Fantasy Premier League: FPL managers handed extra Free Hit chip to navigate Covid chaos
All managers will now get an extra Free Hit from GW20, so those who haven’t played it yet will have two to use
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Fantasy Premier League managers have been handed a lifeline in their time of need amid fixture chaos.
The league currently has 13 outstanding games to fit into what is already a packed calendar, most of which were postponed as a result of rising Covid-19 cases among players and staff in recent weeks.
Some of those games, like Aston Villa’s match against Burnley last weekend, were called off at the last minute, and while travelling fans bore the true brunt of the inconvenience, plenty of FPL managers were left ruing heavily depleted squads on a weekend when only four matches went ahead.
In response to the chaos, the official Fantasy Premier League account tweeted on Wednesday: “We’ve got a little something to help you manage the upcoming fixtures... Due to recent postponements, #FPL managers will received one extra Free Hit chip from Gameweek 20.”
The Free Hit chip is one of three bonus chips managers can use each season, along with the Bench Boost (which adds your substitutes’ points your total for one week only) and Triple Captain (earning your captain triple points rather than the usual doubled tally).
All managers will now get an extra Free Hit from GW20, so those who haven’t played it yet will have two to use.
The wildcard is unaffected. Every manager gets one wildcard to be used in the first half of the season, up until 11pm GMT on Tuesday 28 December, and then a second to be used in the latter half of the season.
What is the Free Hit chip?
The Premier League website explains: “A Free Hit allows for unlimited transfers in a single Gameweek. Managers can replace their entire squad for that Gameweek before the deadline but their 15-man line-up is returned to how it was at the start of the Gameweek for the next deadline.
“If the Free Hit chip is played leading up to Gameweek 20, for example, once the deadline has passed you will see the points scored by your new Free Hit squad in the “Points” tab.
“But in your “My Team” and “Transfers” tabs, your old Gameweek 19 squad will have returned. Like the Wildcard, the Free Hit is used when confirming transfers. It cannot be cancelled once confirmed.”
It adds: “Please note that you will be unable to play the Free Hit in consecutive Gameweeks. After playing your Free Hit, your squad will return to its previous state for the following Gameweek. So, after you have selected the Free Hit chip the first time, the “Play” button will remain for you to use again at another point in the season.
“You don’t have to use your Free Hit over the festive period. You can save it for later in the season, when there are likely to be Double Gameweeks into which the postponed fixtures are scheduled.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments