FPL Gameweek 35 Tips: Pingreen’s Atypical Captaincy Pick, Vardy’s Last Party & Bowen Boost

Leicester City hero Jamie Vardy and in-form West Ham United star Jarrod Bowen feature in Pingreen’s FPL Gameweek 35 Tips. Find out the expert’s unorthodox captaincy pick and surprise backline choice in SportsCasting’s exclusive article below. 

Hello FPL fans! My name is Pingreen, and I’m back to share my top picks for Gameweek 35 and beyond, right here on SportsCasting. I finished 700th in the world in 2022/23 and ranked 1,330th last season, so make sure you take my advice seriously.

Congratulations to Liverpool on winning the Premier League. Sure, maybe they won because everyone else was bad – but I don’t hear you complaining when you win your work mini-league.

Captain Pick – Bryan Mbeumo – £7.8m – MUN (H)

The two main contenders for captaincy this Gameweek are the usual suspect, Mohamed Salah, or a man I’m not sure I’ve ever given the armband to: Bryan Mbeumo. Given that Salah faces an away trip to Chelsea—who still have everything to play for and an impressive defensive record—I’ve decided to be bold and hand it to the Brentford talisman.

Mbeumo isn’t a typical captaincy pick, but he often finds his way into my midfield due to his strong underlying attacking numbers. The Cameroonian is averaging 0.56 xGI per 90 this season and has tallied 24 goal contributions so far—that’s t third-highest in the league, level with Erling Haaland!

What elevates him from a good midfield pick to a legitimate captaincy option this week is his opponent: Manchester United. With the three relegated sides now confirmed, United aren’t in danger at the bottom, and they’re far from the European qualification spots, currently sitting 14th in the table. This fixture also comes between two Europa League semi-final clashes with Athletic Bilbao. Success in Europe could be their only route into the Champions League next season.

You’d have to think that’s where their focus lies, and that could mean heavy rotation for an already underperforming side. Definitely a game where Mbeumo can thrive.

Defender – Vitaliy Mykolenko – £4.3m – IPS (H)

You won’t see me recommending Everton players too often, but with a great home fixture against Ipswich as they prepare to say goodbye to Goodison Park, I’m backing young defender Vitaliy Mykolenko this week.

Everton looked like relegation candidates early in the season, but under Moyes’ leadership and with a solid defensive record, they’ve stabilised. Their 41 goals conceded is the t-fourth lowest in the league—a defence clearly capable of keeping clean sheets, especially against an Ipswich side that has struggled all year.

Midfielder – Jarrod Bowen – £7.5m – TOT (H)

Bowen’s on fire—and he’s also in a very loving relationship with Dani Dyer.

The English winger has delivered back-to-back 9-pointers in FPL for his lucky owners, with two assists last weekend against Brighton and a goal the week before versus Southampton. It’s no less than he—and his managers—deserve, boasting an impressive 0.47 xGI per 90 this season.

What makes him such a strong option this weekend is similar to the logic behind the Mbeumo captaincy. Bowen and West Ham face Tottenham, who, like United, have a Europa League semi-final to focus on and could rotate heavily. Spurs have been shaky defensively even at full strength, and things could get worse with key players rested.

Forward – Jamie Vardy – £5.3m – SOU (A)

Last week, Leicester and Premier League legend Jamie Vardy announced he’ll be leaving the club at the end of the season. Is that the reason he’s my forward pick? Of course not. That wouldn’t be very analytical of me.

The real reason is that he’s coming up against the only team with a worse defence than Leicester: Southampton. The only positive thing I can say about the Saints is that they’ve avoided breaking Derby’s infamous record for the fewest Premier League points in a season—but the compliments end there.

Southampton are comfortably the worst defence in the league, conceding a league-high 2.26 xG per 90 and a staggering 80 goals. Even at 38 years old, this is exactly the kind of defence Vardy—who has scored 143 Premier League goals in his career—can exploit. One last party?