Fantasy Premier League GW30: Captain, transfers in and free hit tips ahead of FA Cup weekend

After yet another double gameweek in the Premier League, most team’s campaign will be put on hold this weekend as the FA Cup returns.

The likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea are all competing in the quarter-finals of the domestic cup, leaving only eight sides to fulfil their league fixtures.

The lack of Premier League matches means your fantasy team could potentially take a huge hit if you stick with your current players.

But, if you’re lucky, you will still have your free hit available.

What is a free hit?

The free hit chip allows you to have unlimited transfers in a single Gameweek.

As long as you don’t go over your budget, you can completely change your line-up before it returns to it how it was at the start of the Gameweek for the next deadline.

This is great for the FA Cup weekend, as it means you can take out all the big stars that won’t be competing in the league and replace them with those that are.

Perfect replacements

Heung-Min Son for Mohamed Salah

With Liverpool set to take on Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Sunday, Salah will be on zero points for many Fantasy Premier League players.

If you want to take Salah out of your starting XI until he returns, then Tottenham Hotspur star Son would be a good replacement for the Egyptian.

The attacker has 11 goals and five assists in the league this season and has reignited his brilliant partnership with Harry Kane under Antonio COnte.

Matty Cash for Trent Alexander-Arnold

Like Salah, Alexander-Arnold is in a majority of fantasy teams across the world - but he too will miss out this weekend.

In fact, the right-back has suffered a hamstring injury and will be out for several weeks.

There are a number of defenders you could replace him with: Max Kilman, Luke Thomas, Gabriel to name just a handful.

One full-back that has guaranteed players points recently is Aston Villa and Poland ace Cash.

Villa face a tough test against Arsenal this weekend, however Cash has shone in recent weeks, picking up two goals and two assists in their previous four matches.

Martin Odegaard for Kevin De Bruyne

Arsenal’s Odegaard is a good replacement for any Man City midfielders this weekend, with Pep Guardiola’s side travelling to St. Mary’s Stadium in the Cup.

The Norwegian has taken it up a level in recent weeks and has been one of Arsenal’s best players.

Similarly, any of the Gunners’ young stars like Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli would be good options - and much cheaper than De Bruyne.

Captain

There are very limited options for who you can captain this weekend, with the usual suspects all absent on FA Cup duty.

I think the least risky choice of a captain is a Tottenham attacker - Kane, Son or Dejan Kulusevski.

The trio have impressed for Spurs lately and are likely to star against West Ham - even if the scoreline could go either way.