Gameweek 21? Here's everything you need...⚽️

Summary for the lazy

⏰ Gameweek 21's deadline is 11:00 GMT, Saturday 21st January

🤝 Leandro Trossard to Arsenal all but confirmed

💰 Danny Ings to West Ham, Chris Wood to Forest also on the cards

🔭 A reminder that Man City and Arsenal will Double in Gameweek 23

Stay for another £3.9m goalkeeper who just became the number 1 pick at his club 👀

Greetings,

Are you this guy today?

Double Gameweek 20 was, as so many Double Gameweeks tend to be, challenging for boring managers.

If you owned most of the template, you were probably left frustrated by at least three of the following:

• Mahrez stealing all of Haaland's points, the scoundrel

• Mitrovic missing a penalty by scoring a penalty on hard-mode

• United conceding a worldy free-kick against Palace in extra time

• Fernandes outscoring Rashford

• Cancelo, De Bruyne and Walker's no-shows against Spurs

Still, you're in good company. Here's the template for the top 1,000 managers in the world:

If this looks relatively similar to your team, take heart in knowing that even the best managers couldn't have legislated for the the topsy, turvy and, very possibly, tipsy nature of Double Gameweek 20.

Gameweek 21 - just a regular, run-of-the-mill Gameweek with 10 fixtures - is right on top of us - and not in a good way.

Let's get to know our assailant a little more intimately.

The stepping-stone Gameweek

Not all gameweeks were born equal.

Some - like Gameweek 21 - might as well not bother getting out of bed.

It's not because your points don't count in Gameweek 21. Nor is Gameweek 21 a Blank Gameweek.

It's simply because Gameweek 21 stands on the precipice of a flurry of potential blank and double gameweeks. It's the boss you fight right before you have to fight the BIG boss.

Your aim in Gameweek 21 isn't to exhaust your resources so you can win with a flourish. It's about stockpiling potions, preserving the integrity of your armour and sharpening your axe (I don't really play games. Can you tell?).

Your only job is to tread water without expending too much energy in the process.

I'm no Uri Gellar, but this prediction will blow your mind with its accuracy: most good managers in your mini-league will save a transfer this week.

You should probably be doing the same.

The case against Brighton

It's 2023 and Solly March is being transferred in by over 300,000 managers. This is a dystopian fantasy the likes of which even Orwell couldn't possibly have dreamt up. I, for one, can't wait for the Netflix adaptation.

Whilst transferring in a cheap midfielder with four goals and two assists from his last four games isn't bonkers in the slightest, all Brighton players - including the popular March and Mitoma - ought to come with a warning. Batteries - or perhaps two upcoming gameweeks - are not included.

The Professor outlined the possibilities in Tuesday's Premium email:

"The likelihood is Brighton will blank in Gameweek 25 and Gameweek 28. You simply must take this into consideration when building your team over the upcoming weeks.

Possible combinations of teams which will blank in Gameweek 25, in order of likelihood:

United Vs Newcastle Cup Final:

Blanks: United, Newcastle, Brentford, Brighton

United Vs Southampton Cup Final:

Blanks: United, Southampton, Brentford, Leeds

Nottingham Vs Newcastle Cup Final:

Blanks: Nottingham, Newcastle, Brighton, West Ham

Nottingham Vs Southampton Cup Final:

Blanks: Nottingham, Southampton, West Ham, Leeds"

Not many pundits seem to be talking about this, but it's a very real possibility.

If you're transferring in a Brighton player, there's a chance you'll be without them for two of the next seven gameweeks. It still might be worth it to you, but don't say you haven't been warned.

We love The Upshot (you will too)

You might've already heard of The Upshot if you're ever on Twitter, because their threads about mischievous, debauched and downright filthy sports stars tend to go viral more often than not.

But The Upshot is also a free newsletter: and a bloody good one too. Every Friday, they send you stories from the world of sport that the BBC wouldn't touch with a barge pole. It's hilariously written and always a morning-improver.

Today they talked about a Chelsea player's wife who has reportedly been berating the club for not featuring enough pics of him around the stadium. Where else are you gunna find gold like that?

Anyway, I've made subscribing easy for you because I'm sound like that. Just click the button below:

Trossard to Arsenal

After opening a conversation with Leandro Trossard on Wednesday, Arsenal have signed the Brighton man for £23m in just 24 hours. It's a done-deal.

The most exciting thing about the move for FPL managers is the possibility of getting this midfield for Double Gameweek 23:

Disclaimer: if anyone actually does this to their team (and can prove it) we'll give you a free month of FPL Tips Premium.

In terms of what it means for our current teams, another attacker for Arteta to pick from isn't really a good thing, but most Arsenal fans agree that the Frenchman is unlikely to be given a starting berth anytime soon. Martinelli should be fine for now.

The Key Stats

For today's special, we have a smorgasbord of stats. These stats are served cold - as is traditional - and are accompanied by a healthy pinch of Himalayan rock salt, which tastes identical to every other type of salt, but costs £3 more.

Enjoy.

Ings and Wood could be on the move

Wood looks odds-on for a loan move to Forest. There's probably an opportunity to branch out into a tree-based joke here, but I'm yet to twig on.

With Isak back in the fold and Wilson miraculously also fit, the New Zealander is somewhat surplus to requirement at St James'.

It'll bring Forest one step closer to their goal of owning every single footballer in the world. They're the Ash Ketchum of football.

Meanwhile, accordingly to Sky Sports, West Ham and Villa have already agreed on a £15m deal for Danny Ings.

For FPL managers, it's business as usual: continue to not own either of them.

The Best Captain

There's a worry that a "leggy" Haaland may get reduced minutes on Sunday when Man City host Wolves.

This could happen, though he played 180 minutes the last time Man City had a two-day turnaround between Premier League games, so I'm not putting too much stock into that concern.

The most compelling reason to captain the Norse God is that no other great team has a better fixture. Arsenal play Man United, Liverpool play Chelsea, Newcastle are away at Crystal Palace. Spurs travel to Fulham, but Fulham are hardly easy opponents these days either.

For that reason, it's Haaland again for us. A case could be made for a rested Kevin De Bruyne, but the forward will be the most popular captain (yet again) this week.

Swerve him at your own risk.

The Professor's moves

Our Premium subscribers will already know that the Professor is, like a lot of top managers, rolling a transfer this week.

It's boring, but don't blame me. I only imprison him and force him to write our Premium emails: I don't control what he does on the pitch.

Here's his current team. OR: 68,649

Btw, he's using BetterFPL, the Chrome extension that gives you loads more info on the players in your team: like previous performances, fixture difficulty and expected points.

It's genius - you should try it. And if you use the code "FPLTIPS" you'll get a month of it for free.

Some bargains

Oooh yes folks, David Dickinson is back - and this time, he's got not one, but TWO proper bargains to share with you.

Hugo Bueno (DEF, £3.9m)

I don't want to be that guy, but I actually owned Hugo Bueno before he was trendy.

Owning him has been nothing short of a huge bueno. The Wolves man has scored 14 points in his last three games and he costs £3.9m. What more do you want?

Wayne Hennessey (GK, £3.9m)

He might not know what a nazi salute is, but he does know how to rack up consistent 2-pointers in FPL. With Dean Henderson out for around a month, £3.9m Wayne Hennessey is likely to take his place between the sticks at Forest (more tree-based puns) for the time being.

They've kept two clean sheets in their last two games, so he could be worthy of consideration if you're bored of Ward.

Right, it's time to say goodbye.

Enjoy Gameweek 21 because after it we've got a fortnight off.

Cheers!The FPLTips team.