So I had some really helpful comments overnight and thought about it a bit more so I’ve added a few bits and pieces to this article. So here goes again. With the FA Cup quarters now decided with just a Man U v West Ham a replay I thought it was a good time to put an article on to update the current position and put a few ideas out there
fantasy premier league double gameweeks and blanks – an update
The basics
Always useful to start with the basics and set the scene.
The first thing to remember is that there has been no announcements on alternative dates for the games postponed in this gameweek 30. There’s still been no announcement on dates even for the Newcastle v Man City and Liverpool v Everton games from earlier in the season. There will also be postponed games to fit in the FA Cup semis in GW35 where Man Utd v West Ham has already been removed. I expect the others to be removed from the FPL site soon
The European competition blanks are in GW34 and GW37 and the logical time for postponed games. Hull v Arsenal in the FA Cup provided a precedent to put games against the European games, albeit starting early. UEFA were at pains to point out it wasn’t sanctioned. So I’m still assuming that GW34 and GW37 will be the primary rounds for the postponed games.
Those 2 rounds will not be enough so I’m assuming there will be more European conflicts or Monday/Friday games resulting in potentially more than 2 double game weeks.
Hopefully there will be some announcements this week. What with the European games this week and potential announcements, I’ll be leaving my transfers as late as possible in the week or maybe even rolling it over if there’s no news
The postponed games
Here’s what I think they are:
GW27
Liverpool v Everton
Newcastle v Man City
GW30
Sunderland v Everton
Liverpool v Chelsea
Man Utd v Palace
West Ham v Watford
Arsenal v WBA
GW35
Palace v Everton
Man Utd v West Ham
Norwich v Watford
So lets remind ourselves who has potential double gameweeks?
I wont elongate the post by explaining where each postponement has come from. If you disagree please say so in the comments column.
Everton have 3 postponed games
Liverpool, Man Utd, West Ham, Watford and Palace have 2 postponed games.
Man City, Newcastle, WBA, Chelsea, Sunderland and Arsenal have 1
The West Ham Man Utd FA Cup quarter replay will need to be fitted in and could cause more problems.
GW34 at the moment is
Norwich v Sunderland
Bournemouth v Liverpool
Everton v Southampton
Man Utd v Aston Villa
Newcastle v Swansea
West Brom v Watford
Chelsea v Man City
Leicester v West Ham
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Stoke v Spurs
However you could add potentially, even if it is speculation:
Liverpool v Everton
Man Utd v C Palace
Newcastle v Man City
Arsenal v WBA
West Ham v Watford
That does leave Chelsea without a game but hard to see Liverpool and Everton not being in it.
What about GW35?
GW35 now looks like:
Villa v Southampton
Bournemouth v Chelsea
Crystal Palace v Everton – off
Liverpool v Newcastle
Norwich v Watford – off
Man City v Stoke
Sunderland v Arsenal
Leicester v Swansea
Spurs v West Brom
Man Utd v West Ham – off
So sides potentially with a DGW34 and a game in GW35 with some player suggestions (not comprehensive)
Liverpool – Firmino plus a defender ( I know I’m the only believer!)
Newcastle – maybe Wijnaldum and Elliot
Man City – Aguero plus one other and a defender
Arsenal – Ozil plus a defender
WBA – a defender and maybe Foster
A potential GW33 WC team
However with 2 transfers from GW33 and 3 bench spots for GW35 the GW33 wildcard could look like the following. This is to get 15 DGW34 players and then a full team for GW35. It’s there to maximise the doubles so Spurs and Leicester get no coverage so alot to think about.
The 2 transfers and 3 bench spots being
Ake, Barkley, Payet, Ighalo and Lukaku also the GK on the bench
So what now and before GW33?
So in my mind I’m wildcarding in GW33 and bench boosting in GW34. That means transfers in GW31 and GW32 are freebies so I’ll be looking out for who plays Villa in those rounds!
Now I just want more certainty. So at the minimum I’m leaving my transfer as late as possible this gameweek. If there’s no information then I might even roll it over and use 2 in GW32.
And lastly the warning
So remember this is getting fairly ahead of myself and just to help the thinking start. It also relies on alot of dot joining. I hope I’ve got everything right but please tell me if I haven’t in the comments. I’ve already had a lot of good points made which is why this is in it’s 2nd version
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