The long wait for confirmation of rearranged fixtures finally ended this week, when the Premier League announced double Gameweeks 34 and 37 on Tuesday afternoon. After the community had caught its breath, planning began in earnest among our hot topic posters and community writers on the best strategies and players to draft in. We also took stock of this weekend’s best transfer options in the light of the revised fixture list as well as catch up on the latest Members tables and events in our community competitions.
The Community Articles
Balders, one of our resident double Gameweek experts, was quick off the mark penning this must-read survival guide on getting the most out of the potentially lucrative fixture list over the final games of the season. This covers the main strategies around using chips, with Ryan adding his thoughts on wildcarding early in Gameweek 32 to get the most out of Gameweek 34’s double fixtures.
Looking at more immediate concerns, YMA was on hand to offer his bookmaker-based predictions on how Gameweek 31’s games will pan out, while The Sarjeant was back with his regular, colour-coded look at team form ahead of the weekend’s action. Bolivian Seaman also offered key advice on transfer targets and captaincy moves this week after visiting the fans forums to gauge their predictions for the weekend.
The Fantasy veterans being tracked by Kavali will be going into Gameweek 31 in fine fettle. His look at their Gameweek 30 performance reveals that good planning continues to help them overcome a dire start to the season.
For those in our community enjoying the T20 World Cup Fantasy game, Memphis Depay7’s guide to phase 2, when the world’s best sides enter the fray, proved vital reading.
Don’t forget, if you’ve got some analysis, scout reports or features brewing, be sure to visit our community section to submit your article.
The Hottest Topics
The announcement on Tuesday of the rescheduled Premier League games and double Gameweeks created a whirlwind of activity in the community as wildcard and chip strategies were hastily drawn up. Among the most excited was Daniel, whose momentary loss of breath summed up the excitement many felt.
Popular strategies discussed in our hot topic on the best way to tackle the doubles included wildcarding in Gameweek 33 to take full advantage of the next Gameweek’s bumper crop of fixtures. Sharkeytect warned, though, that with blank fixtures in Gameweek 35, Fantasy managers will need to plan carefully, while Audeiano offered his top triple captaincy candidates for both double Gameweeks.
With wildcarding in Gameweek 33 proving the most popular strategy, Ryan asked whether we are being too quick to dismiss a later wildcard policy to take advantage of Gameweek 37’s extended fixture list. We also discussed whether the introduction of chips has created a divide of the patient versus the impatient.
Fresh from his community article on tackling the doubles, Balders also provided a handy long list of players to consider when using a bench boost chip. In the rush to invest in double Gameweek players, though, will those with just one fixture in Gameweek 34 taunt us after being shown the exit? Judging by this week’s Rough with the Smooth Harry Kane is among those ready and able to punish those who ditch him. The reaction to the Spurs striker’s brace against Aston Villa also prompted Portsmouth Bubblejet to pen this alternative glossary of Fantasy football terms.
Further discussion on the doubles looked at how wildcarding in Gameweek 33 could make Fantasy managers more enthusiastic about taking punts over the next two Gameweeks and whether Liverpool’s squad really has three players worth acquiring. McNulty also discussed the bold move of ditching Sergio Aguero, given that travel-sick City his the road twice in double Gameweek 34.
Finally, Buk II believes he may have stumbled upon the best Gameweek 33 to 37 plan to making the most of this exciting conclusion to the season.
Members Tables
Dele Alli’s lack of bonus points against Aston Villa in Gameweek 30, despite accruing a pair of assists, prompted kushal 21 to take an in depth look at his statistics during the game.
Sticking with Tottenham, owners of Christian Eriksen were also miffed after the midfielder failed to produce attacking returns in this plum tie. However, according to my goals and assist imminent tables it may be wise to stick with him when Bournemouth visit this weekend.
If you’re a member and are yet to get to grips with the custom statistics tables, you can view this movie for an explanation of how they work. Also, remember to tag them so that people can find the tables with ease.
In addition, with blanks and double Gameweeks now here it is wise to sort by matches rather than Gameweeks in the tables filter to give a fairer gauge of form,
The Community Tournaments
Euan Thompson still leads the Top 10k Any Season mini-league and his Gameweek 30 score of 79 points has also taken him up to 71st in the overall rankings. This mini-league, which is organized by Red Lightning, now has seven teams in the overall top 750. In Red Lightning’s January to May league a score of 77 was enough to ensure Nial Akata retains top spot.
The Frequent Posters Cup’s last 32-stage takes place in Gameweek 30. Here’s competition organiser Jarvish with the story so far, meanwhile Jaffalicious dropped by with this update on the latest ties in the FFS UEFA Champions League Cup.
In TorresMagic‘s Last Man Standing competition, Tissier Le God hit the top score in Gameweek 30 with 88. There are now 174 teams left after 45 were eliminated when the safety score was set at 59.
Elsewhere, Andy’s maverick transfer of Max Gradel helped him earn him a Gameweek 30 score of 70 points and retain top spot in the FFScout Moderators and Contributors league.
If you are running a community tournament and would like the latest scores included in future Community Round Ups please email me a brief summary of the current leaders and a link to your league, spread sheet or head to head competition, at jonty@fantasyfootballscout.co.uk.
