Fantasy Premier League managers will be given a second Free Hit chip to use this season following a Covid-ravaged Gameweek 19 which saw only four Premier League matches played.
So far this month, 10 Premier League games have been postponed due to a rise in positive Covid test results at clubs across the division, including six last weekend. Originally, six matches had been scheduled to take place on Saturday 18 December, however, Leeds vs Arsenal was the only game played that day.
The cancellation of fixtures has been problematic for FPL managers, as they have had to shelve long-term strategies and take costly points hits in order to try and get a full XI out for a gameweek. Last weekend’s average weekly score of 39 points was the second-lowest of the campaign so far.
The second Free Hit will be available to use from Gameweek 20 onwards and will come in handy as it allows managers to make multiple transfers to their FPL teams without incurring a points hit for one gameweek only. Once the gameweek has concluded, teams will reset to how they were before the chip was activated.
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What happens in FPL when matches are postponed - and four ways to minimise the damage16 December, 2021It means that over the course of the 38-game season, managers will have had access to six chips, in total: Free Hit x2, Wildcard x2, Bench Boost and Triple Captain.
As Covid cases continue to surge throughout the country due largely to the transmissibility of the Omicron variant, it looks likely that further games will be postponed in the near future. Calls for the league to take a circuit break to try and halt the spread of the virus were rejected on Monday, with the Premier League outlining its plans to fulfil the current schedule “where safely possible”.
A statement from FPL on Wednesday read: “Traditionally, there is one Free Hit chip to play each season, but the number of postponements has meant we have introduced a second to give managers more flexibility when making their all-important squad selections – either in the short-term or in a future Gameweek.
“Managers who have not played their Free Hit ahead of Gameweek 20 will not lose their first, they will have two Free Hit chips available to them.
“But please note that you will be unable to play the Free Hit in consecutive Gameweeks. After playing your Free Hit, your squad will return to its previous state for the following Gameweek.”
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The second Free Hit chip comes into play on Gameweek 20 which is scheduled to take place between Tuesday 28 December and Thursday 30 December, with all 10 games shown live on Amazon Prime.
Managers who haven’t yet used their first Free Hit which was active from Gameweek 1, will still be able to do so and have the second one to play with later on in the season. FPL has confirmed that managers are not required to use their Free Hit during the festive period and instead can use one or both of them at any point in the campaign, so long as they are not played in consecutive gameweeks.
This means that if a manager deploys their first Free Hit on Gameweek 19 – which begins on Boxing Day and ends on Monday 27 December – they will be unable to use their second one in Gameweek 20.
FPL’s statement continues: “After you have selected the Free Hit chip the first time, the “Play” button will remain for you to use again at another point in the season.”
When should you use the Free Hit?
Plenty of managers may bemoan the timing of FPL’s announcement after having to rip up their squads to try and get a playable squad last time out.
Considering the uncertainty over whether upcoming matches will be able to go ahead or not, though, it is a very welcome addition to the game.
What other chips are available?
from Fantasy Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3eiBxT3
via IFTTT
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