Blank Gameweek 34 is shaping up as the biggest blank of the 2025-26 FPL season, and many managers are expected to use their Free Hit chip to navigate it. For those trying to gain ground without burning the chip, Liverpool’s attack offers two of the clearest routes: Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo.
Salah was owned by only 15.4 per cent of managers at the time of writing, even after scoring in back-to-back matches. Liverpool’s numbers still make a strong case for investment, with 54 goals, the fourth-most in the Premier League, and an expected goals figure of 54.29, the sixth-best in the division. He remains the sort of player who can punish a hesitant market when his ownership is low and the fixtures demand decisive moves.
Gakpo is the other name drawing attention. He had started 14 league games in a row, assisted in Liverpool’s previous two matches and had six goals and five assists this season, yet he was owned by just under six per cent of managers. That kind of profile matters in FPL when a blank week can force managers to chase upside rather than safety.
There are reasons for caution, though. Hugo Ekitike is out for the season, while Alexander Isak is still being bedded back in after a long injury absence, which adds uncertainty to forward-line planning for managers looking beyond Liverpool. The blank itself is also only part of the run-in equation, because Blank and Double Gameweeks often decide seasons as much as player form does.
That is why the Free Hit chip looms so large in Gameweek 34. It is one of the most powerful tools available to managers who still have it, allowing them to field a full side in a week when lineups can be stripped thin by schedule clashes. Crystal Palace, for example, are prioritising the UEFA Conference League over the Premier League, and their first leg of a semi-final comes after the trip to Anfield, a reminder that team selection over this stretch is being shaped by much more than league form alone.
For managers willing to look beyond the obvious names, the appeal is straightforward: low ownership, attacking returns and a week when every edge matters. In a blank this large, the players who can still return while most squads are compromised are the ones most likely to decide rank moves.