It may only be early September, but the first blank fixture of 2019/20 Fantasy Premier League has already been confirmed.
Liverpool’s Gameweek 18 trip to West Ham United has been postponed due to the Merseysiders' involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Jurgen Klopp’s men host Watford on Saturday 14 December before flying to Qatar for the tournament.
Winter engagement
Liverpool enter at the semi-final stage and will play two matches in the competition, the first taking place on December 17 or 18.
However, both the final and third-place playoff will be played on 21 December, the same day that Liverpool's Premier League match with the Hammers was due to take place.
Their visit to Manuel Pellegrini's men will therefore need to be rescheduled, handing both sides a Double Gameweek at some point later in the season.
This could have an impact on the transfer plans of FPL managers due to the popularity of Liverpool players.
Popular Reds
Both Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) are among the three most-picked players in the game, owned by 50.8 per cent and 42.9 per cent respectively.
Along with Van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) and Andrew Robertson (£6.9m) are among the six most-owned defenders in FPL.
And Sadio Mane (£11.5m) is the fifth most-selected midfielder.
Rotation risk
Between 30 November and 1 January, Liverpool will play nine matches in 32 days across all competitions.
That busy schedule could increase the chance of rotation among Klopp's key players, forcing their FPL owners to seek out big-hitting replacements during the festive period.
Managers with a full quota of three Liverpool players could consider planning their first Wildcard around this point, particularly if they also have West Ham assets such as the in-form Sebastien Haller (£7.5m).
