Four clubs set to play three fixtures across Blank and Double Gameweeks

Fantasy Premier League managers have been thrown a wonderful New Year’s Eve gift by the powers that be with Thursday’s fixture rearrangements.

Manchester United’s Gameweek 1 trip to Burnley has been scheduled for Tuesday, January 12, putting it into Blank Gameweek 18.

Meanwhile, Manchester City are now due to host Aston Villa on Wednesday, January 20, adding to an already bumper edition of fixtures in Double Gameweek 19.

With these changes to the schedule it now means the following clubs all play in Blank Gameweek 18 and have two fixtures in Double Gameweek 19.

• Aston Villa
• Burnley
• Manchester City
• Manchester United

So what does this mean for Fantasy managers? Well, regardless of chip strategy, it makes assets from these four clubs more appealing in the coming weeks, especially the two Manchester sides.

The additional of the Red Devils’ favourable trip to Burnley makes life a little easier for anyone considering the Free Hit chip in Blank Gameweek 18 simply because the pool of players has expanded.

As a result, the margin for potential success is arguably wider now as the chances of identical Free Hit squads will go down with an additional fixture. The same is true of Double Gameweek 19 although the list of potentially explosive assets was already rather high.

Either way, two more active teams in Blank Gameweek 18 (raising the total from 10 to 12) arguably decreases the need for using a chip either during or before that round.

Those looking to hold onto their second Wildcard now have an easier route to tackle Blank Gameweek 18 and Double Gameweek 19 side-by-side with their free transfers considering there are now four clubs who play three matches across them.

Manchester City and Manchester United are likely to help form the spine for Fantasy teams across the globe in light of their appealing fixtures and array of decent options.

However, there are a few complications to consider, not least the fact that it has not been disclosed which players at Manchester City have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) in the last week.

Thankfully, their next match (a trip to Chelsea) is challenging enough to put off investment anyway and we might get more information about the COVID cases either in the pre-match or post-match press conferences, if not from the team-sheet itself.

Manchester City’s next six fixtures

• Gameweek 17: Chelsea (away)
• Blank Gameweek 18: Brighton (home)
• Double Gameweek 19: Crystal Palace (home) + Aston Villa (home)
• Gameweek 20: West Bromwich Albion (away)
• Gameweek 21: Sheffield United (home)
• Gameweek 22: Burnley (away)

Manchester United’s next six fixtures

• Gameweek 17: Aston Villa (home)
• Blank Gameweek 18: Burnley (away)
• Double Gameweek 19: Liverpool (away) + Fulham (home)
• Gameweek 20: Sheffield United (home)
• Gameweek 21: Arsenal (away)
• Gameweek 22: Southampton (home)

Aston Villa’s next six fixtures

• Gameweek 17: Manchester United (away)
• Blank Gameweek 18: Spurs (home)
• Double Gameweek 19: Everton (home) + Manchester City (away)
• Gameweek 20: Burnley (away)
• Gameweek 21: Southampton (away)
• Gameweek 22: West Ham (home)

Burnley’s next six fixtures

• Gameweek 17: Fulham (home)
• Blank Gameweek 18: Manchester United (home)
• Double Gameweek 19: West Ham (away) + Liverpool (away)
• Gameweek 20: Aston Villa (home)
• Gameweek 21: Chelsea (away)
• Gameweek 22: Manchester City (home)