The Premier League have today confirmed that Chelsea and Leicester are set for a double Gameweek 34 as a result of a fixture reschedule. The pair were initially due to square up at the King Power Stadium in Gameweek 27 but Chelsea’s progress to the Capital One Cup Final on March 1 against Tottenham had forced a postponement, leaving Jose Mourinho’s men and the Foxes with a blank.
The change of date is somewhat surprising, given that Spurs and QPR were quickly allocated a double Gameweek 28 after their Gameweek 27 showdown was postponed for similar reasons. Today’s announcement means that those two are the only sides with a pair of fixtures in Gameweek 28 – Spurs will host Swansea and QPR entertain Arsenal before welcoming Mauricio Pochettino’s men to Loftus Road the following midweek.
Chelsea’s double hands them a couple of away trips, then. The league leaders will travel to Arsenal on Saturday April 25 before making their way to the King Power Stadium the following Wednesday. Given that only three of their 12 clean sheets have arrived outside of Stamford Bridge, confidence in the Blues defence will perhaps be dented here, though with a run of three home matches on either side of the double (MUN, ars & lei, CPL, LIV), owners of John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic will surely hold. Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa are already amongst the most popular picks in the FPL game, though Oscar will be hoping to remain under the radar – with just 8% ownership, two of his four double-figure hauls have arrived on the road. It’s also worth noting that Chelsea’s Gameweek 33 home encounter with United could be subject to change, though – if the Red Devils get past Arsenal in the FA Cup, this clash will need to be rescheduled, though at present, this scenario is hypothetical.
Leicester, meanwhile, travel to fellow strugglers Burnley prior to the Blues’ visit. Like Chelsea, they also have a trio of home encounters on either side on the (SWA, bur & CHE, WBA, SOU) before finishing the season with clashes against Sunderland and QPR. Such a schedule is sure to boost faith in Nigel Pearson’s main men and new striker Andrej Kramaric, with two goals in as many matches, could come into consideration for those overlooking Costa. At just 4.9, Riyad Mahrez will surely make his way onto many radars as the Foxes rely on the Algerian’s guile to steer them to safety, whilst Jeffrey Schlupp’s out of position prospects as a left winger could also persuade some to take a punt.
For now, though, this is just a heads-up – we’ll be rolling out Scouting the Doubles articles nearer the time.
