GW22 Preview: Read This Before You Waste a Chip 👀

📅 Gameweek 22 Deadline:
Saturday, 17 January — 11:00 GMT
Set the alarm. Miss this and you’re playing anti-FPL.

💥 Big News (a.k.a. Chaos Updates):
• Semenyo ➡️ Man City
With this move, Semenyo loses his FPL relevance. Or did he? 👀🎰
• Chelsea appoint Liam Rosenior on a 6-year deal
Yes, six. Chelsea saw “stability” and said let’s try it once 🔵
• Michael Carrick is Man United’s boss until season end
Caretaker era continues. Vibes FC unlocked 🔴

🚑 Injury Ward (Grab a coffee):
• Hincapie – Hooked at 57 vs Liverpool. Missed cup games. Arteta is doing his usual “we’ll see” routine 🤷‍♂️
• Bradley – Knee surgery. ❌ Out for the season.
• Kluivert – Knee surgery. ❌ 3–4 months out.
• Ünal – 28 minutes, then gone. Iraola: “Out for some time” (never good).
• Bergvall – Off at 57 vs Bournemouth. Missed FA Cup. Monitor closely 👀
• Richarlison – Hamstring issue. Availability vs West Ham unclear 😬
• Bentancur – Hamstring surgery. ❌ Long-term absence.
• Henderson – Ankle injury. “We’ll see” diagnosis pending 🧐
• Brobbey – Off at HT in extra time. Doubtful vs Palace.
• Emi Martínez – Calf issue. Emery says “small injury” (👀). Missed FA Cup.
• Kamara – Knee injury. Could be weeks out.
• Palmer – Minor thigh strain. Missed FA Cup & EFL Cup. Rosenior says precautionary ⚠️
• Gusto & Reece James – Also precautionary absences. Classic Chelsea full-back saga continues 🩹
• Nico González – “Incredible knock” (Pep’s words). Missed EFL Cup.
• Schär – Howe hopeful it’s not serious 🙏
• Livramento – Hamstring injury. ❌ Possibly out up to 2 months.

😌 That’s the chaos out of the way.
Now let’s get into more important things. 👇
Blank & Double Gameweek information ahead. Trust me, you don’t wanna miss it.. 👀

Before you touch that transfer button, let’s sort out who to KEEP, who to SELL, and who to BUY 👇

🟢 Ekitike — KEEP
Missed two matches, came back in the FA Cup, played 30 minutes, scored 1 goal, assisted 1. Casual flex.
Burnley in GW22? That’s an easy hold. Fixtures after that are decent too. Relax. Breathe. Keep him.

🟡 Bruno Fernandes — WAIT (then BUY)
He’s back and already returning — assist vs Burnley, full 90 in the FA Cup. The man hasn’t forgotten how to cook 🍳
But… MCI (H) & ARS (A) next. That’s pain.
Bookmark him for GW24 and enjoy season-long returns.

🔴 Cunha — SELL
Let’s be honest: this one’s done.
Mbeumo & Amad — back from Afcon. Means more competition.
Bruno — back from injury. Means no chance of taking penalties.
And MCI + ARS up next.
This isn’t anti-Cunha. This is self-care.

🟠 Palmer — WAIT & WATCH
Rosenior’s comments? Not comforting.
Missed cup games, carrying a “minor thigh strain”.
He should start vs Brentford… but safe pick? NO.
Talent isn’t the question. Minutes are.

🟡 Semenyo — HOLD (yes, really)
Started both cup games for City.
2 goals, 1 assist.
Should you buy him? No.
Is he suddenly irrelevant? Also no.
Pep Roulette is scary, but this might not be a total write-off. Observe. 👀

🟢 Wilson — BUY (with caution)
Cheap. Returning. Making owners smile (me included 😌).
Fixtures say yes…
Transfer window whispers say maybe panic later.
Keep one eye on the pitch, one eye on the rumours.

🟢 Enzo — BUY
xGI numbers screaming. Output whispering.
But this feels inevitable.
Chelsea’s fixtures are already good and about to turn disgustingly good from GW24.
At this price? Very hard to ignore.

🟠 O’Reilly — MONITOR
Benched in 2 of last 3. 62 minutes in the only start.
Not a safe pick anymore.
If you own him, don’t rage-sell — just watch the minutes.

🟡 Collins — HOLD
Top points scorer over the last 5 GWs.
But the 4 of the next 5 fixtures are evil: CHE (A), AVL (A), NEW (A), ARS (H).
Clean sheets? Probably not.
DefCons? Very likely.
Hold till GW23 vs Forest (H), then reassess.


😏 Transfers sorted.
Now comes the real fun: Captaincy chaos, chip mind games, spicy differentials, and the team reveal that will divide opinions.
Keep scrolling… you’re not ready yet 👇🔥

🤖 Haaland vs Man United (A)

Pep said he’s “exhausted” and half the FPL world immediately started sweating.
Relax. Breathe. Put the armband down slowly 😌

Marmoush is still away at AFCON (3rd-place playoff), which means Haaland is…
✅ Starting
✅ Leading the line
✅ Very likely playing close to 90 minutes

United may have conceded only 6 goals in their last 5, but let’s add some context:
Burnley ✔️
Wolves ✔️
Leeds ✔️

They conceded in all of those.
And let’s be honest — United right now look like a team held together by duct tape and vibes 🧯

Haaland vs a chaotic defence?
Yeah… that usually ends in violence.

🔴 Liverpool Attackers vs Burnley (H)

Feeling adventurous? Slightly unhinged? Respect 🤝

Burnley have the 2nd worst defence in the league — both overall and away from home.
Anfield. Home crowd. Burnley defending like it’s optional.

If you want to roll the dice and go against the robot:
🎲 Ekitike — explosive, ceiling high.
🎲 Wirtz — silky, involved, and capable of ruining your rank (or saving it).

High risk. High reward. Maximum adrenaline.

There’s logic…
There’s bravery…
And then there’s Haaland with the armband.

Most roads lead back to the robot 🤖🧢
But hey — FPL glory favours the bold (sometimes).

Choose wisely. And good luck explaining your decision in the group chat 😏🔥

Brace yourself…
🚨 Double Gameweeks. Blank Gameweeks. Spreadsheet energy. 🚨
Yes, it’s that time of the season.

🕳️ Blank Gameweek 31 – Incoming

GW31 will blank for the EFL Cup finalists + their opponents.
That’s 4 teams not playing and thousands of managers pretending they “planned for this”.

Potential EFL Cup finalists:
➡️ Either MCI or NEW
➡️ Either ARS or CHE

Based on current semifinal 1st-leg vibes, here’s how GW31 could look 👇

🔴 MCI vs CRY – Most likely to blank (could be moved to GW33)
🟠 WOL vs ARS – Very likely (could shift to GW26)
🟡 EVE vs CHE – Less likely
🟢 NEW vs SUN – Least likely

Translation: expect chaos, but predictable chaos.

🕳️🕳️ Blank Gameweek 34 – Maximum Carnage

GW34 depends on FA Cup semifinals and can blank up to 8 teams 😬
Yes, eight.
Yes, your bench will cry.

💥 Double Gameweeks Are Lurking

All these blanks mean one thing…
👉 Double Gameweeks are coming to save us

Possible roadmap:

Basically, the schedule looks like a heartbeat monitor 📉📈

🧠 So… What’s the CHIP STRATEGY then?

✅ The Sensible Chip Route (For Now)

🃏 Wildcard – GW32
💪 Bench Boost – GW33
🚪 Free Hit – GW34

Here’s why this makes a lot of sense:

🎯 Triple Captain – Where Does It Fit?

You’ve got three tasty windows:

🔵 GW35 or GW36 – Man City potential DGW

🤖 Yes. That’s Haaland music.

🔴 GW26 – Possible Arsenal DGW

Brentford (A), Wolves (A)
TC options:
✨ Saka
✨ Rice
✨ Gabriel

🛑 Final Word

This is the most sensible strategy based on what we know today.
But fixtures move. Cups happen. Pep exists.

So if you’re tempted to blow your chips early…
😌 Step away from the button.
📩 Read future newsletters.
🧠 Out-think the chaos.

GW21?
😄 All smiles.
61 points.
📈 Third green arrow in a row.
🚀 Overall rank: Top 25K.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Thiaw absolutely ghosted (we move).
But the Arsenal defence, Wilson, Garner, and the inevitable Haaland did the heavy lifting 💪
And then there was Kelleher… casually dropping 13 points like he owns the place 🧤✨

Only regret?
😩 Kroupi’s 7-pointer chilling on my bench like it was a lifestyle choice.

🔄 On to GW22…
Here’s how the squad looked before touching anything 👇

Am I thrilled? No.
Am I panicking? Also no.

Yes:

But with only 1 Free Transfer, no chip plans, and bigger battles ahead…
🧠 Rolling is the play.

With fixture swings ahead, Free Transfers are gold. I’m stacking them like it’s crypto in 2021.

✅ Final GW22 Setup 👇

I’ve currently got Kroupi starting, which feels bold… maybe irresponsible… maybe genius.
There’s still a world where I bench him for Garner right before deadline.
Decision pending. Stress loading. ⏳