There’s one alarm but no surprises as another two Premier League teams navigate themselves into the last eight of the FA Cup – and out of Gameweek 28.
And yesterday evening’s quarter-final draw gives us a first indication of who might be facing yet further postponements, this time involving Gameweek 34.
Fulham 0 Tottenham Hotspur 3
A Harry Kane hat-trick secured Spurs only their third win in 17 away matches as Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to field a strong side paid dividends at Fulham.
Having scored just once in his last five matches in all competitions, Kane’s treble was a welcome return to form for his 19.0% owners, although he and team-mates Dele Alli (who assisted Kane’s third) and Christian Eriksen (who teed up Kane’s first two goals) all sit in the top ten for transfers-out this week.
And the confirmation that Spurs will now miss a Gameweek 28 trip to Crystal Palace is unlikely to stem that particular tide.
The trio all played at Craven Cottage. The club’s most popular Fantasy Premier League asset, Kyle Walker (36.4%), did not, although the defence was boosted by the return from injury of Jan Vertonghen as coach Mauricio Pochettino continued with a flat back four in the ongoing absence of Danny Rose.
The consistent sales of Spurs assets seem to reflect concerns over their recent poor form as much as anything – they have an attractive schedule all the way through to the end of April, even with the forthcoming Palace blank factored in.
But with advancement in the Europa League still a strong possibility, Pochettino’s already stretched squad will be sorely tested by potential fixture pile-ups as the season reaches its climax.
Spurs have been handed a home tie with Millwall for the quarter-finals. They would be expected to win that, meaning that their Gameweek 34 trip to Leicester City would have to be rescheduled to make way for a possible semi-final, thus adding to the late-season demands on the squad.
It’s likely that the Leicester fixture will remain in Gameweek 34, shifting to the free midweek slot, however, with Spurs Gameweek 28 postponed fixture with Crystal Palace perhaps more likely to be assigned to Gameweek 37.
Spurs XI: Vorm, Trippier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Davies, Winks (Dembele 79), Wanyama, Son, Alli (Onomah 86), Eriksen, Kane (Sissoko 75).
Subs not used: Janssen, Wimmer, Pau Lopez, Carter-Vickers.
Blackburn 1 Manchester United 2
A battling Blackburn took the lead and consistently troubled a strong Manchester United outfit, who finally saw off their hosts through goals from Marcus Rashford and substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Paul Pogba supplying the assists.
The 39.3% of Fantasy managers who still own Ibrahimovic must have been particularly delighted to see their man scoring four goals in the last two (non-FPL) matches – he’s taken the past eight fixtures to manage that haul in the league.
Small wonder then that the Swede is the second-most sold player this week, with more than 100,000 managers releasing him ahead of United’s Gameweek 26 blank as they face Southampton in the EFL Cup final.
With a Gameweek 28 fixture – again involving the Saints – now also postponed, that exodus is likely to gather pace. Team-mates Pogba and the injured Phil Jones also find themselves in the top 30 for transfers-out.
United’s squad is arguably the strongest in the Premier League, which is just as well as the club are still in all three domestic competitions and highly likely to progress to the Round of 16 in the Europa League.
Their immediate league schedule is a kindly one, but two blanks in the next three Gameweeks and the promise of some serious fixture congestion to come could compromise the lure of their key assets.
The quarter-final draw at least adds another layer of intrigue for Fantasy managers.
United will travel to Chelsea, meaning a guaranteed Gameweek 34 postponement for one of that pair, with the Red Devils due to visit Burnley, while the Blues are meant to be entertaining Southampton. Again, those fixtures may remain in Gameweek 34 and shifted to the vacant midweek slot.
Manchester United XI: Romero, Young, Smalling, Rojo, Darmian, Carrick, Herrera, Lingard (Pogba 62), Mkhitaryan, Martial (Ibrahimovic 62), Rashford (Mata 89).
Subs not used: Henderson, Bailly, Shaw, Schweinsteiger.
* The rest of the quarter-final draw involves Middlesbrough at home to either Manchester City or Huddersfield and Arsenal, should they beat Sutton United tonight, at home to Lincoln City.
That could force the rescheduling of following Gameweek 34 fixtures: Arsenal v Sunderland; Bournemouth v Middlesbrough and Man City v West Brom. Although, as mentioned, those fixtures could remain in the Gameweek 34 midweek slot.
