The Pre-Match Preamble – Gameweek 12

So we’ve finally seen the back of the international breaks.

That will come as relief, no doubt, to every Fantasy Football manager who dread such interruptions as windows for mundane Garden Centre visits, spent wistfully glancing at the latest scores from League Two.

Now only the FA Cup can disrupt the flow, granting us a free weekend early in 2018.

I suspect we may well be thankful for that particular interlude. Indeed, looking ahead to the schedule in front of us, we should be careful what we wish for.

From now until the next “break”, we will play out 11 Gameweeks. That’s the equivalent of our season progress so far, but spanning a period of just 46 days.

Stop and consider that for a moment. It seems both ridiculous and unfeasible.

I can’t recall such a tortuous schedule. While each Gameweek will blend seamlessly into another, creating an exciting helter-skelter period of our campaign, we surely have to question what this relentless procession of matches and decisions will do to our squads and sanity.

Injury doubts and suspensions will collide head-on, with Phil Jones’ current situation perhaps a stark reminder of what’s to come.

This is not a time to harbour delicate flowers, however vital they appear to our cause. Players like Jones who are nursed from week to week, managed and protected by their medical staff, should perhaps be marked as an endangered species.

We need to look at each member of our squad and question if they possess the resolve to get through this test.

Jones aside, I’m certainly looking at Eden Hazard and wondering just how many kicks and tumbles he can sustain in the space of seven days and still make it out onto the pitch. He seems almost guaranteed to be yellow flagged for Christmas.

Alongside this, we have to consider how our Premier League counterparts will approach matters. They will surely be tracking their squads, monitoring red zones and managing minutes.

The persistent anxiety created by Pep Guardiola’s teamsheet will almost be lost in a tide of uncertainty from all camps, as every manager undergoes an examination of their resources and shuffles the pack.

We can prepare by attempting to recruit the “untouchables”; those players considered so crucial to their respective sides that they appear almost “guaranteed” maximum pitch time.

Though no player, perhaps not even first-choice goalkeepers, will likely escape this spell without losing minutes.

Progressing with Kevin Long in our dressing room looks folly, while we can retain Tom Carroll, but have to be content to field him.

We’re going to need a bench that can help us weather the impending storm. And ideally, it needs to be stocked with players that are not only active, but who also promise points.

Fantasy Football will demand our full attention. We face six weeks of scouring team news, analysing selection trends and collating any clues that are dangled.

So leave the decorations in the loft. Prepare partners now and explain to the kids that Christmas is off. At least until you’ve figured out what to do with Chancel Mbemba.