Welcome back to the penultimate week of the Hive FPL 24/25 season.
GW37 is elongated as a result of the FA Cup on Saturday and the Europa League Final next Wednesday. That means matches start on Friday evening (get your changes in early) and go through all the way to Tuesday and there's not a single league fixture on Saturday. What will you do with your day off?
We've got plenty to cover across all 3 leagues and the cup so let's dive straight in...
Classic League
The titanic battle for the league title between @sperosamuel15 and @blockchainfpl continues.
The gap is now down to just 5 points and with only single digit scores seperating the 2 teams over the last 3 weeks, it seems unlikely that someone is about to make a big move.
In such a tight race, it will come down to a couple of key decisions. Ref's Team, for example, have opted to make an additional transfer at the cost of 4 points in 3 of their last 4 game weeks, a gamble that hasn't necessarily paid off at this moment in time.
They also left Trossard (7 points) and Livramento (7 points) on the bench last week while BlockchainFPL have had Bowen (9 points) on the bench for GW35 and Rogers (6 points) last week. By such fine margins is this league likely to be decided.
In the race for 3rd, Skander's 37 point week has seen them drop out of contention with Hivedeadz and Whyte FC, separated by just a point themselves in 4th and 5th, waiting to pounce should FC McKane slip up.
Below that in the battle to get into the top 10 and be eligible for the larger payout at the end of the season, Ineos Revival and Uwabbs have continued their strong finishes to the season. While a few weeks ago they looked like the 2 most vulnerable positions to a move from the chasing pack, both teams have continued to deliver above average scores and no one below them can match that consistency.
It's now a 37 point gap between 10th and 11th and that would require something spectacular to alter the standings at this stage of the season.
H2H Division 1
Meanwhile in Division 1 of the Head to Head League, the trophy is already decorated with BlockchainFPL's colours and just awaiting for them to be crowned champions.
The only thing that can stop them, 2 defeats in their final 2 matches and their inferior total points to 2nd placed FC McKane who themselves must win their remaining fixtures.
However, it's never over until the fat lady sings!
BlockchainFPL's final 2 opponents Simcard FC and Vickoly FC both have 2 chips left to play while BlockchainFPL themselves have none! We know that Vickoly FC won't actually get through all their chips as they have the Assistant Manager live for this week and so will be left to choose between their Bench Boost and Trip Captain for the final week of the season.
FC McKane take on Legion FC in GW37, a side that hasn't made a change to their squad for the last 7 weeks. They do appear to have at least 11 available players so they can't be completely written off but FC McKane go into that match as massive favourites.
What also swings those ties in their favour is the fact that they also have 2 chips left to play, Bench Boost and Trip Captain and unless Legion FC wake-up, they'll be playing against sides relying just on their 11 players with final week opponents Herbae also out of chips.
In the fight to stay up, Lazz and Suffragette City suffered potentially terminal defeats in GW36 while Espressos got a massive win against Nonz FC.
That victory moves them to within 3 points of the aforementioned Legion FC who at the moment are a bit like a dead duck in the water. It also m
GW36 Results
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC McKane | @mckane | 53 | 37 | Skander | @skanderh |
| Herbae | @herbae | 48 | 37 | Legion fc | @b0s |
| Espressos | @aaalviarez | 53 | 35 | NONZ FC | @nonsowrites |
| Creekside FC | @pappyelblanco | 39 | 44 | Shamzy F.C | @shamzy |
| YAGMAN FC | @yagman01 | 66 | 46 | Suffragette City | @talesfrmthecrypt |
| HallAnd Oats FC | @thoth442 | 50 | 69 | Likodra FC | @teofilex11 |
| Simcard FC | @akomoajong | 52 | 41 | Solat FC | @reservedsingle |
| Lazz | @martinlazizi | 42 | 54 | @BlockchainFPL H2H | @blockchainfpl |
| Vickoly FC | @vickoly | 72 | 47 | Hungry Lions | @gvkanten |
| INEOS REVIVAL | @deniskj | 62 | 56 | Whyte FC | @Ipalibo |
While we don't have the epic '6 pointers' of the last few weeks in GW37 there are still some real crunch matches down there.
Suffragette City must win against bottom club Creekside FC and hope that at least 1 of Legion FC and Nonz FC lose if they are to have any chance of survival.
Nonz FC themselves play already relegated Herbae, although the 2nd bottom side could still finish 18th and as we saw last year, if teams don't act quickly when the new Divisions are set-up then that might be enough to keep you in the top flight. BlockchainFPL were technically relegated last year but got a reprieve for just that reason and now find themselves requiring a point for the title.
Nonz FC do have their final Wildcard still left to play and it will be fascinating to see what squad they put together.
The only really popular FPL pick that has popped up in the Team of the Week over the last 3 GWs is Isak whose decent but hardly spectacular 9 points got him a spot in GW35's best XI. Otherwise, there are a good number of dark horses out their for managers to choose from.
You have to go all the way back to GW28 since the last time one of the 4 Premium players (£10mil+) have had a really substantial week (Mo Salah, 15 points) so throwing caution to the wind might be the way to go if you have either a WC or Free Hit still left to play.
Here for example is your team for the month of May so far (highest points score over the last 3 matches)
The highest ownership in this side is Eze whose 6 goal involvements in his last 3 matches have prompted 14% of teams to bring in the Palace midfielder.
However, 6 members of this team are owned by fewer than 5% of FPL teams and even the likes of Flekken whose ownership is at 10% are most likely to be found as a back-up keeper.
There are definitely some 100 point squads out there in what could be quite a high-scoring last couple of rounds but I'd bank on a lot of points continuing to go to players who aren't necessarily the first names on everyone's transfer wish list.
H2H Division 2
The top 9 sides going into GW36 all won their respective head to heads which means the table is very much as you were.
GW36 Results
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mollina United | @femisapiens | 36 | 30 | ARFANTASY FC | @arfa |
| 11 idiots | No Hive Account Linked | 26 | 42 | Holte Me Close | @stuartcturnbull |
| Tengo Rangers FC | @tengolotodo | 46 | 29 | Diistroyers | @diikaan |
| Tricky Trees 2024 | @doombot75 | 46 | 40 | Newton Heath FC | @samirich |
| Monitox | No Hive Account Linked | 19 | 33 | Mighty Fc | @twicejoy |
| Ref's team | @sperosamuel15 | 54 | 49 | TGIF | @gentleshaid |
| Lame Ducks | No Hive Account Linked | 31 | 46 | Hiveheadz | @borran |
| Ifeyemi Fc | @valchiz | 45 | 37 | Dapomola fc | @dapomolaaaa |
| Jungle Boy | @george-dee | 49 | 41 | Tilia | No Hive Account Linked |
| Olawalium FC | @olawalium | 34 | 42 | GunnersLoverFC | @nwt93 |
| Kraken99 | @kraken99 | 45 | 18 | Trinex fc | @og-gamershub |
| Micheal Fc | @micheal87 | 53 | 36 | Headies | @Headies |
| racibo | @racibo | 45 | 57 | Outside of Time | No Hive Account Linked |
| Kane and Unable | @jmehta | 38 | 42 | Ballgasms | @preshpresh |
| samostically | @samostically | 44 | 31 | Happyboys FC | @happyboy1 |
| Wanderteam | @kelvinpeters | 47 | 44 | Holozing.com | @acidyo |
| rubilu | @rubilu | 48 | 41 | Tangram | @desro |
| RHYDA | @rhyda1 | 38 | 39 | Change Name | No Hive Account Linked |
| The Beast | @iamchuks | 31 | 60 | ALH | No Hive Account Linked |
| Hornstra XI | @elvis123 | 48 | 52 | SportsNerd | @saif-ul-wahab |
| Formidable Milano | @damolexy | 54 | 30 | The Urge | @kenzzi |
| Coldone | @nasfyneboy92 | 40 | 34 | Cygnus FC | @donjaun |
| foloxfc | @thelonegreywolf | 32 | 42 | KELLYMAN FC | @justfavour |
| Change Name | No Hive Account Linked | 41 | 32 | The Dream Team | @spidersilk |
| ArgyeeChitthuFC | @agct1226 | 48 | 40 | HIVE KILL STEEM | No Hive Account Linked |
| Hadji | @hadji | 51 | 46 | OG Squad | @graat |
| The Cella’s | @blanchy | 33 | 42 | Stevenson FC | @stevenson7 |
| Chris Football Club | @hiveworld | 32 | 47 | Hungry Lions | @gvkanten |
| Yahuzah | @yahuzah | 59 | 34 | Akatsuki | @seki1 |
| Smiley Team | @carita-feliz | 51 | 36 | ACX United | @pvmihalache |
| Barca | @muka-vybz | 43 | 33 | Emeka4 | @emeka4 |
Hiveheadz are now definitely promoted back to Division 1. Samostically, Ref's Team and Jungle Boys are all but there and know that a win in their GW37 matches would guarantee them a top 5 spot.
The big question then is who will nab that 5th placed finish? It looks to be a 3 way shoot out between Holte me Close, Formidable Milano, and Hadji with just a point separating the 3 clubs going into the final 2 rounds of fixtures.
Holte me Close definitely need to maintain that 1 point gap because they have a significantly inferior total score compared to the 2 sides immediately below them.
Formidable Milano face Dream Team in GW37, a side that has not been actively playing for some time and who by the looks of it won't have more than 8 or 9 players that actually start a game over the weekend. 3 points looks assured for them.
Holte me Close and Hadji face sides who also don't make regular updates to their sides but who have at least done enough to their squads to leave them with a squad of players likely to start in GW37.
Holte me Close can help mitigate that risk with their last remaining chip, the Bench Boost or they may choose to keep that up their sleeve for the final day fixture.
Hadji actually have 3 chips left to play and so really should be able to win their final 2 matches. Will they regret not being able to play all 3 if they come up just short?
Meanwhile Formidable Milano are out of chips. It certainly doesn't look like that will be a factor this week but they face tougher opposition in the final round as they bid to take advantage of any slip up from Holte me Close.
Hive FPL Cup
We're down to the final 4 sides in Hive FPL Cup!
As predicted, it was another very close round of fixtures in the Quarter Finals with no side winning by more than 6 points.
The big shock? HallAnd Oats FC are out! @thoth442 's winning run in the cup stretching all the way back to the inaugural season of Hive FPL (18 matches) has come to an end. A new name will be on Hive FPL Cup trophy this season but who?
Here are the semi-final line-ups...
@uwabbs001 v @george-dee
We noted above that Uwabbs FC's strong form towards the back end of the season has seen them take and maintain a spot in the top 10 of the Classic League but it's also helped catapult them into the semis of the Cup. Standing in their way are Jungle Boys whose H2H record this season almost certainly looks likely to see them playing in Division 1 in 25/26. Which one of these sides can crown an already successful season with a spot in the final?
Chip wise, Jungle Boys hold a potential advantage with their triple captain still to play. Will they use it now or save it for the final round? They seem to be wedded to Salah as far as the armband goes, a no-brainer for much of the season but the Liverpool man has just 1 goal and 1 assist in his last 7 matches.
While the points tallies over recent weeks look pretty close between these 2, you do have to take into consideration that Jungle Boys have had their AM chip active for the last 3 weeks. If it's a straight shoot out in an 11 v 11 contest then Uwabss have the better form to rely on.
Jungle Boys are banking on a City clean sheet at home to Bournemouth which on current form looks a decent possibility. Uwabbs defensive options look a little more shaky. A defining factor could be how Arsenal and Newcastle approach their match on Sunday. A draw wouldn't be a bad result for either team, especially considering their opponents in the final round so we may be in for a low scoring, cagey affair.
Again, a match with differentials across the entire frontline. If nothing else, it highlights how FPL's pricing of Haaland at the start of the season impacted the game in a negative way. Yes, I know managers could choose not to have him in their squad but since his injury, it's lead to a lot more variety than was previously possible.
Of course, the Norwegian's return from injury might impact Marmoush's playing time but I'd be surprised if he plays in both the Cup Final and the league match on Tuesday. Uwabbs face a similar issue with Mateta while Jungle Boy's front 3 all have the EPL as their sole focus for GW37.
@shamzy v @akomoajong
Simcard FC continue to stumble through their head to head fixtures with great success this year. They are 10th in Division 1 despite having the 3rd lowest total score in the league, that tally only being good enough for 48th in the Classic League. But hey, it's often better in life to be lucky than it is good!
You could however say that Shamzy FC enjoyed their own piece of good fortune in reaching this far as they recorded the lowest winning score (44) at the Quarter Finals stage.
That will have been a major disappointment for them considering they played a wildcard in GW36 which returned them just a point over the game average. Will that revamped squad pay-off for them in GW37?
Simcard FC also have their 2nd wildcard left to play as well as their bench boost while Shamzy FC still have their Assistant Manager chip which if played this week would of course continue to be active for the final round.
I guess the big question for Simcard FC is do they have enough within their squad now to be confident that they'll get a decent return on the BB chip? Neither Robinson or Murillo featured in GW36 but aren't definitely out for this week. The likes of Mazraoui could be rested with Wednesday's final in mind.
There is plenty of potential for points from the midfield differentials. Rogers and KDB both enjoy home advantage and you'd expect multiple goals from Villa and City this week. The only concern again may come if KDB is prioritised for the Cup Final and rested for the league game.
Palmer at home to United looks a good bet for captain even if he has had a disappointing final third of the season while Schade is in red hot form with 4 goals in his last 3 games.
Best of luck to everyone competing in the various Hive FPL competitions this week and of course to the accounts that have entered the Samba Pools and claimed their free bet. If you missed out for round 37, don't worry, they'll be another opportunity for round 38!