There may be no Premier League fixtures this weekend, as clubs play FA Cup ties instead, but managers in Fantasy Premier League should nonetheless keep an eye on what happens in the fifth round.
That's because the FA Cup results will help to determine how many Premier League matches take place in Gameweek 34.
A number of clubs could be without a top-flight fixture in that round of matches, because the FA Cup semi-finals take place on the same weekend of 6/7 April, and players from those teams would therefore score zero points in Fantasy.
FPL managers will need to adapt and plan ahead to ensure they are able to pick a competitive line-up in Gameweek 34 when it comes around.
What's the current state of play in FA Cup?
Nine Premier League clubs are already out of the FA Cup and are free to play their Gameweek 34 fixture in Fantasy: Arsenal, Brentford, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester City, Liverpool, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United.
However, any of the remaining 11 clubs who make it through the FA Cup fifth round this weekend and then the quarter-finals will have a "Blank Gameweek 34" (BGW34) in Fantasy, where they don't have a Premier League fixture.
Significantly, their scheduled Premier League opponents on that weekend would ALSO have a Blank Gameweek.
As a result, at present there are only TWO Premier League matches confirmed to be going ahead in BGW34: Chelsea v Everton and Liverpool v Spurs.
All of the other scheduled fixtures in Gameweek 34 could be postponed because at least one of the clubs in bold below could still reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
Gameweek 34 fixtures
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
AFC Bournemouth v Man Utd
Brighton v West Ham
Chelsea v Everton
Liverpool v Spurs
Man City v Aston Villa
Newcastle v Ipswich
Nottingham Forest v Brentford
Southampton v Fulham
Wolves v Leicester
Essentially, it is usually good news for Fantasy managers when a Premier League club are eliminated from the FA Cup, because it increases the chance of more top-flight fixtures going ahead as scheduled in Gameweek 34, and more players being available to score FPL points that weekend.
Crucially, there are four all-Premier League ties where one top-flight team is guaranteed to be knocked out.
Those ties are AFC Bournemouth v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Manchester United v Fulham, Newcastle United v Brighton & Hove Albion, and Nottingham Forest v Ipswich Town.
FA Cup fifth-round ties
Aston Villa v Cardiff
AFC Bournemouth v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Millwall
Nottingham Forest v Ipswich
Man City v Plymouth
Man Utd v Fulham
Newcastle v Brighton
Preston v Burnley
Should Bournemouth defeat Wolves in the fifth round, then Wolves' Premier League home match against Leicester would remain in BGW34 as scheduled, because Leicester are already out of the cup.
Similarly, if Man Utd beat Fulham in the cup, Fulham's Premier League trip to Southampton would stay in BGW34.
If Newcastle win against Brighton then Brighton's home match against West Ham would remain in BGW34.
And if Ipswich defeat Nottingham Forest then Forest's home encounter with Brentford stays in BGW34.
What would happen to postponed matches?
The matches which are postponed from BGW34 will require new dates, which could result in the largest Double Gameweek of the campaign.
A Double Gameweek contains more than the normal 10 fixtures, with at least one club playing two Premier League fixtures in one Gameweek, and players from that club getting two chances to score Fantasy points.
This would likely be the best time to play your Bench Boost chip if you still it, as you would get the chance to earn points from 30 matches from your 15 players.