The ‘3 for 1’: How to gain extra fixtures with your transfers in Sky Fantasy

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Our resident experts Luke Williams and Niall Murphy will be recording videos every week throughout the season and will each be writing monthly articles, so you will get the very best insight and advice on these pages.

This week, Luke takes a look at some appealing tactical transfers that can net you extra fixtures in upcoming Gameweeks and hopefully gain you some extra points to boot.

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Due to Sky’s in-Gameweek management, the notion of the “3 for 1” is that essentially you can remove a player who will play one fixture for another who will play three (assuming he is selected). If the incoming player is also a good captain option in one or more of those fixtures, then it increases the points potential further. Quantity is great; tied with quality and the armband, it’s even better. 

When the sequence is over, sticking with your new shiny toy, making a return to the previously owned player (for a net cost of two transfers) or swapping to a new “3 for 1” player are the considerations you have to weigh up.

Here, I aim to mainly look at just generally good picks that provide an immediate fixture boost but also could remain in the team so as to only set you back one transfer. 

Gameweek 15: Manchester City

This week presents an opportunity for those with a Manchester United, Arsenal or Brentford player to remove them after they have completed their Saturday fixture (and retaining their earned points) and then move to a Manchester City asset.

City will then have three fixtures: Everton (h), West Ham (h) and Aston Villa (a)

The games you would miss would be:

• Man Utd: Chelsea (a)
• Arsenal: Newcastle (h)
• Brentford: Everton (h)

Given the quality of Man City’s options and their immediate fixtures, the preference would be to keep that player and not return to the outgoing asset.

So if budget and team structure allow, moving the likes of a misfiring Bryan Mbuemo on to a Joao Cancelo looks highly likely to improve the team and, as a bonus, net you immediate extra fixtures.

Make sure you bear in mind future single matchdays, though: for example, Brentford play Watford in a single matchday in Gameweek 18 and so having captaincy coverage is preferable. 

These ideas are very team-dependent and designed to inspire some options you may not yet have considered.

Gameweek 16: Liverpool

You have the opportunity to ditch a Newcastle or Crystal Palace asset in Gameweek 16 and pick up a Liverpool player.

Liverpool play Everton (a), Wolves (a) and Aston Villa (h).

The games you would miss would be:

• Newcastle: Burnley (h)
• Crystal Palace: Manchester United (a)

It’s unlikely that any of us are carrying a Newcastle player right now so it’s really the likes of Conor Gallagher that we’re looking at here. Now, admittedly, removing the top-scoring midfielder in the game (after he plays Leeds) does not jump out as wise. But in this case, if you were able to move him to high-upside players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk or Diego Jota for a stretch of three fixtures as a differential (missing just Man Utd away for your Palace player), it looks odds-on to hit profit.

Going back to Gallagher looks wise afterwards, however, given how fantastic an option he is in Sky this season.

As ever, it’s one to think about if your budget and team structure will allow, as it’s at a cost of two transfers if you go back. One to ponder.

Gameweek 16: Tottenham Hotspur/Man United

Both these teams offer a hop-off point for Arsenal players in Gameweek 16, with those carrying Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang perhaps tempted to switch to Harry Kane, Son Heung-min or Cristiano Ronaldo. Of course, the same could be said for Ben White or any Arsenal player.

Man United face Chelsea (a), Arsenal (h) and Crystal Palace (h), while Spurs meet Burnley (a), Brentford (h) and Norwich (h).

Meanwhile, Arsenal only face Manchester United (a).

The main issue with this move is that Arsenal have a single matchday away to Everton at the end of Gameweek 17. At least we get to see the line-ups for that match, so you could always bring back in Aubameyang, a more preferable long-term hold such as Emile Smith Rowe or skip the game entirely given the likely profit achieved. 

So as an example, you could look at something like Aubameyang to Kane then perhaps replace a misfiring midfielder such as Mbuemo with Smith Rowe. This means you cover captains, gain extra fixtures and give yourself a more preferable long-term team and structure. The timing of your transfers in Sky is key and it’s always worth bearing in mind any fixture gains to be had, even when the player you pick up is for the long term.