FPL Gameweek 36 Review: Man City DGW Dominates, 1.4M Triple Captains, De Cuyper 15pts
The long-awaited Man City Double Gameweek delivered two 3-0 wins, lifted the average to 65 and triggered the biggest Triple Captain week of the season — but Haaland only played 90 minutes, leaving TC users with a useful rather than season-defining haul.
Gameweek 36 was an 11-fixture round shaped by Manchester City's Double Gameweek, with both MCI 3-0 BRE and the rescheduled MCI 3-0 CRY landing on the same FPL ticket. The average jumped to 65 points (top score 145), and a record-breaking 1.4 million Triple Captains were played, alongside 464,000 Bench Boosts. Maxim De Cuyper (BHA, £4.3m, 1.7% sel) topped the gameweek on 15 points, tied with DGW asset Marc Guéhi (MCI) and Everton's James Tarkowski. Haaland — captained by the majority and triple-captained by most TC users — managed only 11 points in 90 minutes, sitting out the Palace makeup fixture. Here's the full GW36 breakdown for your run-in FPL captain picks, transfers and chip plans.
GW36 Snapshot — All 11 Fixtures
10 standard GW36 matches plus the rescheduled Man City vs Crystal Palace fixture on Wednesday 13 May:
- Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea: Gravenberch 10pts (1G, 3 bonus), Enzo 8pts (1G, 2 bonus). A draw that effectively ended Liverpool's top-four bid.
- Brighton 3-0 Wolves: De Cuyper 15pts (2A, CS, 3 bonus) the top scorer of the GW, Dunk 14pts (1G, CS, 2 bonus), Minteh 9pts (1G, CS). Brighton's home defence flexed.
- Fulham 0-1 Bournemouth: Smith 11pts (1A, CS, 2 bonus), Truffert 9pts (CS, 3 bonus), Rayan 9pts (1G, CS). Cherries' mid-priced defence delivers again.
- Sunderland 0-0 Man Utd: Mazraoui 11pts (CS, 3 bonus), Maguire 10pts (CS, 2 bonus), Lammens 9pts (CS, 2 bonus). Captain-killer for Bruno Fernandes VC users.
- Man City 3-0 Brentford: Haaland 11pts (1G, 1A, 2 bonus), Doku 11pts (1G, CS, 3 bonus), Marmoush 5pts (1G, yellow), Guéhi 9pts (CS). City's first DGW fixture goes to plan.
- Burnley 2-2 Aston Villa: Watkins 9pts (1G, 3 bonus), Barkley 9pts (1G, 2 bonus). Goal-fest at Turf Moor.
- Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton: Tarkowski 15pts (1G, 1A, 3 bonus), Sarr 8pts, Mateta 6pts. Tarkowski the standout defender on the day.
- Nottingham Forest 1-1 Newcastle: Anderson 12pts (1G, 3 bonus) the lone big return. Murillo and Sels held; Newcastle premiums quiet.
- West Ham 0-1 Arsenal: Trossard 8pts (1G, CS, bonus), Gabriel 11pts (CS, 3 bonus), Raya 9pts (CS, 2 bonus). Arsenal grind out three more points.
- Tottenham 1-1 Leeds: Tel 9pts (1G, 2 bonus), Ampadu 10pts (1A, 3 bonus). A subdued draw with limited template returns.
- Man City 3-0 Crystal Palace (rescheduled, Wed 13 May): Foden 12pts (2A, CS, 3 bonus), Marmoush 9pts (1G, CS, bonus), Semenyo 9pts (1G, CS, bonus), Savinho 9pts (1G, CS, bonus), Donnarumma 8pts (CS, 2 bonus). Haaland rested. Foden the big winner for non-Haaland captains.
Five home wins, two away wins, four draws — but the standout story was Man City compressing eight returning starts into one FPL ticket via the rescheduled Palace game.
The Man City Double Gameweek — Where the Points Came From
Manchester City won both DGW fixtures 3-0 to keep alive their Premier League title run-in, and almost the entire starting XI returned in at least one of the two games. City's team average across the DGW was 7.74 — the highest of any team in any gameweek this season.
The biggest DGW hauls came from the defence and bench-eligible rotators rather than the captain. Guéhi (15pts) played both 90s for back-to-back clean sheets and bonus, Donnarumma (14pts) kept both clean sheets with bonus in the Palace fixture, and Marmoush (14pts) scored in both matches. Foden (13pts) was Pep's rotation pick — minimal minutes vs Brentford, then a 2-assist, clean sheet, 3-bonus haul vs Palace.
Doku repeated his GW35 form vs Brentford (11pts, 1G, CS, 3 bonus) but was hooked early in the Palace makeup for just 32 minutes (1pt) — finishing on 12pts overall. Semenyo (12pts) and Savinho (10pts) profited from the Palace fixture, while O'Reilly (5pts) was an underwhelming return for a popular DGW pick.
The Haaland Triple Captain Story
1.4 million managers played their Triple Captain in GW36 — the biggest single-week TC count of the season — and the overwhelming target was Haaland for the City DGW. The good news: City won both 3-0, Haaland scored, assisted and picked up bonus, and the 11pt single-match return triple-captained to 33 points. The bad news: he started against Brentford and was rested for the rescheduled Palace fixture, leaving TC users without the 50+ haul the DGW promised on paper.
For straight (non-TC) Haaland captains the maths was simpler: 22 points beats the 65-point average comfortably and easily out-scored Bruno Fernandes vice-captains (3pts from Sunderland 0-0 Man Utd). But relative to the Doku/Marmoush/Foden/Semenyo DGW spread, Haaland under-returned per minute. The third Haaland captaincy debate in four gameweeks — and the third one where the template answer was a little disappointing.
Top Performers by Position
Defenders dominated the top of the leaderboard, with three 15-point hauls and a 14-point haul from the back four. Man City's DGW players occupied much of the midfield top 10, and forward returns were comparatively thin given Haaland's rested second match.
Goalkeeper: Donnarumma (14pts), Raya & Lammens (9pts) ⭐
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Man City, 14pts) was the runaway top keeper, double clean sheets across the DGW and bonus in the Palace fixture at £5.6m and 9.3% ownership. David Raya (ARS, 9pts) delivered another clean-sheet, bonus night at West Ham, while Senne Lammens (MUN, 9pts) and Petrović, Verbruggen and Martinez all returned 6pts.
Defender: De Cuyper, Guéhi & Tarkowski (15pts), Dunk (14pts) ⭐⭐
Three 15-point hauls headlined the back-line. Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton, 15pts) was the GW differential at £4.3m and 1.7% ownership — 2 assists, a clean sheet and 3 bonus in the 3-0 over Wolves. Marc Guéhi (MCI, 15pts) banked two DGW clean sheets at £5.1m and 32.8% ownership, the most-owned premium-priced defender to deliver. James Tarkowski (EVE, 15pts) goaled, assisted and bonused in the Palace draw. Lewis Dunk (BHA, 14pts at 0.9% ownership) and Gabriel (ARS, 11pts) rounded out the top defenders.
Midfielder: Marmoush (14pts), Foden (13pts), Semenyo & Doku & Anderson (12pts) ⭐⭐⭐
Omar Marmoush (Man City, 14pts) scored in both DGW fixtures from rotation minutes. Phil Foden (Man City, 13pts) was the breakout DGW return — limited vs Brentford but a two-assist, clean sheet, 3-bonus masterclass vs Palace. Antoine Semenyo (Man City, 12pts) returned a goal across the double, and Jérémy Doku (12pts) backed up his GW35 form with another big single-match haul. Elliot Anderson (NFO, 12pts, 7.4% sel) provided the non-City standout with a goal and 3 bonus in the 1-1 vs Newcastle.
Forward: Haaland (11pts), Watkins (9pts), Beto (8pts) ⭐
A thin position by recent standards. Erling Haaland (Man City, 11pts) was the top forward despite playing only one of the two DGW fixtures — 1 goal, 1 assist and 2 bonus vs Brentford. Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa, 9pts, 13.4% sel) scored and picked up 3 bonus in the 2-2 at Burnley. Beto (EVE, 8pts), Calvert-Lewin (LEE, 7pts) and Mateta (CRY, 6pts) provided modest mid-priced returns. Most premium forwards outside of Haaland blanked.
Team Performance Analysis
Best Performing Teams
Manchester City (7.74 avg) ⭐ — DGW: 3-0 vs BRE, 3-0 vs CRY
A complete DGW. Guéhi (15), Donnarumma (14), Marmoush (14), Foden (13), Doku (12), Semenyo (12), Haaland (11) and Savinho (10) all delivered double-figure returns. City's 7.74 team average across two fixtures was the highest of any team in any gameweek this season. Whether you stacked Man City via DGW assets, played Bench Boost or Triple-Captained Haaland, GW36 was a green arrow week.
Brighton (5.13 avg) — 3-0 vs WOL
Brighton's back four ran the show at the Amex. De Cuyper (15pts at £4.3m and 1.7% sel) and Dunk (14pts at £4.5m and 0.9% sel) were two of the cheapest, lowest-owned 14+ point hauls of the season. Minteh (9pts) and Hinshelwood (8pts) added attacking value. A reminder that Brighton's mid-priced defence remains one of the best points-per-million bets in the league.
Manchester United (4.77 avg) — 0-0 at SUN
A goalless trip to the Stadium of Light hardly looked like a points goldmine on paper, but Man Utd's back four cleaned up. Mazraoui (11pts), Maguire (10pts), Lammens (9pts) all returned from the clean sheet, with bonus shared across the back four. Reece sub-£5m United defenders remain quietly excellent run-in picks.
Bournemouth (3.81 avg) — 1-0 at FUL
Bournemouth's third clean sheet in four gameweeks. Smith (11pts, 1A, CS, 2 bonus), Truffert (9pts), Rayan (9pts, 1G, CS) and Petrović (6pts) all returned at sub-£5.5m. The Cherries' cheap-defence template continues to print points for managers who triple-up.
Teams to Avoid
Fulham (1.19 avg) & Wolves (1.56 avg) ⚠️
Two of the bottom-three team averages of the season. Fulham's 0-1 home loss to Bournemouth produced no attacking returns; Wolves were rolled 3-0 at Brighton with only Bueno (2pts) ticking over. Both sides are run-in fades for any premium investment.
West Ham (1.77 avg) & Brentford (1.86 avg)
West Ham's 0-1 home loss to Arsenal was another low-key blank for Bowen (3pts) and the attacking template. Brentford were swept aside 0-3 by Man City — even Damsgaard (3pts) and Lewis-Potter (1pt) couldn't deliver in a defensive shutdown. Both attacks have all but switched off into the season finale.
Liverpool (2.50 avg) & Spurs (2.64 avg)
Liverpool's 1-1 home draw with Chelsea effectively ended their top-four hopes. Salah (3pts) and Wirtz (2pts) provided no premium return, with only Gravenberch (10pts) the saving grace. Spurs' 1-1 with Leeds was equally flat — Tel (9pts) the only meaningful contributor. Two underperforming template skeletons for run-in builds.
Mini-League Run-In: Two Gameweeks Left
With GW36 done and only GW37 and GW38 remaining, every transfer and chip play is now a mini-league decision. Use our Monte Carlo mini-league simulator to model the remaining two gameweeks against the rivals around you and see your actual win probability. The sim factors in current points, GW37/38 fixtures, captain choices, ownership splits and chip status — so you know exactly how aggressive (differentials) or defensive (template) to play it.
Key FPL Statistics — GW36 Summary
Gameweek 36 was the chip-spike of the run-in: a Double Gameweek for Man City & Palace, the biggest Triple Captain week of the season, and a strong rebound in scoring:
- Average score: 65 pts (up from 50 in GW35)
- Highest score: 145 pts
- Top players: De Cuyper (BHA), Guéhi (MCI) & Tarkowski (EVE) all on 15pts
- Most captained: Haaland — 11 pts (1G, 1A, 90min only in MCI's DGW)
- Most vice-captained: B. Fernandes — 3 pts (0-0 at Sunderland)
- Top element: De Cuyper (BHA, 15pts, £4.3m, 1.7% sel)
- Most transferred in: Cherki (Man City)
- Triple Captains: ~1,399,200 (season-high)
- Bench Boosts: ~464,000
- Wildcards: ~161,300
- Free Hits: ~89,200
- Total transfers: ~9.09M
- Best team avg: Man City 7.74, Brighton 5.13, Man Utd 4.77, Sunderland 4.62
- Worst team avg: Fulham 1.19, Wolves 1.56, West Ham 1.77, Brentford 1.86
Notable Results & Talking Points
Man City 3-0 Brentford & Man City 3-0 Crystal Palace — The DGW Cash-In
Eight City returners across two matches. Guéhi (15pts), Donnarumma (14pts), Marmoush (14pts), Foden (13pts), Doku (12pts), Semenyo (12pts), Haaland (11pts) and Savinho (10pts) all delivered. The City team average of 7.74 over the DGW was the highest of any team in any gameweek this season — a confirmation that loading City for this exact week (which most savvy managers did from GW30 onward) was the right call.
Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea — Top-Four Hopes Fade
A draw that effectively ended Liverpool's top-four bid following the Man Utd loss in GW35. Salah (3pts) and Wirtz (2pts) blanked again, with Gravenberch (10pts, 1G, 3 bonus) the only saving grace. Liverpool template builds took further damage, while Chelsea's Enzo (8pts) was the headline return from the away side.
Brighton 3-0 Wolves — The De Cuyper Differential
The single-fixture highlight of the gameweek. De Cuyper's 15-point haul (2 assists, clean sheet, 3 bonus) at £4.3m and 1.7% ownership was one of the biggest differential returns of the run-in. Dunk (14pts) added another double-figure haul at 0.9% sel. For managers freeing budget for premium captains, Brighton's back-end keeps quietly producing.
Sunderland 0-0 Man Utd — The Bruno VC Trap
Bruno Fernandes was the most-popular vice-captain at significant ownership — and he blanked completely in a goalless draw at the Stadium of Light. For managers whose Haaland captain still returned 22pts (or 33 with TC), the VC blank didn't bite. But for managers whose captain misfired, the lack of safety net on Bruno was a double-hit. The clean sheet did reward defender owners: Mazraoui (11pts), Maguire (10pts) and Lammens (9pts) all banked points.
Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton — Tarkowski 15pts
A breakout return for Tarkowski (£5.8m, 12.7% sel) with a goal, assist and 3 bonus in a wide-open Palace draw. Notably, Palace then doubled up on the GW with the 0-3 loss to City three days later — but their players failed to add meaningful points in the makeup, with Mitchell (6pts across both) and Mateta (6pts) the only ones to scrape value. Triple-stacking Palace for the DGW was a popular Wildcard play that disappointed.
West Ham 0-1 Arsenal — Quiet Premiums, Loud Defence
Arsenal's third 1-0 of the run-in saw the back-line do the heavy lifting: Gabriel (11pts), Raya (9pts), Trossard (8pts) and Saka (5pts) covered the template returns. Gyökeres (3pts) couldn't back up his GW35 16-point haul. A clean sheet was always the floor for Arsenal builds; the ceiling will need the GW37/38 fixtures to lift.
Tactical Takeaways for FPL Managers
1. Triple Captain on a DGW Premium Is Still a Top-Decile Play
33pts from a triple-captained Haaland is well above the GW36 average of 65 / 3 = ~22pts per starter, and protected against the catastrophic-blank scenario. The lesson from 1.4M Triple Captains converging on the same player isn't that TC is risky — it's that even the best-laid DGW plans hinge on team selection. Rotation risk is the new variance.
2. Mid-Priced Defenders Are the Run-In Value
Three 15-point defender hauls (De Cuyper £4.3m, Guéhi £5.1m, Tarkowski £5.8m) plus Dunk's 14pts at £4.5m underline that the sub-£6m defender bracket continues to be the best points-per-million bet of the run-in. Use our player stats & form leaders to find the cheapest defenders with the best fixtures for GW37/38.
3. Salah and Wirtz Are No Longer Captain Locks
Two consecutive single-digit gameweeks for Salah (3pts) and Wirtz (2pts), plus Liverpool's top-four collapse, has fundamentally weakened the strongest non-Haaland premium captain option of the season. With only two gameweeks left, holding the Liverpool template purely on momentum is now a price-rather-than-points decision.
4. Plan Bench Boost vs Free Hit for GW37 and GW38
With only ~464k Bench Boosts already played in GW36, around half the field still has BB to deploy across GW37-38. If your bench has 4 nailed starters with good fixtures, BB is best paired with a strong defensive run; if you're relying on rotators, Free Hit on GW37 (or saving for GW38) gives you a clean restart. Use our fixture planner to decide the order.
Looking Ahead: Transfer Priorities for GW37 & GW38
Based on Gameweek 36 data and the two-gameweek run-in, consider these strategic moves for your FPL squad:
Priority Targets
Haaland (MCI, 64.4% sel) remains the captain default for the final two gameweeks given City's title push. Guéhi (MCI, 32.8%, £5.1m) and Donnarumma (MCI, 9.3%, £5.6m) are the cheap clean-sheet bankers. Gabriel (ARS, 46.1%) and Raya (ARS, 36.3%) keep the Arsenal back-end ticking. De Cuyper (BHA, 1.7%, £4.3m) and Dunk (BHA, 0.9%) are still the differential defenders to consider if Brighton's last two fixtures look kind. Tarkowski (EVE, 12.7%) is a solid mid-priced pivot.
Consider Offloading
Salah (LIV) and Wirtz (LIV) after back-to-back blanks and Liverpool's top-four exit — the price is the only argument for holding. Bowen (WHU), Damsgaard (BRE) and Lewis-Potter (BRE) all blanked vs Arsenal and Man City respectively. Gyökeres (ARS, 13.3%) after the 3pt follow-up to his GW35 16-point haul is a closer call — but with only two GWs left, momentum matters.
Differential Options
De Cuyper (BHA, 1.7%, £4.3m, 15pts), Dunk (BHA, 0.9%, 14pts), Anderson (NFO, 7.4%, 12pts), Marmoush (MCI, 2.5%, 14pts), Foden (MCI, 7.6%, 13pts), Doku (MCI, 6.4%, 12pts) and Savinho (MCI, 0.4%, 10pts). Most City mids remain sub-10% owned despite the DGW heroics — for managers chasing rank with one or two transfers left, the under-owned City rotators are the cheapest route into a hot attack.
Monitor Closely
Man City's rotation patterns into GW37 (with the title race active, Pep's minutes-management is the single biggest variable), Arsenal's GW37/38 fixture difficulty, any late injury news on Haaland or Salah, and the Bench Boost / Free Hit timing decision. Use our captain picks tool to compare expected points across the final two gameweeks.
Maximize Returns with FPL Pulse
Gameweek 36 confirmed two run-in lessons: Double Gameweeks reward planning months in advance, and rotation risk — not pure form — is now the dominant FPL variable. FPL Pulse gives you the live FPL tracking, fixture grading, captain comparisons, differential tools and Monte Carlo mini-league simulator needed to navigate the final two gameweeks.
From a record 1.4M Triple Captains to a 15-point 1.7% differential and the highest team average of the season, our suite of fantasy premier league tools turns end-of-season variance into a consistent edge. Two gameweeks to go — let's finish strong.
FAQs
- Who was the top FPL scorer in Gameweek 36?
- Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton), Marc Guéhi (Man City) and James Tarkowski (Everton) shared top spot on 15 points. De Cuyper was the gameweek's standout differential at £4.3m and just 1.7% ownership — 2 assists, a clean sheet and 3 bonus in Brighton's 3-0 home win over Wolves. Guéhi cashed in on Man City's Double Gameweek with two clean sheets in 180 minutes; Tarkowski grabbed a goal, an assist and 3 bonus in Everton's 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace.
- Was Haaland a good captain or Triple Captain pick in GW36?
- Mixed. Roughly 1.4 million managers played their Triple Captain in GW36, the vast majority on Haaland for Man City's Double Gameweek (vs Brentford and Crystal Palace). City won both 3-0 — but Haaland only played 90 minutes, starting against Brentford (1G, 1A, 2 bonus = 11pts) and sitting out the Palace makeup fixture. That meant a TC return of 33 points, which was useful but well short of the 50+ haul TC users were hoping for. Captaining Haaland straight (no TC) for 22pts beat the average comfortably; TC users gained less ground than expected.
- What was the average score in FPL Gameweek 36?
- The GW36 average was 65 points with a top score of 145 — a big jump on GW35's 50, driven almost entirely by Man City's Double Gameweek and the volume of Bench Boosts and Triple Captains played. Roughly 464,000 managers played a Bench Boost, 1.4 million played a Triple Captain, 89,000 a Free Hit and 161,000 a Wildcard. Total transfers across the gameweek topped 9 million.
- What was the biggest result of FPL Gameweek 36?
- Man City's two 3-0 wins (vs Brentford and vs Crystal Palace in the rescheduled fixture) dominated the FPL picture and effectively locked them into the Premier League title race. Arsenal's 1-0 win at West Ham, Bournemouth's 1-0 at Fulham and Brighton's 3-0 at home to Wolves were the cleanest non-City results. Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea and Sunderland 0-0 Man Utd were the headline disappointments — Liverpool's top-four hopes took a meaningful hit and Bruno Fernandes captains (the most-popular VC) got nothing from a goalless trip to the Stadium of Light.