Double Gameweek 32 confirmed for Newcastle + Palace

A surprise announcement on Friday afternoon means there is another pair of back-to-back Double Gameweeks on the horizon, with Newcastle United and Crystal Palace set to play twice in Gameweek 32.

This is, of course, their rearranged fixture from Blank Gameweek 29 (due to Newcastle’s progression to the EFL Cup final), and leaves the two sides with the following Double Gameweek 32:

• Newcastle: (MUN, 12 April) + (CRY, 16 April)
• Crystal Palace: (mci, 12 April) + (new, 16 April)

It was expected that this might fall into Double Gameweek 33 but it has now been confirmed that the two sides will face off a week earlier.

We’ve unpacked the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) implications of all this in terms of chips strategies, including when might be best to deploy the second Wildcard and whether this announcement pushes forward any unexpected opportunities to activate the Triple Captain, Bench Boost or Assistant Manager chips, for those who still hold them.

Immediate impact (Gameweeks 25-29)

Gameweek 32 is of course still almost two months away, but the announcement that it’s now a Double Gameweek could have an immediate impact on some FPL managers’ plans.

Newcastle, for example, begin a potentially tricky run of fixtures this very weekend, facing Manchester City (A), Nottingham Forest (H) and Liverpool (A) in consecutive weeks. An easier-looking trip to West Ham follows that stretch in Gameweek 28, but the Magpies then blank in Gameweek 29 due to the EFL Cup final.

Palace have a comparatively easier run through to Gameweek 29 before they too blank. 

This, plus any value accrued in assets from either club, all adds further nuance to the question of whether managers should consider selling the likes of Alexander Isak (£9.5m), Anthony Gordon (£7.6m), Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.3m) and Daniel Muñoz (£4.8m) to bank any profit in anticipation of possible price drops due to their upcoming blanks – in turn enabling them to be bought back later at a lower value.

It also adds another point to the discussion of whether Blank Gameweek 29 is the optimal time to use the Free Hit chip, given FPL managers may trust their in-form players to continue delivering points for now, and then want them back immediately after their blank to capitalise on a few good fixtures and then Double Gameweek 32.

Wildcard Gameweek 30?

Of course, one could sell some or all of their Newcastle and Palace troops in the coming weeks ahead of Blank Gameweek 29, then – for those who still have one – activate their second Wildcard in Gameweek 30 (or 31) to bring assets like Isak back on board for appealing matches against Brentford (H) and Leicester (A), and already have him in place for Double Gameweek 32.

There’s a similar appeal to Wildcarding in early April when it comes to Palace players as well, given Mateta and co will face another two leaky defences in Southampton (A) and Brighton (H) ahead of their own Double Gameweek 32.

In both instances, this Gameweek 30/31 Wildcard of course assumes that FPL managers will either have sold most or all of their Palace and Newcastle players by that point, with plenty more promising options to choose from elsewhere in the Gameweek ahead – regardless of your approach to Blank Gameweek 29.

Still, playing a Wildcard then also allows managers to jump on other fixture swings for teams like Man City and set up their squads for the busy weeks ahead with more knowledge – we’ll have passed two more rounds of the FA Cup by then, for example – of who will blank, who’s set for doubles, and when.

It also opens the door to playing any other remaining chips in those remaining doubles and blanks, such as…

Triple Captain Isak?

Two home fixtures in a Double Gameweek may well have a few FPL bosses already thinking of whacking the Triple Captain armband on Isak.

The Swede’s 22 attacking returns (17 goals, five assists) in the league so far this season are the most of any FPL forward. He’s already scored against United, and will undoubtedly be keen to tick Palace off his list of victims as well. Injury forced him off early in the reverse fixture.

Aside from his quiet run in the opening eight Gameweeks of the season, there has been just one occasion where Isak has blanked in consecutive league matches. Even then, that was Gameweeks 12-13 when the Magpies lost to West Ham and then lost Isak to his aforementioned injury after just 21 minutes of the following match. 

Since then, he has come up empty-handed just twice in 11 matches, registering 13 goals and three assists in that time, and delivering 2+ returns on five separate occasions.

Assistant Manager in Gameweek 31/32?

Alternatively, Double Gameweek 32 also presents a new option for those still looking for the best time to use their Assistant Manager chip.

You could use this on either the Palace or Newcastle boss, with the Eagles’ Oliver Glasner (£0.8m) possibly standing a chance of earning table bonus points against both City and Toon (unless the league standings change drastically by that point, of course).

Eddie Howe (£1.5m) could be a safer, ‘banker’ option if you back Newcastle to grind out back-to-back wins at St James’ Park. There likely wouldn’t be any table bonus on offer, of course.

Either way, playing the Assistant Manager chip on Glasner or Howe in Double Gameweek 32 guarantees at least four matches’ worth of points from just three Gameweeks.

Should Gameweek 33 be confirmed as the new home for rearranged Blank Gameweek 34 fixtures, therefore becoming a Double Gameweek as is expected, that opens up the possibility of your Assistant Manager(s) of choice contesting five matches in a three-match window, as we’ve seen between Double Gameweeks 24 and 25.

For Howe even more so than Glasner, an appealing Gameweek 31 fixture means one could even activate the Assistant Manager chip prior to Double Gameweek 32. 

This means the three-week chip would of course expire after Gameweek 33, freeing up Blank Gameweek 34 – which, as mentioned, is set to be affected by the FA Cup semi-finals – as another possible Free Hit point, for any managers able to successfully manoeuvre Blank Gameweek 29 chip-free.

If you’re looking to save your second Wildcard past Gameweek 30, or have already used it, and you fancy maximising chip usage over that period, FPL managers could even look to activate the Assistant Manager chip in Gameweek 30 – on Howe, for example, to get a transfer-free run of Brentford (H), Leicester (A), Man Utd (H) + Crystal Palace (A).

You could then use the Bench Boost or Triple Captain in the expected Double Gameweek 33 before tackling Blank Gameweek 34 onwards with whatever chips and energy you have left by then.

Lots to think about then, and we’ve not even touched on Gameweeks 35-38, which should contain at least one more Double Gameweek!

SIGN UP HERE FOR ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO WIN AT FPL!