🧠 The DGW20 MasterDoc 📈

Summary for the lazy

⏰ Gameweek 20's deadline is 18:30 GMT, Friday 13th January (ominous)

😍 Four teams will play twice (Man City, Man United, Palace and Spurs)

🤕 Van Dijk out for up to a month, strong rumour Darwin is injured too

🤝 Joao Felix moves to Chelsea on loan, Wout Weghourst loaned to Man United(!)

😅 Saka "fine" after being taken off in FA Cup game

🔭 Man City and Arsenal will Double in Gameweek 23

Stay for a discussion about whether it's finally time to put those McCains in the oven (i.e. play your chips).

Alright?

Despite the fact that Sam Allardyce was still playing football when Gameweek 19 started, it still hasn't actually finished. A Mitrovic-less Fulham will take on a spine-less Chelsea this evening and, the chances are, you've got at least one player taking part.

For me it's Andreas, which probably means another 1-pointer. If you can't already tell, I'm giddy with excitement.

But this email isn't about Gameweek 19: it's about its sexier, chunkier cousin: Gameweek 20. That's Double Gameweek 20 to you and me.

This email will tell you how to nail it.

But before we start, a third party has asked us to conduct some market research. Your feedback would be really appreciated.

Who's playing twice in Gameweek 20?

If you're one of those weirdos who has a life outside of FPL, you might not have read our last newsletter. So I'll share this graphic again:

And this one:

See - it's not so tricky after all.

Should you Triple Captain Haaland?

Let's start with an easier question: should you be captaining Haaland at all?

The answer is yes. We might now be in the latter half of the season, but that doesn't mean it's time to go rogue. The Norse God is more than capable of scoring six goals across these two fixtures: it would be folly not to captain him. Ignore your flirtations with Rashford and stick with the obvious choice.

Cheers Ben, great segue. Is this the week to use the Triple Captain?

Well, the competition for the coveted armband comes not from another player, but from future-Haaland. This robotic, hover-car-driving Haalandoid has a Double Gameweek in Gameweek 23.

Haaland's Gameweek 20 fixtures: Man United (A) on Saturday then Spurs (H) on Thursday.

Haaland's Gameweek 23 fixtures: Aston Villa (H) on Sunday and Arsenal (A) on Wednesday.

And it's possible there'll be more doubles on the horizon for the City forward.

There's nothing quite like a good ole' fashioned pros and cons list:

The pros of playing it this week:

5️⃣ Haaland has a five-day window between games in which to recover

🏃 City are behind in the league, which means Pep is more likely to pick his best players for the time being

🍟 It's also not a great Double Gameweek for other chips like Bench Boost or Free Hit (remember, you can't use two in the same gameweek)

🤕 He could be injured in future Double Gameweeks

The cons of playing it this week:

📈 Those who wait could be rewarded with a much "better" double on paper (like Fulham and Bournemouth, for example)

👎 Haaland hasn't exactly been at his prolific best in recent weeks

🚀 Some argue that to get 'dem true Triple Captain gainz, you shouldn't use it on a player that everyone will be captaining anyway

Look, when it comes down to it, this isn't really a question of tactics or strategy. Other content providers might pretend it is, but, in the end, the wisdom or foolishness of these one-gameweek decisions will be determined predominantly by Lady Luck. The dang hussy.

One thing is certain: plenty of your mini-league rivals will deploy theirs this gameweek. If you decide against it, don't fret if Haaland goes mad. There's a high chance he'll go mad in future doubles too.

The players your rivals will own

Rashford, Shaw and Kane are currently the most transferred in players ahead of Double Gameweek 20, whilst De Bruyne is also in the top 10. Crystal Palace players, meanwhile, are nowhere to be seen.

That, on its own, should tell you everything you need to know about where the sentiment lies amongst the unwashed masses.

Most already have Man City assets, but it's players from Man United and Spurs' only viable FPL asset in Kane who are attracting the buyers.

Which should come as no surprise. Rashford has scored in every single game he's played since the World Cup (his last 6 games) and Shaw has scored more FPL points than anyone else since the restart.

Expect most of your serious mini-league rivals to own the pair.

Kane, meanwhile, is a little harder to get to. The frustrating Darwin, the injured Toney and, indirectly, the pricey Mohamed Salah are the players making way to facilitate him.

Whilst Kane's form this season has been remarkable (he's only actually blanked on four occasions), he'll need to do a lot against two tough opponents (Arsenal and Man City) to justify rearranging your team for. Personally, I'm bracing myself for a gameweek without him.

Darwin injured?

SpionKop - a reliable source for Liverpool news - has reported that Darwin could be out for a substantial period of time. Because apparently owning him since the World Cup has just been too darn enjoyable for managers.

We don't know how much stock to put into these rumours, but it's worth keeping an eye on.

Update before sending: The Telegraph are also reporting it.

The Key Stats

Here are the key stats ahead of Double Gameweek 20 (without the Fulham vs Chelsea game). I'm particularly excited about "xxx", who shows a lot of potential.

Felix to Chelsea

Nope, not the cat. The Atletico Madrid player.

He's been loaned to the London club for the rest of the season, but prior to leaving, he signed a new contract with his parent club to promptly dispel any suggestion that he might stay at Chelsea after the loan term.

Should we all buy him? This write up, by an Atletico fan, answers that question.

But if you don't have time to read it: probably not. Unless he's really cheap. Here he is, sat in what I can only assume is Stamford Bridge's local Costa Coffee.

The Professor's moves

With the prospect of Darwin's injury and the fact the Professor has been struck down with COVID (which is so 2021), his team planning is still a work in progress. Premium members will get an update tomorrow before the deadline.

Here's his current team. OR: 57,296.

Looking ahead

What does the future hold for doubles and blanks? Why not consult the guru himself?

(Don't worry, we'll remind you about all of these as they come about.)

What's the big man doing with his skin-on wedges?

Okay, I'm at Centre Parks at the moment and the scorn of my abandoned friends is palpable.

Now I just need to figure out a way to watch tonight's match...

Good luck for Double Gameweek 20!The FPLTips team.