Best FPL Differentials: Target these Manchester City, Brighton players to win big in double gameweek

Six teams, including the in-form Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion, are set for a double gameweek.

For many FPL players, particularly those with a free hit lined up for Gameweek 34, targeting these sides will be the key for the upcoming round of fixtures.

As always, the best strategy when using your wildcard, bench boost, free hit or triple captain will be team-dependent, but this column shall remain consistent in seeking to pull out the best set of differential picks for the gameweek right in front of us.

With that in mind, as if you need a reminder at this stage, we will provide three low-owned options which could be just the ticket to ensure the team you can barely look at now gets you that all-important green arrow.

The categories are:

The first match of the week is the west London derby between Brentford and Fulham, which will be live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, meaning the deadline to get your team sorted is 11:00 UK time on Saturday, April 18.

For the second week in a row, we are recommending Danny Welbeck, who has been leading the line for an in-form Brighton, with five wins in their last six games.

The Seagulls are one of eight teams to have a double gameweek coming up, visiting Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening before they welcome Chelsea to Amex Stadium on Tuesday. 

At the age of 35, Welbeck is enjoying his best scoring season in the Premier League, with his double against Liverpool before the international break taking his tally to 12 for the season.

The Englishman has four goals in his last six games and will be licking his lips as his side prepare to face the creaking defences of Spurs and Chelsea.

The north London outfit, who are yet to win a league game in 2026, have conceded at least two goals in 15 of their last 17 games across all competitions, with their last home game ending in a 3-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have lost their last three league games, with Everton and Manchester City both beating them 3-0 in their most recent outings. Those defeats came after an 8-2 aggregate defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League. 

Despite Welbeck’s ownership increasing and the fact Brighton will not have a match during Gameweek 34, he remains a solid differential, currently selected by just 8.8% of players. 

Manchester City are also among the teams with a double gameweek, facing Arsenal in a hugely significant match on Sunday, before visiting Burnley on Wednesday. 

Rayan Cherki could be one to look at for an attacking differential from Pep Guardiola’s side, though his place in the starting line-up is not guaranteed.

Someone who does appear to be nailed on to start is Matheus Nunes, who has been named in City’s line-up for their last nine league games, and in 26 of their 31 league games all season. 

Despite the right-back not offering a significant threat going forward, City are now on a run of three clean sheets in all competitions.

This defensive solidity has come against a top level of opposition too, against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals and Chelsea in the league. 

City’s defensive display against Arsenal at Wembley will make them confident of shutting The Gunners out once more at Etihad Stadium, particularly with the north London side becoming less potent in general in recent weeks, failing to score more than one goal in any of their last five fixtures across all competitions. 

City will then be hopeful for a clean sheet at Turf Moor as they face the second-lowest scorers in the league this season in the form of Burnley, who have just one goal across their last four league games. 

Despite City not having a fixture in the next round of games, Nunes, currently selected by just 3.2% of players, is an attractive selection, particularly given the doubts over Nico O’Reilly’s fitness after the left-back was withdrawn at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. 

For those without a free hit lined up and looking for someone who will be available in Gameweek 34, Nottingham Forest’s Igor Jesus could be a big differential, currently selected by just 1.3% of players.

It appeared the Brazilian would now be competing for minutes with Chris Wood following the Kiwi’s return from injury, but the veteran striker was forced off early on in Forest’s UEFA Europa League victory over Porto on Thursday following a strong challenge from Jan Bednarek. 

With Forest just three points above the drop zone, Vitor Pereira will continue to select a strong side in the league, despite Forest’s European exploits, meaning Jesus will likely lead the line in Sunday’s home clash with Burnley. 

The East Midlands side are building some momentum at the right time of the campaign, unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions and in their last four in the league. 

Jesus will certainly be excited by the prospect of Sunday’s game against Burnley, who have conceded the most goals of any side in the league this season. 

He will come into the contest in decent form, with his goal in the 3-0 win at Spurs last month and his assists against City and Brighton meaning he now has three goal involvements in Forest's last five league games.

While Jesus has not necessarily been prolific in the league throughout the season, the 25-year-old has so far bagged an impressive 13 goals across all competitions in his debut campaign at the City Ground and will be confident of another this Sunday.

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