How FA Cup quarter-finals affected Blank Gameweek 33

Fantasy Premier League managers now have a much clearer picture of what Blank Gameweek 33 looks like after today’s FA Cup matches.

There is now a total of six matches confirmed for that weekend, and three postponed.

All we are waiting on now is Tottenham’s match against Brighton, which is dependent on the Seagulls’ FA Cup clash with Millwall on Sunday afternoon.

Confirmed Blank Gameweek 33 fixtures:

• Southampton v Liverpool [Fri | 20:00]
• Bournemouth v Burnley [Sat | 15:00]
• Huddersfield Town v Leicester City [Sat | 15:00]
• Newcastle United v Crystal Palace [Sat | 15:00]
• Everton v Arsenal [Sun | 14:05]
• Chelsea v West Ham United [Mon | 20:00]

Postponed Blank Gameweek 33 fixtures:

• Manchester City v Cardiff City
• Watford v Fulham
• Wolves v Manchester United

They left it late but Manchester City secured passage to the semi-finals by coming from behind to beat Swansea City 3-2 at the Liberty Stadium.

That means they will now no longer play Cardiff City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, April 6 and therefore have a Blank in Gameweek 33.

Most exciting for Fantasy managers is the result of that postponement for Pep Guardiola’s men.

Their meeting with the Bluebirds will have to be rearranged, and with Double Gameweek 35 already containing two fixtures, Gameweek 32 looks the most likely to absorb it.

That should mean Manchester City play Fulham (away) and Cardiff (home) in what would be a hugely appealing Double Gameweek.

Nothing has yet been confirmed by the Premier League on the subject but an announcement is likely to be made in the coming days.

If it is confirmed soon, those playing the Free Hit chip are likely to turn to Sergio Aguero (£11.8m) and Raheem Sterling (£11.5m) to capitalise.

However, we could face a similar situation as we did in Double Gameweek 25 as Fantasy managers have to carefully calculate which Manchester City players are most likely to play both Premier League matches.

The fact that Guardiola has his charges competing on so many fronts will exacerbate this dilemma.

Watford’s win over Crystal Palace has postponed their Premier League meeting with Fulham on Saturday, April 6.

That means the Hornets will have two Double Gameweeks this season, the aforementioned clash with the Cottagers and Southampton’s trip to Vicarage Road, originally planned for Blank Gameweek 31, both outstanding at this stage.

One of those is expected to fall in Double Gameweek 32 and the other in 35, although we will have to wait and see which way round they are. Thankfully, either combination makes for an exciting schedule for Watford options.

The Hornets’ Double Gameweek schedule could either look like this:

Double Gameweek 32
Manchester United v Watford
Watford v Southampton

Double Gameweek 35
Huddersfield v Watford
Watford v Fulham

Or like this:

Double Gameweek 32
Manchester United v Watford
Watford v Fulham

Double Gameweek 35
Huddersfield v Watford
Watford v Southampton

As we say, either scenario looks very promising, with the Double Gameweek 35 possibilities probably the more appealing.

With four goals and two assists in his last four Premier League outings, Gerard Deulofeu (£5.6m) will be a popular player to turn to in midfield.

Meanwhile, Troy Deeney (£5.9m) has three goals and three assists in that time as well.

Crystal Palace’s exit at the hands of Watford confirms their presence in Blank Gameweek 33.

The Eagles’ trip to face Newcastle was confirmed as going ahead now that they will not be involved in the FA Cup at the semi-final stages.

That is good news for those holding onto Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.5m), for example, who will now count towards our total of Blank Gameweek 33 players.

The same goes for Newcastle options as their presence in Blank Gameweek 33 was also confirmed by Saturday’s FA Cup action.

Therefore, those who invested in Salomón Rondón (£5.9m), Isaac Hayden (£4.4m), Miguel Almirón (£6.0m) and the like, are now further prepared for the next round of depleted fixtures.

Managers who held onto Fabian Schär (£4.7m), despite his suspension from Blank Gameweek 31, will also be pleased with the outcome of Watford’s FA Cup quarter-final. He will be back from his ban in time to play in Blank Gameweek 33 now.

As they were scheduled to play each in Blank Gameweek 33 anyway, the result of Wolves and Manchester United’s FA Cup quarter-final had no impact on the Premier League schedule.

However, it might bode well for the Red Devils’ options in FPL for them not to be involved in the final stages of the competition.

As already mentioned, we will have the Blank Gameweek 33 line-up confirmed by the result of Brighton’s trip to Millwall on Sunday afternoon.

A win for the Seagulls would ensure that they and Tottenham do not play a Premier League fixture on Sunday, April 7.

However, if the Lions knock Chris Hughton’s men out then Brighton and Spurs options will play a part in getting a team out for Blank Gameweek 33.