FPL tips: How to plan for the three remaining double gameweeks

Leicester City Training Session – LCFC Training Ground – Wednesday April 6th
(Image credit: Bradley Collyer)

Three of the remaining seven Premier League gameweeks of the season will be doubles, providing several opportunities for big points scoring.

So how should you prepare for the run-in with a view to making the most of these double gameweeks?

The answer lies with free hits and Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester.

Double trouble

A general view of a Nike match ball during the Premier League match at Vicarage Road, Watford. Picture date: Sunday March 6, 2022

(Adam Davy/PA)

These teams have two games in the following gameweeks.

Gameweek 33: Brighton, Manchester United, Burnley, Southampton, Arsenal, Leicester, Newcastle.

Gameweek 36: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester, Leeds, Liverpool, Norwich, Tottenham, Watford.

Gameweek 37: Aston Villa, Burnley, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton, Leicester.

The eagle-eyed will have spotted the one name featuring in all three remaining DGWs is Leicester, who are the only team with 10 league games left to play.

Furthermore, the Foxes’ fixtures in those gameweeks look favourable on paper – they face Everton (a), Newcastle (a), Everton (h), Norwich (h), Watford (a), and Chelsea (a).

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers during a training session at the LCFC Training Ground, Leicester. Picture date: Wednesday April 6, 2022

(Bradley Collyer/PA)

Leicester will follow their back-to-back DGWs with a GW38 fixture against Southampton (h) meanwhile, making for a mouth-watering prospect for any bosses with James Maddison and co in their squad.

Chelsea, Everton and Aston Villa will also enjoy consecutive DGWs in GW36 and GW37.

The Blues face Wolves, Leeds, Manchester United, and Leicester in that period – goalscoring defender Antonio Rudiger (£6.1m) and in-form Kai Havertz (£7.9m) look to be their standout options at present.

With not much team form to speak of lately, Villa and Everton may not be as appealing as their west London rivals, but certain players do stand out regardless.

Across GW27 and GW28 Villa defender Matty Cash returned 43 FPL points thanks to two goals, two assists and three clean sheets in three games, while Toffees forward Richarlison has two goals and an assist in his last two games.

The chips are down

A Crystal Palace fan in the stands with a tray of chips before the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London

(Isabel Infantes/PA)

Of course, with only one free transfer per gameweek it’s not as simple as shoe-horning as many of these players into your squad as possible, but FPL chips can help.

For any FPL managers with at least one free hit remaining, the priority should be GW36, which features 10 teams playing twice, including four of the league’s traditional top six sides.

For any FPL managers with both free hit chips remaining, be advised that you cannot deploy both chips in consecutive gameweeks.

This means you will be unable to play your free hits in both DGW36 and DGW37 – the best thing to do on paper then would be to play one in DGW33 and one in DGW36.

These managers can then utilise their free transfers to bring in a handful of players who feature twice in DGW37, such as Leicester, Chelsea, Crystal Palace or Everton assets.

FPL bosses who maximise their scoring potential in these final three doubles of the season could well find themselves striding clear of their mini-league rivals thanks to a little forward planning.