Why you should avoid tunnel vision with FPL Double Gameweeks

Our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers will provide Fantasy Premier League (FPL) tips and advice throughout 2023/24. Here, two-time Indian FPL champion Lateriser discusses the balance needed when attacking Double Gameweeks, alongside observations on Bukayo Saka (£9.1m) and Phil Foden (£8.0m).

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While we sit and wait patiently for the avalanche of information regarding the blanks of Gameweeks 26 and 29, possible additions to Blank Gameweek 25 and the potential return dates of Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m), Mohamed Salah (£13.1m), Son Heung-min (£9.7m) and Erling Haaland (£13.9m), I thought I’d write about some basic thoughts that might come to play during the second half of this season.

With Blank and Double Gameweek season coming into play, it’s very easy for us FPL managers (myself included) to fall into the trap of tunnel vision. Although it makes perfect sense to maximize the number of starts and minutes in our squad, we have to cast an eye on the subjective strength of fixtures for players we’re choosing to ignore.

The attention naturally turns to quantity but we must make sure we’re considering player quality too. Remind ourselves of the Chris Woods and Emmanuel Dennis’ of the past, so that we don’t end up selling perfectly good assets for others that simply have an extra fixture.

MIXING DIFFERENTIALS WITH DOUBLES

There is also the balance of attacking what’s in front of you versus holding the powder dry for efficient planning. You probably have to do a bit of both. Diogo Jota’s (£7.9m) 19-point haul is a good reminder that explosive opportunities remain in the game and there was certainly enough reason to pick a differential like him who can fire you up the rankings in a very short time.

I’ve owned Richarlison (£7.0m) for five Gameweeks now and his effective ownership (EO) around my rank is still under 30%. It tells me that – while the template remains strong – what’s making this season a lot of fun is the number of exciting alternatives around.

Darwin Nunez’s (£7.4m) 11 points alone were enough to help me rise by 100k, given his nearby 13% EO. The points are still extremely bunched up, as only 49 of them separate 100k and 500k whilst 31 are between 500k and the one million mark.

If you combine efficient planning with an intriguing differential or two while the big boys are unavailable, it has the potential to slingshot your team upwards. I saw many FPL managers captain a Liverpool player at the weekend, making tremendous games by doing so. Let’s look at some of the fixtures up to Gameweek 25.

• Manchester City: GW22 v Burnley (h) + GW24 v Everton (h)
• Tottenham Hotspur: GW22 v Brentford (h) + GW24 v Brighton and Hove Albion (h)
• Liverpool: GW24 v Burnley (h)

With these in mind, these are the current approximate EOs of players you might be considering:

• Phil Foden – 60%
• Julian Alvarez (£7.0m) – 54%
• Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m) – 12%
• Diogo Jota – 15%
• Darwin Nunez – 13%
• Richarlison – 26%

There’s even the 0% of James Maddison (£7.8m), who may be returning soon just like Dejan Kulusevski (£7.1m).

Of course, all this primarily depends on the concrete information we receive on elite premiums and fixture changes. Regardless, it would be good to take note of these high-ceiling fixtures before the tunnel vision takes our eyes elsewhere.

SAKA + FODEN

Meanwhile, Saturday saw Bukayo Saka blank for the fifth time in six matches, which led me towards a rant. Although many will be looking to sell the Arsenal midfielder, he does have attractive away games at Nottingham Forest and Burnley in Gameweeks 22 and 25.

I thought Mikel Arteta would use this mini-break to address the issue of how wide his wingers have been stationed and look to instead get them closer to the goal. Sure enough, against Crystal Palace, Saka was quite regularly taking up central positions while rotating with Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m).

So I think his output will soon improve, albeit with the acknowledgment that he’s going to be one on the chopping block for many managers looking to fill their team up with Double Gameweek 25 assets from Man City and possibly Liverpool.

Another talking point is that, worryingly, Foden had to move wide right once De Bryune came on at Newcastle United. I’m hoping this was a case of game state and that Pep Guardiola will soon play them both centrally. Foden is definitely more dangerous from there and the Spaniard has spoken in the past about playing both together.

That’s all for now. You’ll hear more from me later in the week, once we get information on the blanks and doubles.