The Best FPL Gameweek 34 Free Hit Team 

WC32’ers, our time is now! 

Now let me start this off by saying this Free Hit 34 Team was anything but easy. Genuinely there are so many different routes, differentials, double ups and permutations to choose from.  So naturally we have gone for a mix of all 3.  

If you are after more differential routes to points, then make sure you check out our Best Gameweek 34 Differentials piece as well as our Best Captains for Gameweek 34 piece.  

And as always, make sure you check in with our Predicted Line-Ups and Team News Hub before locking in any changes. 

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get stuck into the best Gameweek 34 Free Hit Team. 

 

Goalkeeper 

David Raya – £6.0m 

As a Newcastle fan, I can tell you right now; we are terrible. Now yes, Arsenal have conceded 2 goals apiece in each of their last 2 games but it is important to remember that both Bournemouth and Man City have some of the best attacks in the league. Newcastle, on the other hand, is one of the worst in the league at the moment. The prospect of Gabriel and Saliba with a fire under them, against Will Osula and Jacob Murphy, means we’re covering Arsenal defence this week, and Raya is a solid place to start. 

 

Defence 

Pedro Porro – £5.1m 

With Wolves’ relegation now officially sealed, and a 3-0 and 4-0 loss to Leeds and West Ham in their last two, it’s safe to say Wolves’ mini resurgence is probably over. Combine this with the fact they have reported bust ups on the training ground and all in all it looks like Wolves are there for the taking. 

However, given its Spurs, I don’t quite feel comfortable doubling up as Spurs have also been God awful of late and there is a very easy to imagine version of events where they lose 2-0 to Wolves. That being said, Wolves have gone goalless in their last 2 while conceding 7. So, a player like Porro who can cover the clean sheet percentage as well as some potential attacking returns fits the bill perfectly. 

 

 James Tarkwoski – £5.7m 

This one was tough; we either had to pick between an Everton defender or Jarrod Bowen. If this season has told us anything, it’s if in doubt, go for defenders. Everton have conceded the 4th least goals and have the 3rd most clean sheets in the entire league this season, behind only Arsenal, Man City and Crystal Palace.  

So, backing their defence never feels like a bad idea. Outside of Wolves, West Ham have actually not been as great going forward, going scoreless against both Palace and Villa. He also averages 10.31 DefCons per game, so he also offers a pretty good floor. 

 

Gabriel Magalhaes – £7.1m 

Completing the Arsenal defensive double up is Gabriel. We do not need to elaborate on why this man is in the team.  

 

Virgil Van Dijk – £6.2m 

One of the best defensive assets in the game right now. Liverpool’s form has improved from their mid-season slump and have now won 6 of their last 10 league games. They have particularly improved defensively, where they have now entered the top 5 for clean sheets and are just one behind Everton in 4th. Combine this with the fact Crystal Palace have scored the 3rd least goals in the league this year and the prospect of a clean sheet looks pretty good. 

Van Dijk himself is an absolute beast as well. On top of the clean sheet percentage, he also offers a very solid Defcon potential and an almost unparalleled set-piece threat, where he is averaging an xGI of 0.31 per 90 across their last 8 league games. Every single cross seems to be aimed right at him. 

 

 

Midfield 

Morgan Gibbs-White – £7.5m 

Forest’s talisman has been on absolute fire recently, registering 6 goals in his last 6 games. He now takes on a Sunderland side who just conceded 4 away to Aston Villa. Forest are now unbeaten in their last 5 games and are pulling further and further away from the relegation zone. They are still not out of the woods yet but are currently playing with a renewed determination which seems to have lit a fire amongst the players. They have now scored 8 goals across their last 3 games and are showing no signs of slowing down. If this form can keep going, especially against a team who just conceded 4, then Gibbs-White is in a great position for some more hauls. 

 

Mo Salah – £14.0m 

Now this one is more sentimental than anything. Have Palace only conceded 2 goals in their last 4 games? Yes. Do we care? No. This is the last time I will probably ever own Salah as an FPL asset and I am going to take it.  

He’s hardly in a bad spot either, with 3 goals in his last 3 starts. We won’t dive into his xG, or Palace’s areas of weakness for what it is mainly a sentimental pick.  

 

Bruno Fernandes – £10.3m 

Another man who needs absolutely zero elaboration on his presence in this team. 8 goals and 19 assists on the year is absolutely bonkers.  

 

 

Forwards 

Igor Thiago – £7.4m 

With a whopping 21 goals already this season, it’s safe to say this man is absolutely cooking right now. Be under no illusion, even though Man United look hot going forward, don’t be assuming their defence is  as good. They only have 1 clean sheet in their last 6 and tend to give up plenty of chances to opposition forwards.  

In fact, of Leeds’ 2.95 xG on the game, a whopping 2.81 came directly from directly in between the penalty spot and the 2 goal posts. Exactly where strikers tend to operate. Now yes, United were down to 10 men, but it’s safe to say United’s problem area was defending just outside their 6-yard box. 

 

Ollie Watkins £8.6m 

With 4 returns in his last 3 games, it’s safe to say Watkins is in pretty sharp form right now. Villa have now scored 7 in their last 3 and with the fixtures they have are showing no signs of slowing down. Watkins in particular has been receiving great service and is averaging 0.85 xGI per 90 across their last 3 league games. 

They now take on a Fulham side who only have 1 win in their last 5 and have now crept into the bottom 5 for lowest xGA. With Iwobi and Tete also battling injuries, and Villa in sparkling form, this could easily be a multiple return week for Watkins. Especially in the form he’s in. 

 

Beto – £5.0m 

If you are looking for a budget differential option this week, then Beto is your man. Beto has been in blistering form, registering 5 returns in his last 3 games. So, his form is no doubt. What is potentially even more encouraging, however, is the underlying numbers. He is averaging an xGI of 0.53 since his reintroduction to the starting lineup. 

Again, we saw a lot of people going for the West Ham assets route over Everton so we thought we’d swim the other way. Not least considering Everton is the better team… 

However, he did go off injured against Liverpool with a head injury, but all reports seem to suggest he’ll be good to go against West Ham. Nonetheless, it is one to keep an eye on. 

 

The Bench 

Kept it nice and simple with some more Everton coverage. If Beto is injured, we will likely go ahead and start KDH. Simons was a tough omission given the fixture, but I honestly just don’t trust Spurs enough yet to double up. Mukiele is in for obvious reasons, but the Forest fixture scares me a bit considering Forest’s recent form and the hiding Sunderland’s defence just took. 

If Mamardashvili is injured you can naturally replace him with any keeper you want.

 

Final Thoughts 

There is no template Free Hit Team this week which makes things equally exciting. So whatever route you go down will likely have a much more profound effect on your rank. So brace yourselves.  

There are a few key features that shaped the building of this team. The first is Arsenal’s defence. A lot of people seemed to be panicking over the Arsenal defence like they haven’t just played 2 of the league’s better attacks. Newcastle are terrible right now so we can have a lot more faith in that backline. We are even thinking about the triple-up. 

The next debate, and one we have seen a lot, is the Everton vs West Ham debate. I have seen lot’s of teams with Bowen, Mavropanos and even Fernandes in. Now don’t get me wrong, West Ham definitely haven’t been bad recently, but I think there is too much reading into the hype of the Wolves result. Palace should have brought that back down to earth. Now yes they kept a clean sheet against Palace, but Palace have scored the 3rd least goals in the league this season, so we will not read too deep into that either.  

The attacking 6 are all in great form and have solid fixtures, so that combination should hopefully yield some strong returns. 

 

Other Great Options 

There are plenty of other great FH34 options that we couldn’t fit in, such as: 

• Timber/Saliba 

• Rogers 

• Pickford 

• Garner 

• Wilson 

• Szoboszlai 

• Wirtz 

• Mbeumo 

• Cunha 

• Anderson 

• Igor Jesus 

• Danso 

• Solanke 

• Ballard 

• Summerville 

Ideally, every Free Hit team should be comprised of players from the current team and this list. 

 

Check out our Game Week Tips section for more Game Week 34 Tips.