The Scout looks at the possible options managers could take to navigate the reduced round of matches
With only seven matches taking place in Blank Gameweek 34 of Fantasy Premier League, The Scout looks at what managers can do to navigate the reduced round of matches.
Managers face a problem in Blank Gameweek 34 (BGW34) of Fantasy.
SIX teams have no Premier League fixture – giving them a “Blank Gameweek” – because they played twice in Double Gameweek 33 (DGW33) instead. Players from the following clubs will therefore score zero points – AFC Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley, Chelsea, Leeds United and Manchester City.
BGW34 schedule
Sunderland v Nott’m Forest
Fulham v Aston Villa
Liverpool v Crystal Palace
West Ham v Everton
Wolves v Spurs
Arsenal v Newcastle
Man Utd v Brentford
A lot of the players from those six clubs are popular picks in Fantasy. So, what should FPL managers do if they are now faced with a team full of absentees ahead of BGW34? Let’s look at the options.
Use the Free Hit chip
A simple solution is to use the Free Hit chip, which enables you to pick a whole new team for this one troublesome Gameweek. In Gameweek 35, your squad will revert back to what it was in DGW33.
By using the chip, you can keep the players who you brought in for DGW33 and take advantage of some of their favourable schedules over Gameweeks 35-38.
For example, Manchester City are expected to get another Double Gameweek this season when their home match against Crystal Palace is rescheduled.
Leeds United also have a favourable schedule to end the campaign. According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), where the difficulty of each match is ranked from one to five – with one being the easiest possible match and five the hardest – three of their final four matches for the season across Gameweeks 35-38 score no more than two.
Use the Wildcard chip
If you’re struggling to field a starting XI for BGW34 and DON’T have the Free Hit chip left, then the Wildcard is another option.
Like the Free Hit chip, it allows you to make unlimited transfers – but this time, those transfers will be permanent for the rest of the season, instead of being for one Gameweek only.
Using the Wildcard chip would allow you to bring in players who have a fixture this weekend, solving your short-term problem, while also setting your squad up for the remainder of the season with a longer-term plan.
The idea here is to have a starting XI for BGW34 while benching three Man City outfield players who will be useful in future weeks.
Tripling up on Crystal Palace would also be a good idea because they are expected to be given a Double Gameweek against Man City later in the season, and getting them now avoids the need for any future transfers.
Wildcarding at this point also allows you to go against the strategies of the managers who played this chip in Gameweek 32 or 33.
For example, many of those managers sold their Arsenal assets because the Gunners didn’t play twice in DGW33.
But Arsenal now have three home matches and a visit to West Ham United in the next four Gameweeks, which makes a double-up on their defence worthwhile.
For their title rivals Man City, you could opt for Rayan Cherki (£6.4m) instead of the more-popular Antoine Semenyo (£8.2m) as your midfielder, to go along with Erling Haaland (£14.5m) and Nico O’Reilly (£5.1m).
How many points hits should you take?
If you don’t have any chips left and are solely reliant on your free transfers, then the best approach is far more squad-dependent.
Bench your Man City players and use this as the basis of building your squad for BGW34 and the run-in.
There’s no problem with fielding only nine or 10 players in BGW34, as millions of managers will be in the same position.
Bearing in mind that a player earns two appearance points for playing at least 60 minutes, making extra transfers and taking a four or even an eight-point hit can easily pay off – particularly if your moves are long term and are focusing on players who have more fixtures remaining than others, like Palace.
Who to prioritise selling?
While keeping Haaland is a priority up front, Joao Pedro’s (£7.7m) recent form for Chelsea suggests he’s an easy sell.
The Brazilian’s hefty 48.5 per cent ownership gives managers the perfect opportunity to freshen up their forward lines, with Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins (£8.6m) and West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen (£7.7m) the standout replacements.
Watkins faces two of the bottom three teams – Spurs and Burnley – after his match against Fulham in BGW34.
Bowen has produced a return in each of his last five home matches, amassing 41 points in that run. He has three home fixtures remaining, including the visit of Everton in BGW34.
Depending on the number of players you have for BGW34, there’s also an argument for swapping out your Bournemouth and, to a lesser extent, Brighton players.
Both clubs essentially have just four matches left, compared with the six of Crystal Palace.
Investment in Palace’s defence can pay off over the run-in due to rotation concerns in attack, with Daniel Munoz (£5.7m), Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m) and Chris Richards (£4.4m) offering options across the price points.