Last night you may have seen that the FA Cup semis were announced on the weekend of April 22/23. The fixtures are Arsenal v Man City and Chelsea v Spurs. We circle back and look at the fantasy premier league double gameweeks implications
fantasy premier league double gameweeks – a short word after the FA Cup semis were announced
THE POSTPONED GAMES
I started the FPL calendar to track the postponed games as a result of the FA Cup fixtures so I’ve gone back to that to revisit them. Here’s a note of the fixtures and how they came about
EFL Cup final postponements
These were in GW26 and were the result of Man Utd v Southampton’s games being postponed for that final:
Southampton v Arsenal
Man City v Man Utd
FA Cup quarter final postponements
These were in GW28 and were:
C Palace v Spurs
Middlesborough v Sunderland
Arsenal v Leicester
Southampton v Man Utd
Chelsea v Watford
FA Cup semi final postponements
Chelsea v Southampton
Leicester v Spurs
Man City v WBA
Arsenal v Sunderland
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
You’ll see below in my FPL calendar that on traditional rules these games can only be put in gameweeks with no European competition although this has already been relaxed this season for Man City v Stoke. Thats European competition whether or not an English team is involved has been the previous rule.
I’m not going to speculate where these games will go apart from saying the bulk were always likely to go in GW34 and GW37 due to the fact that there are no European games.
My strategy has been to wildcard in the gameweek before either GW34 or GW37 and then use my bench boost in that double gameweek to maximise returns (in theory!). Which week I do that will depend on which double gameweek has the most double fixtures. In some ways my preference would be to do it in GW37 as that means I don’t have to undo it as the season only has 1 game left. However I’m open to either at the moment. I have to say I’m unsure at this moment in time when announcements will be made to make it clear. So at the moment I’m going to proceed as if I have no fixed plan for when to wildcard.
If the semi final postponements in GW34 are just moved to midweek that will preserve it as single gameweek for the most part. That means that GW34 will be a very limited double gameweek (if at all) and loading up now will be a wasted effort.
TEAMS WITH 2 OR MORE POSTPONED GAMES
Arsenal 3
Southampton 3
Man City 2
Man Utd 2
Spurs 2
Sunderland 2
Leicester 2
Chelsea 2
Other sides with postponed games likely to lead to double gameweeks are C Palace, Middlesboro and Watford
SOME THEORIES
So the first thing that stands out is that Arsenal and Southampton will have to play 1 game outside of GW34 and GW37 unless there is a triple gameweek which seems a bit of a stretch.
Ok so if we make the logical assumption that the FA Cup semi final postponements in GW34 would ideally be moved to that midweek then without dilute that as a double gameweek to a massive extent. However without boring you with all the permutations that would cause Man Utd some issues as 2 games left with 1 ideal slot to go.
What could happen to deal with that at this stage is that Man City v WBA will be moved to GW37 and Man City v Man Utd will go to GW34 midweek. That would mean only Man Utd would have a DGW34. WBA for what it’s worth would have no game in GW34.
Under the above scenario the 3 teams above of Watford, Middlesboro and C Palace would have their double gameweeks in GW37
I’ve just joined a lot of dots to get there but that does seem a logical way forward if the FA can ever be logical.
SO WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR THE FFGeek TEAM
In my mind Arsenal and Southampton could spring a double gameweek on us at any time so Gabbiadini and Sanchez look immediate targets.
A plan to get Ibrahimovic back in would also be helpful if DGW34 turns out as per my dot joining above giving Man Utd the only DGW.
Those 3 clubs above will be my immediate focus until there’s more clarity on fixtures
THE FPL CALENDAR FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON
This is just a reference point
GW29 MARCH 18 SATURDAY
International break
GW30 APRIL 1 SATURDAY
GW31 ARIL 4 TUESDAY
GW32 APRIL 8 SATURDAY
midweek UCL qtrs and EL
GW33 APRIL 15 SATURDAY
midweek UCL qtrs and EL
DGW34 (and BLANK?) APRIL 22 plus FA Cup semis
GW35 APRIL 29 SATURDAY
midweek UCL semis and EFL
GW36 MAY 6 SATURDAY
midweek UCL semis
DGW37 MAY 13 SATURDAY
GW38 MAY 21 SATURDAY
FA Cup, EL and UCL finals will follow
A HEALTH WARNING
Now I’ve just sat here this morning trying to think the logic through and I may have missed something so please shout if you think there’s anything incorrect. I would see that as very helpful
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