DGW’s & BLANKS
We’re approaching the last quarter of the season, which means BLANKS & DOUBLE GAME WEEK’S ahoy!!
How do you approach these? Do you still have all your Chips left? Do you need help?
This article is going to look at the FPL fixtures the FA Cup games effects; there will be no guff or gags, for a change it will be a carefully considered critique containing a mixture of facts and opinion to give you all the information you need and some ‘advice’ along the way to best combat these tricky times.
I am acutely aware of the tolerance those managers above me are showing right now as I ‘dispense’ advice from page 2 of the FFUK League!!
Please note, assumptions will also be made!
The first BLANK comes in GW31 courtesy of the FA Quarter Finals.
The games taking place that week are: –
- Bournemouth vs. West Brom
- Huddersfield vs. Crystal Palace
- Liverpool vs. Watford
- Stoke vs. Everton
- (Spurs are also going to beat Rochdale at Wembley – FACT!!)
The immediate question is – Do I use my Free Hit Chip?
Maybe!!
If you’re still in The Conts Mini League, you probably should, it’s a guarantee to the next round especially as Jamie Stewart (1st) has used his!!
He’ll need to take the following option, which is: Between now and then use free transfers (of which there are 4) and / or take Hits to pull together a team of some shape or form.
I think having less than 7 players playing is going to be below average and not acceptable! The important thing to note is, apart from Liverpool at Home, this is an unattractive set of fixtures, it’s hard to see where points will be gleaned, and so saving your Free Hit Chip (if you’re out of The Conts) is completely understandable.
Most people will currently have 2 /3 players from Liverpool, 1 from Everton, 1 from Watford and maybe 1 /2 from the other teams, so free-transfer jiggery-pokery between now and GW31 is very workable!
The teams that have fair to good fixtures between now and GW31 are: –
Everton, Huddersfield, Liverpool, Watford and West Brom.
Maybe concentrate on getting players from these teams in if you don’t plan to use the Free Hit Chip / Wild Card.
Avoid players from: –
Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Stoke – their fixtures are TRICKY!!
The games that were postponed from GW31 are likely to be played in GW34
So, the teams with DGW’s will be: –
Arsenal Brighton Burnley
Chelsea Leicester Man City
Man Utd Newcastle Southampton
Swansea Spurs West Ham
An option here is to use your Free Hit Chip (if you still have it) to fill your starting line up with DGWers!
OR
Use your Wild Card to do the same and save your FHC.
OR
Because you can’t use two ‘special powers’ in the same GW you could use your Wild Card GW33 so you can use Bench Boost on the DGW34 to maximise the aforementioned teams playing twice and set your team up to scoop points from 30 players (15 x 2) – that truly is a number to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end!!
The only spanner here is the Spurs vs. Man City fixture as most FPL teams will surely contain 5-ish players from these two teams! That said, it could be a goal-fest!
Another wrench in GW34 is Liverpool are only playing once, most people will have 2 / 3 of their player and be resistant to get rid of the likes of Salah and Firmino, especially as they are at home to Bournemouth!
Dilemma’s galore!!
The next BLANK will fall on GW35 due to FA Cup Semi-Finals.
Now comes the controversy!
I’m going to work on the basis that Chelsea, Man Utd, Southampton (ahem) and Spurs will prevail in their Quarter-Finals!
In the event of the most likely FA Cup QF upset with Leicester beating Chelsea – the format still applies.
Based on the above assumption the GW35 games will be: –
- Arsenal vs. West Ham
- Everton vs. Newcastle
- Man City vs. Swansea
- Stoke vs. Burnley
- Watford vs. Crystal Palace
- West Brom vs. Liverpool
Here lies the rub! If you filled your team with DGWers in GW34 having used your Wild Card, you’re then sort of left with scraps GW35 as only: –
Arsenal, Burnley, Man City, Newcastle, Swansea and West Ham – Have a DGW in GW34 and a fixture in GW35 – I can’t see many people having teams full of these players!?!
A Free Hit Chip at this point is an option again – a strong opportunity in fact for more predictable / guaranteed points as all home teams are strongly placed with the exception of West Brom, and maybe Stoke!!
GW37 then throws up the final DGW!
The Teams with DGW’s are: –
Bournemouth Brighton Chelsea Huddersfield
Leicester Man Utd Southampton Spurs
We havent yet mentioned the Triple Captain Chip!
I know a fair few of you used (wasted) it on GW22 in return for 3 points from two Kane fixtures!
Well, let’s try him again – HARRY KANE – in GW37.
Why?
Cos Spurs are playing Brighton & West Brom! Both are away though, which in fairness doesn’t seem to matter with Spurs / Kane.
Any other TC options I hear you shout!
Leicester has home games against West Ham and Southampton so Vardy is an extremely credible shout!
Man Utd also have favourable fixtures against Brighton and Bournemouth. Down sides include – both being away, turgid Man Utd playing functional (ahem) football and the possibility of rotation invoked by potential FA Cup and Champions League (double ahem) Finals!!
If you’re now sat pale-faced, rocking on your chair, staring blankly into space whilst scratching your noggin, I understand!
It is hard to get your head around The BLANK – DGW minefield, as assumptions on (FA Cup) results have been made. Also, form changes and injuries occur. Then there is the quandary of rotation, which towards the end of the season always comes into play!
The last few GW’s are also often, well… quite weird! Teams floating around in mid-table mediocrity have nothing to play for and often down-tools! Whilst teams near the drop zone play out of their skin and pull amazing results out of the bag!! The results can be extremely unpredictable!
It’s fun though to play around with strategies and get some sort of military plan in place now.
I think, if you have all your ‘special powers’ left you could consider: –
- Build a team now for GW31 with free transfers to get 8 + players.
- Wild Card GW33 and fill your team with lots of DGWers for GW34.
- Use Bench Boost GW34
- Use Free Hit GW35
- Use Triple Captain GW37
- At all times pray!!
Here’s a table, summarising the above: –
| GW31 (BLANK) | GW34 (DOUBLE) | GW35 (BLANK) | GW37 (DOUBLE) |
| Bournemouth v WBA | Burnley v Leicester | Arsenal v West Ham | Arsenal v Burnley |
| Huddersfield v Crystal Palace | Crystal Palace v Brighton | Everton v Newcastle | Bournemouth v Swansea |
| Liverpool v Watford | Huddersfield v Watfod | Man City v Swansea | Brighton v Man Utd |
| Stoke v Everton | Liverpool v Bournemouth | Stoke v Burnley | Chelsea v Liverpool |
| Man Utd v West Brom | Watford v Crystal Palace | Everton v Southampton | |
| Newcastle v Arsenal | West Brom v Liverpool | Leicester v West Ham | |
| Southampton v Chelsea | Man City v Huddersfield | ||
| Spurs v Man City | Stoke v Crystal Palace | ||
| Swansea v Everton | Watford v Newcastle | ||
| West Ham v Stoke | West Brom v Spurs | ||
| Burnley v Chelsea | Bournemouth v Man Utd | ||
| Leicester v Arsenal | Brighton v Spurs | ||
| Man City v Brighton | Chelsea v Huddersfield | ||
| Spurs v Newcastle | Leicester v Southampton | ||
| Swansea v Southampton | |||
| West Ham v Man Utd | |||
Good Luck FFUKers!
Stu
FFUK 