Managers in Fantasy Premier League who are making transfers ahead of Gameweek 28 should be aware of four Premier League clubs being WITHOUT a fixture in Gameweek 29.
Due to the EFL Cup final taking place on Sunday 16 March, finalists Liverpool and Newcastle United, along with their Gameweek 29 opponents Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, will be without a top-flight fixture.
Players from those teams will therefore score zero points in Fantasy.
FPL managers will need to plan ahead to ensure they are able to pick a competitive line-up in Gameweek 29, also known as "Blank Gameweek 29" (BGW29).
A Blank Gameweek contains fewer than the normal 10 matches, with at least one club having no Premier League fixture.
BGW29 schedule
Everton v West Ham
Ipswich v Nottingham Forest
Man City v Brighton
Southampton v Wolves
Bournemouth v Brentford
Arsenal v Chelsea
Fulham v Spurs
Leicester v Man Utd
Clearly, this has huge implications for managers in Fantasy, with two of the three most-owned players, Mohamed Salah (£13.8m) and Alexander Isak (£9.5m), among those to miss out. They are sat in 72 per cent and 56 per cent of squads respectively.
However, a quick look at the recent transfer trends shows that many managers are continuing to load up on players from clubs who have just ONE match over the next two Gameweeks.
Indeed, ahead of the Gameweek 28 deadline on Saturday 8 March at 11:00 GMT, as many as seven of the 11 most-bought players WON'T play in BGW29.
Palace pair Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.4m) and Daniel Munoz (£5.0m) lead the way, brought in by 162,000+ and 118,000+ Fantasy managers respectively.
Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.4m), Ismaila Sarr (£5.5m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.4m), Luis Diaz (£7.5m) and Alisson (£5.5m) are the other popular targets being transferred in who are without a fixture in BGW29.
Who should managers buy instead?
The Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR) can help you navigate the tricky upcoming period by highlighting the clubs who have favourable schedules across the next two Gameweeks.
According to the FDR, each of Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ two matches over Gameweeks 28-29 score only two.
The pair go head-to-head at Molineux in Gameweek 28. Then in BGW29, Everton host West Ham United, while Wolves visit bottom side Southampton.
Everton and Wolves' next two fixtures
| Club | GW28 opp. | FDR* | BGW29 opp. | FDR* |
| Everton | Wolves (A) | 2 | West Ham (H) | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolves | Everton (H) | 2 | Southampton (A) | 2 |
*1 = easiest possible fixture, 5 = hardest possible fixture
Handily, Everton and Wolves offer strong options at both ends of the pitch.
At the back, Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.4m) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (£4.7m) boast attacking potential in the budget bracket, while forwards Beto (£5.0m) and Matheus Cunha (£7.0m) provide in-form solutions further up the pitch.
Beto has scored five goals across the Toffees’ last five league matches, while Cunha has scored in four of Wolves’ last five contests across all competitions.
AFC Bournemouth and Brentford players also have the short-term schedules to merit consideration.
The pair face one another in BGW29. Then Bournemouth visit Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford host Aston Villa in Gameweek 28.
Bournemouth and Brentford's next two fixtures
| Club | GW28 opp. | FDR* | BGW29 opp. | FDR* |
| Bournemouth | Spurs (A) | 3 | Brentford (H) | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brentford | Aston Villa (H) | 3 | Bournemouth (A) | 3 |
*1 = easiest possible fixture, 5 = hardest possible fixture
Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez (£5.0m) is the standout defender among those two clubs, with two goals and four assists highlighting his attacking threat.
Justin Kluivert (£6.1m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m), meanwhile, both rank among the four top-scoring midfielders in Fantasy and have penalty duties to further lift their appeal.
Brentford forward Yoane Wissa (£6.4m) is another contender here – he’s scored in each of the last two Gameweeks to collect 17 points.
Use Free Hit chip?
If you are struggling to field 11 players who have a fixture in BGW29 without taking multiple -4 points hits, then the Free Hit chip could be the answer.
The Free Hit chip allows you to temporarily replace your entire 15-player squad for a single Gameweek.
Players such as Manchester City star Erling Haaland (£14.7m) and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes (£8.3m) are likely to be popular picks for managers taking this approach.
Haaland is at home to Brighton & Hove Albion in BGW29 and could be a great captain option, while Man Utd and Fernandes visit Leicester City.
However, the Free Hit chip may be far more effective in Gameweek 34, which coincides with the FA Cup semi-finals.
Whereas only two matches have been taken out of BGW29, as many as FOUR matches could be removed from Blank Gameweek 34 (BGW34), which would make it the biggest Blank Gameweek of the season.
Handily, the FA Cup fifth round takes place this weekend and the results could go some way to helping shape managers' plans and chip strategies for the run-in.