World Cup window of opportunity

On November 13, Premier League football will shut down. When the final whistle blows to bring proceedings between Fulham and Manchester United to a close at Craven Cottage, the English game will not see a top-flight ball kicked in anger again until Brentford play host to London neighbours Tottenham on Boxing Day.
For those without a calendar to hand, that is a six-week break. Fortunately, events in Qatar mean that a feast of action will still be on offer, with the cream of an international crop stepping up to fill the void created in domestic competition.

Opportunity

The World Cup starts THIS MONTH ⏳ pic.twitter.com/1Yo7cBHbEI

— GOAL (@goal) November 1, 2022

Many familiar names and faces will still be on show, with managers from real life and virtual realms ready to keep a close eye on how certain individuals fare in the heat of a historic World Cup being staged in the Middle East.

There will be a serious exodus of top talent from England, with the pursuit of both league and fantasy points put on hold. While one window prepares to swing shut, another will be flung open a few weeks prior to the next of a transfer variety.

Premier League bosses will get an opportunity to take in another pre-season of sorts, as they work with those not jetting off with their respective nations, while fantasy coaches get a chance to assess their efforts so far.

Data aplenty is now readily available at the click of a button, with there no excuses for not being across the latest form, fitness and squad-forming information. Now is the time to take a deep dive and determine who has been pulling their weight, and who has not.

The numbers that can be accessed here from KickForm are as applicable to Premier League competition as they are World Cup action, with familiar formulas used to predict the outcomes of domestic and international fixtures.

Whether you are in the market for possession statistics, xG figures, the weight of home advantage or the latest scoring charts, the same mathematical algorithms help to determine how likely Harry Kane is to find the target for Spurs at Old Trafford as he is to net for England against the United States in Al Khor.

Said information can prove priceless for those seeking out trends that help to make informed decisions on squad selection, recruitment business and tactics, with it always better to be in the know than out of it.

Reassess

It’s November.

That means it’s a World Cup month 🤩 pic.twitter.com/umBQXz5UHb

— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 1, 2022

Plenty of Premier League coaches will be using a run towards the end of the calendar year to reassess those at their disposal and determine whether changes need to be made in order to positively impact results. The same is true for those operating in an FPL world.

For 42 days, unlimited transfers will be available in fantasy football, meaning that managers can tinker and experiment to their heart’s content. All of the information required to settle on a winning formula is out there, in various guises, and taking advantage of that during a rare mid-season intermission should stand all concerned in good stead heading into 2023.