The weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final results have affected the matchday 34 schedule Fantasy Premier League.
Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are through to the last four of the FA Cup, which coincides with the 34th matchday weekend in the FPL.
All three teams – along with their respective Gameweek 34 opponents Brighton & Hove Albion, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United – are now without a game in this round of fixtures.
The matches were removed from GW34 and are not scheduled yet
Brighton – Chelsea
Manchester United – Newcastle
Spurs – Manchester City
Current schedule GW34
Aston Villa – Bournemouth
Crystal Palace – West Ham
Everton – Nott’m Forest
Fulham – Liverpool
Luton – Brentford
Chef United – Burnley
Wolves – Arsenal
However, the midweek following the FA Cup semi-final weekend is free, so could be used to host those matches or any of the other seven matches yet to be scheduled.
In previous seasons, the rescheduled fixtures tended to fall on Gameweeks 34 and 37, resulting in double gameweeks for many sides.
Possible Double Game Weeks
Crucially, Chelsea are the only team with TWO matches yet to be rescheduled, potentially giving them two Doubles.
As Chelsea are playing in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, they cannot have a Double Gameweek 34. While one of these two free fixtures is expected to move to Double Gameweek 37, the other could potentially fall to Gameweek 35 or 36.
Other matches are not yet scheduled
Arsenal – Chelsea
Brighton – Manchester City
Chelsea – Spurs
Crystal Palace – Newcastle
Everton – Liverpool
Man Utd v Sheff Utd
Wolves – Bournemouth
So clearly there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the remaining nine rounds of fixtures in 2023/24, with 10 fixtures now requiring a new Fantasy date.
As we enter another international break, it is vital that managers remain flexible and patient with their transport and brand strategies, waiting for any new information that can help refine their plans for the run-in.