Fantasy Premier League: Trust in Forest for tricky Gameweek 29

Four teams off in Gameweek 29?!?! Don't panic, Nathon Woodhead has a plan

Nottingham Forest flag, 2025

There’s trouble brewing in the Fantasy Premier League world for Gameweek 29 as no fewer than FOUR (!!!) teams miss games due to the oh-so-inconveniently timed Carabao Cup Final, including league leaders Liverpool and their points-hoarding squad. 

That means it’s time to scramble together some last-minute emergency replacements. Step forward Power Tower fantasy football fanatic Nathon Woodhead to guide you through this troubled time… 

 

A big blank Gameweek is upon us and there is national panic as Liverpool, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace all go without fixtures.

If you’ve still got your Free Hit chip, we applaud you, as reality of a blank Gameweek means some of FPL’s most selected players are missing – Mo Salah (66.7%), Alexander Isak (51.7%), Trent Alexander-Arnold (30.8%), and Ollie Watkins (18.6%), so let’s get our brains into gear and work out what needs to be done.

9% of FPL managers are living in cloud Cucu land right now, following back-to-back round-topping scores of 15 for Marc Cucurella across GW27 and GW28.

Perhaps a clean sheet was expected in fixtures against relegation-bound Leicester and Southampton, but certainly not attacking returns and bonus points proving there is more to his game than just beautiful hair, however, is it worth brining in the £5.2m defender ahead of tricky fixtures against Arsenal, Spurs and Brentford? We’d advise against it.

 

Another outstanding performer from GW28 and has a fixture in GW29 is Everton’s Jack Harrison, with the midfielder providing double digits (10) for the first time this season. At £5.2m and only owned by 0.2%, could there be some wisdom in bringing the differential in for the home fixture against West Ham.

We don’t talk positively about Manchester United too often, but Bruno Fernandes has been in scintillating form of late (GW26 10 / GW27 10 / GW28 9), including a mid-week Europa League hattrick. It’s like FPL 2020 Bruno has been reborn.

You’d expect him to carry that form into a clash against a Leicester side who simply cannot buy a win and he’s very reasonably priced at £8.4m.

So what is our crystal ball telling us ahead of the big blank GW29…

 

No Salah, no problem

Who lost sleep over this one? 66.7% of us need to find a replacement for the man who carries up through, week after week. Perhaps it should be the most obvious choice, the one-time pretender to Salah’s FPL crown.

Paddy’s Pro Tip: He might not be as deadly as he once was, but Mr Stay Humble Erling Haaland could quite easily bag a hattrick against Brighton… plus City play Leicester in GW30 so there will surely be returns from this fixture too.

 

Chris Wood for the trees

Like Forest, Chris Wood must be the surprise package of the season, and despite blanking across the last two game weeks in tight affairs against Arsenal and City, we expect the big forward to find himself back in the points away at Ipswich.

Paddy’s Pro Tip: Wood to deliver an attacking return and could be a good shout for the captain’s armband.

 

You shall not pass

Sticking on the theme of Forest, we also expect them to remain as tight as a duck’s backside for the third Gameweek in a row. They give very little away, and we expect no different against an Ipswich side who seem to be on the fast train to the Championship.

Paddy Pro Tip: Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Sels – take your pick for clean sheets and bonus points, however Milenkovic offers an attacking threat too, so we back him to clean up this weekend.

We do talk about Bruno

The Manchester United captain seems to be singlehandedly dragging his teammates and club through a very turbulent season, albeit constantly moaning as he does it.

Paddy Pro Tip: Not just a Free Hit player, but one worth sticking with for the rest of the campaign. He’s the only player doing anything at Old Trafford right now. Bring in Bruno.

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