Gameweek 29 – The Fixture Fallout
Filed under: Premier League Fixtures - Posted by: Paul
With all but two of the eight FA Cup quarter finalists now decided, we thought it was timely to take a look at the potential fixture congestion that may resultantly ensue. At present, there are still a multitude of possibilities regarding fixture rescheduling – we pick through many of the scenarios to hopefully offer a little more clarity to the current situation, as the Gameweek 29 programme begins to fall away.
The draw for the Sixth Round is listed below in full. Everton’s Fifth Round replay with Oldham will take place on Wednesday February 27 – the same evening as Chelsea’s trip to Middlesbrough.
FA Cup Sixth Round Draw
Everton/Oldham v Wigan
Manchester City v Barnsley
Manchester United v Middlesbrough/Chelsea
Millwall v Blackburn
Ties to be played on the weekend of March 9 and 10
Gameweek 29 Matches Potentially at Risk
Arsenal v Everton: Saturday March 9
With the Gunners knocked out of the cup by Blackburn last weekend, their home clash with Everton would go ahead as scheduled if the Toffees were to also taste defeat against Oldham. If David Moyes’ men clinch a place in the final eight, however, this one will need to be moved to another Gameweek. The reason being is that Arsenal travel to Bayern Munich the following midweek (Wednesday March 13) for the second leg of their Champions League head-to-head, thus leaving no midweek alternative date within Gameweek 29.
Manchester City v Wigan Saturday March 9
There’s a lot more leeway with this one. City have no European commitments whatsoever after finishing bottom of their Champions League group. The match could conceivably stay within the confines of the Gameweek and simply moved into the following Tuesday or Wednesday, though there’s nothing set in stone to suggest this will be the case. At present, though, this has been removed from the Gameweek 29 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game.
West Ham United v Manchester United Saturday March 9
This fixture could potentially be a little trickier to judge. Unlike the above-mentioned matches, it was due to be screened live as the opening match of the Gameweek. United have no European games the following midweek, suggesting the fixture could be moved along to the Tuesday or Wednesday and remain within Gameweek 29 – if tv companies still wish to show this one live, the rescheduled date may come down to whether they can sort the situation out in time for a midweek date.
Another factor here, however, is the situation in the Chelsea v Middlesbrough tie. If the first game finishes as a draw, then the replay will likely take place during the Gameweek 29 weekend. If Chelsea win at the second time of asking, their Sixth Round trip to United could then be rescheduled for the midweek of Gameweek 29, thus denying both clubs a league fixture. Similar to the City vs Wigan match, this was also been removed from the Gameweek 29 schedule earlier today.
Fulham v Chelsea Sunday March 10
Of all the fixtures, this looks the biggest conundrum – from a Fantasy perspective, a win for Middlesbrough at the first attempt would solve all our worries. There are many factors involved here – Chelsea are playing catch-up with their FA Cup schedule and also have Europa League fixtures to consider. As mentioned above, if Rafa Benitez’s side beat Middlesbrough at the first attempt, they would then play their Sixth Round match at United on the Gameweek 29 weekend, while a draw against Boro would mean the replay takes place on March 9-10 at Stamford Bridge instead and could move the Sixth Round match with United to the midweek of Gameweek 29 – as a result, Chelsea could be without a league match if this scenario transpired.
Chelsea’s progress in the Europa League plays a major part in determining whether the league trip to Fulham can be rescheduled for the following midweek. The Blues are 1-0 up on Sparta Prague from the first leg of their last 32 showdown, however, and if they clinch progress to the last 16 this Thursday, Benitez’s side then face up to either Ajax or Steaua Bucharest. The dates for those games are March 7 and March 14, though; that second leg date would cancel any chance of Chelsea having a midweek Gameweek 29 fixture if they avoid defeat at Middlesbrough. In addition, the fact that their game at the Cottage was also set to be televised live may play a part when the authorities look to sort a rescheduled date – with so many factors to consider, then, it’s impossible to ascertain just when that would be right now.
For now, Fantasy managers need to be aware of the possible fallout, while we keep you informed on any decisions made regarding the rescheduling. It’s clear that Gameweek 29 could prove pivotal over the next month, with few of us likely to remain immune to the impact of the potential postponements.
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“We have dynamic players with good movement, so if he can link with them fine. He can play a bit higher because his timing getting into the box is very good.”
Rafa Benitez talks up the role that Frank Lampard can play in his Chelsea revolution
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February 19 at 4:15 pm
AGUEROOOOO!!!!! says:
Please fantasy gods make the gw29 cancellations complete blanks not midweek games
February 19 at 4:17 pm
Stern John Terry Wilson Palacios says:
+1! Would suit me given I have a WC left and am already quite well set for GW29…
February 19 at 4:42 pm
Q says:
Best choices for midfield in a 3/5/2 beside bale,walcott,mata
Money is not an issue
Iam thinking lampard and someone else
February 19 at 4:42 pm
Q says:
??
February 19 at 4:45 pm
Arseman1213 says:
Lampsy if he plays always scores… Will have a strong end of season
February 19 at 5:00 pm
Q says:
Who with lampard
February 19 at 7:19 pm
tobesthetoffee says:
michuuu
February 20 at 4:22 pm
Edmundo Dantes says:
Taraabt and Sissoko, but you said money is not an issue so try Gerard, Lampard/Silva
February 19 at 4:42 pm
Rhysd007 says:
A) Mata -> Bale Cole -> Sissoko Sturr -> 8.0 striker (-8)
B) Mata -> Bale Johnson -> any def Sturr -> Cisse (-8)
C) Cole -> Siss Sturridge -> 8.0 striker (-4)
February 19 at 7:19 pm
tobesthetoffee says:
keep sturridge imo.
do A – that
February 19 at 5:22 pm
Snake Juice says:
So with all these potential blanks on GW29, should we stock up on Pool and Swansea assets again?
February 19 at 6:24 pm
Delusions of Mediocrity says:
Well I tried to get rid of the bare minimum Liverpool and Swansea players I had, toget out a team for next GW.
Have to say with 5 Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton players in total, if results go a certain way I will have to just use my next couple of FTs shipping them out.
February 19 at 5:45 pm
TeddiPonza says:
Soo…the City game will surely go ahead in gw 29 ehh??
February 19 at 6:30 pm
Lawro says:
Completely off topic but for those who haven’t seen this, check out this Charlie Chapman speech, it’s the most inspiring speech I’ve ever heard!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibmcsEGLKo
February 20 at 9:38 am
ralphooo says:
Thanks for sharing!
February 19 at 6:55 pm
Romani says:
Off topic, sorry. Can anybody tell me the latest on Demel and Cameron. I cannot find any news of injuries but they both seem to have dropped out of selections.
February 19 at 11:09 pm
OrmskirkFC says:
If O’Brien is injured, Demel will play. Cameron seems to have lost favor.
February 19 at 6:57 pm
maxim86 says:
when it would be official?
February 19 at 7:34 pm
tobesthetoffee says:
not for a while -
although it will be pretty clear a week tomorrow!
February 19 at 7:23 pm
Monklane says:
I just read this post and now my brain hurts.
February 19 at 7:41 pm
Camzy says:
+1 so many possibilities and it could all be for nought since the games could be rescheduled for midweek anyway.
February 19 at 7:25 pm
tobesthetoffee says:
so after reading that Everton and Arsenal have a potential double gwk:
Pick two:
Lambert – GIROUD- PODOLSKI- Cisse – Sturridge – MIRALLAS
February 19 at 7:26 pm
tobesthetoffee says:
with a potential chelsea dgwk could Mata/ Hazard/ Lampard be a better option instead of Bale?
February 20 at 4:32 pm
DLL18 says:
Not in the immediate future because a DGW would mean a blank in GW29.
February 20 at 4:35 pm
konig_luther says:
impossible…. before dgw, exist blank gw
February 19 at 7:28 pm
tobesthetoffee says:
WILSON OR SANTON!?
February 20 at 4:18 pm
Edmundo Dantes says:
Santon, but try to get both
February 19 at 11:08 pm
OrmskirkFC says:
At least these gameweek cancellations are possible for us to know ahead of time. I remember a couple years ago losing to a schmuck in the EPL cup because 7 games were cancelled due to snow.
February 20 at 11:25 am
CABAYE4 says:
I remember that!
I lost coz my opponent got Phil Bardsley auto-captain and Kolo Toure got 2 yellows in added time for me!
February 20 at 12:20 am
john woods says:
I’m getting sick of DGW’s despite coming out well in them they require more planning and strategy than a normal GW.
February 20 at 4:27 pm
FINALLY POGREBYNYAK SCORES says:
That’s what seperates an astute manager from a wack one..
February 20 at 4:28 pm
FINALLY POGREBYNYAK SCORES says:
That’s what seperates an astute manager from a wack one…. I love the blank that follows immediately after a DGW.