Managers in Fantasy Premier League have the first Double Gameweek (DGW) of the season to plan for, with Liverpool's trip to Everton being rescheduled for Wednesday 12 February.
This means both clubs will have a DGW24, with Liverpool visiting AFC Bournemouth before their visit to Goodison Park.
Everton, meanwhile, will play at home on both occasions, with a match against Leicester City certainly lifting their potential of a clean sheet before they host Liverpool.
Time to use a chip?
If you still have your Triple Captain chip available, DGW24 looks the time to play it on Mohamed Salah (£13.7m).
Liverpool’s Egyptian can be found in over 70 per cent of squads and is enjoying his best ever Fantasy campaign, averaging 11 points per match in 19 outings under Arne Slot.
Alternatively, you could use the new Assistant Manager chip on Slot instead, in the very first Gameweek that the chip becomes available in Gameweek 24.
This would allow you to combine the Dutchman's points from FOUR matches from DGW24 to Gameweek 26, instead of the usual three matches that you get with the chip.
Remember, you can change your manager between Gameweeks during the period when the chip is active, so you could move away from Slot when he faces Manchester City in Gameweek 26.
Liverpool fixtures GW24 to GW26
| GW | Opp. | FDR* |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Bournemouth (A) Everton (A) |
3 3 |
| 25 | Wolves (H) | 2 |
| 26 | Man City (A) | 4 |
*Fixture Difficulty Rating: 1=easiest, 5=hardest
Crucially, both Liverpool and Everton have kind runs of opponents over this spell.
Liverpool have home matches against Ipswich Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers of either side of their DGW24, which suggests many managers will be tripling up on the Reds’ key assets.
Who to buy from Liverpool?
Trent Alexander-Arnold’s (£7.2m) recent 15-point haul against West Ham United shows just why he is their most-popular defender. Despite his hefty price tag, he can be found in over 27 per cent of squads.
Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) offers a cheaper option and is the only defensive asset to start every match for Liverpool this season.
In attack, Cody Gakpo (£7.3m) has now started eight successive Premier League matches and could prove a very handy mid-price forward in the short term.
Luis Diaz (£7.6m) is listed as a midfielder but has mainly featured as a forward recently and leads Gakpo by four double-figure hauls to one.
Who to buy from Everton?
For Everton, the DGW24 announcement arrives on the back of David Moyes' return as manager and perhaps places uncertainty over the starting roles of a number of players.
There seems no doubt, however, that goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (£5.0m) will remain a key figure for the Toffees.
Crucially, Everton now have a run that looks conducive to clean sheets - four home matches and a visit to Brighton & Hove Albion in the next four Gameweeks.
Everton's next five fixtures
| GW | Opp. | FDR |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Aston Villa (H) | 3 |
| 22 | Spurs (H) | 4 |
| 23 | Brighton (A) | 3 |
| 24 | Leicester (H) Liverpool (H) |
2 5 |
The Toffees were far more reliable for defensive returns in home matches last season, with nine of their 13 clean sheets recorded in such contests. They have maintained that consistency at Goodison Park this season. In home matches, Everton’s four clean sheets have been bettered only by Arsenal’s five.
While that only enhances Pickford’s prospects for DGW25, it also shows why investment in the Toffees’ backline could prove a handy tactic right now.
If he retains his place in Everton's starting XI, Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.3m) has the schedule to be one of the very best defenders in the sub-£4.5m bracket, and a great addition for your squad.
