The second Double Gameweek of the 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season was confirmed on Friday.
Manchester City’s previously postponed match with Brentford has been rearranged for Tuesday 20 February, giving both sides a Double Gameweek 25.
Here, we analyse the current situation and explain what to look out for.
THE FIXTURES
Man City have the more appealing Double Gameweek 25.
They are at home in both their fixtures, hosting Chelsea before entertaining Brentford.
City haven’t beaten Chelsea since 2021 and Brentford were the only Premier League club to do the double over them last term, yet the defending champions will go into both matches as strong favourites.
The medium-to-long-term schedule for City is positive, too, with the home match against Burnley (Gameweek 22) in particular leaping out.
As usual, there will be uncertainty around Pep Guardiola’s teamsheets, especially in Double Gameweek 25, but the good news is City play in Copenhagen on Tuesday 13 February (see below), so thankfully, we’re not up against a Wednesday-Saturday turnaround.
- Friday 26 January: FA Cup, fourth round – Tottenham Hotspur (a)
- Wednesday 31 January: Gameweek 22 – Burnley (h)
- Monday 5 February: Gameweek 23 – Brentford (a)
- Saturday 10 February: Gameweek 24 – Everton (h)
- Tuesday 13 February: Champions League, round of 16 – FC Copenhagen (a)
- Saturday 17 February: Double Gameweek 25 – Chelsea (h)
- Tuesday 20 February: Double Gameweek 25 – Brentford (h)
- Saturday 24 February: Gameweek 26 – Bournemouth (a)
As for Brentford, not only do they have a pretty horrendous double, but they also have a tough run of games on either side.
The usual suspects are posting some very good underlying numbers, while Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United’s recent results have also been positive.
BRENTFORD’S OPPONENTS
| Gameweek | Opponent | Minutes per xG rank | Minutes per xGC rank |
| 22 | Tottenham | 9th | 14th |
| 23 | Man City | 2nd | 2nd |
| 24 | Wolves | 14th | 12th |
| 25 | Liverpool | 1st | 3rd |
| 25 | Man City | 2nd | 2nd |
| 26 | West Ham | 13th | 18th |
| 27 | Chelsea | 3rd | 7th |
| 28 | Arsenal | 5th | 1st |
As a result, Brentford’s defence looks like a no-go area but if Ivan Toney (£7.9m) can hit the ground running upon his return, he could become a factor, given that he has a decent record against the ‘big six’.
COULD DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 25 GET BIGGER?
In short, yes, providing Liverpool advance to the EFL Cup final.
They are currently 2-1 up against Fulham heading into next week’s second leg at Craven Cottage.
If the Reds do progress, they will blank in Gameweek 26. However, that postponed fixture against Luton Town could potentially drop into Gameweek 25, creating ‘doubles’ for both sides.
In that scenario, Liverpool would visit Brentford before hosting Luton at Anfield.
The Hatters would face Manchester United (h) and Liverpool (a), meanwhile.
It’s all speculation at this stage, of course, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
SHOULD I USE A CHIP IN DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 25?
There is an argument to play the Triple Captain chip in Double Gameweek 25, at a time when all the teams have something to play for.
Yes, you could save it for Double Gameweek 34 or 37, but by playing it so late, you are at the mercy of squad rotation and some hugely unpredictable teamsheets, which we’ve seen before.
In Double Gameweek 25, Erling Haaland (£13.9m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£10.4m) are the standout Triple Captain contenders, providing they are both up to two starts in a week.
De Bruyne scored and assisted in Man City’s 3-2 win over Newcastle United on Saturday, having been introduced as a 69th-minute substitute.
“I know I’m not able to do that for 90 minutes for the moment but I know I can put in a shift for 20-25 minutes at full pace. I feel it in my lungs, with the cold!” – Kevin De Bruyne, speaking to TNT Sports
As for Haaland, he was unavailable in Gameweek 21 and the striker is expected to be out until the end of January.
Mohamed Salah (£13.1m) could also come into play if Liverpool are handed that aforementioned ‘double’, if he comes back from AFCON in decent condition. Some might even be tempted to roll the dice on Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m).
A Free Hit could also be viable in Double Gameweek 25 but you’ll probably want a lot of these assets long-term, so this chip might be more effective later in the season.
The Bench Boost chip is team dependent, meanwhile, but given the number of heavy-hitters that will need to be accommodated, budget is likely to be stretched, potentially weakening its impact.
As for using the second Wildcard ahead of Double Gameweek 25, it’s an approach that would allow managers to incorporate the best ‘doublers’, as well as easily bringing back key players competing at AFCON/the Asian Cup.
However, there are lots of factors to consider here, which will only become clearer once further information is known.
By the time we reach the Gameweek 22 deadline, we’ll know exactly who blanks in Gameweek 26 and also have further clarity on other blanks/doubles, so it’s probably best to hold fire on those early transfers.
