The Premier League gave Fantasy managers plenty to plan for earlier this afternoon after announcing new dates for a couple of postponed fixtures. Arsenal’s home clash with Swansea and Newcastle’s game against Everton at St James’ Park will now take place on Tuesday, March 25 – handing all four clubs a double Gameweek 31:
Both matches were due to take place this weekend but have been cancelled due to the Gunners’ FA Cup Quarter-Final clash with Roberto Martinez’ men. This means that 10 teams will now play twice in Gameweek 31 – here’s a quick round-up of the updated fixture-list, which has now been reflected in a refresh of our Season Ticker on the right of your sidebar:
Arsenal – travel to Chelsea before hosting the Swans in midweek.
Everton – entertain Swansea before making their way to St James’ Park.
Hull – play at home to West Brom before travelling to West Ham.
Liverpool – visit Cardiff and host Sunderland at Anfield.
Man City – welcome Fulham to the Etihad prior to their midweek Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
Man United – travel to West Ham and square up to City at home.
Newcastle – one of two sides with a pair of home games, the Magpies entertain Palace and Everton.
Sunderland – Gus Poyet’s side are on their travels twice, first to Norwich then to Liverpool.
Swansea – Garry Monk’s side face two testing trips to Everton and Arsenal.
West Ham – Big Sam’s side play twice at Upton Park, as United and Hull come calling.
Looking at the four new teams to consider, whilst Arsenal’s home clash with Swansea looks promising, the trip to Chelsea almost negates their double. Given that Arsene Wenger’s side also face Everton, Spurs and City between Gameweeks 30-33, many may choose to avoid investing in the Gunners.
Everton, on the other hand, have a home clash with Cardiff and trip to Fulham on either side of their double. With another double still to factor in, they look poised for investment, with Seamus Coleman, Leighton Baines and Romelu Lukaku the safest options. Kevin Mirallas’ lack of game time last weekend is a real worry for his owners, though some may choose to hold in light of today’s news, with the Belgian potentially rested against West Ham due to the Toffees’ upcoming cup clash with the Gunners.
Newcastle have trips to Fulham and Palace on either side of their two home fixtures, with the likes of Loic Remy staking a claim for a third forward berth after scoring in each of his two appearances since returning from suspension.
Swansea have great fixtures before and after their double. Garry Monk’s side play West Brom and Norwich in Gameweek 30 and 32 respectively but those two road trips look set to pose problems aplenty, with few willing to take a punt.
As always, we’ll have an in-depth look at each of the 10 teams nearer the time as Fantasy managers brace themselves for a Gameweek that may well prove pivotal to the outcome of many a mini-league.
10 years, 1 month agoAnybody feel this is a quite an easy/forgiving gameweek?
If you get it right you'll go up a mile, but the drop won't be drastic if you're wrong.
Are those with ambition going to take some gambles or are people playing safe?