After a long wait, we finally received confirmation of Double Gameweek 34 this afternoon.
Planning and preparation now gets underway in earnest as we assess the best ways to tackle the run-in after eight teams were handed a pair of fixtures in Gameweek 34.
Confirmed Double Gameweek 34 schedule
Bournemouth (liv MUN)
Brighton (cry TOT)
Burnley (LEI CHE)
Chelsea (sot bur)
Leicester (bur SOT)
Man United (WBA bou)
Southampton (CHE lei)
Spurs (MCI bha)
This leaves six matches still requiring a new date.
Chelsea vs Huddersfield
Leicester vs Arsenal
Man City vs Brighton
Swansea vs Southampton
Tottenham vs Newcastle
West Ham vs Man United
The Premier League have confirmed that these will be rescheduled by Tuesday April 3 – before Gameweek 33 – though it is now expected that those 12 teams will now face a Double Gameweek 37.
Providing they drop in Gameweek 37, the schedule would be as follows:
Potential Double Gameweek 37 schedule
Arsenal (BUR lei)
Brighton (MUN mci)
Chelsea (LIV HUD)
Huddersfield (mci che)
Leicester (WHU ARS)
Man City (HUD BHA)
Man United (bha whu)
Newcastle (wat tot)
Southampton (eve swa)
Swansea (bou SOT)
Tottenham (wba NEW)
West Ham (lei MUN)
This is the reverse of the previous school of thought, which had many managers making plans based on the assumption that 12 teams would be playing twice in Double Gameweek 34.
The surprise switch in today’s fixtures may now have many managers reassessing their plans for the run-in, particularly those who still have one or more of the Wildcard, Bench Boost and Free Hit chips in hand.
Earlier this week it was revealed that this is thought to be 12% of the top 10,000 managers and an estimated 20% of “active” managers.
Significantly, some 52,000+ have already played their Wildcard since the Gameweek 31 deadline passed, perhaps expecting that the likes of Arsenal and Man City to also be handed a Double Gameweek 34. Indeed, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the most signed ahead of a return to domestic action, claiming over 125,000 new owners so far.
Immediately, you can see that today’s confirmation has made matters far more difficult for those without the Free Hit chip who were targeting the Gunners’ striker for an expected Double Gameweek 34.
Arsenal were previously one of six teams – along with Burnley, Man City, Newcastle, Swansea and West Ham – who were all expected to have a Double Gameweek 34 and also play in Gameweek 35.
Now, however, that applies only to Burnley.
Without the Free Hit, managers will have to balance their building for the Double Gameweek and then use transfer hits to repair the squad ahead of the Gameweek 35 postponements. What’s more, with the likes of Arsenal and Man City treated to favourable fixtures, a Free Hit in Gameweek 35 could prove even more devastating than the success story that was Gameweek 31.
Certainly, for those still holding their Bench Boost chips, Gameweek 34 was the favoured window prior to today’s reveal.
Now, though, with five of the top six sides – Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Man United and Spurs – all likely to play twice in Gameweek 37, some will be setting their sights on the latter round instead.
Indeed, City, United and Spurs all face a pair of opponents outside of the top eight and will clearly offer huge points potential.
Much depends on the state of your squad, of course, and the number of chips still at your disposal. Indeed, this afternoon’s news could provide food for thought for those managers who avoided “dead-ending” their squads in Gameweek 31 and have yet to play the Wildcard.
Should they now favour Double Gameweek 37, they could now play the Free Hit Chip in Double Gameweek 34, with the Wildcard in Gameweek 36 and Bench Boost in Gameweek 37.
On the other hand, while the allure of Double Gameweek 37 may be greater on paper, the reality could be that, by then, many of the sides may have little to play for in the league.
Those Bench Boosting in Double Gameweek 37 will be relying on many teams still being motivated and therefore less prone to rotation, yet there’s a chance that the fight for survival and battle for top-four finishes could be done and dusted by then.
Meanwhile, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Man United and Spurs could all still be involved in cup competitions come Double Gameweek 37.
In the case of Man City and Arsenal, the Champions League and Europa League semi-final second legs are in the midweek before the start of Double Gameweek 37. Meanwhile, the Europa League final is just three days after Gameweek 38.
Chelsea, Spurs and Man United all still have hopes of clinching the FA Cup, with the final taking place on May 19 – six days after the end of the season.
You only have to look back to Double Gameweek 37, where Antonio Conte named the following XI at home to Watford in the second of Chelsea’s matches, with one eye on the FA Cup final on May 27.
Begovic; Zouma, Ake, Terry; Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Kante, Kenedy; Hazard, Willian; Batshuayi
While those who opt to Bench Boost in Double Gameweek 34 may have fewer big-hitting, explosive options to load up on, their squads could be less likely to suffer from unexpected teamsheets as fringe players get the chance of a run-out in the penultimate Gameweek.
With Harry Kane potentially still in the running along with the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Christian Eriksen and Riyad Mahrez, it’s not as if we’ll short of premium, in-form picks for Double Gameweek 34.
Arguably, then, Fantasy managers who are looking to lessen the likelihood of rotation – and avoid a repeat of instances such as Conte’s infamous XI – may look to using an early Wildcard in Gameweek 32 or 33 in order to profit from the security of Double Gameweek 34 instead.
Choosing when to play the Triple Captain chip will also impact in our plans.
Looking at the main contenders in Double Gameweek 34, Kane – if fit – hosts Man City, Mahrez and Hazard have Burnley away, while Lukaku, although in form, has been far from explosive and managed three double-digit returns all season.
On the other hand, Kane’s Double Gameweek 37, away to West Brom and at home to Newcastle, could prove the big factor in deciding when to play our Triple Captain chip and therefore also our Bench Boost.
Granted, we won’t forgot this season’s Double Gameweek 22 in a hurry – the Spurs striker returned just three points against Swansea and West Ham – yet Kane’s exploits in the corresponding round last term will live far longer in the memory.
Five goals and an assist over 180 minutes’ pitch-time against Man United and Leicester in Double Gameweek 37 preceded a hat-trick at Hull in the season finale to clinch the Golden Boot.
Even if he fails to overcome Mohamed Salah as the top scorer in 2017/18, a fully-fit Kane’s security of pitch-time makes him a big favourite for the Double Gameweek 37 Triple Captain chip.
Again, while Man City also have the fixtures – at home to Huddersfield and Brighton – if Pep Guardiola’s men wrap up the league title early and progress past Liverpool into the Champions League semi-finals, rotation looks inevitable.
Indeed, their head-to-head with the Merseysiders could ultimately prove decisive in how we approach the remaining rounds of fixtures.
Defeat to Liverpool would leave City with only league matches left on their agenda and that might not be a bad thing, even if the title is wrapped up by that point.
As discussed on club’s official website earlier in the week, Guardiola’s men have as many as ten Premier League records in their sights.
Incentive enough, surely, to limit the chances of rotation should they fall to defeat and fail to reach the last four in Europe.
