Fantasy Premier League managers have been handed some big out-of-the-blue decisions as we head into 2021.
Going into a new year is often a time for reflection and this article was supposed to be a review of the season so far but, as is often the case in this strange new world, there was a spanner in the works.
On New Year’s Eve, we learned that Burnley v Manchester United is joining the Blank Gameweek 18 schedule and Manchester City v Aston Villa has been place in Double Gameweek 19.
At the time of writing this announcement is still very fresh, and I need time to process it but here are some initial thoughts and what this all means.
Blank Gameweek 18
![andys-gw17-article 3](https://cdn.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/andys-gw17-article-5.jpg)
Those without chips will likely find this period much easier to navigate now. Burnley and Manchester United now playing in Gameweek 18 brings into play players like Bruno Fernandes (£11.2m) who a lot of people already have in their team.
It also makes other players like Marcus Rashford (£9.5m) and Nick Pope (£5.4m) a little more desirable as they play in Gameweek 18 and then have a Double Gameweek.
It also means some teams will be able to save their Free Hit chip which could be very handy later on in the season when we see more Blank Gameweeks.
A lot of this will be chip dependant, but if you already have a team full of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool you’re probably in a good place to cover Gameweek 18 and the doubles in Gameweek 19.
Manchester City More Desirable
![andys-gw17-article 4](https://cdn.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/andys-gw17-article-6-scaled.jpg)
With Manchester City now having one of the best pair of fixtures in Double Gameweek 19, and playing in Gameweek 18, it makes them much more desirable to bring in if you haven’t already.
After Chelsea (away) in Gameweek 17 the fixtures look like this:
- Gameweek 18 – Brighton (home)
- Gameweek 19 – Crystal Palace (home), Aston Villa (home)
- Gameweek 20 – West Brom (away)
- Gameweek 21 – Sheffield United (home)
- Gameweek 22 – Burnley (away)
Not only do they cover both Gameweek 18 and 19 well with very good fixtures, but the run continues afterwards. A double or triple up looks ideal.
Who to target from Man City is, as ever, the key question.
The obvious options are Kevin De Bruyne (£11.7m), João Cancelo (£5.6m) and Rúben Dias (£5.7m). I’ll be targeting at least two of this three over this fixture run.
Manchester City have looked extremely good defensively and I don’t know how Cancelo hasn’t gotten more than one assist so far. And despite people losing faith in De Bruyne, he’s still going to be a great option over this run.
It also arguably makes De Bruyne a better captaincy in Gameweek 19 than Mohamed Salah (£12.6m), who faces Manchester United (home) and Burnley (home) although I’d never bet against the Egyptian.
There are other players to consider too. John Stones (£4.9m) looks like an absolute bargain now that he has laid claim to his starting role, and we shouldn’t forget that Raheem Sterling (£11.4m) has two goals and three assists in his last five matches.
Hold Aston Villa?
![andys-gw17-article 7](https://cdn.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/andys-gw17-article-9.jpg)
While people were Wildcarding away from Aston Villa players, and ditching the likes of Jack Grealish (£7.7m) it may not be the worst time to hold. You still have to get through a Manchester United (away) match in Gameweek 17 and Tottenham Hotspur (home) in Gameweek 18, but after that they have a Double Gameweek and a decent enough fixture run from Gameweek 20:
- Gameweek 20 – Burnley (away)
- Gameweek 21 – Southampton (away)
- Gameweek 22 – West Ham (home)
- Gameweek 23 – Arsenal (home)
- Gameweek 24 – Brighton (away)
At the bare minimum it gives a lot of us a Double Gameweek goalkeeper in Emiliano Martínez (£5.0m). Even if the matches are tricky with Everton (home) and Manchester City (away), only Ederson (£6.0m) has a better save percentage among regularly-starting goalkeepers over the last four matches.
The return of Ross Barkley (£5.9m) may spell the end of a run in the team for Bertrand Traoré (£5.9m) or Anwar El Ghazi (£5.8m) but if either of them continue through to Gameweek 19 they become a great budget enabler, especially El Ghazi while he’s on penalty duty.
Abandoning our chip strategies
![andys-gw17-article 5](https://cdn.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/andys-gw17-article-7-scaled.jpg)
I was convinced I was going to Bench Boost in Gameweek 19. Even with single Gameweek players I was prepared to play the chips and my initial transfer for Gameweek 17 was to bring in Sam Johnstone (£4.5m) in preparation.
The problem now is the layout has changed and we have to be prepared to adapt. This is likely something we have to bear in mind for the rest of the season, I’m sure there’s more chaos in store.
For some managers it will be easy, they’ll still Free Hit in Gameweek 18, only now there’s more options. And they’ll Bench Boost in Gameweek 19 because they’re already loaded up with enough players.
But for others we still have to change strategies and it’s important not to be rigid in your thinking.
This was my team before transfers in Gameweek 17:
![andys-gw17-article 6](https://cdn.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/andys-gw17-article-8.png)
As mentioned above, Johnstone was to come in this week with a Free Hit in Gameweek 18 and Fabián Balbuena (£4.4m) to be my Gameweek 19 transfer. It would have meant some single Gameweek players on the bench, but I was okay with that.
But now there’s the potential of bringing in Manchester City players for Gameweek 18 and 19, therefore potentially meaning I can save the Free Hit. The Bench Boost might have to be abandoned too, but I’m prepared to adapt as necessary.
It’s still too fresh in my mind to make a plan, it looks like my New Years Eve will be way more busy from an FPL point of view than I’d imagined, but I’ll have to think of ways to adapt than to rigidly stick to my plan if it’s not as viable any more.
Final Thoughts
It’s not the ideal time to be processing all of this information. We’re just past Christmas having had two Gameweek deadlines in the space of two days, ahead of what for many is a time of celebration as we enter the new year.
But if there’s some comfort it’s that this chaos usually means those who are willing to plan and create strategies can get ahead of the crowd. So while you’re suffering from the New Years hangover, just keep thinking of the green arrows.
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3 years, 3 months agoAlioski or Cresswell this week?
I do own DCL, but have no Spurs.