As confirmed by the Premier League earlier this evening, 12 teams are set to play twice in Double Gameweek 37.
Like many had expected, all six rescheduled matches will drop in the penultimate round of fixtures, with the new dates as follows:
Tuesday May 8 – Swansea vs Southampton.
Wednesday May 9 – Chelsea vs Huddersfield, Leicester vs Arsenal, Man City vs Brighton and Tottenham vs Newcastle.
Thursday May 10 – West Ham vs Man United.
As a result, these are the 12 sides with Doubles on the agenda and their respective fixtures.
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)
How we approach this will, of course, depend on the remaining chips at our disposal.
Essentially, today’s announcement means that six of the 12 sides with Double Gameweek 37s – Brighton, Chelsea, Leicester, Man United, Southampton and Spurs – play twice in Double Gameweek 34.
However, with all six also facing a blank in the restricted Gameweek 35, many have earmarked this round of fixtures for the Free Hit chip in order to keep their squads populated with players offering two Doubles.
The other six – Arsenal, Huddersfield, Man City, Newcastle, Swansea and West Ham – will instead feature in Gameweek 35 and therefore have no blank between now and the end of the season.
Given that only one of the Double Gameweek 34 sides – Burnley – also play in Gameweek 35, those without a Free Hit chip must now strike a balance with their transfers in order to prevent a potential rank drop.
Looking at our updated Season Ticker, Spurs, Arsenal and Chelsea are now viewed as boasting the most favourable schedules, with all three facing just one top-six rival between now and the end of the season.
Spurs’ head-to-head with Man City (stk MCI & bha blank WAT wba & NEW LEI) is lessened by the fact that it is part of Double Gameweek 34.
Similarly, Chelsea’s clash with Liverpool (WHU sot & bur blank swa LIV & HUD new) is one half of their Double Gameweek 37.
However, Arsenal’s trip to Man United in Gameweek 36 (SOT new WHU mun BUR lei hud) may deter many from overloading on their main men until Double Gameweek 37.
With the schedule now settled, confirmation is likely to trigger further Wildcards as we start to firm up our plans for the run-in.
Some had pencilled in a Gameweek 32 Wildcard, followed by Bench Boost in Double Gameweek 34, Free Hit in Gameweek 35 and Triple Captain in Gameweek 37.
However, after the confirmation of Double Gameweek 34 arrived on March 22, a surprisingly low 139,000+ Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers played their second Wildcard in Gameweek 32.
Put into perspective, that’s just the sixth most popular round of fixtures since this chip became available in Gameweek 22. Interestingly, just 29,000 Wildcard chips have been played in Gameweek 33 so far.
With more options at our disposal in Double Gameweek 37, many may look instead to this round for the Bench Boost chip, allowing the option to play the Triple Captain in Double Gameweek 34, with the Free Hit Chip in Gameweek 35 and Wildcard in Gameweek 36.
Certainly, with five of the top six set to play twice, there’s a considerable upside to the penultimate round of matches.
Yet, as discussed in our previous article on Double Gameweek 34 there is also the possibility that, by this point in the season, many teams will have little to play for.
Arguably, we could be more reliant on players remaining motivated and less susceptible to rotation in such a scenario, particularly if the relegation battle and fight for the top four are already over.
Near the top of the table, for example, Spurs’ win at Chelsea on Sunday took them eight points clear of Antonio Conte’s fifth-placed side. Should they fail to overcome that gap, the Blues’ boss may prioritise the FA Cup as a means of winning silverware – the final takes place six days after the season ends, with Spurs and Man United also still in with a shout.
Similarly, both Man City and Arsenal’s progress in Europe will be key.
It’s worth bearing in mind that the Champions League and Europa League semi-final second legs take place in the midweek before the start of Double Gameweek 37, while the Europa League final is just three days after Gameweek 38.
Should Pep Guardiola’s side wrap up the league early and proceed to the last four of the Champions League, there’s a real concern that he could rest his regulars to prioritise European matches.
If Liverpool defeat them, though, then City only have the league to concentrate on, with the Etihad side well placed to break a number of Premier League records between now and the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger’s teamsheet on Sunday versus Stoke – omitting the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Laurent Koscielny from the XI – continued his recent penchant for resting key players ahead of Europa League matches.
Ineligible for that competition, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang is one of the few we can expect to stay free of domestic rotation over the final few league matches.
With Arsenal, Spurs and United all facing two matches in Double Gameweek 37, the Gabon international, along with Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku, could play a major part in our plans for the run-in.
Kane looks an ideal candidate for the Triple Captain chip in Double Gameweek 37, particularly if he’s still in the race with Mohamed Salah to claim the Golden Boot. He currently trails the Egyptian by five goals but, given that he was four goals behind in the battle at this stage last season, Kane will not be giving up.
Spurs’ clashes against West Brom and Newcastle hand him the perfect platform to replicate last season’s five-goal heroics in the penultimate round of fixtures.
Similarly, Man City’s back-to-back home matches with Huddersfield and Brighton could barely be more appealing.
Pep Guardiola’s midfielders have the home form to flourish – Kevin De Bruyne has served up six double-digits at home, while Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling have managed five apiece.
Given that the second leg of their quarter-final against Liverpool takes place in just six days’ time, some may choose to hold playing their chips, allowing more time to garner information and obtain a clearer picture before deciding on their intentions.
