Managers in Fantasy Premier League must consider the next two Gameweeks when planning their transfers.
Six sides are without a fixture in Blank Gameweek 28, while 12 sides have a Double Gameweek 29.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (£12.2m), the most-popular player in Fantasy, has just a single fixture in this period, at home to Liverpool in Double Gameweek 29.
To help navigate the schedule, there are eight sides who have three matches over this run: AFC Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Brentford, Chelsea, Leeds United, Leicester City, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
They all play in Blank Gameweek 28 and also have two matches in Double Gameweek 29.
Number of fixtures for each club GW28-29
| Fixtures | Clubs | Do they play in BGW28? | Do they have a DGW29? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | AVL, BOU, BRE, CHE, LEE, LEI, NEW, NFO | Yes | Yes |
| 2 | ARS, CRY, EVE, SOU, TOT, WOL | Yes | No |
| 2 | BHA, LIV, MUN, WHU | No | Yes |
| 1 | FUL, MCI | No | No |
Crucially, many managers are planning to play their Bench Boost chip in Double Gameweek 29, which is the largest Double Gameweek of the season.
By pinpointing the best picks among those eight sides, managers can take full advantage of the fixtures.
Defence
Newcastle right-back Kieran Trippier (£6.0m) and Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell (£5.9m) are the standout defenders.
Trippier is already owned by 65 per cent of managers and has a 30-point lead at the top of the defender standings, while Chilwell is the most-bought player in the Gameweek on the back of 18 points in his last two outings.
AFC Bournemouth’s Marcos Senesi (£4.4m) and Leicester’s Ricardo Pereira (£4.3m) also offer an attacking threat and clean-sheet potential in the budget bracket.
Midfield
Leicester’s James Maddison (£8.1m) is the standout premium midfield pick and has the schedule to be a long-term acquisition.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), seven of his next nine matches score only two.
There is plenty of value on offer elsewhere, with Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White (£5.5m), Newcastle’s Miguel Almiron (£5.4m) and Leeds’ fit-again Rodrigo (£6.3m) all likely to be vital to their sides’ attacking prospects.
Forwards
Ollie Watkins (£7.3m) has proven a popular replacement for Haaland, with over 47,000 managers making that move.
The Villa striker has scored in six of his last seven matches and has a home fixture against AFC Bournemouth this weekend.
Kai Havertz (£7.5m), meanwhile, has scored in each of Chelsea’s last two matches in all competitions.
The Blues are the only side who play at home on three occasions over the next two Gameweeks, hosting Everton, Villa and Liverpool.
The ownership of Ivan Toney (£7.8m) now stands at almost 40 per cent, while Forest forward Brennan Johnson (£5.7m) is selected by under three per cent and could be a big differential if he recovers from a knock.
Also in this series
Part 2: FPL experts: Top targets ahead of a DGW29 Bench Boost
Part 3: Who to keep and sell in Blank Gameweek 28
Part 4: Should you use your Free Hit chip?