As we now have over a week before the start of the next GW, let us use this opportunity to plan ahead for the upcoming blanks in GW 27, as well as DGW 28. The teams that have a blank in GW 27 are Chelsea, Tottenham, QPR, and Leicester. Tottenham and QPR have a DGW in GW 28, and while Chelsea against Leicester has not been rescheduled yet, it might be played during GW 28 if Aston Villa beat Leicester in the FA Cup. If not, it will be rescheduled at a later date. Firstly, we will look at the impact the blanks in GW 27 will have on our teams, and contemplate whether to bench our sell relevant players while keeping DGW 28 in mind. Secondly, we will look at which players to have during GW 26-27, both players that can be direct replacements for players with a blank, and players that would be good to have regardless. Finally, we will focus on which players to have for the DGW.

Many of you will probably have more than 3 players that will have a blank during GW 27. Plenty will have 3 players from Chelsea, and most will have Kane and maybe Eriksen as well. In addition, Wasilewski is a popular 5th defender, but very few of you will have a player from QPR. Essentially, most will have 3-4 players with a blank in GW 27, while some may have more, or less if you have already started planning ahead. Ideally, you want to be able to field a full team for GW 27. This means that you will need to either sell or bench your players with a blank. Let us look at each relevant player individually:

1. Kane: Most of you have probably enjoyed several price rises with this man, meaning that you would lose value if you sold him. He is also a must for GW 28 on current form. If you have him, bench him, if not, get him for GW 28. Bench.
   
2. Eriksen: Also on form, but not as much as Kane. If you have more than 3 players with a blank in your team, it can be justified to sell him. If not, you can keep him on your bench. Bench or sell.
   
3. Chadli: Has not started the last three matches, but still owned by a few. Sell.
   
4. Terry (or any other Chelsea defender): Has Burnley before the blank which should guarantee a CS, however, Chelsea play West Ham away in GW 28 which is not an easy match at all. If Chelsea do not have a DGW in GW 28, it is reasonable to sell him if you have more than 3 players with a blank. If Chelsea do have a DGW, see if you can bench him, but players like Hazard and Kane should be prioritized over any defender. Bench or sell.
   
5. Hazard: Probably someone you want in your team regardless of whether or not Chelsea have a DGW. He will find himself on many a bench come GW 27, and most likely on your bench too. Still, it can be justified to sell him if necessary, but if Chelsea have a DGW, he is going straight back in your team. Bench or sell.
   
6. Fabregas: Pretty much the same as with Hazard; sell if necessary. If you have both, Hazard should take priority over Fabregas. If you have Hazard, Fabregas, and Terry, one of the two latter should go as you most likely have Kane in your team as well, who takes priority over both. Bench or sell.
   
7. Costa: Most of you probably will not have Costa at this stage. As Chelsea play Burnley in GW 26, some might want to bring him in for one GW only, and then sell him, but that can easily be considered a waste of transfer. If you do choose to bring him in, I would suggest you bench him for GW 27 instead of wasting a transfer to get him out, then possibly in again if Chelsea have a DGW. Ideally, you would wait until GW 28 (assuming Chelsea have a DGW then) to bring him in.
   
8. Wasilewski: Facing competition from Robert Huth, we do not know if he will maintain his starting spot or not. If you have him, I suggest selling him for van Aanholt or Haidara (assuming he keeps starting, note that he didn’t start against Arsenal on Tuesday night) as they are similarly priced and you will want those bench spots to be covered by your Chelsea and Spurs players during GW 27. Sell.
   
9. Austin: I do not know if any of you still have him, especially with his recent injury, but if you do, it is time to sell. Chelsea and Spurs players take precedence over him for obvious reasons, and QPR play Tottenham and Arsenal in the DGW, so you might not want him for the DGW at all. Sell.
   

Now that we have discussed which players to keep or sell for GW 27, let us look at which players to have during GW 26 and 27. First, let us look at keepers and defenders:

1. Manchester United: They play Swansea away and Sunderland at home in GW 26 and 27. If you have Courtios or a Chelsea defender, you could do a straight swap for de Gea or Jones for GW 27 and hopefully get a CS.
   
2. Newcastle: Playing City away in GW 26, they play Villa at home in GW 27. Janmaat and Haidara are probably the best options here – especially Haidara who seems like an excellent replacement for Wasilewski assuming he keeps starting.
   
3. Stoke: The fixture list reads Villa away in GW 26 and Hull at home in GW 27, the latter match especially is an excellent opportunity for a CS. Wollscheid is a good option at 4.5 if he keeps starting.
   
4. West Ham: Tottenham away in GW 26, Palace at home in GW 27, awful fixtures after. If you get West Ham defence, the best option is Cresswell, and he should be in your team for GW 27 only.
   

Midfield:

1. Sanchez: Finally fit again, he should be going right back in your team as soon as possible. If you are selling Hazard, he is the best replacement assuming you do not have him in your team already.
   
2. Walcott/Özil/Cazorla: One of these could lose their spot to Sanchez. That would be the one you do not want in your team. As for the other two, they make good replacements for Fabregas and Eriksen. Özil might seem like the best option on current form.
   
3. Yaya Toure: A recently crowned ACON champion, he will be back for City’s home match against Newcastle in GW 26. City play Liverpool away in GW 27 which of course is not the easiest fixture, but if anyone can get any points from that match, it is Yaya. Good replacement for Hazard if you already have Sanchez.
   
4. Di Maria: Included as United have a nice matchup in GW 27, but their form gives reason to be sceptical. He can serve as a replacement for Fabregas, but the aforementioned options should rather be considered unless United’s form suddenly becomes better.
   
5. Sterling: Liverpool’s fixtures are not the best, but he still warrants some consideration, especially now that Sturridge is back.
   
6. Downing: As with West Ham’s defence, this should be for GW 27 only. Good replacement for Chadli.
   
7. Walters: He is included mostly due to Stoke’s fixtures. You would expect Stoke to get some goals with their fixture list, and Walters is just as likely – if not more – than most Stoke players to get FPL points. Still, he should not be high on your priority list.
   
8. Mane: Southampton’s fixtures are not the best as they play Liverpool at home in GW 26 and WBA away in GW 27, but unlike Downing, he can be kept long-term. He is a decent replacement for Chadli, or any other midfielder if you need to free up funds.

Strikers:

1. Aguero: He has been improving with each match since his return from injury and finally got his name on the score sheet against Stoke on Wednesday night, and the return of Yaya and the addition of Bony should see City’s form improve. Difficult match in GW 27 at Anfield, but he has scored there before and has easy home matches against Newcastle and Leicester before and after. If he goes crazy during GW 26-28, you could see yourself drop down the rankings quicker than Olivier Giroud drops his pants (haha) if you still do not have him in your team. Ignore at your own risk.
   
2. Sturridge: He is recently back from injury, but Liverpool’s fixtures do not look that good with an away match to Southampton in GW 26 and a home match to City in GW 27. If you intend to have Costa for GW 28, Sturridge can keep his place warm for him.
   
3. Giroud: Arguably the best striker to have in this period after Aguero. Or so I thought, before he was benched against Leicester. A home match against Everton could prove tricky, but Arsenal should be favourites to win. You can also keep him long-term as Arsenal’s fixtures look good.
   
4. Defoe: A tricky match away to United in GW 27, but if anyone is going to score for Sunderland, Defoe is the most likely. If you decide to sell Kane or Austin, he is a similarly priced option.
   
5. Sakho: Like Downing, he should be there for one GW only. Arguably better than Defoe for GW 27 only as his home match to Palace is considerably easier.
   
6. Ings: Burnley have awful fixtures, but have a good home match against Swansea in GW 27. If you decide to choose him as your man (he looks quite handsome with that beard, after all), make it a one week fling due to his subsequent fixtures, or keep him in your heart team if you are a fan of “hard love” or melancholic, romantic movies, as keeping him when he faces Liverpool, City, Southampton, Spurs, Arsenal, and Everton will most certainly be hard, or make you hard if you have a thing for men with beards who have to overcome hardships (think Russell Crowe in Gladiator… meowr).
   
7. Rooney/RvP/Falcao: Like with Di Maria, they have a nice fixture, but poor form. Obviously Falcao is the most handsome, so he should be top of your list, unless you have a fetish for Shrek-like things, such as trolls, green stuff, and Wayne Rooney. “Shrek is love… Shrek is life” (do not google that video, unless you have a very disturbed mind like me, in which case you will most likely enjoy it). Finally, RvP might not be the FPL God he once was, but he should be able to teach you a thing or two about what “The Flying Dutchman” can mean in a kinky context (once again, you might not want to google this). If you ask nicely, maybe Giroud can join in too. Seriously, you might want to look elsewhere as United is not on form currently, unless you find some of the previously stated arguments oddly… arousing compelling.

Finally, let us look at which players to have for the DGW. I have already touched this topic briefly when I talked about the players with a blank, but let us continue nevertheless.

DGW teams:

1. Tottenham: They play Swansea at home and QPR away. Kane and Eriksen are the standout options. Kane is a must, and will probably be a popular captain option, but you want Eriksen in your team too as the fixtures are good. If you want a third Spurs player, the options are more diminished, but Verthongen or Lloris are arguably your best bets. I do not expect players like Chadli and Rose to play both matches.
   
2. QPR: They play Arsenal and Tottenham at home. Austin is really the only option, and even he can be passed given the tough matches.
   
3. Chelsea: They play West Ham away and Leicester away if that match gets rescheduled for this GW. There are four standout options: Courtois or any defender, Fabregas, Hazard, and Costa. Three of these four options would be preferable. Which combination you go with is up to you, but I would suggest Costa and Hazard as priorities, with one of Fabregas and Chelsea defence.
   
4. Leicester: They play City away and Chelsea at home if that match gets rescheduled for this GW. Haha. Avoid.
   

Single GW teams:

1. City: At home to Leicester. Nuff said. Aguero and Yaya the standout options.
   
2. Arsenal: Away at QPR. I have already covered which players from Arsenal to consider for FPL.
   
3. Liverpool: At home to Burnley. Sturridge and Sterling the standout options.
   
4. Southampton: Palace at home. I have already highlighted Mane, and Tadic and JWP are the other options. Pelle should be avoided until he finds some form.
   

At last, this fine article has come to an end. I hope you found it useful, and wish you all the best of luck, as long as you do not perform better than me. Adios!