As FPL managers all across the world were locking their teams in on Tuesday afternoon ahead of the 16:30pm deadline, the Premier League took the time to announce the revised fixture schedule for January after taking into account all televised selections. Following the reveal, Fantasy Premier League have since confirmed that a Blank Gameweek 18 will take place from 12th-14th January, following by a Double Gameweek 19 from 15th-21st January.
In this article, we’re breaking down both gameweeks, highlighting a number key players and offering some helpful chip strategies for any FPL managers unsure how to approach what will prove the most important two gameweeks of the FPL season to date.
Blank Gameweek 18
As you can see, the following teams are without a fixture on Gameweek 18.
Burnley
Chelsea
Fulham
Leeds
Leicester
Liverpool
Man Utd
Southampton
West Brom
West Ham
However, a number of big teams and big FPL points scorer are in action such as Spurs, with Jose Mourinho’s men being one those sides, as they travel to Aston Villa. Last season, this fixture saw the North Londoners emerge as 2-3 winners with midfielder Heung-Min Son (£9.6m) at the double. Already the second highest scoring FPL player so far this season, the South Korean is sure to prove hugely popular in Blank Gameweek 18. As is his teammate and the only player with more FPL points to his name. Forward Harry Kane (£10.9m) didn’t feature due to injury in that 2-3 victory last season, although he managed a brace of his own against Dean Smith’s men in the reverse fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium. Other high value FPL players set to feature in Blank Gameweek 18 include current Premier League top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.9m), whose Everton side are away at Wolves, whilst mercurial Kevin De Bruyne (£11.9m) and Man City host Brighton. Don’t forget about Raheem Sterling (£11.4m) who alongside De Bruyne, will surely prove a popular selection amongst FPL managers for that particular week.
Double Gameweek 19
Again, as you can tell from the graphic above the same sides highlighted earlier in the piece who do not feature in Blank Gameweek 18, are in action twice on Double Gameweek 19. Immediately the team who stands out are Premier League champions Liverpool. The Reds have the luxury of two home fixtures on Double Gameweek 19, with a fierce encounter against bitter rivals Man Utd is followed up by the visit of Burnley four days later to conclude the gameweek. Chelsea will be away from home twice, opening up Double Gameweek 19 with a Friday night trip to Fulham, before an away match vs Leicester in midweek. Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds are at home twice, with Brighton and Southampton the visitors to Elland Road. The Saints are flying high in the Premier League this season and their match against the Whites could prove lucrative for any Southampton attacking asset when you consider Leeds’ leaky defence. Four days before that match however, Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men also travel to Leicester.
Key Players To Own
You’d imagine many FPL managers will be licking their lips at the prospect of owning Mohamed Salah (£12.3m) for such a gameweek, but don’t forget about his midfield teammate Sadio Mane (£11.9m). Whilst the Senegalese international is in a poor run of form at present, he could well have turned a corner before Double Gameweek 19. Also, we’d be foolish not to mention full-backs Andy Robertson (£7.2m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.2m) with the latter especially shining in Liverpool’s double gameweek last season, picking up 22 points when the Reds took on both Wolves and West Ham. Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell (£6.2m) currently stands as the second highest scoring FPL defender this season behind teammate Kurt Zouma (£5.7m). Both may line-up in the starting XI’s of any FPL manager confident of a double Chelsea clean sheet. Forwards such as Leeds’ Patrick Bamford (£6.3m), Leicester’s Jamie Vardy (£10.3m) and Southampton’s Danny Ings (£8.4m) are all more than capable of exploding with two fixtures to glean points from. One underrated team who could prove golden in terms of housing differential assets are West Ham. With two enticing looking home fixtures against two relegation threatened sides in West Brom and Burnley, Hammers players from all positions will appeal to any managers looking for some shrewd differentials. A few bargains to consider from David Moyes’ team include goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (£5.1m), defender Vladimir Coufal(£4.6m), midfielder Tomas Soucek (£5.0m) and forward Michail Antonio (£6.2m).
Chip Strategies
With both Blank Gameweek 18 and Double Gameweek 19 proving such excellent opportunities to either pull away from your opponents or make up some serious ground in your respective mini leagues, a large number of FPL managers are expected to use at least one of their available chips over the course of these two gameweeks. Possibly the most popular chip strategy deployed will be the free hit chip on Blank Gameweek 18. With ten sides not in action, many FPL managers will likely form their team for Double Gameweek 19 at least couple of weeks in advance whilst free hitting on Blank Gameweek 18, to ensure a full playing XI for both gameweeks with no point hits needing to be taken.
Another strategy likely to be utilised in bulk whether it be alongside a Blank Gameweek 18 free hit or not, is the bench boost chip on Gameweek 19. With ten clubs having two fixtures and so many players standing out as attractive options for FPL managers, using the bench boost gives you the opportunity to own as many of these players as possible within budget. It also gives you the chance to bring players in for Blank Gameweek 18 whom can still feature for you on Double Gameweek 19 on the bench. Despite having just one fixture, the likes of Heung-Min Son, Harry Kane and Kevin De Bruyne are all still incredibly attractive options in her own right and bench boosting means that all those players can still line up for you in Gameweek 19 alongside plenty of players with two fixtures.
The third chip strategy expected to prove popular is the triple captain chip on Gameweek 19. With Man Utd (H) and Burnley (H) on the menu for Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian king will surely be triple captained in bulk as FPL managers look to secure what could be their biggest haul of the season. Salah is likely to be the most popular player triple captained by a long way, but don’t write off other potential triple captain options like Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes (£11.0m). The Portuguese star at the time of writing has racked up a whopping 56 FPL points in five away Premier League fixtures. With both of United’s Double Gameweek 19 fixtures taking place away from home, Fernandes could well turn out to prove the smarter triple captain pick ahead of Salah, although you’d expect both to churn out the points with each on those all-important penalties.
Wildcard
If you aren’t willing to use a chip, have already used your chips or want a second option to go with perhaps a Blank Gameweek 18 free hit, then consider playing that second wildcard which will be available to you by the time Double Gameweek 19 arrives. The wildcard will allow you to not only shape your team how you see fit, but also plan for the upcoming weeks following Gameweek 19. It’s important to remember that the season doesn’t end after Double Gameweek 19 and the best FPL players will always have one eye on the future. The flexibility of the wildcard means that you could pull the trigger on Gameweek 17, utilising any of your available chips over those all-important following two gameweeks. Or, you can wait until the conclusion of Double Gameweek 19 to play that wildcard, knowing that you aren’t obligated to keep any players that you bring into your side purely due to their attractive Double Gameweek 19 fixtures.
