There were a number of implications for Fantasy Premier League from Saturday’s FA Cup final win for Manchester City.
There were impacts on both Manchester United and Liverpool as well as Wolves as they prepare for the 2019/20 season.
Firstly, the victory for Manchester City ensured that Watford did not claim a place in European competition by winning the trophy for themselves.
Had the Hornets won the FA Cup they would have qualified for the Europa League.
However, their defeat ensured that Wolves will enter into the second qualifying round of the competition, which starts on July 25.
That will be their first foray in competitive continental action since 1980 and may have a huge impact on their pre-season plans, as well as their points potential in the early stages of 2019/20.
Burnley were the Premier League team whose season began in July last year and it was widely seen as a key reason why they struggled in the first few months domestically.
Unless Wolves significantly increase the size of their squad, balancing domestic and European competitions could prove difficult for them and impinge on their Fantasy assets, many of whom will have received price hikes after an impressive season.
The other knock-on effect of Watford’s defeat is that Manchester United have been spared entry into the Europa League at such an early stage.
Had the Hornets claimed that automatic spot in the group stages, the Red Devils would have been forced to start their campaign on July 25 instead, which might have caused them considerable problems ahead of the Premier League starting in August.
Finally, the fact that Manchester City have won both the league and FA Cup means that league runners-up Liverpool will be their opponents in the Community Shield next season.
Had Watford won the FA Cup, we would have been set for a rematch between the two sides, which would have arguably been less useful for Fantasy managers.
Given how much Manchester City and Liverpool have dominated Fantasy football this season, they are naturally going to be the key sides to weigh up ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
Therefore, having a chance to see them both line up with probably full-strength sides will give us an excellent litmus test of whether their options are worth the money.
For example, not that many managers were invested in Sergio Aguero last summer but seeing how dominant Manchester City were in the Community Shield final alerted us to what he could offer – and led to him being highly-owned in the opening weeks of the campaign.
So that match always has the potential to be very informative for Fantasy managers ahead of the campaign, provided both teams put out their strongest teams.
Considering the rivalry between Manchester City and Liverpool over the last 12 months, we can now be fairly certain that Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp will give us just that.
4 years, 11 months ago
Having seen how complicated Burnley's early Europa involvement made the start of their PL season, I feel like avoiding all Wolves' players in the beginning.
2nd qualifying round: 25/7 & 1/8
3rd q.r.: 8/8 & 15/8
Playoff r.: 22/8 & 29/8
Gw1: 11/8
Gw2: 18/8
Gw3: 25/8
Gw4: 1/9