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FPL Tips: Christian Benteke to lead the line?

FPL Tips: Christian Benteke to lead the line?
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Burnley and Crystal Palace feature strongly in gameweek 36's recommendations, while Gareth Bale muscles in on the action for Tottenham.

Burnley provide late-season differential potential while Gareth Bale and Eberechi Eze are two of the exciting Fantasy Premier League names to consider this week.

No sooner was a packed gameweek 35 wrapped up than a new one begins with a Friday teatime deadline – who should you trust for the final stages of the season?

Raise a glass to Clarets

Top attacking picks for FPL gameweek 36
Chris Wood leads all players in gameweek 36's Transfer Scores (PA graphic)

Chris Wood has been a regular in our recommendations in recent weeks, driven by a run of eight goals and 66 fantasy points in eight games.

Form makes up 50 per cent of the PA news agency's Transfer Score for each player, with the remainder combining cost, ownership and fixture difficulty rating (FDR) – remarkably, the £6.4million Kiwi is still selected in less than four per cent of all teams.

His transfer score of 87 out of 100 comfortably leads all strikers ahead of resurgent Crystal Palace man Christian Benteke (71), with Roberto Firmino's brace against Manchester United sparking a last-ditch jump to third for the Liverpool star (69).

Burnley's burst clear of relegation danger is not all down to Wood, however, and midfielder Ashley Westwood has two goals and an assist in their last four games to break onto the midfield podium.

London pair shine in midfield

Top midfield picks for FPL gameweek 36
Gareth Bale and Eberechi Eze have sparkled at times late in the season (PA graphic)

Bale's up-and-down loan spell back at Tottenham has trended in a positive direction once more in recent weeks, never more so than with a hat-trick in the win over Sheffield United, and he trails only Wood in form (eight points per game compared to 8.5) and transfer score (82).

Just behind him in midfield is another exciting London-based winger in Eze, whose solo runs have lit up Palace's late-season fixtures and saw him score as well as setting up Benteke's opener in the 2-0 win over the Blades.

Minimal 1.4 per cent ownership helps him to a transfer score of 79, pipping Westwood (78) to second spot in midfield.

Llorente Leeds the way

Top defensive picks for FPL gameweek 36
Diego Llorente is an overlooked bargain in defence (PA graphic)

Leeds match Liverpool for the easiest run-in by FDR, helping defender Diego Llorente score over 90 in three of the four transfer score categories.

At £4.4m and selected by just one of every 200 managers, the Spaniard has scores of 93 and 99 in those columns as well as 100 on FDR, with his solid form – averaging 5.2 points per game and translating in a score of 62 out of 100 – rounding out a transfer score of 79.

That is enough to pip Everton's Ben Godfrey (77) to top spot in our defensive rankings this week, with Liverpool's resurgent Trent Alexander-Arnold (74) next up for those with money to spare.

Llorente's team-mate Illan Meslier is one of three goalkeepers tied on 70, ranking just behind Sheffield United's Aaron Ramsdale and Everton's Jordan Pickford after the decimal as barely a point separates a top four completed by Liverpool's Alisson Becker (69).

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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland149322391430
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd149321871128
3Leeds UnitedLeeds147522291326
4Watford158162322125
5Burnley146621761124
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom14572148622
7Millwall146441712522
8Middlesbrough146351816221
9Swansea CitySwansea14545119219
10Blackburn RoversBlackburn145451616019
11Bristol City144731819-119
12Norwich CityNorwich144642320318
13Derby CountyDerby145361818018
14Stoke CityStoke145361718-118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds145361724-718
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry144371819-115
18Hull City143651518-315
19Luton TownLuton144371621-515
20Preston North EndPreston143651420-615
21Cardiff CityCardiff144371320-715
22Plymouth ArgylePlymouth144371425-1115
23Queens Park RangersQPR141761223-1110
24Portsmouth141671327-149


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