The EPL Final Sprint is aptly named.

We’ve had 29 weeks of the 38-game Premier League season, leaving nine to go.

Now, in a dash to the line, the mission is to accumulate as many points as possible over the final 9 Gameweeks (EPL GWS 30-38).

The basic format is simple: take your £85m budget and pick 11 players who you think will shine over the top-flight’s closing stretch.

The formation is your choice: 5-3-2, 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 3-4-3 or 3-5-2.

With 3 transfers per Gameweek, there’s plenty of options to shuffle your starting XI and you also get 1 Wildcard that can be used anytime to really shake things up. Transfers can’t be carried over by the way and any extra transfers cost 4 points each.

Captains score double and there’s a maximum of 3 players per EPL team. 

Finally, there’s also a Safety Net. If a selected player doesn’t start, they will be automatically replaced by a player from the same team and position of equal or lower value, as long as one exists.

A likely example: if Liverpool’s Andy Robertson was left out by Arne Slot, you’d score points from the man coming in – Kostas Tsimikas.

Now the good news…

Sign up, deposit and play any contest and get a FREE £10 FINAL SPRINT ENTRY

To do that, CLICK HERE

So, time to select an XI.

(See full details on how to play and the scoring system here)

GK: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace) 4.7M  

Henderson is the fourth-highest scoring goalkeeper in the game so far so is immediately on the shortlist. With Southampton first up and a Double Gameweek three matcches into this sprint, he’s got plenty of opportunities to bank points. Jordan Pickford’s games in those same three weeks are against Liverpool, Arsenal and Forest so Henderson gets the nod.

Defender: Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace) 5.0M

The Colombian looks a no-brainer here. He’s cheap, Palace have a Double Gameweek coming up, he always plays 90 minutes and he’s been a growing force as the season has gone on. Add in Cup games (which don’t count) and his roves down the right flank have seen Munoz net three times in his last eight matches having failed to score in his opening 19 matches of the campaign.

Defender: Tino Livramento (Newcastle) 4.7M

Newcastle and Palace are the only teams with a Double Gameweek coming up (GW3 out of 9) so a Magpies defender makes sense. Cup hero Dan Burn will be popular but Livramento has nailed down a regular starting position and is 0.4M cheaper.

Defender: Josko Gvardiol (Man City) 6.2M

City have probably the easiest run-in of anyone and Gvardiol can score points at both ends of the pitch. He’s got five Premier League goals to his name this season and can add more over City’s nine remaining fixtures, starting with Leicester at home. After that it’s Man Utd (a), Palace (h), Everton (a), Villa (h), Wolves (h), Southampton (a), Bournemouth (h) and Fulham (a). 

Midfielder: Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd) 8.5M

While United continue to get pelters on and off the field, Fernandes is emerging as the one shining light. With seven goals and three assists in his last seven games in all comps, the Reds captain is showing his best form of the season. He’s the fourth highest-scoring midfielder over the campaign and second in the form charts (an average of the last five games). United have some tough fixtures coming up but his record shows he’s just as likely to score in those as he is against weaker opposition.

Midfielder: Mo Salah (Liverpool) 13.2M

The highest-scoring player in the game by a mile (294.2 points to Bryan Mbeumo in second with 191.4 points). His numbers are ridiculous and the only doubt you’d have is that his ultra-subdued performance in the Carabao Cup final is perhaps a sign he’s tiring. Playing 180 minutes for Egypt perhaps wasn’t ideal but Salah is made of stern stuff and Liverpool’s fixtures are decent too. Needs a huge act of contrarianism to leave him out.

Midfielder: Jacob Murphy (Newcastle) 5.6M

Newcastle’s midfield is the envy of many but in terms of scoring points in this game, Murphy is a better bet than 6.5M Bruno Guimaraes and 5.6M Joelinton. He’s racked up eight assists in the top-flight (joint-seventh highest) and added another in the Cup final win over Liverpool. And, of course, he has a Double Gameweek on the horizon. 

Midfield: Ismail Sarr (Crystal Palace) 5.6M

Again, the double Gameweek and meeting with basement dwellers Southampton in GW1 strongly affects the thinking here. Sarr is 1.3M cheaper than Eberechi Eze and in better form after four goals in four starts. Striker Jean-Philippe Mateta is the other obvious option if getting a third Palace player in but will he just seamlessly slot back in after his horrific head injury?

Forward: Alexander Isak (Newcastle) 9.1M

Isak is the fifth-highest scorer in the game and since Newcastle last saw Premier League action he’s scored in a Carabao Cup final and netted for his country, Sweden, in a friendly against Northern Ireland. That gives him 28 goals in 39 starts this season and Newcastle’s fixtures absolutely clinch it: home to Brentford, away to Leicester and then a double Gameweek. 

Forward: Erling Haaland (Man City) 14.2M

Like other great dynasties starting to crack, City are in that weird zone where one week they suffer another setback and the next they hammer someone. With Leicester coming up, the latter is the expectation. Haaland has been overshadowed this season but he still has 13 goals in his last 16 for club and country and was on target in both Norway’s games in the international break.

Forward: Omar Marmoush (Man City) 7.6M

The Egyptian is bedding in still but he’s already managed a hat-trick in City colours and both he and Haaland were on target in the champions’ last Premier League game, suggesting there’s scope to double them up, especially with Leicester their first opponents. It’s a risk but 24 goals in 38 games for City, Egypt and Eintracht Frankfurt this season shows how prolific he is.  

Other notes

The FA Cup quarter-finals will have an effect down the line (GW34) and that could mean Blank Gameweeks (but Doubles later on) for any of Man City, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Brighton, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Fulham. 

The Wildcard can come into play to deal with that and having three transfers each week until the end of the season also allows room for manoeuvre for anyone loading up on Man City and Palace as we have.

The team above comes to 84.4M but leaving some salary on the table (0.6M here) helps avoid duplicating teams with others and adds some flexibility in the transfer market.