Timing is everything with the Assistant Manager chip - identifying the best spell of three consecutive Gameweeks in which to rack up the points.
So who has the best run of fixtures from Gameweek 24, when the chip becomes available?
There are two tactics to consider.
You could back one of the managers from the top clubs against a series of lower-ranked opponents.
Alternatively, you can adopt the high-risk, high-reward strategy of picking a manager from a team lower down the league and look for winnable matches against sides who are ranked at least five places higher, targeting "table bonus" points.
Best fixtures for the top clubs
Essentially, any club in the top five cannot earn the table bonus, so if you want to back the likes of Liverpool's Arne Slot, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca or Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola then the fixtures which are likely to offer you the most upside for goals are the ones against promoted clubs.
Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City have struggled in defence since their promotions and are the worst three sides for conceding big chances - situations where a player is expected to score.
Chelsea have back-to-back home matches against Southampton and Leicester in Gameweeks 27-28 which surely offer huge potential for attacking returns for Maresca.
You would want to activate the chip in Gameweek 26, though, when Chelsea visit Aston Villa, because if you play it in Gameweek 27 then the Blues’ trip to Arsenal in Gameweek 29 would be part of their three-Gameweek schedule.
Chelsea's GW26-29 schedule
| GW | Opponent | FDR* |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Aston Villa (A) | 4 |
| 27 | Southampton (H) | 2 |
| 28 | Leicester (H) | 2 |
| 29 | Arsenal (A) | 5 |
*Fixture Difficulty Rating: 1= easiest possible fixture, 5 = hardest possible
Similarly, if you’re looking to pinpoint wins and goals then Brentford’s form at the Gtech Community Stadium looks very appealing for Thomas Frank’s prospects in that same Gameweek 26-28 period, when they host Everton and Aston Villa back-to-back.
In home matches this season, Brentford’s totals of seven wins and 26 goals are both more than any other side. Frank, as a result, has earned 71 of his 81 Fantasy points this season in his eight home matches.
Completing this trio of Brentford fixtures would be a trip to Leicester, which adds to the appeal of using the chip here.
Brentford's GW26-28 schedule
| GW | Opponent | FDR |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Leicester (A) | 2 |
| 27 | Everton (H) | 2 |
| 28 | Aston Villa (H) | 3 |
Target table-bonus wins instead?
AFC Bournemouth’s displays under Andoni Iraola show that when looking at a club’s schedule, the OPPOSITE approach can be equally productive.
Iraola has been a huge beneficiary of the table bonus thanks to victories over higher-placed opponents such as Man City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. Indeed, he ranks top of the table for the best score accumulated across three Gameweeks this season, with 47 points.
Your chosen manager earns 10 table-bonus points if he wins against an opposing club who were at least five places above them before the Gameweek starts. This is IN ADDITION to the normal six points for a win.
The unusual closeness of the Premier League table this season suggests there could be lots of opportunities to back a team for table-bonus wins against sides who are only a few points ahead of them - opportunities which are hard to predict now but will emerge over the rest of the season as clubs rise and fall.
After 16 Gameweeks of the campaign, there are only six points separating the clubs sat in sixth place and 14th in the table.
For example, you would get at least 16 Fantasy points (a win PLUS a table-bonus win) if you pick a team in 12th place and they beat the side sat in seventh spot.
Wait for a Double Gameweek?
The output of Crystal Palace's Oliver Glasner last season shows why the Assistant Manager chip could be used effectively in a Double Gameweek (DGW), when a club play TWICE in one Gameweek.
In the three Gameweeks from GW34-36 last season, Palace played four Premier League matches and Glasner would have earned a massive 67 points in that period with the Assistant Manager chip - more than any other manager across any three-Gameweek spell in 2023/24.
He profited from THREE table-bonus wins in that time.