Manchester United and Newcastle United made it to the EFL Cup final, which means both teams now blank in Gameweek 25. FA Cup games over the past fortnight will also have implications for the coming gameweeks.
In this article, I will give a full breakdown of what these results mean for the clubs involved and how best to navigate through this tricky period.
Before we begin, let’s have a look at Ben Crellin’s fixture guide, which has all the permutations until Gameweek 32. Refer back to this throughout the article and bear in mind the key at the top.
Manchester United
Manchester United and Leeds United avoided a replay in their FA Cup ties, which means both now have a confirmed double in Gameweek 22. I think having three Man United players going into this week is the smart play, but they have no fixture in Gameweek 25, the same as Brighton, Newcastle and Brentford.
So when making your transfers, ensure you don’t leave yourself short for Blank Gameweek 25. These blanks are caused by Man United and Newcastle both making it to the EFL Cup final.
Marcus Rashford (£7.2m), Bruno Fernandes (£9.9m) and Luke Shaw (£5.3m) are the best three assets to own in my opinion.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s men have a double in Gameweek 23 against Aston Villa and Arsenal so I think having at least two City players is the minimum criterion, although I would advise three. They also have favourable fixtures thereafter and a guaranteed fixture in Gameweek 25.
However, they are likely to blank in Gameweek 28 with their scheduled fixture against West Ham United at home. This will happen if Man City beat Bristol City in their FA Cup fifth-round match — it’s best to assume they will blank. We should probably look to offload City assets (except Erling Haaland) coming up to Gameweek 28.
My top three City assets from Gameweek 23 are Erling Haaland (£12.2m), Riyad Mahrez (£7.7m) and Nathan Ake (£5.0m).
Arsenal
We should also have three Arsenal players in our team from this week onward without a doubt. They have a double in Gameweek 23 against Brentford and Man City at home, plus a confirmed fixture in Blank Gameweek’s 25 and 28. They are also likely to have a game in Gameweek 32 against Southampton at home when a lot of teams will blank — they will only blank then if Southampton reach the FA Cup semi-final.
Furthermore, there is a chance they get a double in Gameweek 25 or Gameweek 29. Looking at the fixture guide above we can see double is more likely to occur in Gameweek 29.
Therefore they are long-term holds. My top three options from the Gunners are Bukayo Saka (£8.2m), Martin Odegaard (£6.9m) and Eddie Nketiah (£6.7m). However, Gabriel Martinelli (£6.7m) or any of their defenders are fine also. It all depends on how your team is set up and who you can afford.
Brighton
Newcastle reaching the EFL Cup final means Brighton will also blank in Gameweek 25. They are also likely to blank in Gameweek 28 — if Man United win their FA Cup fifth-round tie against West Ham, or if Brighton beat Stoke, then the scheduled match between Man United and Brighton in Gameweek 28 is off.
They have a possible double gameweek in 26 or 27, so it’s hard to justify bringing in their players before Gameweek 25 when the likes of Arsenal, Man United and Man City have doubles in the next few weeks.
If you are in the rare position of being well set up for the upcoming doubles before making any transfers and have a plan to deal with Gameweek 25, then Kaoru Mitoma (£5.1m) and Pervis Estupinan (£4.5m) are good options for the next three.
They play Bournemouth (H), Crystal Palace (A), and Fulham (H), so plenty of FPL points are available.
The rest
Liverpool have a possible double in Gameweek 25 and also a likely blank in Gameweek 28. A blank will be caused for them if Fulham beat Sunderland and Leeds in the FA Cup. So best to avoid/sell their assets for now in favour of Arsenal, City or United players and look at them again from Gameweek 25.
Kieran Trippier (£6.1m) is perhaps the only Newcastle player we should own right now. They have a blank in Gameweek 25 but from Gameweek 26 onwards look desirable again. They have been fantastic this season and will have a likely double in Gameweek 29.
I would only look at Leeds players if you are already well set with Arsenal, United and City players. If bringing in a Leeds player for their double in Gameweek 22 means you will need to take a hit in the coming weeks, I would advise against it.
Wilfried Gnonto (£5.0m) is the best shout for me. He can be a good replacement for those with Sam Greenwood (£4.1m) or Evan Ferguson (£4.6m) as their third forward.
Why it’s important to plan so far ahead
Looking forward around 10 gameweeks may seem like planning too far ahead, but when it comes to blanks and double gameweeks, it really is vital.
The most important aspect of planning so far in advance is to make sure you are covered for the fixture schedule mayhem. It also gives a good idea of when to play chips.
Those who don’t plan for the blank gameweeks ahead for example might end up having to use their Wildcard or Free Hit on a whim.
The best time to play the Wildcard, Free Hit and Bench Boost chips, in my opinion, is going to be after Gameweek 28 — we will go into more detail on chip strategies after Gameweek 25.
This is because we will have the confirmed blank fixtures for Gameweek 28 and a lot more information on the blanks in Gameweek 32.
Make sure to check out The Athletic Football Podcast, hosted by The FPL General, for all the latest tips and tricks. Catch that for free on all the usual listening providers and ad-free on The Athletic app.
(Top photo: Luke Shaw and Neco Williams playing in the Carabao Cup semi-final; by Michael Regan via Getty Images)
