FPL – Best Chip Strategy for the Blank and Double Gameweeks

Chip season is officially upon us! For a lot of Fantasy Premier League managers it’s their favourite time of the year, when spreadsheets are cracked open and planning hits full force.

While many double and blank fixtures have yet to be formally announced, it’s looking like Gameweek 31 will be a big blank Gameweek. Gameweek 34 will have a cocktail of doubles, blanks and single fixtures, and Gameweek 37 will be the big double.

Lots of managers within the FPL community, including Ben Crellin are discussing the best chip strategy with one of the most popular being the following:

• Free Hit in Blank Gameweek 31.
• Wildcard in Gameweek 36.
• Bench Boost in Double Gameweek 37.
• Use free transfers to prepare for Double Gameweek 34.

For those who Free Hit in Gameweek 31, it’s looking like it won’t be easy to play a Wildcard in Gameweek 32 or 33, and create a team that is well set up for double Gameweeks 34 AND 37.

This is because only four teams can possibly have a double in both Gameweek 34 and Gameweek 37, and it is looking highly unlikely that this will happen for these four teams. Therefore it appears that we are going to need two very bespoke teams, one for double Gameweek 34 and another one for double Gameweek 37.

With this in mind, I am proposing the trademarked “FPL Virgin Chip Strategy“, which is as follows:

• Get through Gameweek 31 by any means possible.
• Wildcard in Gameweek 33, then Bench Boost in Gameweek 34.
• Free Hit in Gameweek 37.

At the moment, Gameweek 31 has four teams in action (Burnley, Bournemouth, Watford and Wolves) with a decent chance of Everton and Norwich being added. Some people are worried that Gameweek 31 could be a wasteland with just a handful of poor quality fixtures. We seem to have these fears every season and they never materialise thanks to the usual FA Cup banana skins. Even if the worst does happen, is it really worth using a precious chip on a barren fixture list with limited points potential? And if the likes of Liverpool beat Chelsea in the FA Cup and more teams do come into play in Gameweek 31, it then becomes easier to prepare for this blank with your current team and by using free transfers. Either way, come hell or high water, I’m not using a Free Hit to get through Gameweek 31.

By using my Wildcard in Gameweek 33, Bench Boosting in Gameweek 34 and Free Hitting directly into Gameweek 37, it gives me those two highly bespoke teams that will be needed for the two distinct doubles. The bone of contention here is why play the free hit in 37 and not 34, and there are a few reasons for this:

Firstly, Gameweek 37 is so close to the end of the season that it will be very difficult to know in advance which teams have something to play for and which matches will be dead rubber games. The penultimate game of the season is a rotation minefield with youngsters being blooded, fringe players being given a run out and multiple teams marooned in a fixed position in the league table. It is going to be problematic to predict even two weeks in advance which 15 players are highly likely to play twice in quick succession. To have any chance of this, you need the flexibility to be able to customise your team and make unlimited transfers going right into the last minute of the Gameweek 37 deadline. Also, in the second-to-last game of the season, it will be a much easier task to find 11 players with a double Gamweek for the Free Hit, than it will be finding 15 for a Bench Boost.

Secondly, by playing your Wildcard in Gameweek 36, as stipulated in the popular chip strategy,  it gives you just two Gameweeks to get the benefit of your Wildcard. Playing your Wildcard in Gameweek 33 or even sooner means you set your team up for double Gameweek 34 and have more Gameweeks to benefit from your refreshed team. This tackles one of the most common criticisms of the strategy where you Wildcard in Gameweek 36 and Bench Boost in Gameweek 37.

There you have it. That’s the “FPL Virgin Chip Strategy”. What it boils down to is your FPL team will need two different teams for two different doubles, and by using a Wildcard and a Free Hit just prior to both doubles, you get the two highly tailored teams that you will need. Will this chip strategy catch on and be the go-to strategy for the 2019/20 season? Only time will tell!