When are the Blank Gameweeks in FPL?

There’s plenty of Double Gameweek talk within the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) community at present, following the confirmation that four teams will play twice in Gameweek 20.

Arsenal and Manchester City also have two fixtures in Gameweek 23, while there’s a chance that further ‘doubles’ could be announced for Gameweeks 21 and/or 22.

The yin to the yang are the Blank Gameweeks.

In theory, these should be slightly easier to navigate: while we’re sometimes given very little notice about an upcoming Double Gameweek (like the imminent one), Blank Gameweeks are usually known about in advance – although Covid and royal deaths have made this not the case in recent years.

There are currently three (almost certain) Blank Gameweeks for us FPL managers to juggle: Gameweeks 25, 28 and 32.

Here we take a closer look at the teams already guaranteed a fixture, who could miss out and when we’ll know more information about them.

BLANK GAMEWEEK 25

• What it clashes with: The EFL Cup final.
• Maximum blanks: Two fixtures (four teams).
• When we will know who blanks: After the EFL Cup semi-finals have been contested in the midweek before Gameweek 22.
• Any other information: The midweek after Gameweek 25 could yet house some outstanding fixtures, should two teams with an affected match not still be in the FA Cup by the fifth round.

Don’t get alarmed by the four ‘possible blank’ entries above, as there’ll only be a maximum of two fixtures being postponed (ie four teams blanking) in Gameweek 25.

Manchester City’s shock EFL Cup quarter-final elimination at the hands of Southampton means that their Gameweek 25 match against Bournemouth will go ahead – weather/Covid-permitting, of course.

Cup exits for Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers also mean that their respective Gameweek 25 fixtures against Arsenal and Fulham will proceed as planned.

All in all, this Blank Gameweek looks much easier to navigate than originally feared with well-owned FPL assets like Erling Haaland (£12.2m), Kevin De Bruyne (£12.5m), Gabriel Martinelli (£6.8m), Martin Odegaard (£6.7m), Andreas Pereira (£4.6m) and Aleksandar Mitrovic (£7.2m) all now playable.

Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur were already in the clear with regard to Gameweek 25.

So who are the teams we have to be concerned about? Manchester United and Newcastle United are the bookies’ favourites to win their EFL Cup semi-finals, so their Gameweek 25 league matches against Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion look most at risk of being postponed.

We at least get four Gameweeks-worth of free transfers to help negotiate the blanks once the two finalists are known ahead of Gameweek 22 but many of us will now be able to easily negotiate Gameweek 25 without the use of a chip and potentially without hits, too.

BLANK GAMEWEEK 28

• What it clashes with: The FA Cup quarter-finals.
• Maximum blanks: Seven fixtures (14 teams).
• When we will know who blanks: After the FA Cup fifth-round ties have been contested in the midweek before Gameweek 26. The results of the FA Cup fourth round, which takes place before Gameweek 22, should also give us a better picture.
• Any other information: An international break follows Gameweek 28, so there is no chance that any fixtures will be pushed back into the subsequent midweek.

This Gameweek might also be not impossible to manage, even though there’ll be more blanks.

There’ll be a maximum of seven postponements but in all likelihood and based on past clashes with the FA Cup quarter-finals, the number will be more in the 4-6 region.

We’ve already got Newcastle United definitely in action against Nottingham Forest, so a triple-up on the Geordies looks appealing (once a possible Gameweek 25 is out of the way).

The Gameweek could get even easier to manage if Arsenal are out of the FA Cup by the quarter-final stage, and there’s a good chance of that as they are set to face Manchester City at the Etihad in round four.

Getting a full XI out without a Free Hit might still prove problematic but what might affect your decision is a possible Wildcard window immediately afterwards. Not only does an international break follow but a significant-sized Double Gameweek 29 could be on the cards, too, so we will likely want to freshen our squads for that.

‘Dead-ending’ your squad into Gameweek 28 is one approach, then, as you could in one fell swoop bring back all the players you’ve offloaded in preparation for the doubles. A Wildcard in Gameweek 29 wouldn’t allow for a Bench Boost in the same week, it should be said.

BLANK GAMEWEEK 32

What it clashes with: The FA Cup semi-finals.
Maximum blanks: Four fixtures (eight teams).
When we will know who blanks: After the FA Cup quarter-finals have been contested on the same weekend of Gameweek 28.
Any other information: A midweek round of Premier League fixtures (Gameweek 33) follows Gameweek 32, so there is no chance that any fixtures will be pushed back into the subsequent midweek.

We won’t spend too much time dwelling on this Blank Gameweek, which is over three months away and may fall for many after the deployment of a Wildcard.

Anything from zero to four blanks are possible.

Two fixtures are confirmed as being definitely on already, however.

Aston Villa and Everton are so far the only two sides who avoid a blank in Gameweeks 25, 28 and 32.