From feast to famine as after a double gameweek Fantasy managers are treated to a round in which Manchester City, Chelsea, Brighton, Bournemouth, Burnley and Leeds are not playing.

Plenty of you will probably be using this to play your free hit chip and if you are there could be some bargains to be found, not least at Liverpool where injuries to goalkeepers Alisson and Giorgi Mamardashvili could give third-choice Freddie Woodman an opportunity to pick up a clean sheet at home to Crystal Palace.

With just a few weeks to go Jake Fisher sits atop The Royal Gazette league standings with 2,124 points, but he is just 11 points clear of Chris Alexander, with Louise Payne a further 11 points back in third

Again, bear in mind that this gameweek begins tonight

Friday

Sunderland v Nottingham Forest (4pm)

Sunderland are set for a solid mid-table finish and are in decent form with three wins and a draw in their last six games. Midfielder Habib Diarra has three assists in his past six games.

Forest can pull eight points clear of the relegation places for at least 24 hours with victory. Morgan Gibbs-White could be the catalyst for them to escape and he has 50 points in the last six games but they will be without Callum Hudson-Odoi for the rest of the season.

Prediction: 1-2

Saturday

Fulham v Aston Villa (8.30am)

This could be a high-scoring match given Villa have conceded 11 goals in their past five matches but only Brighton and Aston Villa have scored more.

Unai Emery’s side are closing in on another Champions League spot and Ollie Watkins is in the form to help secure their place. The forward has three goals and an assist in his past three games and is hitting form at the right time to give England coach Thomas Tuchel a nudge before the World Cup.

Fulham have been reliant on Harry Wilson all season and only Bruno Fernandes has been more involved in his team’s goals than the Welsh midfielder.

Prediction: 2-2

Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11am)

With Palace possibly having one eye on their Europa Conference League semi-final first leg against Shakhtar Donetsk five days later, it could be the time to load up on Liverpool players.

We’ve already mentioned Woodman in goal but Virgil van Dijk is the third-highest scoring defender in FPL, which is amazing considering Liverpool’s defensive record, and Mohamed Salah will want to leave the club on a high with some stunning performances at Anfield as time winds down on his Liverpool career.

Prediction: 2-0

West Ham United v Everton (11am)

If West Ham are to stay up this is a game they must be winning and Jarrod Bowen is their main man. He racked up 14 points in the last home game against Wolves and only Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago have more goal contributions among strikers. Defender El Hadji Malick Diouf is also in good form.

Everton are still in the hunt for a European place and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has 15 points from his last couple of games.

Prediction: 1-1

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur (11am)

A huge game for Tottenham’s relegation survival hopes as they take on a team who already know they are playing in the Championship this season.

Tottenham did show more in the home draw against Brighton and midfielders Rodrigo Betancur and Yves Bissouma made their returns from injury. They could both be crucial in the coming weeks, while James Maddison was back on the bench a week ago and is clearly close to a return.

Prediction: 0-2

Arsenal v Newcastle United (1.30pm)

Arsenal are off top spot but their remaining fixtures look favourable, starting with a game against a disappointing Newcastle outfit. The Gunners have the best defensive record in the Premier League and with their attackers not really firing, the trusty William Saliba and Gabriel are the players to turn to.

Newcastle have won only four of their 16 away games in the league and pressure is growing on head coach Eddie Howe with his team struggling in fourteenth position. Fabian Schar is out injured, Joelinton is suspended and Anthony Gordon a doubt.

Prediction: 1-0

Monday

Manchester United v Brentford (4pm)

Bruno Fernandes should be in your team from now until the end of the season and he provided an assist even in defeat against Leeds last time. Casemiro is also finishing his Manchester United career on a high with three goals in his past five games.

Prediction: 2-0