The Hive FPL returns for GW28 after a weekend of FA Cup matches.

Liverpool further extended their lead at the top in the midweek round of games prior to that and it's beginning to look like a question of when not if they will be crowned champions.

The more exciting battles appear to be for European qualification with 6 points separating 3rd from 10th and at the bottom. It felt like Wolves were beginning to acquire both points and momentum to pull themselves away from the bottom 3 but Cunha's latest moment of madness against Bournemouth on Saturday sees him suspended for 3 massive Premier League matches.

Lets have a look a look at the fixtures and players to watch out for in more detail

The early kick-off on Saturday sees 3rd placed Forest host 4th placed City. The Tricky Trees have won just 1 of their last 5 league games and any hopes of 'doing a Leicester' have faded very quickly. Their primary concern now will be doing enough to get a Champions League spot.

Of course, that too is the bare minimum for City this year although their form has gradually been improving. Their only league defeats of 2025 have come against the current top 2 and they'll fancy a strong finish to the season especially considering that their focus is now entirely on the league and the FA Cup.

That FA Cup run could lead to both blank and double game weeks for City between now and the end of the season, so one to watch out for!

Haaland (FWD) returned from injury to score against Spurs last time out making it 7 out of his last 8 league appearances in which he's registered at least a goal involvement. He may not be putting up the massive numbers that he did in recent seasons but he remains a consistent point scorer and is now appearing in just 26% of squads making him a more than handy differential.

Of course, he goes head to head with surprise golden boot contender Wood (FWD) who has been similarly consistent this season. In the same period and bearing in mind that Haaland missed a game, the Forest forward has has recorded goal involvements in his 7 of his last 9 league appearances. Perhaps what is more impressive is that the New Zealander has hit double figures in 4 of the last 19 GWs compared to the Norwegian who has managed that feat just twice over the same period.

Another key match as sides jockey for position sees 8th taking on 9th. After being hammered 7-0 by Forest, Brighton have undergone a great run of form with 3 straight wins in the league and a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals secured alongside today's visitors.

Key to the Seagulls run has been the form of Minteh (MID) who has delivered 3 goal involvements in his last 3 games. His underlying stats are also impressive with expected goal involvements of 2.2 over his last 4 games. During that same time he is also ranked 1st overall on the ICT and 1st for goal threat. Brighton don't have the easiest run of games coming up but at £5mil he might be worth a punt especially as he will be available next week too.

Robinson (DEF) continues to be Fulham's most popular FPL pick with 10 assists to his name this season. However, the American full-back has only 1 assist and 1 clean sheet to his name in his last 6 matches. He's currently valued at £5.1mil, up from a starting point of £4.5mil and his net transferred have just started to slip into the negative. Is now the right time to cash in on him?

The big blow for Palace and FPL managers is the injury to Mateta (FWD) who is listed as having a 25% chance of playing in this game. Given the 25 stitches he needed at the weekend, I can't see him playing and with Palace having no game in GW29 then I'd imagine a lot of managers will be looking to bring in a replacement anyway.

Nketiah (FWD) came off the bench to score his first league goal for Palace against Villa. He also replaced Mateta in that game at Milwall and again got on the score sheet. He's a very different player than the big Frenchman but it does look like he'll get a chance to play in his preferred position through the middle against an Ipswich team that's leaking plenty of goals.

Otherwise, Sarr (MID) took his points tally beyond the 100 mark with a double strike against Villa last time out. Pretty good returns from a player who wasn't a first team regular for the initial quarter of the season. Meanwhile Munoz (DEF) continued his fine form with another assist in GW27 to make in goal involvements in 4 of his last 5 matches.

It's March, the cricket season is just around the corner and who knows, we might see our first cricket score of 2025 when top meets bottom.

Presumably the only concern for FPL managers is that Slot might rest players for this one considering the side's exploits in Europe during the week, the return fixture against PSG on Tuesday, the Cup Final next weekend and then a Merseyside derby on return from the international break. As far as stature goes, this fixture looks like the odd one out!

The opposing view point is that this is a great chance to open a 16 point gap on Arsenal and send them to Old Trafford on Sunday knowing that anything but a win would mean the title race is over.

Past performance is never a guarantee of future outcomes but if we go on what we've seen so far this season then we know that a.) Brentford are strong at home and their fixtures at the GTech usually result in goals and b.) Villa struggle in the league after playing in Europe midweek.

On the first point, Brentford's home form has dipped in the 2nd half of the season but with the league their sole focus for the remainder of 24/25 and this match giving them the opportunity to close the gap on Villa to just a point with a game in hand then you'd imagine they'll be up for the fight.

Villa have kept just 3 clean sheets all season in the Premier League meaning that Brentford's usual suspects in Wissa (FWD) and Mbeumo (MID) both of who have registered goal involvements in their last 2 appearances look like a good bet.

Sexy January signings Asensio (MID) and Rashford (MID) are turning heads but FPL managers will be minded that despite encouraging early displays both players minutes are being carefully managed at present. Rule number 1 for FPL is that you've got to be on the pitch to score the points.

To certain extent in a era of fairly boring players who have been drilled by their club's press officer to give standard answers to standard questions, Wolves Cunha (FWD) is a bit of throw back to a time when players had personality. You can't excuse the Brazilian's latest rush of blood following an incident earlier in the season where he attempted to fight his own players, sandwiched in between a public desire to leave the club in the January transfer window but it does at least make him seem a bit more 'real'.

Still, Wolves will miss him for this one and the 2 that follow. He would have been my pick to replace the injured Mateta especially given his form (it's easy to forget he scored an absolute worldy in the match at the weekend before the red card) and Wolves fixture list. Strand-Larsson (FWD) is available again following injury but despite a strong start to the campaign has scored just 1 league goal since GW14.

Everton can point to the fact that they too have a number of forwards unavailable but their last remaining option up front is enjoying good form and continues to get in goal scoring positions. In fact, Beto (FWD) hasn't recorded an XG of less than 0.42 in any of the 5 games he' started since Moyes arrival. Everton have a fairly horrendous run of fixtures in April but this match and a game against West Ham next weekend might be enough to tempt a few more to look at the Portugese forward at least in the short-run.

I'd imagine that for many FPL manager, this match represents Palmer's (MID) last chance at redemption following his longest dry spell since he became a Premier League regular.

As the 3rd most expensive player in the game, FPL managers would expect more from the England midfielder. With Haaland (FWD) now offering far more consistent returns and Saka (MID) due to return to action shortly then managers will also see that the funds they are spending on the Chelsea man could easily be invested elsewhere.

Let's be honest, this is a game that Chelsea should fill their boots in. To suggest that Leicester look like a Championship side does the clubs in that league a disservice. The Foxes gamble on a manager with very little experience has backfired and it would take a miracle for them to not go down.

With Jackson (FWD) still out injured then Neto (MID) is likely to continue to lead the line for Chelsea. He's registered 4 goal involvements in his last 4 league matches including an 11 point haul last time out against Southampton.

Bournemouth's charge up the table towards European qualification seems to have faltered for now but they will be keen to restart a good run against an unpredictable Spurs side. Tottenham lacked any kind of fluency in their midweek game in Europe and aside from the 4 goals that they scored against Ipswich they've generally lacked threat of late. Bizarrely, they did have the best defence record in the league last month, conceding just twice.

Solanke (FWD) did come off the bench for Spurs on Thursday night and his return to form and fitness would be a welcome boost, he has 12 goal involvements in 18 league matches this season.

As for Bournemouth, despite Spurs recent uptick in defence, you'd still fancy that the pace and power of the Cherries forward line will cause problems. They too welcome the return of a focal point in attack with Evanilson (FWD) the man who replaced Solanke at Bournemouth and who has 9 goal involvements in the first 17 Premier League matches of his career.

This has been a classic Premier League fixture for many decades although the current position of United means that it doesn't quite hold the allure of the Ferguson v Wenger clashes of old. Indeed, this is a must win for only one side, Arsenal, although a good performance/result would be a welcome tonic for Almorim and his team.

It's also a contest between 2 sides who would kill for a natural born goal scorer in their ranks. When you consider the names that have graced this fixture in the past, that fact that the 2 sides might well line-up with Hojlund (FWD) and Merino (MID) as their central attacking threats does mean that it's difficult to get too excited over the kind of football you might see.

Yes, Arsenal did score 7 against PSV in midweek. Perhaps they can do the same against ~~Ajax~~ United?

Trossard (MID) scored the winner in the equivalent match last season and given Arsenal's lack of other options in attack, is enjoying an extended run in the starting XI. On that front, he'll be disappointed that he's only contributed a single assist from his last 5 league matches but his underlying stats do suggest he could turn that around.

Arsenal might also feel that this match and the home game against Chelsea will see them come up against sides who won't employ the low-bocks that they appear to be having difficulty breaking down at present. Can they take advantage of that to theoretically keep the title race alive a little longer?

A lovely game to nod off to on a Monday night.

West Ham do come into the match with back to back league wins, the first time they've achieved that this season. Meanwhile, Newcastle are one of a number of teams flirting with Champions League qualification without really wanting to commit to a sustained relationship with the top 5.

Of course for the Magpies, it's difficult for them not to have one eye on next weekend's League Cup Final as they chase a rare piece of silverware. That match also means that Newcastle don't play in GW29 and with Hall (DEF) now out injured for the remainder of the season and Gordon (MID) suspended for this one it does pose the question of what to do with your Newcastle assets including Isak (FWD).

Given that Salah (MID) is also unavailable next week, it leaves managers mulling over the fact that 2 of the 3 most popular players in the game won't be scoring points next weekend.

For those who have their free hit still to play then the equation is far more simple. For those who have already pulled the trigger on that chip then tough decisions await!

Division 1

GW27 Results

GW28 Fixtures

Division 2

GW27 Results

GW28 Fixtures