While we’re still over a month away from the festive fixture congestion starting in earnest, many Fantasy managers will have one eye on the Christmas calendar and be weighing up just how strong their squads are going into this turbulent period.
Those Fantasy Premier League bosses who still have their Wildcards in play and are planning on deploying the chip for the much-discussed “fixture swing” of Gameweeks 15/16 will be particularly focused on the late-December/early-January matches at this advanced stage, as a squad overhaul also gives them the opportunity to clear out unusable bench fodder and ensure they have 13 playing outfielders in time for Christmas and New Year.
There is plenty of congestion before we get to the business end of the festive season, of course, with a midweek round of games in Gameweek 15 to contend with plus Champions League, Europa League and EFL Cup ties to contest over the next four weeks too.
For this study, though, we will concentrate on Gameweeks 19-22 of 2017/18 (a period spanning from Friday 22 December to Thursday 4 January) to see how key FPL assets fared in terms of game-time over the festive period and how their respective managers approached the fixture congestion.
The equivalent period this season will be Gameweeks 18-21, which runs from Friday 21 December to Thursday 3 January.
Manchester City
| Player | Starts | Subbed off | Subbed on | Unused sub | Not in squad | Mins played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aguero | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 324 |
| Sterling | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 303 |
| Sane | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 254 |
| David Silva | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 180 |
| Bernardo | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 198 |
| De Bruyne | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 332 |
| Walker | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 360 |
| Otamendi | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 360 |
Pep Guardiola’s side was relatively settled last Christmas, with Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane all getting three starts and Kevin De Bruyne, Nicolas Otamendi and Kyle Walker ever-presents.
Aguero and Sterling were both rested to the bench on New Year’s Eve in the Gameweek 21 clash against Crystal Palace, though the Argentinean striker was soon called into action midway through the first half when Gabriel Jesus was forced off through injury.
Sterling also came on after 57 minutes of this encounter, with the game finishing goalless.
Aguero registered three goals and one assist in his three starts, with Sterling doing exactly the same. It is also worthy of note that Sterling lasted 90 minutes in all three games in which he featured in the starting XI.
Sane’s rest came on Boxing Day at Newcastle United, with Sterling moving over to left flank and Bernardo Silva lining up wide right.
Kevin De Bruyne and Fernandinho started all four matches in central midfield, with the Belgian midfielder having his minutes managed in the form of late substitutions in two fixtures.
David Silva missed Gameweek 20 and 21 but of course, had more important things on his mind at the time following the premature birth of his son. The Spaniard was granted compassionate leave throughout December and January, with Ilkay Gundogan stepping into his shoes when “El Mago” was absent.
The reason we highlight Nicolas Otamendi’s starts is that the Argentinean stopper was the bedrock of the City defence last season, much in the same way Aymeric Laporte is in 2018/19.
Otamendi played every minute of City’s festive schedule, with Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Eliaquim Mangala rotating around him.
Kyle Walker also started all four matches, with Danilo and Fabian Delph sharing game-time at left-back.
Benjamin Mendy was, of course, injured for much of 2017/18 and it will be interesting to see how involved he is over Christmas if he recovers from his knee injury in time. Mendy’s availability could also have an effect on who plays on the flanks, as it has done with Sane in the past.
Like this season, City had Premier League, Champions League and EFL Cup games every midweek in the month leading up to the Christmas period.
Liverpool
| Player | Starts | Subbed off | Subbed on | Unused sub | Not in squad | Mins played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salah | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 242 |
| Mane | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 224 |
| Firmino | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 266 |
| Alexander-Arnold | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 180 |
| Robertson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 255 |
Rotation was rife among Jurgen Klopp’s side in Christmas 2017, with defensive midfielder Emre Can the only Liverpool player to start all four of their matches from Gameweeks 19-22.
Mohamed Salah might well have joined him as an ever-present but missed the New Year’s Day clash with Burnley with a knee injury.
That Gameweek 22 match was particularly chastening for Fantasy managers, with Salah absent and Andrew Robertson and Roberto Firmino benched.
Dominic Solanke, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana were all given starts alongside Sadio Mane at Turf Moor.
Mane’s one game as an unused substitute was the 5-0 win over Swansea City on Boxing Day, which added to his owners’ misery as Firmino, Salah and Philippe Coutinho ran riot.
Salah registered three goals and as many assists in his three starts, with Mane only involved in two of Liverpool’s strikes (one goal, one assist).
Firmino, whose stock has fallen considerably this season, matched Salah for goals scored and chipped in with an assist too.
Robertson’s benching against Burnley was the only game the Liverpool left-back failed to start between Gameweeks 15 and 32.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, as was this case last season, is not quite as “nailed” as Robertson in the Liverpool defence, though is appearing with more frequency than he was in 2017/18.
The England right-back started two of Liverpool’s four festive fixtures, which was symptomatic of his rotation risk status throughout much of last year: Alexander-Arnold started 18 Premier League matches and was an unused substitute on 16 other occasions.
With Xherdan Shaqiri now added to the mix, it could well be that Liverpool’s front three record even less pitch-time over Christmas than they did in 2017/18.
The good news for owners of Liverpool assets is that the Reds’ fixtures this winter are more spread out than any other club, with their Gameweek 18 clash against Wolves taking place on Friday 21 December and their Gameweek 21 encounter with Manchester City scheduled for Thursday 3 January.
If rotation is to occur, then the Boxing Day match against Newcastle United at Anfield – the one fixture we’d like our Liverpool assets for – might be the game in which Klopp wields the axe; Arsenal and Manchester City subsequently follow in Gameweeks 20 and 21.
Spurs
| Player | Starts | Subbed off | Subbed on | Unused sub | Not in squad | Mins played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kane | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 292 |
| Alli | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 351 |
| Eriksen | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 360 |
| Trippier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 90 |
| Davies | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 262 |
Spurs’ festive schedule in 2017/18 is tough to analyse, given that the Lilywhites had a blank in Gameweek 21 followed by a double in Gameweek 22.
That being said, the Spurs team was a relatively settled one, despite facing two matches in 48 hours against Swansea and West Ham.
Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min started all four fixtures in the attacking midfield positions over Christmas and New Year, while Eric Dier, Davinson Sanchez, Jan Vertonghen and Hugo Lloris were ever-presents too.
Harry Kane, scorer of two hat-tricks in Gameweeks 19 and 20, came off the bench in the Gameweek 21 fixture against Swansea having suffered from illness in the build-up to that match.
Injuries and a lack of squad depth were undoubtedly contributing factors to the stability of the side, however.
Lucas Moura was yet to become a Spurs player, while Erik Lamela was not the in-form option he is now.
At the back, Toby Alderweireld was sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Danny Rose picked up a knee complaint midway through the festive calendar.
There was rotation in the right-back department, though Kieran Trippier only started one of these four winter 2017/18 games with Serge Aurier preferred. Trippier has since established himself as Spurs’ undisputed right-back of choice in the Premier League, having started the last 11 matches, but it would be a major surprise if he wasn’t rested for at least one match over Christmas given that there are just two days rest between each of Spurs’ four festive fixtures.
Spurs’ case is one we will have to revisit closer to the time, with Eriksen and Alli still being reintegrated into the team following injury. At this stage, it would seem unlikely that the premium midfield pair would be ever-presents over Christmas as they were last season, particularly with Lucas Moura and Lamela genuine alternatives for Mauricio Pochettino to consider.
Kane might well end up registering the most minutes out of Spurs’ attack-minded assets over the festive period, though whether he is worth the steep outlay is a question for another day.
Arsenal and Chelsea
Both Arsenal and Chelsea’s Fantasy assets played under different head coaches last season, so any analysis of their respective fixtures over Christmas 2017 would be largely irrelevant with regards to looking for precedents for this winter.
For posterity, Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta played every minute of every match, while Eden Hazard was an unused substitute in the 5-0 win over Stoke City in Gameweek 21 but started the other three fixtures.
Alexandre Lacazette lined up in all four of Arsenal’s matches (one of only two FPL forwards to do so), with Mesut Ozil playing 270 minutes and missing out in Gameweek 21 with a minor knee injury.
The Serie A match calendar in December is much less packed than that of the Premier League, but for what little it’s worth, Maurizio Sarri made only one change (an enforced one, at that) to his Napoli starting XI between their fixtures on December 23 and 29 last season.
Unai Emery’s Paris Saint-Germain side, meanwhile, had two-and-a-half weeks off for their winter break.
Other Notable FPL Players Under the Same Manager
Bournemouth had a fairly settled side under Eddie Howe last Christmas.
Callum Wilson started all four games up front, scoring two goals, and indeed played more minutes (337 out of a possible 360) over the festive period than any other FPL forward.
Ryan Fraser started three of those four games and only missed out on the New Year’s Day draw with Brighton and Hove Albion due to injury. The pint-sized Scottish midfielder indeed also played 90 minutes in the EFL Cup match against Chelsea on Wednesday 20 December prior to that fixture pile-up.
Fraser scored twice in the Gameweek 21 win over Everton.
For those FPL managers looking for omens regarding David Brooks, there is potentially welcome news: Howe stuck with then-first-choice winger Jordon Ibe on the opposite flank for all four matches.
Richarlison started all four of Watford’s Christmas 2017 fixtures under Marco Silva, only being substituted in one of those matches (in the 82nd minute) and registering two assists.
That possibly bodes well for the Brazilian’s Fantasy owners, with the pair now reunited at Everton.
Paul Pogba played all 360 minutes of the matches in Gameweeks 19-22 under Jose Mourinho, which could be something to note given the appealing nature of Manchester United’s fixtures over Christmas and New Year this season.
Wilfried Zaha and Johann Berg Gudmundsson also played every minute of Crystal Palace and Burnley’s games in this period under Roy Hodgson and Sean Dyche respectively. Eight of Dyche’s outfielders started all four games.
Glenn Murray had his minutes managed, starting two of Brighton’s four festive fixtures under Chris Hughton and coming off the bench in the other two.
Rafael Benitez tinkered with his midfield and attack over Christmas 2017, with Jamaal Lascelles and DeAndre Yedlin the only Newcastle United outfielders to start all four matches.
The only match Jamie Vardy failed to start in the whole of 2017/18 came on New Year’s Day against Huddersfield Town, though his absence was injury-enforced.
Harry Maguire also played all 360 minutes of Leicester City’s Christmas fixtures under Claude Puel last season.
Matt Doherty started (and lasted 90 minutes) in all four of Wolves’ Christmas/New Year fixtures for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship, with Willy Boly, Ruben Neves and Conor Coady also ever-presents.
Ryan Bennett came on as an early substitute in the one game the budget defender failed to start.
Nuno Espirito Santo also resisted the urge to rotate at left wing-back, with Ryan Douglas playing all 360 minutes.
Other Notable FPL Players Under Different Managers
Under David Moyes, Marko Arnautovic played every minute of three of West Ham United‘s four festive fixtures, missing the match against Spurs in Gameweek 22 through illness.
Whether the Austrian’s bothersome knee can withstand the rigours of four games in 12 days this winter remains doubtful, particularly with Arnautovic currently missing training immediately after his Premier League appearances in order to manage the ongoing issue.
Gylfi Sigurdsson didn’t have the best of seasons under Sam Allardyce but still lasted 90 minutes of Everton’s three matches in late-December 2017 before watching the entirety of the New Year’s Day defeat to Manchester United from the bench.
We will revisit this piece closer to Gameweek 18 before the frenzied festive schedule commences.
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5 years, 5 months agoWho to bench out of these lot.
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