FPL Double Gameweek 26 – The Fixtures
Man Utd began Double Gameweek 25 with a poor 1-1 draw against Southampton after a Jadon Sancho (£8.9m) opener was cancelled out by Che Adams (£6.8m), although the Red Devils rectified that later in the gameweek by beating Brighton 2-0 through goals from Cristiano Ronaldo (£12.5m) and Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m). Other results included Everton beating Leeds 3-0 in Frank Lampard’s first home league game as the Toffees’ manager, whilst Man City overcame Norwich 0-4 at Carrow Road with Raheem Sterling (£10.7m) scoring a hat-trick and taking his overall tally in this season’s Premier League to ten goals.
The Sunday of Double Gameweek 25 saw Liverpool overcome Burnley by a goal to nil, Fabinho (£5.4m) the scorer and also winners by a single goal were Newcastle, who beat Aston Villa 1-0 via a Kieran Trippier (£5.0m) free-kick. In North London, Wolves extended Spurs’ recent misery by overcoming them 0-2 before Leicester and West Ham played out a thrilling 2-2 at the King Power Stadium, Jarrod Bowen (£7.0m) once again starring for the Hammers with a goal and an assist.
We now focus our attention on arguably the most attractive double gameweek of the season so far. Understandably, players from clubs who have two fixtures across this round will take priority among FPL managers and with that in mind, we’ve highlighted those clubs with the most enticing matches ahead of Double Gameweek 26, alongside the FPL assets who could profit.
DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 26 FIXTURES
Saturday 19th February
West Ham vs Newcastle (12:30)
Arsenal vs Brentford (15:00)
Aston Villa vs Watford (15:00)
Brighton vs Burnley (15:00)
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea (15:00)
Liverpool vs Norwich (15:00)
Southampton vs Everton (15:00)
Man City vs Spurs (17:30)
Sunday 20th February
Leeds vs Man Utd (14:00)
Wolves vs Leicester (16:30)
Wednesday 23rd February
Burnley vs Spurs (19:30)
Watford vs Crystal Palace (19:30)
Liverpool vs Leeds (19:45)
Thursday 24th February
Arsenal vs Wolves (19:45)
NORWICH AND LEEDS TO KLOPP BEATINGS!
No doubt that standout talking point of Double Gameweek 26 are Liverpool’s two home fixtures against Norwich and Leeds respectively. Two opponents the Reds have already overcome away from home this season, each by three goals to nil. With numerous assets capable of accruing large FPL-point hauls and against the two worst defences in the Premier League, the expectation is that Liverpool players will be very heavily owned across Double Gameweek 26.
Unsurprisingly Mo Salah (£13.0m) will dominate the vast majority of active FPL teams and is likely to be entrusted with many triple captain chips. The Egyptian is the highest scoring FPL asset of 2021-22 so far with 16 goals, ten assists and 181 points and has netted against both Norwich and Leeds already this season. Another highly owned asset is defender Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m), who has racked up two goals, ten assists and 12 clean sheets from full-back, whilst his teammate on the opposite flank Andy Robertson (£7.1m) has accumulated 36 FPL points across the last four gameweeks. It would also be remiss not to mention both Diogo Jota (£8.5m) and Sadio Mane(£11.7m), the former having recorded three attacking returns over the course of his last three league appearances.
ARSENAL CONTINUING ON THE WHITE TRACK!
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal did not feature in Double Gameweek 25 due to Chelsea’s involvement in the Club World Cup. However, the Gunners returning to action with two home fixtures in Double Gameweek 26. Brentford are the first visitors to Emirates Stadium this coming Saturday, before Wolves make the trip to North London on the following Thursday. Arsenal’s last Premier League fixture saw them beat Wolves 0-1 at Molineux.
The win over Wolves saw Gabriel Martinelli (£5.3m) sent off, rendering him suspended for the Brentford game. This should lead to a start for Emile Smith-Rowe (5.8m) who has scored eight goals so far in the 2021-22 Premier League and represents an enticing FPL option when considering that he is likely to keep his place for the Wolves match with a good performance against the Bees. Fellow midfielder Bukayo Saka (£6.4m) is also worth considering, however the best value from an Arsenal perspective may come at the back. With 11 clean sheets to his name in the Premier League, defender Ben White (£4.5m) may looks a bargain, as does goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale (£5.1m) who has recorded clean sheets in three of his last four league appearances, accruing 24 FPL points in the process.
DYCHE’S CLARETS DOUBLE UP IN RELEGATION BATTLE
Burnley sit bottom of the table heading into Double Gameweek 26 and desperately need two positive results away at Brighton and at home to Spurs in their fight to avoid relegation. Whilst they were beaten by Liverpool last time out, Sean Dyche and his side have reason to be optimistic and although the Clarets have two tough fixtures on paper, Burnley are a team of battlers and and from an FPL perspective, value is to be had among their team.
After signing from Wolfsburg on deadline day of the January transfer window, forward Wout Weghorst (£6.5m) has made an immediate impact, gaining an assist in Gameweek 24 and linking up dangerously with fellow striker Jay Rodriguez (£5.2m). Whilst FPL managers must be wary of Weghost’s injury status after he suffered a knock against Liverpool, he could wind up a shrewd option for those looking for a cheap forward. Maxwel Cornet (£5.9m) remains a significant attacking threat for Burnley and those FPL managers looking for a bargain Burnley defender have plenty of options to choose from, with centre-backs James Tarkowski (£4.9m) and Ben Mee (£4.8m) also providing an offensive threat from set pieces.
