A pause in Premier League action hasn’t meant a break from planning for FPL managers after an eventful round of FA Cup last-16 action.
We now have more information on how the blank and double gameweeks will pan out later in the season, with doubles scheduled for Gameweeks 32 and 33, followed by a blank in Gameweek 34. The bad news? There were several injuries and incidents leading to suspensions involving players who were set to be popular fantasy picks in the coming weeks.
So, what are the key takeaways from the weekend and how should they impact your transfer plans?
Isak returns but gives FPL managers a scare
Sunday saw the return of Newcastle’s Alexander Isak (£9.4m) from injury, with the Sweden international having missed his club’s midweek 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in Gamweek 27 with a groin issue.
The 56 per cent-owned striker duly scored the opening goal in a 2-1 extra-time FA Cup defeat against Brighton from the penalty spot before being replaced by Callum Wilson in the 86th minute. Isak visibly limped off the pitch at St James’ Park, but Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe quashed any fitness concerns in his post-match press conference, citing tiredness for the 25-year-old, who is no longer flagged as a Gameweek 28 injury concern in FPL.
Fantasy managers may be considering selling Isak given his looming blank in Gameweek 29 and the fact Howe could choose to protect his star man ahead of the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool that weekend. However, Isak has risen in price by £0.9million since the start of the season, with many owners carrying significant value in a player who has 19 league goals already in his 24 appearances.
Keeping in mind that he is also set to double in Gameweek 32, it’s important to keep hold of Isak. However, Newcastle’s failure to beat Brighton and progress to the FA Cup quarter-finals means they are unlikely to double again this season.
Isak limped off in Newcastle’s FA Cup defeat to Brighton (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Staying with Newcastle, left-back Lewis Hall (£5.0m) is out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury he suffered in that Liverpool match. Naturally, the 22 per cent of managers in the game who own him (at the time of writing) should now look to sell.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.7m) of Wolves is the best like-for-like replacement to take advantage of his club’s good fixtures. Alternatively, consider Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol (£5.9m) if you have the funds in the bank.
Silly suspensions bite
The player-availability problems worsened for Newcastle with the red card for Anthony Gordon (£7.4m) in that FA Cup defeat.
The England midfielder will serve a three-match ban, including the Carabao Cup final, and so won’t be available again for FPL selection until the trip to Leicester in Gameweek 31. This is an appropriate point for his owners to sell Gordon, with the potential there to reinvest in him on a wildcard in Gameweek 31 ahead of Newcastle’s Double Gameweek 32.
Among the potential replacements are Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m), who is the third highest-scoring player in the game this season behind Mohamed Salah of Liverpool and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer.
We also saw Wolves striker Matheus Cunha (£7.0m) sent off late in his team’s FA Cup defeat against Bournemouth. He had scored the equaliser in a 1-1 draw, with Wolves eventually losing 5-4 on penalties. Cunha has been charged by the FA, so is set to miss more than just the next three games after his clash with Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez during extra time. We should hear an outcome from the FA next week.
The Brazilian was among the most-bought players going into last weekend due to an exciting blend of form and upcoming fixtures, but he is now a sell given another period of absence from Wolves’ line-up.
Matheus Cunha was sent off for this clash with Milos Kerkez (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Forward options dwindle
Cunha’s ban is not the only problem currently facing our forward lines as Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) sustained a head injury in a wince-inducing collision with Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts on Saturday in the FA Cup and is now a doubt for Crystal Palace’s home game against Ipswich this weekend.
The striker, who was placed in a neck brace and taken to hospital, had been the most-purchased player heading into Gameweek 28 after five goal involvements in his previous four Premier League matches. If Mateta doesn’t play against Ipswich, he blanks in Gameweek 29.
For those managers looking to navigate Blank Gameweek 29 without using the Free Hit chip, Mateta’s lack of availability ahead of the next two gameweeks also makes him a likely sell.
If you are among those managers who don’t already own Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood (£7.2m), now is absolutely the time to buy. He also has five goal involvements in the past four gameweeks, taking him to 18 league goals for the season.
Wood is the ideal replacement for Mateta or Cunha (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
Alternatively, Brentford’s Yoane Wissa (£6.4m) may be a wise investment, with the striker having scored in their past two games. The west Londoners’ fixtures may not justify the double-up with midfielder Mbeumo, however.
It’s worth noting that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (£14.7m) looks to be the best captain pick for Blank Gameweek 29 at home to Brighton in the cup final-enforced absence of Salah (£13.8m). If you have the option to bench Cunha this week, you could then free up funds elsewhere in Gameweek 29 to find the route to buying and captaining Haaland.
The schedule continues to change
The FA Cup round of 16’s results have allowed us to build a picture of what Blank Gameweek 34 might look like, with three or four postponements expected given the teams who are through to the quarter-finals that weekend.
There are just four league games set to go ahead as things stand: Chelsea vs Everton, Liverpool vs Tottenham, Wolves vs Leicester and Newcastle vs Ipswich.
FPL experts predict postponed fixtures are most likely to move up into Gameweek 33, which could create the busiest double gameweek of the season and the big target for your Bench Boost chip.
The schedule will be confirmed after the quarter-finals take place over the last weekend in March, with final fixture confirmations likely to come ahead of Gameweek 31 the following weekend.
The close proximity of a Double Gameweek 33 immediately followed by a Blank Gameweek 34 likely impacting a similar pool of clubs means that, in terms of chip strategy, playing your Free Hit in the latter is the obvious move. For that reason, fantasy managers should be encouraged to navigate the looming Blank Gameweek 29 without using that chip, with Aston Villa, Palace, Liverpool and Newcastle the absentees.
(Top photos: Jean-Philippe Mateta, left, and Matheus Cunha; by Getty Images)
