From an FPL perspective, Gameweek 26 was one to forget, although for Liverpool and Arsenal, it was the most memorable weekend of the season. Jurgen Klopp’s side dealt Man Utd a 7-0 thrashing, the biggest margin of victory to have ever been achieved between the two sides and United’s joint-heaviest defeat in their history. Meanwhile Arsenal came back from 0-2 down to beat Bournemouth 3-2, scoring a winning goal in the 97th minute and spark pandemonium at Emirates Stadium.
We now turn our attention to Double Gameweek 27, which sees four clubs boast two fixtures across the week, specifically Brentford, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Southampton. As always, we run through prospective FPL captains and pick out three premium selections, alongside a differential pick ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 deadline.
PREMIUM OPTIONS
Mo Salah (£12.8m) vs BOU (a)
Whilst Mo Salah (£12.8m) has caused plenty of frustration amongst his ownership over the course of the 2022-23 season so far, the Egyptian showed his class against Liverpool’s biggest rivals, racking up a mammoth 21 fantasy points, by far his biggest haul of the campaign. Salah not only found the net twice against Man Utd, but also provided two assists in Liverpool’s 7-0 thumping of the Red Devils, who were left stunned by Liverpool’s second half blitz.
As it stands, Salah has recorded 11 Premier League goals and eight assists, although none of those came in the reverse fixture against Bournemouth, which saw the Reds triumph 9-0 at Anfield. With five attacking returns in his last two league games, Salah is in-form and will be confident of further fantasy returns in Double Gameweek 27. Despite having just one fixture, he represents a hugely enticing captain pick.
Ivan Toney (£7.8m) vs EVE (a), SOU (a)
Last Monday night saw Brentford emerge 3-2 winners against Fulham in an entertaining West London derby. Once again, Ivan Toney (£7.8m) was on the scoresheet, scoring his 15th league goal of the season and accruing 8 FPL points. As it stands, Toney is the third-highest scoring forward from a fantasy perspective, having gained 130 points and his prowess from the penalty spot remains unmatched.
Toney is unsurprisingly very highly owned with Brentford one of the clubs benefitting from two fixtures across Double Gameweek 27. A trip to Everton is followed by another away game against Southampton. Having two matches, makes Toney well worth considering when it comes to selecting a fantasy skipper with four double-figure hauls across the season so far.
Harry Kane (£11.7m) vs NFO (H)
After bowing out of the Champions League in such a disappointingly meek fashion this past Wednesday, a response is expected from Spurs in Double Gameweek 27, with their place inside the top four now in real jeopardy due to the recent form of Liverpool. Whilst Harry Kane (£11.7m) has struggled greatly to score goals in Europe, his Premier League record remains as strong as ever, although the England international did draw a blank last weekend as his side were beaten 1-0 by Wolves.
Currently, only Erling Haaland has more FPL points than Kane among forwards and Kane’s goal tally in the Premier League stands at 18 with six assists. With 163 fantasy points to his name, the striker is also the second-highest scoring asset within the entire FPL player-base. Nott’m Forest are the visitors to North London in Double Gameweek 27, a team that Kane found the net against twice at the City Ground, although he also saw a penalty saved in the same fixture. With that in mind, his captaincy credentials are very high.
DIFFERENTIAL OPTION
Solly March (£5.1m) vs LEE (a), CRY (H)
Whilst many FPL managers are understandably attracted to Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma ahead of their two fixtures in Double Gameweek 27, the shrewd play may be to invest in a different Brighton midfielder, specifically Solly March (£5.1m) who is presently the Seagulls’ highest scoring midfield asset from a fantasy point of view. March has accumulated seven double-figure-point hauls in his last seven Premier League appearances for Brighton, including a 19-point score against Liverpool back in Gameweek 20.
Across those seven games, March has found the net four times and should play a key role for Brighton offensively in their two Double Gameweek 27 fixtures against Leeds and Crystal Palace respectively. As with every differential selection, picking him as your captain would be a risk. But for those FPL managers desperately needing to make up ground in their respective mini-leagues, March stands out as a tempting candidate for the armband.