In his latest article, two-time Indian Fantasy Premier League (FPL) champion Lateriser speaks about the FPL landscape after the latest FA Cup results and draw.
The FA Cup quarter-final draw has now been made, which brings us to the next stage of FPL planning. There’s a lot of information to process but not many big decisions to make as of now.
Let’s get into the swing of things so I can explain why.
1. THE FA CUP QUARTER-FINALS ARE (MOSTLY) TRICKY TO PREDICT
Firstly, let us have a look at the FA Cup draw.
Outside of the Preston North End v Aston Villa tie, all of the other games look fairly unpredictable. They are 60-40 fixtures, whichever way you look at them.
It is therefore difficult to second-guess who is going to progress to the semi-finals and hence plan forward. A reminder that Gameweek 34 clashes with the semi-finals of the FA Cup, causing up to four Premier League postponements.
The primary outcome of that, from a ‘now’ point of view, is that I would not want to use an early Wildcard in Gameweeks 28/29.
2. PLAN FOR A GAMEWEEK 31 WILDCARD AT THE EARLIEST
The FA Cup quarter-finals occur on the weekend (Sat/Sun 29/30 March) before the midweek Gameweek 30 (Tue/Wed/Thu 1/2/3 April).
Once the FA Cup semi-finalists are known, we’ll know which Gameweek 34 fixtures will be postponed. Those postponed matches will then, very likely, be swiftly rearranged.
Even then, there is a chance we don’t have the scheduling info before Gameweek 30. However, we will likely get it before Gameweek 31. So if you can help it, plan for a Gameweek 31 Wildcard instead of a Gameweek 30 one. This should mean you have more information at your disposal by the time it comes to hit activate.
3. NO GUARANTEES OF DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 33 FOR ALL GAMEWEEK 34 BLANKERS
We have seen that for those teams not in Europe, the Premier League has even scheduled games when there is a clash with European fixtures. A double for Newcastle United and Crystal Palace in Gameweek 32 is a prime example.
So, we can’t be fully certain where the blank games in Gameweek 34 (involving the semi-finalists of the FA Cup) will be placed. It could be Gameweek 33. It could be another Gameweek. Just maybe, one or two could stay in Gameweek 34 (not the case for those teams that will be in Europe at that point).
So, the question is what can we do now?
4. FIRM UP YOUR DECISION TO FREE HIT OR NOT IN GAMEWEEK 29
The primary decision, if you haven’t made it already, is whether or not you Free Hit in Gameweek 29.
There have been a fair few FPL plans destroyed with the likes of Matheus Cunha (£7.0m), Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) and Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) facing bans/injury issues.
- READ MORE: Best FPL forward replacements for Cunha + Mateta
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Mateta injury latest, Cunha to miss Blank Gameweek 29
- READ MORE: FPL notes: Isak, Hall + Mitoma injury news, Gordon banned
It’s not too late to change your mind. If the events in the FA Cup make you prefer one path instead of another, feel free to pivot.
5. CONSIDER WHETHER A BENCH BOOST IN GAMEWEEK 32 IS GOOD FOR YOU
The second thing you can loosely decide is whether you want to use the Bench Boost in Gameweek 32. There’s a good chance that the Wildcarders in Gameweek 30/31 do it anyway because the result of the Fulham v Crystal Palace game might determine that.
Let’s have a look at the Gameweek 32 fixtures first:
If you are someone that has a fairly high number of players from Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion, Liverpool, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest, there’s a good opportunity to use the Bench Boost in Gameweek 32 should you fancy it.
The only potential issues could be Everton/Brentford not having good fixtures and you not having a second playing ‘keeper. Even then, whether you Bench Boost or not in Gameweek 32 is a decision you should probably confirm after the events of Gameweek 30-31.
I want to make this point and reiterate it. Even if you plan for a Bench Boost in Gameweek 32 and a greater Bench Boost opportunity emerges in Gameweek 33 based on the scheduling, don’t be afraid to pivot.
A lot of this depends on the result between the Fulham v Crystal Palace FA Cup tie. We now know that Newcastle have a confirmed (good game) against Ipswich Town at home in Gameweek 34. Now, if Crystal Palace lose their tie against Fulham in the FA Cup, they will also likely have a confirmed game in Gameweek 34. This would increase the appeal of Crystal Palace and Newcastle United players in Gameweeks 32 (with a Bench Boost then) and 34. The Free Hit could be used in Gameweek 33 instead.
Alternatively, if Crystal Palace win their FA Cup game against Fulham, that game will likely move to Gameweek 33. Their opponents in Gameweek 34 are Arsenal, who won 7-1 in their first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie.
This would mean that Crystal Palace have a ‘double double’ in Gameweeks 32 and 33 and you could perhaps use the Free Hit Chip elsewhere.
This is exactly why you don’t really need to worry about decision making right now outside of Gameweek 29 and whether or not you have the potential to use the Bench Boost in Gameweek 32.
The rest of it will largely solve itself once the fixtures are open to us in Gameweek 30 and 31.
6. TIME TO DECIDE ON LOSING TEAM VALUE
One other small point I want to address is that in the near future, you might have to make the decision of whether or not you lose your team value on certain big players. I’m thinking of Alexander Isak (£9.4m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.4m), Cole Palmer (£11.1m) and perhaps even Mohamed Salah (£13.8m).
You have to weigh up the potential of extra points for these player replacements (let’s be honest, we’re talking about Erling Haaland (£14.7m) in Gameweek 29 and 30) versus the value lost of the players you already own.
There are a couple of factors here.
Firstly, Haaland has one of the best fixture runs towards the end of 2024/25 and a likely Double Gameweek 33. You are likely going to purchase him sooner rather than later anyway.
Secondly, every Gameweek that we are planning for now is pretty much 10% of the remainder of your season. In such a scenario, prioritise points over value. Decide whether you want to eventually back yourself to find a Beto (£5.0m)-sized bargain over a Yoane Wissa (£6.4m)/Evanilson (£5.6m), reflecting the value you would lose when selling a big gun.
I’ll leave you with that thought. I hope this article has given you enough to simmer on. If not, we discussed chip strategy and strikers in detail on this week’s episode of The FPL Wire, which you can view here:
