Following on from last night’s article in the wake of Arsenal’s passage to the Carling Cup final, we’ve now had the second piece of the puzzle completed with Birmingham confirmed as the Gunners’ opponents after their 4-3 aggregate win over West Ham. This has resulted in further disruption to the Premier League fixture list which has pretty significant repercussions for us Fantasy Managers. Have a pen and paper handy…
In the wake of making the trip to Wembley, Birmingham will be forced to postpone two of their forthcoming fixtures (one indefinitely, one rescheduled). The hotly anticipated proposition of a triple fixture in Gameweek 27 has fallen by the wayside as Birmingham are now forced to move their visit to Everton back a fortnight to March 9 to allow a full week of preparation for the final on Sunday February 27. That still leaves them with a double Gameweek here, with games against Stoke and Newcastle at home to come.
However, Birmingham will also see their trip to Stamford Bridge, currently scheduled for February 26 (Gameweek 28), postponed. Unlike the Spurs vs Arsenal clash postponed from the weekend of the same Gameweek, a move to a midweek slot for this fixture is not possible as Chelsea already face Man United on the Tuesday. Birmingham will now have a blank in Gameweek 28 then – casting real doubt over the wisdom of heavy investment in their players for their Gameweek 27 double.
There is a further consideration however. Birmingham’s trip to Everton, postponed from Gameweek 27, will now move to Gameweek 29. That will slot alongside a home clash against Roberto Di Matteo’s West Brom, giving Birmingham a rather odd schedule of two double Gameweeks sandwiching their Gameweek 28 blank. Got that? Good.
This obviously has repercussions elsewhere, as the double fixture that Chelsea previously had penciled in for Gameweek 28 has been demoted to a single fixture against United. Were United or Chelsea to progress in the FA Cup this weekend and pick up draws in the fifth round (on February 19), that fixture will also be shunted to allow for replays. Everton meanwhile, have their double of (bol/BIR) in Gameweek 27 removed and turn into (new/BIR) a couple of weeks later in Gameweek 29.
Plenty to take in when considering transfers, wildcards and strategies then. Season Tickers will be updated with all the relevant details later today.
