The first double gameweek of the season in Fantasy Premier League is finally here. But how do you actually get the most out of it?
With Liverpool and Everton both playing twice in Gameweek 24, which gets under way on Saturday (deadline 11am GMT; 6am ET), this is the ideal time to load up on double-gameweek players and play a super-powered chip. But which ones?
Sadly, there’s no foolproof strategy for how to set your team up before Saturday’s deadline, so Holly Shand and Abdul Rehman have taken it upon themselves to debate the pros and cons of every major move that you could make in arguably the most important FPL gameweek of the season so far.
What excites you most about the first double FPL gameweek of the season?
Holly Shand: Engaged FPL managers live for double gameweeks in the game due to the higher ceiling for Fantasy points.
This first one is exciting as it involves the best team in the league this season, Liverpool. A month ago, managers wouldn’t have cared for Everton’s involvement in this double gameweek but with David Moyes now in charge and an upturn in form, there’s potential there for significant fantasy returns too. And, significantly, we have the final Merseyside derby to be played at Goodison Park.
Double Gameweek 24 provides the first major opportunity of the campaign to deploy one of the five available Fantasy chips.
Abdul Rehman: Using your triple captain chip is always fun but I am more excited to see how my Everton players get on. Mohamed Salah (£13.7million) will be very highly captained and I reckon the majority of managers who have their triple captain left will play it this week on the Egyptian.
So the real gains will be from my double Everton defence and I would actually prefer them to haul more than Salah as their lower ownership will mean they will climb me higher up the ranks. I am quietly confident for their first match against Leicester City at home and although I don’t expect much from them against Liverpool, if there’s a side that can pull off a 0-0 or 1-0 smash-and-grab against the league leaders, it’s Everton.
Let’s get down to it: how many players with a double fixture are necessary for Gameweek 24?
Abdul: I think you have to own three Liverpool players, otherwise you are very likely to get a red arrow and, of course, one of those three has to be Salah. I would also recommend at least one Everton player as that is how you will make the real gains if they do well. Most of the time, it’s always best to buy a ticket if you want to win the raffle and, in this case, I think Everton’s first game against Leicester merits inclusion for their players.
I would say having four to five doublers is a good number. The more doublers you have, the more chance you have of hitting a big score. Of course, you also have to keep in mind that the players you buy aren’t just for the double and be wary of who you are transferring out also.
Holly: I like Abdul’s analogy here of buying tickets for the double gameweek, although I know I’ve been too engaged in the past and tried to go all-in with six players, which has been detrimental to my side in the long term.
I have to agree that three Liverpool players are a must. When it comes to Everton assets, it depends on how many free transfers you have available; I think I’ll just be going with the one defensive asset but I do only have three free transfers. I’d absolutely go for more if I had the maximum five free transfers ahead of this gameweek as you have greater flexibility to sell those Everton assets again if you cannot carry them on your bench in subsequent gameweeks.
GO DEEPER
FPL: What we learned from Gameweek 23 – Ndiaye flies and is it time to sell Wood?
Is a Liverpool triple-up essential? And if so, who are the three best assets to own?
Holly: I’ve been tripled up on Liverpool assets for five of the last six gameweeks, and that’s been a strategy which has served me well, halving my overall rank in this period.
Right now, I’d lean to doubling up on the attack over the defence: they’ve scored nine goals in the last four gameweeks, keeping just one clean sheet. Salah is the highest-owned asset in the game, so giving him the armband here is also a key move. Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.3m) is the most obvious defensive pick given his attacking threat, with seven goal involvements for the campaign and a leading number of key passes and big chances created among defenders.
I’ve recently bought Cody Gakpo (£7.6m) as my third Liverpool player, with the forward a clear favourite under Arne Slot, starting all of the last 11 in the league. He’s the top-performing Liverpool asset in the last four gameweeks.
Gakpo scored 16 points in Gameweek 23 (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Abdul: I think so because not only do they have a double gameweek but they are by far the best team in the league. They are top of the league and boast the best metrics both going forward and in defence. They also have great fixtures in the long term.
Salah, of course, has to be there as he is the best asset in the game and the best captaincy option by quite a distance. Alexander-Arnold would be my second pick. He has one goal and six assists this season, and has by far the highest xA (expected assists; 6.20) total among defenders. For context, Leif Davis (£4.4m) has the second-highest xA at 3.64.
The third pick is tricky and is really team-dependent — but, in isolation, I would say Gakpo. He has much more upside than a second Liverpool defender like Virgil van Dijk (£6.4m) or Ibrahima Konate (£5.2m). I’m not saying they are bad options: they do possess a bit of goal threat from set pieces and will keep plenty of clean sheets.
However, Gakpo is in great form just now and is getting plenty of minutes playing in the front three in the best attacking team in the league.
Who are the Everton players that we should be considering?
Holly: With double Gameweek 24 in mind, I believe Everton defensive players are the best buys. In the past, we’ve seen surprise scores from goalkeepers dominating the Team of the Gameweek for the double, which is why Jordan Pickford (£5.1m) is an appealing buy.
Pickford is the second-highest scoring goalkeeper in the game behind Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels (£5.0m) and he’s kept eight clean sheets, just one behind Liverpool and Forest on nine. If you don’t want to make a goalkeeper transfer, I’d look to buy a defender instead, with Vitalii Mykolenko (£4.4m) the cheapest route into that defence and easy to carry on your bench long term.
When it comes to attacking players, Iliman Ndiaye (£5.5m) is the most appealing with goals in consecutive games — but don’t buy him at the expense of template forwards Alexander Isak (£9.5m) and Chris Wood (£7.1m), who are long-term holds.
Abdul: Pickford and Mykolenko are my top two picks. Everton have scored the second-least goals (19) this season and also rank as the second-worst team for xG (expected goals; 21.9). However, in defence, they are much more reliable, only conceding 28 goals (sixth-least) with an xGC (expected goals conceded) of 29.7 (eighth-best). So I think they have more chances of defensive returns.
Also, with Mykolenko, he is cheap so you can get him as your fourth or fifth defender, and just hide him on your bench going forward. Pickford is the second-highest-scoring ’keeper in the game and picks up plenty of save points. Goalkeepers also tend to pick up random hauls more than any other position, so I don’t mind owning and playing him even after the double.
Like Holly, the only attacker I would consider is Ndiaye. In the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.4m), he will play more minutes and is Everton’s first-choice penalty-taker. I would only look to get him if you have a third forward like Raul Jimenez (£5.6m) or Joao Pedro (£5.5m), for example, and you have a good eight-man attack. You will probably want to bench him for most games going forward.
Everton’s Ndiaye has scored in back-to-back gameweeks (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Are there any traps that we should be aware of (and avoid)?
Holly: I’ve seen some transfer traffic for Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister (£6.2m) — but I think Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.3m) has a far higher ceiling at this price point.
For managers looking to double up on Liverpool’s defence, Andrew Robertson (£5.9m) is increasingly becoming a minutes risk and could see himself rotated with Kostas Tsimikas (£4.6m). When it comes to buying Everton assets, I would avoid investing in midfielders Idrissa Gueye (£4.8m) and Abdoulaye Doucoure (£5.1m), who have both seen over 10,000 transfers in this week. They may provide value in the double but it’s unlikely they’ll have the longevity in our teams to justify a transfer in.
Abdul: For the most part, I agree with Holly, but I do think Doucoure might be a decent punt. He is only £5.1m, so you can bench him going forward; he’s a reliable sub in FPL as he’s nailed to start for Moyes. Interestingly, he has also been playing as a No 10 since Moyes has taken charge, so we might see him rack up some attacking returns.
I wouldn’t be going out of your way to buy him, but if you have three or more transfers and need to replace your fifth midfielder, then he could be worth it. It’s a fairly low-risk move as you aren’t going to be removing a premium asset. I wouldn’t be surprised if Doucoure pops up with a goal in double gameweek 24.
What is the best chip to use in double gameweek 24?
Abdul: If you have your triple captain chip, then I think this is the week to use it on Salah; we are likely to get better opportunities to use the assistant manager chip later in the season. We have two more double gameweeks at least, in Gameweek 33 and 36. I would probably save the assistant manager chip for this week even if I had already used my triple captain. I wouldn’t consider playing the bench boost or free hit chip in double Gameweek 24.
The doubles in Gameweek 33 and 36 will include more teams, meaning the bench boost or free hit will be better suited. We will also have two blank gameweeks predicted in Gameweek 29 and 34, so the Free Hit chip can also be used in one of them.
Holly: I agree with Abdul here that this is a golden opportunity to use the triple captain chip on Salah, the best player in the league this season playing for the best team.
Motivation to play the chip should be higher if you have all five chips remaining, as others like free hit and bench boost will be more prevalent in the bigger blank and double gameweeks. Having already played my triple captain chip, I am seriously considering the assistant manager chip this week, although I’m not sure there’s enough upside looking at the next three gameweeks combined.
I’d rather gather more information over the next few months and play it in the season run-in where results may be more predictable.
What’s the best way to maximise the assistant manager chip if you’re using it in Gameweek 24?
Holly: One of the key motivators for using the assistant manager chip in Gameweek 24 is that we have a truncated gameweek. There’s a big gap between Liverpool and Everton’s two Premier League fixtures on February 1 and February 12 respectively.
Each side has an FA Cup fourth-round tie between these two games and Liverpool also play in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur, with their opponents leading 1-0 on aggregate.
Using the assistant manager chip instead of having three players from a side means that the double gameweek is less likely to be derailed by injuries or suspensions. We need to be mindful that while Arne Slot should be a banker for points on paper, Bournemouth and Everton are among the in-form teams in the Premier League right now. It means I’d lean towards the upside of David Moyes initially.
GO DEEPER
FPL: Fantasy Premier League: How to make the most of the assistant manager chip
Abdul: If you are content on playing it this week, then I would be tempted to play it on Moyes.
Everton have a winnable game against Leicester and, of course, the Liverpool match is as tough as they come. But if they manage to pull off even a draw there and beat Leicester, then you can get a huge haul.
For example, Moyes would have scored 19 points against Brighton last gameweek with the 1-0 win. It’s a high-risk, high-reward strategy. He got the win bonus (six points), plus the extra win bonus (10 points) for beating a team ranked five places or above, keeping a clean sheet (two points) and scoring one goal (one point).
You could then move to Marco Silva of Fulham in Gameweek 25, who play Nottingham Forest at home. As good as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have been this season, last week’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Bournemouth showed they are beatable and this should be a closely contested match. You also have a chance of the extra bonus points as Forest are currently placed third and Fulham are 10th.
For Gameweek 26, you can go two ways: play safe in a ‘banker game’ like Arsenal at home to West Ham, or go for another ‘bonus’ game. I think the best bet for a bonus game in Gameweek 26 is Leicester City at home to Brentford.
Thomas Frank’s team haven’t been great away from home this season (W2, D2, L7) and although Leicester are one of the poorest teams in the league, this will be a game in which they will fancy themselves.
Moyes: the ideal Gameweek 24 assistant manager for risk-takers (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)
Is there anything else that FPL managers need to remember?
Holly: Managers should try not to be blinded by the double gameweek and consider how long they plan to hold the player that they are buying.
With multiple free transfers at your disposal, the risk of going all-in can be minimised, although I’d consider all free transfers to be very precious as we approach the business end of the season. We must be mindful that free transfers will be powerful in preparing for the bigger blank and double gameweeks that are predicted to happen in the final 10 gameweeks, where the fixtures on offer are likely to be more attractive than we have in this immediate week, despite the quality of the teams involved in this one.
Abdul: Who you are selling is just as important as who you’re buying.
It’s always optimal to maximise your chances in a double gameweek — but taking out proven FPL assets can bite you. The players we buy cost transfers and you aren’t only buying them for the double. So look for the weak spots in your team and replace them with double-gameweek players who play for the weaker teams.
Looking at a team’s schedule is also very important. This double is quite a unique scenario where the two matches are played 11 days apart. Therefore, I don’t think we need to worry about rotation much — although Liverpool do play two games in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup between the Bournemouth and Everton matches. But I see limited or no minutes for Liverpool’s key players in the cup games.
In my opinion, the long gap makes it even more imperative we own three Liverpool players.
And what should FPL managers do if they don’t have a productive double gameweek?
Holly: Managers should have a relaxed view of their performance, which will be the smallest double we are likely to get this season. The form of the teams involved, plus the number of days between their two fixtures, means that it is particularly unpredictable.
The double gameweeks in FPL provide the biggest launchpad for significant Fantasy points, with the new assistant manager chip carrying the potential for the most variance in the game too. So there’s plenty of opportunities to continue to make up ground in the latter stages of the season, regardless of performance this week.
Abdul: Don’t panic. This double gameweek won’t make or break your season as long as you own the main assets; just treat it as any other gameweek. You will have good and bad weeks, and it’s almost impossible to get a green arrow every gameweek.
There is plenty of time left in the season with more double and blank gameweeks to come. Avoid impulsive or emotional transfers and keep faith in your players. You bought them for a reason, and even elite players such as Salah and Erling Haaland (£14.7m) can blank in easy games or go through bad patches.
(Top photos: Mohamed Salah, left, and Jordan Pickford; Getty Images)
