We now have confirmation of the fixtures for Double Gameweek 37 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
There are no shocks: Brighton and Hove Albion v Chelsea, Manchester United v Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City are all added to that round.
That means that, barring some unexpected postponements, the schedule is now complete for the rest of 2023/24.
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 37 FIXTURES
A bit like Gameweek 34, there’s another mixed bag of doubles.
This goes for Spurs especially: they entertain Championship-bound Burnley before welcoming the reigning champions to north London.
Chelsea, you could argue, just about have the best-looking pairing at first glance. But they’re also one of the most maddeningly inconsistent teams in the division, having failed to beat Burnley and Sheffield United in the last fortnight.
And delve a little deeper into the underlying numbers, you’ll find that Nottingham Forest have the fifth-best expected goals conceded (xGC) figure since Nuno Espirito Santo took charge. Not such a good fixture for the Blues’ attackers after all?
Two sides that have been surprisingly rancid at the back are Newcastle United and Manchester United. Both in the bottom six for xGC this season, they face each other in Gameweek 37. The Magpies also entertain Brighton, which is a more favourable first fixture than the Red Devils have (Arsenal).
Manchester City’s doubleheader won’t daunt them, of course. Fulham have been strong on home soil, Spurs the same. But, so long as the title is still on the line, most of us will be going big on the Cityzens. Pep Guardiola’s side stuck eight goals past their Gameweek 37 opponents in the reverse fixtures.
One thing to watch out for is City’s involvement in the early Saturday kick-off at Craven Cottage. They could well be in UEFA Champions League semi-final action in the midweek before that, which could lead to some teamsheet unpredictability in west London.
CHIP THOUGHTS
We’ve been blindsided by Double Gameweek announcements in the past. Even the last one contained an element of surprise, with many speculators a week out.
There were no such shocks here. The three outstanding fixtures always looked likely to land in Gameweek 37, with its free midweek.
As a result, many of us will have formed our chip strategies long before today.
Many of them will fall into one of the below categories:
| Chips remaining | Possible strategy |
| Free Hit, Wildcard, Bench Boost | Free Hit in Gameweek 34 Wildcard in Gameweek 35 Bench Boost in Gameweek 37 |
| Wildcard, Bench Boost | Wildcard in Gameweek 35 Bench Boost in Gameweek 37 |
| Free Hit, Wildcard | Free Hit in Gameweek 34 Wildcard in Gameweek 35 |
| Wildcard | Wildcard in Gameweek 35 |
| Free Hit, Bench Boost | Free Hit in Gameweek 34/37 Bench Boost in Gameweek 34/37 |
| Bench Boost | Bench Boost in Gameweek 34/37 |
| Free Hit | Free Hit in Gameweek 34/37 |
There are alternatives to the approaches outlined above, of course.
The reason for the Gameweek 35 Wildcard in the first four strategies is the pivot from the teams that double in Gameweek 34 (seven: Arsenal, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Everton, Liverpool, Sheffield United and Wolves) to the completely different clubs that double in Gameweek 35/37 (six: Brighton, Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, Newcastle and Spurs).
If you’re without a Wildcard, the bottom three strategies require some compromise.
They would also depend on how your team is currently set up.
If you have only have a Free Hit and Bench Boost, for example, then you may be looking at a Gameweek 37 Free Hit if your squad is already heavy on the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Bournemouth. You may struggle for Spurs and Chelsea assets in Gameweek 35 – although it might not be the worst sacrifice given the fixtures.
Triple Captain is absent from the above list, of course. We’ll look at possible windows and candidates for that in another article.
