The next two rounds of fixtures in Fantasy Premier League will be crucial as we decide how to navigate Blank Gameweek 29.
The FA Cup games over the weekend had a lot of implications for the doubles and blank gameweeks later in the season, but there is still a lot of uncertainty.
The best thing to do right now is to focus on the next few gameweeks. We should have the finalised Premier League fixtures for the rest of the season after Gameweek 30, so we don’t need to worry too much about that yet.
Blank Gameweek 29 is going to be one of the biggest blank gameweeks of the season. Liverpool, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United are the teams without a fixture that week and FPL managers will either navigate it using their Free Hit chip or maximise their free transfers.
Here, we will go through the best options to buy depending on your chosen route.
If you’re using your Free Hit chip in Gameweek 29
You should be planning for gameweeks 28 and 30 when making your transfers over the next few days. You can ignore Gameweek 29 as you will be picking your team without restrictions for those games before it reverts back.
Crystal Palace players should be high on your list. Daniel Munoz (£5.0m), Eberechi Eze (£6.7m) and Ismaila Sarr (£5.5m) look like the best options.
If Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) is out for a significant period, then Eddie Nketiah (£5.9m) would be a great option.
Oliver Glasner’s side face Ipswich Town (H) in Gameweek 28 and then Southampton (A) in Gameweek 30, and blank in Gameweek 29.
You can’t ask for a much better pair of games and Palace players will give you a big advantage over those who are not using their Free Hit in Gameweek 29. This is because Palace don’t have a fixture and it’s highly unlikely those FPL managers will be buying their players.
Eddie Nketiah could deputise up front for Crystal Palace in the coming weeks (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Liverpool are another side you should target for the same reason. They play Southampton (H) in Gameweek 28 and Everton (A) in Gameweek 30. The ownership in their players might drop by Gameweek 30 as many FPL managers will remove them in Blank Gameweek 29.
Tripling-up on Liverpool here would help take real advantage of this chip path.
Newcastle United are another team who blank in a week and a half but have good fixtures on either side. They play West Ham United (A) in Gameweek 28 and Brentford (H) in Gameweek 30.
Alexander Isak (£9.4m) missed the Liverpool game in Gameweek 27 but returned in an FA Cup fifth-round defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion. If he is fit, then he’s pretty much a season-keeper.
However, Lewis Hall (£5.0m) is set to miss the rest of the season after picking up an ankle injury against Liverpool in Gameweek 27. Tino Livramento (£4.5m) or Dan Burn (£4.4m) could deputise at left-back and present great value options.
Targeting Chelsea assets could be wise, too. They play Leicester City (A) in Gameweek 28 and although they have a game the following week, it is against Arsenal (A). Enzo Maresca’s side then play Tottenham Hotspur (H) in Gameweek 30.
Joining Cole Palmer (£11.1m) as a great option, there are also Christopher Nkunku (£5.7m) and Pedro Neto (£6.2m). Those two ‘midfielders’ are cheap, are fielded further forward and will be huge differentials.
If you’re not using your Free Hit chip in Gameweek 29
For those of you who, like myself, do not plan to Free Hit in Gameweek 29, we will need to ignore players from Villa, Newcastle, Palace and Liverpool, and even quite possibly sell players from those teams that we already own.
If you are not free-hitting in Gameweek 29, you might want to use your Wildcard in gameweeks 30 or 31 as it sets you up nicely for the remainder of the season and the remaining doubles and blanks.
Therefore, any transfers you make should ideally have good fixtures over the next three gameweeks at least.
Bournemouth players are still great options, although the dynamic has changed over the past few weeks. The return of Evanilson (£5.6m) to the team means Dango Ouattara (£5.2m) very likely will not be playing as their No 9 anymore. He may be moved to the wing and the increased competition could decrease his and Justin Kluivert’s (£6.1m) minutes.
Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m) is still the most nailed Bournemouth attacker and should play 90 minutes in most games. Kluivert is now the second-best option but avoid buying Ouattara now.
Look at Milos Kerkez (£5.0m) or Dean Huijsen (£4.5m) if you want to go for a defender. Bournemouth play Spurs (A), Brentford (H), Ipswich (H), West Ham (A) and Fulham (H) next.
Dean Huijsen is an attractive budget defender option (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Manchester City is another team we should be looking at. Their assets can wait a week as they have a tough match against Nottingham Forest (A) but then play Brighton (H) and Leicester (H) in gameweeks 29 and 30.
If you have two or more free transfers and are planning on wildcarding in Gameweek 30 or 31, then getting Erling Haaland (£14.7m) for a few weeks looks like a great shout. He will be the best captaincy option in Gameweek 29 and possibly even Gameweek 30 as well.
You will likely have to forego one of Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) or Palmer to afford him, but it will only be for a few weeks.
We should also be looking at Josko Gvardiol (£5.9m) — he’s even a good option to get this gameweek due to his attacking threat.
Meanwhile, Wolves’ next four games are almost as good as they come. They play Everton (H), Southampton (A), West Ham (H) and Ipswich (A).
Matheus Cunha (£7.0m) would have been the top transfer target for this week if he hadn’t been sent off against Bournemouth in the FA Cup fifth round.
He will miss the next three gameweeks at least and has been charged by the FA with an allegation of “acting in an improper manner” — he has until next week to respond. That makes Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.2m) a decent punt if you are looking for a cheaper forward to upgrade other areas of your team. His minutes should see an upturn and he might be on penalties, too.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.7m) is a great pick for the next few games and even the rest of the season as a fourth or fifth defender. He has three goals and five assists, and has ample attacking threat.
Jorgen Strand Larsen will be Wolves’ main man in Matheus Cunha’s absence (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
A quick look ahead
Double Gameweek 32
The next double gameweek is in Gameweek 32 and it has already been confirmed for Newcastle and Palace.
Glasner’s side will take on Manchester City (A) and Newcastle (A), and Eddie Howe’s team will host Manchester United (H) and Palace (H).
Double Gameweek 33
Nothing confirmed yet but postponements in Gameweek 34 caused by the FA Cup semi-finals are likely to be moved to Gameweek 33.
Blank Gameweek 34
We already have some information for Blank Gameweek 34.
Guaranteed fixtures for Gameweek 34:
- Newcastle vs Ipswich
- Wolves vs Leicester
- Chelsea vs Everton
- Liverpool vs Spurs
Fixtures that are likely to go ahead:
- Arsenal vs Palace
- Bournemouth vs Manchester United
- Nottingham Forest vs Brentford
Fixtures that are likely not to go ahead:
- Manchester City vs Aston Villa
- Brighton vs West Ham
- Southampton vs Fulham
Gameweeks 35, 36 and 37
Gameweeks 35 and 36 could be doubles and Gameweek 37 could be a blank.
The postponements in Gameweek 37 caused by the FA Cup final could move to Gameweek 36 or stay in Gameweek 37.
We will know more about this in the coming weeks.
(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
