Premium players disappointed once again in FPL Gameweek 36 as Eberechi Eze impressed.
In this article, we take a look at a few highlights of the weekend&#8217;s action and cover the key <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> leaders of the gameweek.
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<h2>Mbeumo returns for captaincy backers but Schade shines again</h2>
There was no runaway favourite for the captaincy in Gameweek 35 &#8211; but the picture was much clearer this week.
Just over half of the top 250,000 managers went for Bryan Mbeumo as their captain, with the Brentford midfielder facing Ipswich (A).
The expected goal fest failed to materialise, although Mbeumo did get the assist for the only goal of the game, scored by Kevin Schade.
Schade has out-performed both Mbeumo and popular transfer target Yoane Wissa in recent weeks. It was his second double-digit haul in a row and fourth goal in three matches.
Wissa came away from the Ipswich match empty handed, picking up a yellow card for a disappointing one-pointer. He did however have the most shots among his teammates &#8211; five &#8211; but only one was on target.
<div id="attachment_72816" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-72816" class="size-full wp-image-72816" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/GW36-captaincy-top-250k.jpg" alt="Top 250,000 captaincy split" width="800" height="650" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/GW36-captaincy-top-250k.jpg 800w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/GW36-captaincy-top-250k-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/GW36-captaincy-top-250k-768x624.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />Top 250,000 captaincy split</div>
<h2>Premium picks disappoint</h2>
It was another poor showing from the game&#8217;s premium players, with no one who scored 10 or more FPL points costing more than £6.9m.
The returning Erling Haaland failed to score or assist, as did Cole Palmer and Mohamed Salah among others.
And as pointed out by former <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@FantasyFootballHub/streams">Green Arrow</a> podcast host <a href="https://x.com/Hoptastats/status/1921820819958735048">Adam Hopcroft</a> on Twitter, this is not a new trend.
No player priced above £8.3m is in the top 20 points scorers since Gameweek 28. Harvey Barnes, Jacob Murphy and Eberechi Eze instead lead the way.
Salah and Alexander Isak rank third and fifth for expected points but their totals of 41 and 42 leave them short of Morgan Rogers and others in 20th (44).
Palmer (Manchester United &#8211; H) and Salah (Crystal Palace &#8211; H) are among the premiums with good fixtures left &#8211; but will their form persuade the majority to look elsewhere for captaincy?
<div id="attachment_72817" style="width: 691px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-72817" class="size-full wp-image-72817" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Hopcroft-stats.jpg" alt="Adam Hopcroft points out the premium picks' troubles of late" width="681" height="300" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Hopcroft-stats.jpg 681w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Hopcroft-stats-300x132.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 681px) 100vw, 681px" />Adam Hopcroft points out the premium picks&#8217; troubles of late</div>
<h2>Eze continues fine form</h2>
It&#8217;s been a brutal points swing for those who went for Ismaila Sarr over Eze on Wildcard in Gameweek 30 or 31.
Eze has five goals and two assists in that time, while Sarr has two assists.
Eze&#8217;s expected points is around 10 higher than Sarr&#8217;s but the actual points difference is much wider, with Eze scoring 53 to Sarr&#8217;s 22.
Only Isak has a better expected goals (xG) tally than Eze&#8217;s 4.15, although that figure includes two penalties. Given Eze missed one of his spot-kicks, the difference between him and his teammate could have been even wider.
Eze was one of the biggest under-performers of his expected points in the early weeks of the season but the gap between his expected and actual totals has narrowed. He is now just six short of his expected total of 145.51.
Crystal Palace comfortably beat Spurs on Sunday, racking up a league best 3.38 xG.
Eze scored twice, while Sarr&#8217;s early goal was ruled out for a marginal offside call on Jean-Philippe Mateta.
There was some serious points dodging on display from Palace players in the first half, with Munoz hitting the bar and Mateta missing a big chance.
<div id="attachment_72819" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-72819" class="size-full wp-image-72819" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Eze-v-Sarr-GW30-36.jpg" alt="Eberechi Eze v Ismaila Sarr" width="800" height="650" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Eze-v-Sarr-GW30-36.jpg 800w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Eze-v-Sarr-GW30-36-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Eze-v-Sarr-GW30-36-768x624.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />Eberechi Eze v Ismaila Sarr</div>
<h2>City fail to break down Saints</h2>
Southampton held Manchester City to a 0-0 draw &#8211; a poor outcome for both the Champions League chasers and FPL managers who backed them heavily.
Pre-match team leaks confirming Omar Marmoush was to be benched and that Haaland would make his first start since returning from injury prompted some late transfers ahead of Saturday&#8217;s deadline.
But none of the City players could break through Saints&#8217; stubborn defence, leaving Ruben Dias to complain post-match:
<blockquote>&#8220;They don’t even try anything, they just sit and they don’t even want to win the game. They just want to be there. It is no good for the show and no good for themselves. It is no good for anyone but it is what it is.&#8221;</blockquote>
City had 26 shots on goal &#8211; more than any other team in Gameweek 36.
They could only manage five on target though &#8211; and no big chances &#8211; with their 1.95 xG only fifth best of the weekend.
Pep Guardiola disagree with Dias&#8217;s assessment of the game, stating:
<blockquote>&#8220;You have to break it and we had the chances. We did not concede one shot on target and they didn’t do much but we have to accept the way they play.
&#8220;It belongs to Simon [Rusk, the Southampton interim manager] and his assistant coaches. I don’t agree with Ruben. We have to accept it.&#8221;</blockquote>
<div id="attachment_72820" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-72820" class="size-full wp-image-72820" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Haaland-GW36.jpg" alt="Erling Haaland's stats" width="798" height="650" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Haaland-GW36.jpg 798w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Haaland-GW36-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Haaland-GW36-768x626.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" />Erling Haaland&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></div>
<h2>Opta stats leaders for FPL Gameweek 36: Players</h2>
Here are the gameweek&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> leaders in full:
<ul>
<li>Shots &#8211; Harry Wilson &#8211; 8</li>
<li>Shots on target &#8211; Harry Wilson &#8211; 3</li>
<li>Shots in the box &#8211; Chris Wood &#8211; 5</li>
<li>Big chances &#8211; Chris Wood, Eddie Nketiah, Mikel Merino, Luis Diaz, Rasmus Hojlund and Eberechi Eze &#8211; 2</li>
<li>Goals &#8211; Eberechi Eze &#8211; 2</li>
<li>xG &#8211; Rasmus Hojlund &#8211; 1.31</li>
<li>Non-penalty xG (NpxG) &#8211; Rasmus Hojlund &#8211; 1.31</li>
<li>Key passes &#8211; Amad &#8211; 5</li>
<li>Big chances created &#8211; Ismaila Sarr, Ashley Young, Amad and Leandro Trossard &#8211; 2</li>
<li>Assists &#8211; Multiple players &#8211; 1</li>
<li>Expected assists (xA) &#8211; Jacob Murphy &#8211; 0.82</li>
<li>FPL points &#8211; Eberechi Eze &#8211; 16</li>
<li>Expected points (xPts) &#8211; Eberechi Eze &#8211; 9.6</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="mceTemp">Opta stats leaders for FPL Gameweek 36: Teams</h3>
<ul>
<li>Most shots &#8211; Manchester City (v Southampton) &#8211; 26</li>
<li>Highest xG &#8211; Crystal Palace (v Spurs) &#8211; 3.38</li>
<li>Lowest xG &#8211; Southampton (v City) &#8211; 0.11</li>
</ul>
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FPL Gameweek 36 notes: Eze and Schade shine, premiums struggle again

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