A clear picture of Blank Gameweek 34 (BGW34) has now emerged for managers in Fantasy Premier League after the results of this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-finals.
Which clubs will have a Blank Gameweek 34?
Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest are all through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
They will NOT have a Premier League fixture on the weekend of BGW34 of Fantasy, because the semi-finals happen on those same days.
FA Cup semi-finals
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest v Manchester City
A Blank Gameweek is a Gameweek containing fewer than the normal 10 matches, where some clubs don't play a Premier League fixture, and players from those teams score ZERO points in FPL.
Significantly, those teams' scheduled Premier League opponents on that weekend will ALSO be without a Premier League match.
This means there are set to be THREE matches removed from the weekend of Gameweek 34: Arsenal v Crystal Palace, Aston Villa v Man City and Nott’m Forest v Brentford, making BGW34 potentially the biggest Blank Gameweek of the season.
As a result, many managers will look to use their Free Hit chip in BGW34 in order to easily navigate the reduced round of fixtures.
How many more Blank and Double Gameweeks will there be?
Although we know BGW34 is the final Blank Gameweek of 2024/25, the full Double Gameweek picture has yet to be revealed.
A Double Gameweek is when a club have two matches in a single Gameweek and players from those teams get two chances to earn FPL points.
At present the only confirmed Double Gameweek is Double Gameweek 32 (DGW32), when Crystal Palace and Newcastle United play twice.
It is only when those three matches which have been removed from Gameweek 34 have been reallocated new dates that managers in Fantasy can finalise their chip strategies for the run-in.
When those Double Gameweeks will take place is another question altogether.
Certainly, if history repeats itself, a Double Gameweek 37 could be on the cards. There is also a possibility that any clubs still involved in Europe may have an earlier Double Gameweek to avoid fixture congestion.
Furthermore, there is even the prospect that certain matches could remain in BGW34 and be moved into the midweek following the FA Cup semi-finals!
When to use the Wildcard chip?
Although your chip plans should remain a work in progress right now, there are, nonetheless, some very popular strategies gathering pace to help you navigate the final nine Gameweeks of 2024/25.
For example, many managers have been planning to play a Wildcard in Gameweek 30 or Gameweek 31, depending on when those new fixtures are confirmed.
Crucially, there are just over 48 hours between the end of the last FA Cup quarter-final and the Gameweek 30 deadline, at 18:15 BST on Tuesday 1 April.
But there are a further four days until the Gameweek 31 deadline, at 11:00 BST on Saturday 5 April, which is why some managers are favouring the latter Gameweek for playing their Wildcard chip as it simply gives the fixture reschedulers more time to set new dates.
Why Crystal Palace players are vital
Regardless of when they play their Wildcard, it’s very likely that managers will be looking to triple up on Crystal Palace assets, with Daniel Munoz (£5.1m), Ismaila Sarr (£5.6m) and Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) the standout picks.
The Eagles already have a DGW32, and their progress to the FA Cup semi-finals means they now look very likely to have TWO Double Gameweeks over the run-in, although they will also have a BGW34 as it stands.
At present, those Wildcard managers will also be loading up on Newcastle players for DGW32.
They could then deploy their Bench Boost chip in DGW32, if they still have it available, potentially owning six players who all play twice, and therefore getting 12 appearances from those players alone.
Another option is to use the Triple Captain chip in DGW32 on Alexander Isak (£9.3m) for Newcastle's two home matches against Manchester United and Palace.
Alternatively, you could use the Assistant Manager chip on Oliver Glasner (£0.8m) over Gameweeks 30-32 to profit from Palace's four matches.
But remember, you can only use ONE chip in any Gameweek, so if you play the Assistant Manager chip in Gameweek 30, you can't use another chip until Gameweek 33.
As already mentioned, the Free Hit chip looks the strongest option for BGW34. This has been a popular tactic in past seasons around Blank Gameweeks caused by FA Cup semi-finals.
For now, though, managers have to remain both patient and flexible with their chip strategies.
By waiting until those three matches have been given new dates, you can then make more informed decisions to boost your chances of success over the run-in.
