FPL Gameweek 37 Review: Watkins 15pts, Virgil Brace, Haaland Stalls at Bournemouth
A single-fixture week after the Man City DGW, GW37 produced a 53-point average, a 4-2 thriller at Villa Park and a Bournemouth draw that wobbled the title race — plus a season-high 492k Bench Boosts as managers cleared the chip queue with one gameweek to go.
Gameweek 37 was a standard 10-fixture round that opened with a Friday-night belter (AVL 4-2 LIV) and closed with the title race taking a hit at the Vitality (BOU 1-1 MCI). The average dropped to 53 points (top score 131) and a season-high 492,600 Bench Boosts were played as managers raced to clear chips before GW38. Ollie Watkins (AVL, £8.7m, 13% sel) and Oumar Dango (BRE, £5.6m, 1.6% sel) both finished on 15 points, with Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk on 14 points as a goalscoring centre-back. Haaland — captained by ~62% of the field — managed only 9 points in Man City's draw at Bournemouth, while Gyökeres (the most-transferred-in player at 666k+ net) returned just 1 point off the bench at Burnley. Here's the full GW37 breakdown ahead of the GW38 finale.
GW37 Snapshot — All 10 Fixtures
10 standard GW37 matches, spread from Friday 15 May to Tuesday 19 May:
- Aston Villa 4-2 Liverpool: Watkins 15pts (2G, 1A, 3 bonus), Virgil 14pts (2G as a defender), Rogers 12pts (1G, 1A, 2 bonus), Szoboszlai 9pts (2A). The Friday-night thriller of the season — Villa's European push stays alive, Liverpool's defence shipped four.
- Man Utd 3-2 Nottingham Forest: Anderson 12pts (2A, 3 bonus) for Forest, B. Fernandes 9pts (2A), Cunha 9pts (1G, 2 bonus), Morato 9pts (1G as a defender). A high-scoring Sunday opener that rewarded Forest mid-owners despite the loss.
- Brentford 2-2 Crystal Palace: O. Dango 15pts (2G, 3 bonus), Wharton 11pts (1G, 2 bonus). The differential goldmine of the gameweek at 1.6% (Dango) and 0.7% (Wharton) ownership.
- Everton 1-3 Sunderland: Le Fée 13pts (1G, 1A, 3 bonus), Röhl 9pts (1G, 2 bonus). Sunderland keep their season alive at Goodison; Everton's end-of-season slide continues.
- Leeds 1-0 Brighton: Darlow 11pts (CS, 3 bonus), Bijol 8pts (CS), Ampadu 7pts. Leeds' £4.0m keeper the cheapest 11pt haul of the week — and a brutal blank for Brighton owners after GW36 heroics.
- Wolves 1-1 Fulham: Mané 11pts (1G, 3 bonus), Robinson 12pts (1G, 2 bonus). Two left-field returns — Mané in a relegated Wolves side, Robinson at £4.9m and 0.9% sel.
- Newcastle 3-1 West Ham: Osula 13pts (2G, 3 bonus), Ramsey 9pts (1A, 2 bonus), Woltemade 8pts (1G). Osula keeps Isak owners honest with another goal-scoring cameo turned start.
- Arsenal 1-0 Burnley: Saka 10pts (1A, CS, 2 bonus), Saliba 8pts (CS, 2 bonus), Calafiori 8pts (CS, 2 bonus), Havertz 8pts (1G, CS, 3 bonus), Raya 6pts (CS). Routine 1-0 — Arsenal's back four delivers again. Gyökeres just 17 minutes for 1pt.
- Bournemouth 1-1 Man City: Haaland 9pts (1G, 3 bonus), Kroupi.Jr 8pts (1G), Smith 6pts (CS-equivalent, sub off late). The title-race wobble — City drop two points away to Bournemouth and miss the chance to put the league to bed.
- Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham: Enzo 13pts (1G, 1A, 3 bonus), Andrey Santos 10pts (1G, 3 bonus), Richarlison 7pts (1G) for Spurs. Chelsea consolidate Champions League qualification.
Five home wins, two away wins, three draws — and notably no clean sheet in the two highest-profile fixtures (AVL 4-2 LIV, BOU 1-1 MCI), meaning premium defensive picks behind Haaland and the Liverpool back four took further hits.
The Haaland & Title-Race Wobble
One week after the Man City DGW handed half the field a 33-point triple-captain Haaland return, the Norwegian was back to a single fixture — and the single fixture was a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth. Haaland scored once, picked up 3 bonus, and finished on 9 points (18 captained). Useful, but well short of what 62.5% of the field needed to keep pace with Watkins captains (30pts).
The bigger story is what the result does to the title race. With one game left, City needed all three points at the Vitality and didn't get them — meaning GW38 becomes a do-or-die fixture for City's title hopes and a high-stakes captaincy week for the millions still rolling Haaland. Bench-Boost timing was also hurt: 492,600 Bench Boosts were played this week (a season-high), but with City's attack misfiring and Liverpool's back-line shipping 4 at Villa Park, plenty of templated benches under-returned.
For Triple Captain users still holding the chip, GW37 was a graveyard: just 259,400 TCs were played, suggesting most managers had already burned the chip on the GW36 City Double. Anyone holding TC into GW38 now faces the cleanest single-week decision of the season.
AVL 4-2 LIV — The Friday Goldmine
Aston Villa 4-2 Liverpool was the highest-scoring single FPL fixture of GW37 by a distance. Watkins (£8.7m, 13.0% sel) scored twice and assisted, racking up 15 points and 3 bonus. Morgan Rogers (£7.3m, 20.2% sel) added 12 points (1G, 1A, 2 bonus) for the Villa-stack template. The match alone is responsible for the AVL team average climbing to 3.53, fourth-best of the gameweek.
The bigger oddity was Liverpool. Despite shipping four goals, Virgil van Dijk finished on 14 points — scoring twice as a centre-back at £6.1m and 31.5% ownership. Dominik Szoboszlai added 9pts (2 assists). For Liverpool defender owners (a heavy template) the result was a brutal split: clean-sheet expectation gone, but a captain-bait scorer at the back rescued the position. Mo Salah was a 16-minute sub for 1pt — confirming the Liverpool premium attack has fully checked out of the season.
Top Performers by Position
Forwards led the top of the leaderboard for the first time in weeks, with Watkins (15pts) and Osula (13pts) the standout. Mid-priced midfielders dominated the points-per-million race — Dango, Le Fée, Anderson and Wharton all delivered double-figure hauls at sub-£6m prices.
Goalkeeper: Darlow (11pts), Raya (6pts) ⭐
Karl Darlow (LEE, 11pts, £4.0m, 6.9% sel) was the runaway top keeper — a clean sheet, three bonus and a 90-minute shift in Leeds' 1-0 over Brighton. The cheapest 11pt haul of the gameweek and the best points-per-million keeper return of GW37. David Raya (ARS, 6pts) was the most-owned keeper to deliver a clean sheet, while Łukasz Hermansen (WHU, 5pts, with an assist) was the second-best return at goalkeeper. Premium keepers Pope, Petrović and Sá all blanked.
Defender: Virgil (14pts), Robinson (12pts), Morato (9pts) ⭐⭐
A weird position. Virgil van Dijk (LIV, 14pts, £6.1m, 31.5% sel) scored twice as a centre-back despite Liverpool conceding four — bonus zero, but the goals carried the haul. Antonee Robinson (FUL, 12pts, £4.9m, 0.9% sel) and Morato (NFO, 9pts, £4.3m, 0.1% sel) were the deep-differential returners. Arsenal's back-line provided the templated returns: Saliba (8pts) and Calafiori (8pts) both with CS + 2 bonus; Gabriel (45.4% sel) only managed 6pts (CS, no bonus). The premium defender market was relatively thin given only one clean sheet of note.
Midfielder: O. Dango (15pts), Enzo & Le Fée (13pts), Rogers & Anderson (12pts) ⭐⭐⭐
The deepest position of the gameweek. Oumar Dango (BRE, 15pts, £5.6m, 1.6% sel) was the standout differential — 2 goals and 3 bonus in the 2-2 with Palace. Enzo Fernández (CHE, 13pts, £6.5m, 12.3% sel) goaled, assisted and bonused in the win over Spurs. Enzo Le Fée (SUN, 13pts, £4.8m, 1.6% sel) drove Sunderland's win at Goodison. Morgan Rogers (AVL, 12pts, £7.3m, 20.2% sel) and Elliot Anderson (NFO, 12pts, £5.7m, 9.4% sel — 2 assists) added template returns. Bukayo Saka (ARS, 10pts) was the top premium with an assist, clean sheet and 2 bonus.
Forward: Watkins (15pts), Osula (13pts), Mané (11pts) ⭐⭐
Ollie Watkins (AVL, 15pts, £8.7m, 13.0% sel) was the top forward and joint top scorer of the gameweek — 2 goals, 1 assist, 3 bonus in the 4-2 over Liverpool. William Osula (NEW, 13pts, £5.5m, 2.1% sel) scored twice against West Ham in 84 minutes — the season's best deputy story behind Isak. Sadio Mané (WOL, 11pts, £4.2m, 1.4% sel) provided the cheapest differential return at relegation-bound Wolves. Haaland (9pts) was fourth — beat the average, missed the captaincy mark. Gyökeres (ARS, 1pt) was a transfer-in disaster at 16.4% ownership.
Team Performance Analysis
Best Performing Teams
Arsenal (4.44 avg) ⭐ — 1-0 vs BUR
Arsenal's back-line ran the show again. Saka (10pts), Saliba (8pts), Calafiori (8pts), Havertz (8pts) and Raya (6pts) all returned. Arsenal's 4.44 team average was the best of the gameweek — a fourth 1-0 of the run-in, with the templated defence (Saliba, Calafiori, Gabriel, Raya) all banking points. Gyökeres' 17-minute appearance for 1pt was the lone disappointment for the 666k+ net managers who transferred him in.
Newcastle (3.81 avg) — 3-1 vs WHU
Osula (13pts) the headline with 2 goals and 3 bonus, Ramsey (9pts, 1A, 2 bonus) added depth, Woltemade (8pts) and Pope (4pts) rounded out the contributors. Newcastle's home win gives the Champions League race another twist — and gives FPL managers another single-match differential pool at sub-£6m.
Leeds (3.63 avg) — 1-0 vs BHA
Leeds' 1-0 over Brighton was driven by the cheapest goalkeeper of the gameweek — Darlow (11pts, £4.0m) — plus Bijol (8pts, £3.9m), Ampadu (7pts) and Calvert-Lewin's replacement attack picking up scraps. The £4.0m / £3.9m double-defence stack quietly delivered another points-per-million week.
Aston Villa (3.53 avg) — 4-2 vs LIV
Three Villa attackers in double figures: Watkins (15), Rogers (12), with Buendía and the defence chipping in single-figure scores. The headline 4-2 win over Liverpool was the highest-scoring single FPL match of the gameweek and effectively cemented Villa's European push — and the Watkins captaincy ceiling case for GW38.
Teams to Avoid
Burnley (1.63 avg) & West Ham (2.00 avg) ⚠️
Two of the bottom-three team averages of the gameweek. Burnley's 0-1 home loss to Arsenal produced no attacking returns and a clean sheet for the Gunners. West Ham's 1-3 at Newcastle saw Bowen blank again. Both sides are run-in fades for any premium investment.
Everton (2.00 avg) & Tottenham (2.07 avg)
Everton's 1-3 home loss to Sunderland — Beto (3pts) and Tarkowski (2pts) couldn't back up their GW36 hauls. Spurs lost 2-1 at Chelsea; Richarlison (7pts) the only meaningful return, with Son (3pts), Romero (1pt) and Maddison (2pts) all flat. Two templated mid-tables falling apart at the worst possible time.
Brighton (2.19 avg) & Man City (2.27 avg)
The two big surprises. Brighton's GW36 heroes (De Cuyper 15pts, Dunk 14pts) blanked at Elland Road — De Cuyper (2pts), Dunk (1pt), Minteh (2pts). Man City had only one fixture but still under-returned: Haaland (9pts), Foden (1pt off bench), Doku (4pts), Marmoush (3pts). The DGW chickens came home to roost for managers who triple-stacked City expecting another monster week.
Mini-League Final: One Gameweek Left
GW38 is the final gameweek of the 2025/26 season — every transfer, captain pick and chip is now binary. Use our Monte Carlo mini-league simulator to model GW38 against the rivals around you and see your actual win probability heading into the last weekend. The sim factors in current points, GW38 fixtures, captain choices, ownership splits and remaining chips — so you know whether to attack with a differential or lock down with the template.
Key FPL Statistics — GW37 Summary
Gameweek 37 was the chip-clearing week of the run-in: a season-high Bench Boost count, a sharp drop in Triple Captains after the GW36 City peak, and a 12-point drop in average:
- Average score: 53 pts (down from 65 in GW36)
- Highest score: 131 pts
- Top players: Watkins (AVL) & O. Dango (BRE) both on 15pts
- Most captained: Haaland — 9 pts (1G in 90min, BOU 1-1 MCI)
- Most vice-captained: B. Fernandes — 9 pts (2A, MUN 3-2 NFO)
- Top element: Watkins (AVL, 15pts, £8.7m, 13.0% sel)
- Most transferred in: Gyökeres (ARS) — 1pt off the bench at Burnley
- Bench Boosts: ~492,600 (season-high)
- Triple Captains: ~259,400 (down from 1.4M in GW36)
- Wildcards: ~160,500
- Free Hits: ~66,500
- Total transfers: ~6.37M
- Best team avg: Arsenal 4.44, Newcastle 3.81, Leeds 3.63, Aston Villa 3.53
- Worst team avg: Burnley 1.63, West Ham 2.00, Everton 2.00, Tottenham 2.07
Notable Results & Talking Points
Aston Villa 4-2 Liverpool — Watkins Stakes a GW38 Captain Claim
Watkins (15pts), Rogers (12pts) and a Virgil van Dijk brace from defence (14pts) made this the highest-scoring single fixture of the gameweek. Liverpool's defence shipped four — Konaté, Robertson and Tsimikas all picked up minus minutes and zero bonus. With Villa hosting Spurs in GW38 and Watkins on a hot run, the Englishman now enters the captaincy conversation as a Haaland alternative.
Bournemouth 1-1 Man City — The Title Race Wobble
Haaland scored once and finished on 9pts — the worst Haaland captaincy haul of the run-in given the >62% ownership. The wider story: City dropped two points away to Bournemouth in what was billed as a routine win, leaving the title race delicately poised. Bench Boost users hoping for a City attack explosion got Foden (1pt), Doku (4pts) and Marmoush (3pts) instead.
Brentford 2-2 Crystal Palace — The Dango Differential
Oumar Dango (£5.6m, 1.6% sel) bagged a brace for 15 points and 3 bonus — joint top score of the gameweek. Wharton (CRY, 11pts) added value at 0.7% ownership. A reminder that the cheap-mid market keeps producing 15+ point hauls in single-week sample sizes — particularly from teams with nothing left to play for.
Man Utd 3-2 Nottingham Forest — A Captain's Sunday
Bruno Fernandes (9pts, 2A) delivered as the most-vice-captained player at 48% ownership — meaning the 38% of managers who VC'd Bruno over Haaland actually got the better return. Cunha (9pts) and Mbeumo (7pts) added attacking value. For Forest, Anderson (12pts, 2A) was the top scorer but Morato's 9pts (1G as a defender at £4.3m and 0.1% sel) was the standout deep-differential.
Arsenal 1-0 Burnley — Gyökeres In, Gyökeres Out
Arsenal's third 1-0 of the run-in saw the back-line do the heavy lifting again. Saka (10pts), Saliba (8pts), Calafiori (8pts) and Havertz (8pts, 1G, CS) covered the template returns. The sting: Gyökeres (the most-transferred-in player at ~666k net) came off the bench for just 17 minutes and returned 1pt — punishing managers who had brought him in expecting a Burnley hammering. A frustrating week for hit-takers.
Newcastle 3-1 West Ham — Osula Keeps Going
With Isak on the bench, William Osula (£5.5m, 2.1% sel) scored twice in 84 minutes for 13 points — his second double-figure haul of the run-in. The story for managers in the GW38 finale: the Isak / Osula rotation question is now a real one, with Osula's form making the cheaper option a genuine punt.
Tactical Takeaways for FPL Managers
1. Haaland Is No Longer an Automatic GW38 Captain
Three single-digit-multiplier weeks in five (GW34 BGW blank, GW35 single-digit, GW37 9pts). At 62.5% ownership, captaining Haaland in GW38 is still the EO-safe move — but Watkins, B. Fernandes, Mbeumo and Saka all have reasonable single-fixture cases. Use our captain picks tool to compare expected-points across the final-week fixtures.
2. Bench Boost Window Has Closed — Triple Captain Is the Big Outstanding Chip
With ~493k Bench Boosts in GW37 (a season-high), most BB users have now played their chip. The chip-stack heading into GW38 is dominated by held-back Triple Captains — anyone still holding a TC has the cleanest captaincy bet of the year, and on form Watkins / B. Fernandes / Mbeumo look like real alternatives to Haaland.
3. Cheap-Defender Hauls Are Genuinely Random Now
Three single-fixture defender hauls of 9+ pts came from sub-£5m, sub-1% sel options (Robinson £4.9m, Morato £4.3m, Bijol £3.9m). Pair that with Virgil's 14pt-as-a-scorer return and the GW36 De Cuyper / Dunk hauls and the pattern is clear: end-of-season defender variance is enormous. For GW38 transfers, prioritise fixtures over ownership.
4. Beware the Most-Transferred-In Trap
Gyökeres was the most-transferred-in player of GW37 (~666k net) and returned 1pt as a 17-minute sub. Cherki was the equivalent transfer-in trap in GW36 (Man City Wildcard). The lesson: transferring in a rotation-risk premium for a single fixture, especially at a hit, is the modal way managers torch rank in May. Use our fixture planner and player stats to filter for nailed starters only.
Looking Ahead: Final-Week Transfer Priorities for GW38
One gameweek left. Every decision is a binary mini-league bet — chase rank with differentials, or lock in the template:
Priority Targets
Watkins (AVL, 13.0% sel) the hot-form captain alternative after his 15pt haul. Haaland (MCI, 62.5% sel) still the EO-safe pick despite the Bournemouth blank. B. Fernandes (MUN, 48% sel) the VC default again after 9pts. Saka (ARS, 11.6% sel) coming into form. Virgil (LIV, 31.5% sel) the cheapest premium-defender goal threat. Saliba (ARS, 17.1% sel) the templated CS pick. Osula (NEW, 2.1% sel) the cheap-forward differential if you can free the £5.5m.
Consider Offloading
Gyökeres (ARS, 16.4% sel) after the 1pt cameo — momentum is gone with one game left. Salah (LIV) and Isak (LIV/NEW) both blanked or didn't start. De Cuyper & Dunk (BHA) after the Leeds blank. Foden, Doku, Marmoush (MCI) all dropped points at Bournemouth and face GW38 rotation risk again.
Differential Options
O. Dango (BRE, 1.6%, 15pts), Le Fée (SUN, 1.6%, 13pts), Anderson (NFO, 9.4%, 12pts), Robinson (FUL, 0.9%, 12pts), Osula (NEW, 2.1%, 13pts), Mané (WOL, 1.4%, 11pts), Wharton (CRY, 0.7%, 11pts), Havertz (ARS, 0.7%, 8pts as a forward). For managers chasing rank with one transfer left, the under-owned cheap mids and forwards offer the highest variance.
Monitor Closely
Man City's GW38 team news (with the title undecided, Pep's minutes-management is the single biggest unknown), Isak's availability vs Osula starting again, Arsenal's GW38 fixture difficulty, and Liverpool's end-of-season rotation. Use our captain picks tool to compare expected points across the final gameweek.
Maximize Returns with FPL Pulse
Gameweek 37 confirmed two final-week lessons: end-of-season variance is enormous (15pt hauls from 1.6% sel mids, 14pts from a Liverpool centre-back in a 4-2 loss) and Haaland captains are no longer automatic green-arrow plays. FPL Pulse gives you the live FPL tracking, fixture grading, captain comparisons, differential tools and Monte Carlo mini-league simulator needed to close out the season on top.
From a season-high 493k Bench Boosts to a 13-point Sunderland differential and the lowest Man City team average of the run-in, our suite of fantasy premier league tools turns final-day variance into a consistent edge. One gameweek to go — let's finish strong.
FAQs
- Who was the top FPL scorer in Gameweek 37?
- Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) and Oumar Dango (Brentford) shared top spot on 15 points. Watkins scored twice and assisted in Villa's 4-2 win over Liverpool — 2 goals, 1 assist and 3 bonus. Dango was the gameweek's standout differential at £5.6m and 1.6% ownership, scoring twice in Brentford's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace for 2 goals and 3 bonus. Virgil van Dijk (14pts, 2 goals as a defender) and Enzo Fernández, Osula and Le Fée (all 13pts) rounded out the top of the leaderboard.
- Was Haaland a good captain pick in GW37?
- Underwhelming. Haaland was the most-captained player again (62.5% selection) but managed just 9 points — one goal, no assists in Man City's 1-1 draw at Bournemouth. The 18pt captain return beat the GW37 average of 53 comfortably, but lost ground to Watkins captains (30pts) and Virgil VCs. Around 259,000 Triple Captains were played in GW37 — down sharply from the 1.4M used on the GW36 City Double — and the spread of returns suggests most TC users had already burned the chip. Bruno Fernandes was the most-popular vice-captain and delivered 9pts (2 assists) in Man Utd's 3-2 over Forest, so VCs largely tracked captains.
- What was the average score in FPL Gameweek 37?
- The GW37 average was 53 points with a top score of 131 — a 12-point drop on GW36's 65 average, mainly because Man City's Double Gameweek was gone and Haaland captains under-returned. Around 492,600 managers played a Bench Boost (the season's single-week high), 259,400 played a Triple Captain, 160,500 a Wildcard and 66,500 a Free Hit. Total transfers across the gameweek topped 6.36 million.
- What was the biggest result of FPL Gameweek 37?
- Aston Villa 4-2 Liverpool on Friday night was the headline. Watkins scored twice and assisted, Rogers added 12pts, and Virgil van Dijk somehow finished the night with 14 FPL points despite Liverpool conceding four — he scored a brace as a centre-back. Man City's 1-1 draw at Bournemouth was the other story: a result that complicates the title run-in and disappointed the millions still captaining Haaland. Man Utd's 3-2 win over Forest and Newcastle's 3-1 over West Ham were the other meaningful attacking returns.