:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/52456913/630144896.0.jpeg)
Boxing Day is the start of a very busy period in the Premier League. Aside from December 29th, there will be at least one match every day between now and January 4th. This means a lot of rotation of players, and a lot of updates to your FPL roster.
Boxing Day is also a Monday full of soccer for us junkies, and it kicks off early with Watford vs Crystal Palace at 7:30 AM EST. The visitors will have a new manager in charge following the mid-week sacking of Alan Pardew. It will be interesting to see what changes are made to their system going forward.
The 10 AM EST slate gives us six matches to choose from:
Arsenal vs West Bromwich Albion
Burnley vs Middlesbrough
Chelsea vs Bournemouth
Leicester City vs Everton
Manchester United vs Sunderland
Swansea City vs West Ham United
With Diego Costa’s suspension for finally picking up that fifth yellow card (which some believe was done to avoid missing the match against Spurs later in the week), many managers, myself included, will have to replace him in their FPL lineups. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the likely replacement for most, as he is on a tear at the moment. He will be facing a Sunderland back line with little answer for him. Meanwhile, Leicester City will be without Jamie Vardy, and they will need to figure out something fast, as they sit just three points clear of the relegation zone at the moment. Finally, Arsenal will be looking to avoid losing three league matches in a row for the first time since 2012, so Alexis Sanchez will need to step up for the Gunners.
The 12:30 PM EST match on Saturday will see Hull host Manchester City. This will be the last of Sergio Aguero’s four match ban, meaning he can be brought back into your lineups for the next match week, so it’s time to start planning accordingly. As for the players eligible today, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, and company should have little trouble with the worst side in the Premier League.
The match week ends with a pair of weekday matches. Tuesday will see Liverpool host Stoke City at 12:30 PM EST, and Southampton will see Spurs visit at 2:45 PM EST Wednesday.
When the week is over, owners will have less than forty-eight hours to set their lineups before Week 19 begins, so it will be very important to stay tuned for injury news, rotation rumors, and matchups. This is a great time to use some of the Official FPL tools for your roster, so if you have saved them make sure to look for good opportunities to gain ground on the field.
Unfortunately, the game servers for Official FPL are being updated at the moment, so I cannot post my full lineup. However, I have captained Zlatan alongside Romelu Lukaku in attack, while Paul Pogba, Gylfi Siigurdsson, Sadio Mane, and Wilfried Zaha anchor the midfield. Who do you have in your lineup, and who will you be keeping an eye on this match week? Join us in the chat below!