We interrupt this World Cup coverage to bring you news of a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) – remember that? – Double Gameweek announcement.
FPL, which has been made to look as well organised as the Arsenal 1990/91 back four by FIFA’s Fantasy game, will get back underway on Gameweek 17 with a normal complement of 10 fixtures.
That’s also the case in Gameweek 18 but the ‘doubles’ then kick off in early 2023, with Gameweeks 19, 20 and 23 all featuring teams who are scheduled to play twice.
The headline news is that Manchester City get Double Gameweeks in both January and February (one of which is a ‘conditional’ one if no FA Cup replays are needed), with London clubs Fulham, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal all getting one Double Gameweek each.
Our ‘FPL Restart’ page is already live on the top menu, with details of every club’s mid-season friendlies already up there and plenty more content to come between now and Boxing Day.
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DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 19
TEAMS THAT DOUBLE
Fulham: Leicester City (a), Chelsea (h)
Chelsea: Manchester City (h), Fulham (a)
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 20
TEAMS THAT DOUBLE
Manchester City: Manchester United (a), Tottenham Hotspur (h)*
Tottenham Hotspur: Arsenal (h), Manchester City (a)*
*Subject to neither side being involved in an FA Cup third-round replay
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 23
TEAMS THAT DOUBLE
Manchester City: Aston Villa (h), Arsenal (a)
Arsenal: Brentford (h), Manchester City (h)
INITIAL REACTION
The first thoughts are that it’s not a vintage crop of Double Gameweeks, with every team involved facing at least one big-six side in their ‘double’.
But what it might do, as a silver lining, is ensure that rotation is kept to a relative minimum.
Take Manchester City’s proposed Double Gameweek 20 as an example. The reigning champions face their cross-city rivals and Spurs in this Gameweek, and Pep Guardiola will surely field the likes of Erling Haaland (£12.2m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£12.6m) in both fixtures given their importance in matches of this magnitude.
As for chip strategy, the unlimited transfers we’ve all been given ahead of Gameweek 17 allows us to plan for a Bench Boost, although many may decide to hold this back until a ‘bigger’ Double Gameweek appears later in the season.
The decision to use the Triple Captain chip would appear more appealing, particularly given that City are involved in two of the announced Double Gameweeks.
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