Fantasy Premier League veterans love the congested festive period as it is seen as a key time to leapfrog less engaged players, with the quick turnaround between deadlines and a lack of information making for a bigger variance in performance.
So with a lack of information ahead of blank Gameweek 18 and Gameweek 19, how can we best prepare?
Blank Gameweek 18
We’ve known since before the season started that Gameweek 18 is a blank for Manchester City and Brentford due to the Club World Cup. Even in late November, it looked problematic to navigate. Popular picks Erling Haaland (£13.9m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£6.9m) were set to be left without a fixture.
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Some managers considered using the Free Hit chip to navigate this week, but with recent injuries to these key players, it now looks to be a much easier gameweek to overcome. The Free Hit chip is a luxury that should be held back.
It seems logical to bench any remaining assets from these sides and hold out until a blank or double gameweek to use the Free Hit. There could be more double gameweeks on the way than initially anticipated after the abandoned game between Bournemouth and Luton Town on Saturday.
It’s best to bench rather than sell assets from the sides that blank this gameweek, as then they are readily available for when their game is rescheduled. Aston Villa hosting Sheffield United, Everton visiting Spurs and Newcastle United travelling to Luton Town are the key fixtures to target.
There’s also room for premium picks Mohamed Salah (£13.2m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.2m) and Bukayo Saka (£9.0m) despite Liverpool and Arsenal facing off this weekend.
(Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)For those using transfers this week, there’s a danger in buying premium players, especially with funds from selling Erling Haaland. Spreading the funds from the Norweigan makes it challenging to get him back in, particularly if he’s available to start against Everton in Gameweek 19. Look for Haaland’s inclusion in the squad for the Club World Cup semi-final before making a decision.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola failed to provide an update on Haaland’s fitness in his pre-match press conference and the final and third-place games aren’t set to be played until Friday, which crucially comes after the Gameweek 18 deadline.
Lack of information
We could well be going into blank Gameweek 18 and Gameweek 19 blind, with a lack of information on player availability. The Gameweek 18 deadline comes on Thursday evening, ahead of Crystal Palace against Brighton, with Aston Villa against Sheffield United scheduled for Friday evening.
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That means any information which comes out of the bulk of Premier League managers’ press conferences on Friday will be too late to act upon. The situation will become even worse heading into the Gameweek 19 deadline at 11am on Boxing Day, with no press conferences available.
⚠️ 6 Premier League sides in action midweek in the Carabao Cup #FPL pic.twitter.com/xfRHAVdrSr
— Holly Shand (@HollyShand) December 18, 2023
Add into the mix the fact six sides are involved in Carabao Cup quarter-final action this midweek, it’s key to make transfers as late as possible. We could get information on social media regarding players who are injured or haven’t travelled close to these deadlines, so look out for that information.
Keeping abreast of the deadlines and information is really important in this phase and can provide a big advantage over your rivals, but be mindful that there’s no need to be too differential in this period; pick wisely with captaincy, order your bench carefully and don’t take unnecessary hits.
Son Heung-min (£9.8m), Salah and Ollie Watkins (£8.6m) will be the key captain candidates in this spell in the absence of Haaland. This trio have started every single league game this season for their respective clubs.
These picks are wise given their high standards this season, their involvement in set pieces and the fact they consistently play 90 minutes. Watch out for fatigue or early substitutions, which could spell a rare rest for these assets.
Crucially, Spurs and Aston Villa don’t have a midweek fixture this week and have a reasonable spread in their fixtures.
(James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)Injury and suspension
This season has felt particularly difficult to navigate given the high number of player injuries. It feels like a key asset is at risk of being unavailable every gameweek. We do need to be mindful that players who have recently returned from injuries may see their minutes more carefully managed during this period, with Haaland right at the top of that list.
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Kieran Trippier (£6.9m) limped off in the Champions League last midweek and Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe could choose to be cautious with him.
We are reaching the crucial phase of the season where bookings are mounting up, leading to players being suspended for a game.
Players who received five yellow cards in their sides’ first 19 games have to serve a one-match ban. Destiny Udogie (£4.8m) serves his ban in Gameweek 18.
Those highly owned players walking the suspension tightrope for Gameweek 18 and Gameweek 19 include Matty Cash (£4.7m), Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m), Raheem Sterling (£7.1m), Cole Palmer (£5.6m), Darwin Nunez (£7.6m), Cristian Romero (£4.9m) and Hwang Hee-chan (£5.8m).
(Top photo: Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
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