The last of the Christmas/New Year game weeks is upon us and I'm sure that the players, managers and possibly even some in the FPL community (especially those creating content) will be glad of a break for the FA Cup this weekend.
Still, there is not the insignificant task of navigating GW21 which sees all sides play across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week.
Injuries, suspensions and just fatigue are likely to be at their peak for a run of fixtures that has seen all Premier League sides play between 5 or 6 times over the past 16 to 18 days.
At the same time, it's difficult to imagine which sides can afford to rest their players.
Arsenal face another big match at home to reigning champions Liverpool and while they look increasingly likely to take the crown this season, Arteta will know that the likes of City won't give up the chase easily.
City themselves will be desperate to get back to winning ways having given up points in their last 2 matches. On paper, they should have beaten both Sunderland and Chelsea but they weren't able to kill off either opposition and now find themselves 6 points adrift.
You've got 2 managerless clubs in Chelsea and United who face potentially tricky away matches. Chelsea showed the quality that they posses in snatching a late point at the Ethiad while United showed the inconsistency that has plagued them for years. A good win at home to Newcastle followed by dropped points to Wolves and Leeds. Wins in those matches would have taken them 4th but a new manager would need to see out January with games against City and Arsenal.
At the bottom, West Ham are in full crisis mode. New manager Nuno can take some of the blame but quite frankly the Hammers don't possess the caliber of player to compete at this level. They became the first team to lose to Wolves this season and now face another 6 pointer at home to Notts Forest.
As for Wolves, it's surely too little too late but if they can string together some results then at least they can shake off the tag of worst Premier League season ever (Derby with 11 points in 07/08). They travel to Everton who themselves need a big performance after conceding 4 at home to Brentford last time out.
All in all, it means that picking 'easy fixtures' from which to score points continues to look tough at present. Over the Christmas/New Year period to date, only the current top 4 plus Brentford and Fulham have managed to pick up back to back wins. When you then factor in that both City and Liverpool have drawn their last 2 fixtures and Villa and Arsenal played each other in GW19 then establishing fixture difficulty as means for selecting players over a sustained period has become next to impossible.
Personally, I see this week being tough again and probably one that we'll all have to suffer before things start to settle down through the later part of January.
Division 1
GW20 Results
GW21 Fixtures
Division 2
GW20 Results
| Team | Hive Account | Score | Score | Team | Hive Account |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mighty Fc |  | 40 | 28 | Tangram |  |
| SportsNerd |  | 45 | 63 | Hasaaland |  |
| Rubilu |  | 14 | 36 | Holohive |  |
| Micheal Fc |  | 27 | 51 | Stevenson Fc | @Stevenson7 |
| PHOENIX FC |  | 68 | 17 | Wongi |  |
| Rys FC |  | 33 | 20 | Corkscrew |  |
| Bennett's Boys |  | 60 | 56 | Show Not Tel |  |
| WIKE BOYS |  | 38 | 51 | Chrisamuda FC |  |
| The Cellas |  | 37 | 36 | Magical McFizzy |  |
| gentleshaid |  | 50 | 71 | Working 9 to 5 |  |
| Garuda XI |  | 41 | 30 | Los Magos del Balón |  |
| HappyBoys FC |  | 27 | 39 | Murima |  |
| Matz Sels Seashells |  | 55 | 48 | Sportin |  |
| ARFANTASY FC |  | 45 | 62 | Noobmaster69 |  |
| adewalehafis |  | 38 | 30 | ThtHive |  |
| Funwarriors | @Jmis101 | 46 | 59 | racibo |  |
| K Empire Balls |  | 54 | 55 | Newton Heath RFC |  |
| Teamkoko |  | 46 | 57 | Large in the Rear |  |
| Eh, No, Ah, Meh. |  | 52 | 38 | TheVulcAns⚓️ |  |
| Pepzerbi |  | 24 | 56 | Blue Mooners |  |
| Uwabbs FC |  | 53 | 51 | Corner |  |
| Deals on Wheels |  | 60 | 51 | Tengo Rangers |  |
| Kingsleyy |  | 24 | 73 | Six and the City |  |
| Jeremie Ping Pong |  | 58 | 40 | Bankai |  |
| Könttyrät FC |  | 67 | 36 | Akatsuki |  |
| valchiz Fc |  | 74 | 51 | Cygnus FC |  |
| Hadji |  | 30 | 62 | Krake99 |  |
| Emeka4 |  | 54 | 67 | � Fire Power� #N/A | |
| Kelsco FC |  | 34 | 23 | Amirirans |  |
| Queen dynasty |  | 42 | 48 | The People's XV |  |
| Itachi FC |  | 44 | 43 | hamzamusic | @Hamza-art |
| Dapomola Fc |  | 30 | 43 | Sutter Kane |  |
| Blugrana |  | 44 | 40 | Top 10k? |  |
GW21 Fixtures
GW21 Player Picks and Tips
Here are our tips and picks for GW21 of the season...
City to open the floodgates?
A couple of frustrating performances for City have helped limit FPL points for almost every manager over the last couple of weeks.
Chelsea became the first team since Spurs way back in August to limit City to scoring fewer than 2 goals in a home Premier League match but can Brighton follow suit?
The Seagulls have themselves conceded twice in their last 3 away fixtures in the EPL but they also have a good record against City with 2 wins and a draw in their last 3 meetings with Pep's side.
Expected FPL points for forwards GW18-20. Only Sesko is underperformed more than Haaland
If you like working on the law of averages then I guess you'll believe Haaland who has blanked in his last 3 matches is due in GW21.
If not him for the captain's armband then who?
Guimarães having the season of his life
Bruno Guimarães has always flown a little bit under the radar both in the Premier League itself and the FPL. His consistent performances over the last few years must make him one of the best players in the Premier League but he rarely gets mentioned in such terms.
In FPL land he's also having a brilliant season with 11 goal involvements to date, putting him on course to beat his PB of 16 GIs in a season (23/24).
His home form is particularly impressive having blanked just once in Newcastle's last 7 matches at St James Park. In fact, only Haaland has delivered more FPL points at home this season than the Brazilian.
Most FPL points scored in home matches 25/26
However, those of you with keen eyesight will also have noticed that his expected FPL points are way down on anyone else on the list suggesting that he's performing beyond his underlying stats.
Does that mean he won't continue to pick up FPL points at this rate? Yes, it certainly suggests that he's in a bit of a purple patch at present but part of what makes Bruno such a compelling footballer is that he isn't a template player like so many others in the modern game. Instead, he is a massive cult figure on Tyneside and a player with the skill set to pull a rabbit out of his hat, as he has consistently done throughout the 25/26 season.
Is the best course of action, no action?
I'm honestly struggling to find many other tips for GW21.
I could tell you to go with Everton defenders at home to Wolves but then again this is a Toffees side who just shipped 4 goals at home to Brentford and a Wolves team whose performances over the last few weeks merited them picking up a first win of the season.
United away at Burnley could be one to target but while the Clarets aren't picking up points, Turfmoor continues to be a tough place to get comfortable wins and bank easy FPL points.
You'd also be trusting that United will turn up! Will Amorim's departure have a positive impact on the squad? With games to come against City and Arsenal, any perceived benefit of bringing in United players for this match might be short lived.
Perhaps the best course of action in GW21, even if your side is struggling to pick up points, is to do nothing! Bank the free transfer rather than making a sideways movement that will cost you flexibility in the medium term.