the next five gameweeks and they involve Man City, Arsenal and Leicester.

Steering well clear is the only logical conclusion to that.

Wolves’ schedule is much kinder. And fuller.

But Lage’s outburst does not inspire confidence, nor does the team’s wretched form.

Norwich 1 Brentford 3

The fantasy equivalent of two bald men fighting over a comb was won by Brentford thanks to a hat-trick from the early season must-own striker Ivan Toney (£6.5m).

The forward was in more than two million teams at the start of the campaign.

Just under 750,000 were still around for his 17-pointer against Norwich, secured with assists from Pontus Jansson (£4.5m) and Kristoffer Ajer (£4.4m).

The latter even snuck in cheeky clean sheet points as he was taken off with a knock before Teemu Pukki’s (£5.8m) late consolation goal, set up by Jonathan Rowe (£4.4m).

The win was Brentford’s first since Gameweek 21, but their Premier League status remains perilous, their fixtures are a mixed bag and it would take a bold fantasy manager to even consider their assets.

Toney, however, has form – he’s scored five times across his last three starts, sandwiched between an infamous trip to Dubai.

Still owned by 8.5%, he’s actually far more of a differential than that, what with most of those managers having given up on this season a long time ago.

Liverpool 1 West Ham 0

Liverpool scraped past West Ham in a game where three of the four most owned players on display blanked.

The goal – his fourth in three starts – came from Sadio Mane (£11.7m).

More pertinently, from an FPL point of view, was another assist for the 45.7%-owned Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m).

Only Mo Salah (£13.2m and 60.8%) is found in more fantasy sides, but his blank was in stark contrast to the defender’s 12-point haul.

The full-back is in prime form, with five clean sheets in six starts and three assists in seven.

Salah came into the match on the back of consecutive double-figure scores, but it’s feast or famine for him at present, those two big hauls sandwiched by three blanks.

The Egyptian had a huge chance just two minutes in. He fluffed that and was eventually taken off after mis-controlling a pass in front of goal, which rather summed up his night.

The other major tale of fantasy woe involved Hammers star Jarrod Bowen (£7.0m).

The 28.8%-owned midfielder blanked for a third straight match and left the field after 53 minutes with a foot injury caused by a brilliant last-ditch tackle by Andy Robertson (£7.2m).

Bowen looked in some pain – the impact was severe as he was shooting when Robertson (fairly) intervened – but at least he has more than a week to recover before next Sunday’s visit from Aston Villa.

West Ham could, and should, have taken at least a point from the game.

Pablo Fornals (£6.0m), Manuel Lanzini (£5.7m) and the still-popular Michail Antonio (£7.6m and 31.7%) all blew great chances.

Liverpool also lacked a clinical edge – both sides had five shots on target – but they survived and will likely attract further fantasy interest with a double gameweek up next.

West Ham will probably play worse and win before the season’s end.

They might have to do that without Bowen, however, which will dampen FPL enthusiasm in the side.

Burnley 0 Chelsea 4

Chelsea strolled to victory at Turf Moor as Burnley were left to rue missing excellent first-half chances.

Wout Weghorst (£6.6m) had an effort cleared off the line by Thiago Silva (£5.6m) and both Dwight McNeil (£5.7m) and Nathan Collins (£4.3m) fluffed close-range opportunities as those who’d bought into Chelsea defenders for their double gameweek squirmed in discomfort.

But the Clarets were blown away after the break as the visitors scored three times in the first ten minutes.

A popular purchase, Reece James (£6.2m), got things started with a goal on his first start since Gameweek 19.

He also set up one of two goals for Kai Havertz (£7.8m), who was preferred to Romelu Lukaku (£11.5m) up front.

Neither attacker was especially well-backed for Chelsea’s fixtures against Burnley and Norwich, with the main transfer interest centred on defenders – Antonio Rudiger (£6.1m) was the most purchased player of the week.

In fact, Mason Mount (£7.5m) was the only Blues attacking player in the top 12 for transfers-in, but he blanked.

At least he played. Marcos Alonso (£5.6m) didn’t even make the squad after reportedly testing positive for Covid-19.

The biggest winners were James owners, however, with their man producing a monster 18-point haul – his second best of a season very much in the boom or bust category.

Christian Pulisic (£7.9m) scored the fourth, while the American, Trevoh Chalobah (£4.7m) and Saul Niguez (£4.9m) all provided assists.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel will be wary of overplaying James after his lengthy lay-off with a hamstring injury.

He was taken off after 69 minutes, but could start at Carrow Road on Thursday, although Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.6m) should be fit again for that clash.

The Blues will be in action again, at home to Newcastle, next Sunday, and it would be a major surprise if Tuchel used James in all three, especially with a Champions League tie three days after the Magpies match.

Still, even if he doesn’t figure again this gameweek, 18 points is a great tally however greedy we fantasy managers can be.

Burnley missed Ben Mee (£4.8m) at the heart of a defence that’s now failed to keep a clean sheet for three matches running, while they’ve also managed only one goal during that spell.

Those still with Weghorst might want to keep him for a huge game against Brentford next week, but the blank that follows will most likely mark the end of our dalliance with Sean Dyche’s men, even with more doubles yet to be pencilled in.

Aston Villa 4 Southampton 0

Aston Villa thrashed Southampton to end the Saints’ six-match unbeaten run thanks to a big contribution from one of the gamweek’s more popular buys.

Both sides have double fixtures, but it was the visitors who attracted more transfer interest, with two players in the top ten for purchases.

The pair, strikers Che Adams (£7.0m) and Armando Broja (£5.5m), promptly blanked, the latter for a fourth straight game.

Conversely, the only Villa player in that top ten, Philippe Coutinho (£7.4m), produced a first haul in four, with a goal, an assist and bonus.

The maximum award went to Danny Ings (£7.7m), who scored the side’s fourth goal and set up two others, while Douglas Luiz (£4.4m) and Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) also found the net, in the striker’s case for the second match running.

Matty Cash (£5.1m) was the other assister. He was fortunate to bring in clean sheet points against Watford in Gameweek 26, being subbed off before the Hornets’ winning goal.

Since then, however, he’s produced double-digit returns for two straight matches.

Aside from the injured Mohammed Salisu (£4.5m), every regular recent starter at the back for Southampton gained owners for their double at Villa and then home to Newcastle.

All produced either nothing (or worse) apart from keeper Fraser Forster (£4.4m), thanks to his five saves, and Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.8m), who earned a cheeky point by coming on for the 32 minutes when Villa finally stopped scoring.

Another full-back, Villa’s Lucas Digne (£5.1m), appeared in various managers’ Wildcards, only to miss out with Covid-19, according to The Athletic.

That soured things for 10% of FPL bosses, but there could be redemption if he returns for Thursday’s trip to Leeds.

Southampton will be looking for something similar against Newcastle.

They’d do well to do worse than they did at Villa – the home side had nine shots on target to the Saints’ one.

Leicester City 1 Leeds United 0

A Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) goal handed Jesse Marsch a loss in his first game in charge of Leeds.

The Leicester midfielder steered home substitute Kelechi Iheanacho’s (£6.9m) pass in the 67^th minute of an encounter from which the visitors were unlucky not to earn a point.

Both keepers earned a save point, but it was home stopper Kasper Schmeichel (£4.8m) who was the busier, with a point-blank effort to deny Raphinha (£6.5m) a particular highlight.

Marsch certainly brought a sense of stability to a back line painfully lacking in such things during the last weeks of Marcelo Bielsa’s reign.

Then again, Leicester were partially culpable for that, playing some pretty football without consistently threatening the Leeds goal.

Even a first start since Gameweek 20 for Jamie Vardy (£10.3m) didn’t unduly worry the visitors.

He was brought in by around 80,000 managers for the match, but he lacked sharpness and his 9.4% ownership only just took home two points – the striker was hooked on 60 minutes as Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers continues to manage his pitch-time.

Barnes, however, is a different story.

He’s now hauled in six straight starts, and seven of the last eight matches in which he’s been involved.

Leicester’s immediate schedule is not brilliant, with Arsenal and Man United to come over the next three gameweeks.

But the rest of their schedule is set fair and they have three games still to be rearranged, so Barnes is well worth considering, especially as he’s a 2.2%-owned differential candidate.

The Foxes have now won two on the spin – both involving clean sheets – so Barnes and his colleagues have some form on their side as well.

Those already invested in James Maddison (£6.8m and 7.9%) will certainly be hoping he fully recovers from a back issue that kept him out of the squad on Saturday.

As for Leeds, if any defeat can be said to be encouraging, this was one of them.

They face Aston Villa and Norwich next, so Marsch will have a decent shot at galvanising a team that’s not won since Gameweek 22.

Unless Raphinha starts hauling again, few fantasy managers are going to be along for the ride, however, even with Patrick Bamford (£7.7m) fit enough for a place on the bench at the King Power.

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