Should you Free Hit in Blank Gameweek 27?
Three teams will not play in Gameweek 27. This means FPL managers won’t have the option to play their Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal assets. We assess whether it’s a good time to use the Free Hit chip.
Some of FPL’s most popular players like Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Andrew Robertson, Aaron Ramsdale, Bukayo Saka and Antonio Rudiger miss out.
Here are the nine fixtures to take place, including two for Burnley.
STAND-OUT OPTIONS
As the only team to play twice, Burnley are a good place to begin the one-week attempt to climb rankings. Wout Weghorst and Maxwel Cornet will be backed to produce against Crystal Palace and Leicester, despite the Clarets having the league’s fewest goal attempts.
Surely Armando Broja, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min target the leaky defences of Norwich and Leeds. Man United host Watford to add appeal to Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo and their defensive assets.
Elsewhere, Brighton vs Aston Villa and West Ham vs Wolves are hard to call but it’s hard to go wrong with Jarrod Bowen. It might be worth a punt on Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo or a Crystal Palace option like Wilfried Zaha.
After their impressive performance against Manchester City the Spurs attackers look set to be good options for Gameweek 27. Gameweek 26 was the first time that Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane have both returned double digit hauls this season. However, with Leeds struggling defensively the Lily Whites could be great options.
Even though they failed to keep a clean sheet it Gameweek 26, it is still worth investing in a Man City defender. The defences of Southampton, Burnley and Spurs also look good investments for Gameweek 27.
IS IT WORTH A FREE HIT?
The value of the Free Hit in Gameweek 27 is going to be very personal to FPL managers and their teams. Before deciding on whether to activate the chip managers should consider:
- How many Free Hit chips are available?
- Of the key players mentioned how many are already in their squads?
- Could the chip be used better in a later Gameweek?
For managers with multiple Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea players then a Free Hit in Gameweek 27 could be the right option. However, Gameweek 30 currently only has three games taking place. If managers have just one Free Hit chip left, it should likely be saved for then.
If both Free Hit chips are available, then managers have a straight choice.
Some managers will want to hold the chip in case their are bigger Blank Gameweeks in the rest of the season. However, the games postponed in Gameweek 33 will likely slot into the same midweek, whereas the anticipated Double Gameweek 36 could be used for a Bench Boost. So will there be better week to play a second free hit than this one?
Potentially the newly-announced Double Gameweeks of 28 and 29 present a better option. Especially if managers already have six or seven of the above names. Playing the Free Hit in a Double Gameweek can allow managers to field a full squad of doubling players. This will allow managers to really attack the Gameweek by maximising player minutes.
Bowen, Fernandes, Ronaldo, Broja, Son, David De Gea and Joao Cancelo have significant ownership. If managers already own a number of the key players to target this weekend, then it might not be worth using a Free Hit.
