Players with the highest Predicted Points for Double Gameweek 26
Stay for a rogue ballboy and a new approach to fake injuries
DEADLINE FOR TRANSFERS AND TEAM SELECTION: SATURDAY, 11:00 GMT
Well, that was dramatic. After getting a booking and causing a lot of moaning among his captainers, Bruno Fernandes scored last night with the last kick of Gameweek 25 - snatching all three bonus points from those of us inexplicably still sticking with Ronaldo. I know they play Leeds and Watford next, but can we all ditch United players now?
But enough of that - it’s ancient FPL history. What’s ahead of us in Gameweek 26 is far better. It’s party time in FPL Land - eight teams have a Double Gameweek. So sit back, take a guilt-free points hit or two and let the points roll in...
This week - high Predicted Points Players, important chip strategies over the next two weeks, Wolves defenders, an overzealous ballboy and how to deal with an opponent feigning injury.
Could Salah’s effective ownership be over 200%?
Not sure anyone’s mentioned this, but Salah is quite good at football and is playing two defensively weak teams. Liverpool have the dream Double Gameweek of Norwich and Leeds at home. It doesn’t get much better than that, so many will use the Triple Captain (TC) chip on Salah.
It means his effective ownership (EO) is expected to be a record. How effective ownership works - if you own Salah, you get 100% of his points. If you captain him, you get 200% of his points (you effectively own him twice). With so many people using the Triple Captain, his “EO” could well be above 200% for the whole game. The weird thing about that is, even if you captain him but *don’t* use the Triple Captain chip, he will actually damage your overall rank in the game for every point he scores. #Maths
ONE FOOTNOTE: Salah did blank in the last game and the Champions League is tonight, so there has to be a *chance* he doesn’t play both games. The League Cup final is also soon after Liverpool’s second fixture. Some managers are using their Bench Boost chip instead for this Double Gameweek - there are definitely circumstances where that could be the better option. But generally, not using the Triple Captain on Salah feels a bit… too clever.
Arsenal is great - if you’re Free Hitting next week
Arsenal have the second-best Double Gameweek (Brentford and Wolves at home). Basically, you need to think about this week and next week together. Next week, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea don’t have a game - they blank. So it’s much easier to go for multiple Arsenal players this week if you know you’re using a Free Hit next week. Think carefully though - there are also a good few teams without a fixture in Gameweek 30. You might need the Free Hit for then.
Top Arsenal picks… Ramsdale in goal has been terrific, White in defence is a good cheaper option, Tierney is more expensive, injury prone but more attacking. Saka continues to look great and Lacazette upfront is a good punt given that all strikers have been hopeless. WARNING: Martinelli is serving out a ban after a red card and will only play once.
Players with the most Predicted Points
What’s that? You want more people with spreadsheets telling you who to buy? Sure! Welcome to “xP” - a predicted points model for the Double Gameweek provided by the statistically flawless FPL Review. Stand outs for me in each section - Ramsdale, White, Son is a good captain shout next week, and Jimenez looks good value with no strikers standing out. These beautiful visuals by FPL Focal show “xP” this Gameweek and for the next 4 games.
Don’t go Double Gameweek Blind
Have fun. Take a -4 or two to get in Double Gameweek players (some are taking a -12…), but don’t make the mistake of subbing out great players. Single Gameweek players very often end up out-scoring worse players with two games. Eg, Bowen for West Ham has been immense - as has Cancelo. Meanwhile, Watford are still Watford. Don’t go Double Gameweek Blind.
Also - with so few good strikers around, bringing in someone like Southampton’s Broja isn’t the worst idea. They have great fixtures and he looked terrific at the weekend.
Liverpool: the wheeler dealers of the Prem
Now this only seems to show profit and loss from players actually sold, but Liverpool have made £93m from transfers over the last five years that way. They must be still laughing after depositing the £32m Sheffield Utd paid them for Rhian Brewster, who never scored in the Prem before Sheffield were relegated.
It is skewed by the Coutinho money, but Liverpool have been amazingly canny in January too, and judging on his debut, Luis Diaz looks like another great buy. This thread also suggests Man Utd were the biggest losers of the Big Six from player sales in this way in the last 5 years, with a £192m loss. And it doesn’t seem to count the £80m(!) for Harry Maguire.
Weghorst, Raphinha, Jota - all need injury updates
Burnley have two Double Gameweeks in a row so Weghorst could be an option, but he is an injury doubt. Raphinha went off early for Leeds, though taking off their best player appears to have been a tactical call (it is not for us to judge the Great Marcelo). Jota had managed minutes in the last game, so all the more reason to WAIT UNTIL FRIDAY to get updates before making transfers. Trippier is out for Newcastle.
The Ron Burgundy of ball boys…
If this Luton Town ball boy sees a ball, he will collect it - even in the middle of active play…
Wolves defenders are worth a look…
A decent Double this week and good fixtures over the next five. They have the second best defence in the Prem. Here’s a good Reddit Post on their options. (BPS=Bonus Point System).
Now that’s how to get an injured player off
This, from the Portuguese league, should probably happen more often.
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