Earlier this lunchtime, the Premier League confirmed new dates for a number of fixtures, allowing Fantasy managers the chance to fine-tune their wildcard plans for the run-in.
Double Gameweek 36
Arsenal – Man United (H), Southampton (A)
Southampton – Liverpool (A), Arsenal (H)
Only two teams – Southampton and Arsenal – have been handed a double Gameweek 36 after their head-to-head, which was postponed due to the former’s progress to the EFL Cup final, was shifted to Wednesday, May 10.
Claude Puel’s men hardly have the easiest of schedules, with a testing weekend trip to Liverpool before entertaining the Gunners.
Similarly, Arsenal host Man United in the weekend prior to making their way to St Mary’s.
Double Gameweek 37
Arsenal – Stoke (A), Sunderland (H)
Chelsea – West Brom (A), Watford (H)
Leicester – Man City (A), Spurs (H)
Manchester City – Leicester (H), West Brom (H)
Manchester United – Spurs (A), Southampton (A)
Southampton – Middlesbrough (A), Man United (H)
Sunderland – Swansea (H), Arsenal (A)
Spurs – Man United (H), Leicester (A)
Watford – Everton (A), Chelsea (A)
West Bromwich Albion – Chelsea (H), Man City (A)
With ten teams set to play twice in Gameweek 37, this, as expected, offers a prime opportunity to use the remaining chips.
Obviously you are unable to play two chips in the same Gameweek, so if you are wildcarding in Gameweek 36 to set up your squad for Gameweek 37, it’s worth remembering that you cannot then also use a Triple Captain or Bench Boost in Gameweek 36.
Dealing the second wildcard in Gameweek 36 to catch the early potential offered by Arsenal and Southampton, then following it up with a Bench Boost or Triple Captain chip in the next Gameweek, looks the best solution.
In terms of the teams involved, the Gunners go to Stoke before welcoming Sunderland to the Emirates in Gameweek 37, while the Saints travel to Middlesbrough prior to facing Man United at St Mary’s.
Despite his recent drought, Alexis Sanchez is likely to find a place in many second wildcard teams, though non-owners may now choose to overlook him until the Gunners’ two pairs of fixtures, focusing their short-term plans instead on double Gameweek 34 attackers from Man United and Palace.
At 5.1, the likes of James Ward-Prowse could emerge as a decent midfield enabler, while the fitness of Manolo Gabbiadini will also play a part in our thinking.
For those looking to load up on Arsenal and Southampton for their back-to-back doubles, it’s worth bearing in mind that they also offer home matches in Gameweek 38, entertaining Everton and Stoke respectively.
Chelsea will now travel to West Brom before hosting Watford on Monday May 15, while the Hornets have consecutive road trips for their double Gameweek 37, with a visit to Everton preceding their Stamford Bridge encounter.
Crucially, moving the Chelsea v Watford match to that Monday evening has had a significant impact on the Gameweek 37 deadline.
Essentially, Gameweek 37 will now get underway on the evening of Friday, May 12, when West Brom host Chelsea and Everton entertain Watford. The deadline – an hour before the first match gets underway –will be 6.45pm.
Man City, meanwhile, are the only side set to play twice in front of their own supporters, with clashes against Leicester and West Brom on the agenda for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Having scored in each of the last four Gameweeks, Sergio Aguero will stake a claim for consideration here but – as we saw in the case of Raheem Sterling, who was rested for the second match of double Gameweek 27 – Pep’s tinkering could prove a spanner in the works.
For Man United, this means that all four of their matches across double Gameweek 34 (Burnley, Man City) and Gameweek 37 are away from home.
While those extra fixtures heighten the appeal of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has scored ten of his 17 goals on the road, the veteran has still offered more threat in front of his own fans, firing an effort every 18 minutes at Old Trafford compared with 30 minutes away.
Encouragingly for those eyeing up their backline, Jose Mourinho’s men have chalked up six of 12 clean sheets on the road this season – indeed, United have conceded less away goals (13) than any other side.
In spite of the Red Devils’ fine away record, faith in Spurs’ trio Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen is likely to remain resolute as they welcome United to the Lane before heading off to Leicester in the final fixture of Gameweek 37.
As always, we’ll look to publish ‘Scouting the Doubles’ articles assessing the prospects in greater detail in the build-up to each double Gameweek.
For now, this is just a heads-up. Enjoy tinkering..
