Having crunched the numbers on <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-fixture-release-reaction-bigmanbakar">which teams have the best opening FPL fixtures</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/HollyShand">Holly Shand</a> delves into the wider fixture calendar for the first half of the season.
<h2>Truncated Season</h2>
It&#8217;s a truncated fantasy season, with the <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/qatar-world-cup-2022-the-fpl-impact/">2022 FIFA World Cup</a> spanning November and December meaning there&#8217;s a six week break from fantasy action.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/the-best-fpl-squad-of-world-cup-non-players/">The Best FPL Squad not Playing in the World Cup</a></li>
</ul>
While we are still waiting to see whether the FPL game will help managers to navigate the transition back from the World Cup, there&#8217;s plenty to digest from the opening 16 gameweeks.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-46609" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1.png" alt="" width="1600" height="1600" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1.png 1600w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1-300x300.png 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1-150x150.png 150w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1-768x768.png 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1-1536x1536.png 1536w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1-596x596.png 596w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1-610x610.png 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1-1080x1080.png 1080w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FIXTURE-TICKER-1-440x440.png 440w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" />
We have just one International break coming in the middle of this schedule, which might be a popular time for managers to activate their first Wildcard: we should have plenty of information by this point to predict how the season will pan out with key teams and players. The summer transfer window closes on Thursday 1 September at 11pm BST.
<h2>Congestion Ahead</h2>
It&#8217;s set to be a congested start to the season, with two midweek gameweeks before the World Cup. In a break from tradition, all UEFA Champions League and Europa League group round games will be played before the start of November. This means that the top six will have 23 fixtures in this time, including the EFL Cup Third Round.
This congestion means we could see rotation worse than ever and, given the Premier League are allowing the use of five substitutions this season, it will be another tricky campaign for fantasy managers. However, some players will benefit from this congested schedule and early substitutions could be advantageous for fantasy defenders on a clean sheet.
FPL managers will have their eyes firmly glued to the Community Shield on Sunday 31st August, which will be the first competitive game for new signings Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez. FA Cup Winners Liverpool take on Premier League Winners Manchester City at the King Power Stadium.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-46490" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screenshot-2022-05-25-at-18.07.28-1024x742.jpg" alt="haaland" width="1024" height="742" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screenshot-2022-05-25-at-18.07.28-1024x742.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screenshot-2022-05-25-at-18.07.28-300x217.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screenshot-2022-05-25-at-18.07.28-768x557.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screenshot-2022-05-25-at-18.07.28-610x442.jpg 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screenshot-2022-05-25-at-18.07.28-1080x783.jpg 1080w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Screenshot-2022-05-25-at-18.07.28.jpg 1300w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
<h2>Wider Schedule</h2>
Should West Ham progress through their UEFA Europa Conference League Play-Off fixtures on 18th &amp; 25th August, then they will have the most fixtures of any Premier League side prior to the World Cup &#8211; 25. With a tricky opening run of fixtures for the Hammers, fantasy managers might be forced to look elsewhere.
It&#8217;s a quieter schedule for those not involved in Europe, with League Cup Second &amp; Third Round fixtures the only midweek events, aside from the two midweek gameweeks in Gameweek 5 and Gameweek 12. However, midweek gameweeks in FPL are notoriously difficult to navigate!
Looking further ahead, Hub contributor <a href="http://twitter.com/bencrellin">Ben Crellin</a> is already busy forecasting both <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/blank-gameweek-in-fantasy-premier-league/">Blank</a> and <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/double-gameweek-in-fantasy-premier-league/">Double Gameweeks</a>, with the first of those expected in Gameweek 25 for the League Cup final.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-46610" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screenshot-2022-06-16-at-16.13.52.jpg" alt="" width="1182" height="1072" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screenshot-2022-06-16-at-16.13.52.jpg 1182w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screenshot-2022-06-16-at-16.13.52-300x272.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screenshot-2022-06-16-at-16.13.52-1024x929.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screenshot-2022-06-16-at-16.13.52-768x697.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screenshot-2022-06-16-at-16.13.52-610x553.jpg 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Screenshot-2022-06-16-at-16.13.52-1080x979.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1182px) 100vw, 1182px" />
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FPL Fixture Calendar – A Busy Start for the top six?

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