This full round of midweek Premier League games has presented many challenges for Fantasy Premier League managers – and this situation is expected to continue into December.

Next midweek there will be another round of games in the three UEFA competitions and the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup will take place the following midweek. The eight remaining teams are all from the Premier League and both could have a catch-up effect when it comes to FPL gameweeks.

So which clubs have the busiest schedules over the next few game weeks, how will this affect our teams and which players should we be most worried about when it comes to possible rotation?

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Four clubs are set to play nine games in December.

Chelsea played two European games in seven league games during the week, while Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur all play in Europe and have also reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Arsenal were supposed to join them as another club, with a busy winter schedule including Europe and the Carabao’s final eight games, but their fixtures are spread out a little more, with the Gameweek 13 game falling on the last evening of November and the game The 19th game week is coming up on New Year’s Day.

Liverpool

League leaders Liverpool have one of the most demanding winter schedules in the Premier League this month, with nine games in three competitions spread over 29 days. After beating Manchester City in the first of those nine games in Gameweek 14, only two of the remaining players are still at Anfield and their next game is an away game at local rivals Everton (Gameweek 15).

However, they currently sit top of the Champions League and have won all five games in the competition so far before traveling to Spain to face a Girona side who are only 30th out of 36 in that table and in La Liga is in eighth place. Liverpool also have a favorable draw in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup away to Southampton, bottom of the Premier League. Both games offer Arne Slot the opportunity to give important players a break.

With that in mind, I would still view Liverpool assets as a smart buy in the FPL, with a defender a key short-term target to add to the essentials Mohamed Salah (£13.2m) in midfield.

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham also play nine games in 29 days in December. Half of the remaining eight of them are at home, which should help them. They face a fairly short trip to the Europa League next midweek, taking on Rangers in Glasgow. Then the Carabao Cup quarter-final at home against Manchester United is an important game with Spurs desperate to reach the finals as they aim for their first trophy since winning the competition in 2008.

Due to the demands of the schedule and the importance of their games in all three competitions, rotation is inevitable during this period. We have seen in the last few games that midfielders James Maddison (£7.6m), Dejan Kulusevski (£6.3m) And Brennan Johnson (£6.7m) have swapped, although they can all do damage on the bench. Son Heung-min (£9.9m) And Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) have also been absent in the last few weeks due to various problems.

A strong first substitute is crucial here, with investment in Tottenham’s attack still an exciting strategy.

Manchester United

United also have nine games in December, albeit spread over 30 days, with three of the remaining seven games being played at Old Trafford. They travel to the Czech Republic to face Viktoria Plzen in a 12v13 game in the Europa League next midweek and are the away team in the Carabao Cup round of 16 against Spurs the following Thursday.

With two wins and three draws in Europe so far, there is still a lot of work to be done in the final three league phase games of this competition, meaning Ruben Amorim has little opportunity to rest key players such as the midfielder and attacking talisman Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) in particular.

With this in mind, I am personally somewhat reluctant to invest in United assets at this early stage of the Amorim era. There are plenty of attacking players at the club who fit into his first three and it remains unclear who his first options will be.

Chelsea

Chelsea’s own demanding schedule of nine games in 29 games in December is less of a concern as their European lineups so far look more like a B team; An advantage because head coach Enzo Maresca has so many players to choose from.

Crucially, he is a talismanic midfielder Cole Palmer (£11.0m) wasn’t even in the Conference League squad and should therefore be rested to take part in every Premier League game. Forward Nicolas Jackson (£8.2m) is another attractive fantasy investment if you want to double the Chelsea attack, as Palmer is such an assist choice. However, all he needs is a yellow card to get a ban.

Since Chelsea’s longer-term games are also attractive, buying one of their defensive players in December isn’t the worst idea, namely the goalkeeper Robert Sanchez (£4.8m) and defenders Malo Gusto (£4.9m) That’s worth considering, although the former was rested for his side’s win at Southampton on Wednesday.

arsenal

Arsenal have a more favorable schedule than some of the clubs that will be busy this winter period: nine games take place over 33 days and only seven of them fall in December. Five home games during this period contribute to the positive outlook.

Their cup commitments have reduced significantly, with Monaco visiting in the Champions League next week before then playing at home to Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

With Arsenal having picked up ten points from their first five Champions League games, these two midweeks could give them the opportunity to rest players or release starters early. Their Premier League home games against Everton in Gameweek 16 and Ipswich Town in Gameweek 18 are also particularly attractive with regard to the FPL.

Because the schedule is a little looser and the games are cheap, I’m happy with a tripling of Arsenal’s assets over this period.

midfielder Bukayo Saka (£10.4m) and defenders Gabriel (£6.2m) are well established in the current template, although the latter missed his side’s win over Manchester United on Wednesday night. The key decision here is whether to try to double the offense or defense with the striker Kai Havertz (£7.9m) and midfielder Martin Odegaard (£8.3m) has made strong arguments in recent weeks for choosing the former.

We have some cheaper options to consider in a defensive double-up, including goalie David Raya (£5.5m) and defenders Jurrien Timber (£5.6m)the latter with Ben White (£6.1m) And Takehiro Tomiyasu (£4.8m) Both have been absent as right-backs for a long time.

You should keep an eye on the other teams

Two other clubs have eight games in December, including a midweek European Cup, but no Carabao Cup quarter-final: City and Aston Villa. Both come into this phase at a difficult time, making them difficult to invest in, but they have the wherewithal to turn things around.

Villa next host Southampton in Gameweek 15 – one of three home games they have left this month. They travel to RB Leipzig in the Champions League next midweek where they are in good shape to reach the knockout stages with three league phase games left, but then have an important break midweek after losing in the Carabao Cup against Palace in the preliminary round. City’s promotion to the Champions League is far from certain with eight points from five games and a trip to Italy to play Juventus next week. They only have two home games left in December, but can give the players a break between game weeks 16 and 17.

With City also out of the Carabao Cup, that competition is open as Pep Guardiola’s side have won it four times in his eight completed seasons as manager. This means we are likely to see these teams compete at full strength in the quarter-finals: Palace (at Arsenal), Newcastle United, Brentford (who meet at St James’ Park) and Southampton (who host Liverpool).

These clubs do not typically face the demands of midweek and weekend games at this busiest time of the season, so some rotation is to be expected among them in the Premier League. Newcastle striker Alexander Isak (£8.4m) At some point, for example now, you could rest Callum Wilson (£6.9m) is back to full fitness after missing the first three months of the season.

Palace’s main attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze (£6.6m) has also just returned from injury, so expect him to manage his minutes carefully in December.

(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)