Everton vs Newcastle

A long, and frustrating for many, Gameweek 34 is finally over. Fantasy Premier League players must quickly regroup for Gameweek 35, which only features six games due to the FA Cup semifinals.

Many people will be using their Free Hit chip, revamping their squads for one week only. So here's a look at all six league games, and who you want to have FPL-wise.
West Brom vs. Liverpool (Saturday, 7:30 a.m. ET): Mohamed Salah (10.5 million pounds) is a must-have after he scored yet another goal in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Bournemouth last Saturday. The other members of the front three, Roberto Firmino (9.4 million) and Sadio Mane (9.5 million), scored against Bournemouth as well. Mane is on just 10.6 percent of FPL rosters, compared to 38.7 percent for Firmino, if you're looking for a differential.

You'll also want at least one Liverpool defender, going up against a West Brom team that has scored just 27 goals -- tied with Swansea and Huddersfield for the lowest total in the league. Center back Virgil van Dijk (5.7 million) is the safest option in terms of rotation, but fullbacks Andy Robertson (5.1 million) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (4.4 million) provide more attacking threat, with the latter picking up an assist last week. Keep in mind, though, that Liverpool's Champions League semifinal first leg against Roma is on Tuesday ... rotation at fullback is definitely a possibility.
Congrats to West Brom on knocking off Manchester United last Sunday, but they're still the worst team in the league and headed down to the Championship. I wouldn't select any of their players this week, especially given the opponent.Watford vs. Crystal Palace (Saturday, 10 a.m. ET): It's hard to get excited about anyone on Watford right now, coming off a 1-0 defeat at Huddersfield. They mustered just four shots in that game with only two on target and a minuscule expected goals total of 0.25.

Crystal Palace, on the other hand, beat Brighton 3-2 last Saturday, with two goals from Wilfried Zaha and two assists from Luka Milivojevic. Yes, they're playing away from home this week, but they also have more to play for -- they're currently in 16th place on 34 points, closer to the relegation zone than Watford in 12th place on 37 points.

Milivojevic (5.2 million pounds) is a steal given his penalty-kick prowess (he had a goal in each of the previous three games). Zaha (6.9 million) also scored a goal in Gameweek 33, so he's in great form. And if you're not using your Free Hit, Palace's final three opponents are Leicester (home), Stoke (away) and West Brom (home) -- very nice.

Arsenal vs. West Ham (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET): On the surface, you'd love Arsenal's chances in this matchup ... but it's not as good as it looks. Never mind that the Gunners are coming off a 2-1 loss at Newcastle last Sunday. The bigger problem is that Arsene Wenger is prioritizing the Europa League, Arsenal's only remaining chance at Champions League qualification for next season. He's been resting his top players in the Premier League as a result.Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang remains attractive, because he's cup-tied and can't play in the Europa League. But Wenger pulled another twist, starting both Alexandre Lacazette and Aubameyang against Newcastle, with Aubameyang shifting out wide. He still picked up an assist (on Lacazette's goal), but that diminishes his goal threat some. Still, you can't argue with his hot start for Arsenal: six goals and two assists in his first eight games.

West Ham drew 1-1 at home against Stoke this past Monday, thanks to a late equalizer by substitute Andy Carroll. They also face Manchester City in Gameweek 36, and Manchester United in one of their two games in Gameweek 37, which makes their roster pretty unattractive right now.Stoke vs. Burnley (Sunday, 8:30 a.m. ET): Stoke's goal against West Ham on Monday also came from a substitute, Peter Crouch. Xherdan Shaqiri was credited with an assist, his eighth of the season (to go with seven goals), but I didn't like his body language after the game. He had to be coaxed by manager Paul Lambert into clapping in front of the visiting Stoke fans, and then quickly turned and exited the pitch. Shaqiri has also made critical comments about the club in recent weeks.

Burnley, on the other hand, are fighting for a European place. They'd won five games in a row, before a 2-1 loss to Chelsea on Thursday. They've still only given up 31 goals, tied for third-best in the league. And Stoke have only scored 31, fourth-worst in the league.

Kevin Long (4.0 million pounds) has been starting in place of the injured Ben Mee, and even though he had an own goal against Chelsea, he's the best deal on the Burnley backline if Mee is still out. Ashley Barnes (5.4 million) scored for Burnley on Thursday, his fifth goal in the past seven games. Teammate Chris Wood (6.3 million) has scored five in the past six games. And Stoke have the worst defensive record in the league, allowing 64 in 34 games.

Manchester City vs. Swansea: (Sunday, 11:30 a.m. ET): Man City have clinched the title thanks to Man United's stunning loss to West Brom. Now all they have left to do is break records -- most points in a season, most goals scored, etc. The question is, will Pep Guardiola go all out for these records, or rotate his squad a bunch?

One player we probably won't see the rest of the season is Sergio Aguero, who had knee surgery this week. That makes Gabriel Jesus (10.0 million pounds) very attractive. Guardiola has used Raheem Sterling at center forward on occasion, but Jesus is likely to start up top for most if not all of the remaining games.Sterling's still a good option, too. He had a goal and an assist in the 3-1 win over Spurs last Saturday, and easily could have scored more -- he took five shots, with two on target, and had an expected goals tally of 1.49. Jesus had a goal and assist in that game, too.There's a particular danger of rotation in defense. For instance, Nicolas Otamendi was rested against Spurs.

But Man City's remaining schedule is really appealing: after Swansea they'll face West Ham (away) in Gameweek 36, Huddersfield and Brighton (both home) in Gameweek 37, and Southampton (away) in Gameweek 38. The safest option, if you want in on Man City's defense, is probably Ederson, the goalkeeper.

As for Swansea, Jordan Ayew returned from suspension and scored in their 1-1 draw with Everton last Saturday. But it'll be very tough going at the Etihad this weekend.Everton vs. Newcastle (Monday, 3 p.m. ET): The 1-1 draw mentioned above wasn't very inspiring from an Everton perspective. They didn't even score their goal -- it was a Kyle Naughton own goal. This is not a team you want to depend on FPL-wise right now.

Newcastle, on the other hand, have won four games in a row, capped off by that victory over Arsenal. And they've only given up two goals combined in those four games. So if you're using your Free Hit chip, I'd consider a Newcastle defender. DeAndre Yedlin (4.4 million pounds) has started every game since Gameweek 25 and picked up an assist last week.Ayoze Perez (5.3 million) had a goal and an assist against Arsenal, did the same against Leicester the week before, and also scored a goal in Gameweek 32 against Huddersfield. Newcastle's next two games are against West Brom (home) and Watford (away), before a tough finish against Spurs (away) and Chelsea (home).

One more thing: Marcos Alonso -- second among all defenders this season with 150 FPL points, and currently on 19.1 percent of FPL rosters -- was charged retroactively by the FA for a nasty challenge on Shane Long in Chelsea's 3-2 win over Southampton last Saturday. Alonso is facing a three-match ban: He missed Chelsea's game against Burnley on Thursday and will also miss their FA Cup semifinal against Southampton on Sunday and their Gameweek 36 matchup with Swansea. It's time to move him out of your FPL squad, given that he's the most expensive defender in the game.