FPL Gameweek 26 Preview - Triple Up On Arsenal

If you take nothing else from this fantasy premier league gameweek 26 preview, then triple up on Arsenal players.

This gameweek they play Brentford away and Wolves away with a weekend FA cup game against Wigan in the middle. Wigan are towards the bottom of the third tier in English football which means they are a million times better than your pub team but nowhere near as good as Arsenal. 

So, expect the big boys to get a rest in that game and feel confident in your triple up.

Which Arsenal Assets to Buy

They’re by far the best defence in the league, and you likely already have at least a defensive double-up. If not, I’d recommend addressing that! 

Gabriel is the best option by far. Timber and Raya in goal are the next best. And Saliba is relatively nailed with Calfiori being a bit more of a risk well worth taking in a draft league.

The third Arsenal spot is trickier. 

Saka is likely out until Gameweek 27, so Rice becomes your next most favourable option. Punt on Madueke if you want, but it’s a short-term move. Another good option in a draft league. Similarly, Trossard could be a decent short-term option.

As regular readers will know, Joe has had an Arsenal triple-up at the back for months now. There have been some ups and downs, as with all defences, but four cleans sheets in the last five games has equalled a whole lot of points for this guy. 

I – James – have got Gabriel, Timber and Rice after moving Saka to Rice last week.

Captaincy Corner – FPL Gameweek 26 Edition

This is a FUN week to talk about captaincy. I know, finally right? And, that’s why I can’t wait to the end like normal.

I currently have the armband on Gabriel. Two nice fixtures for the best defence in the league, maybe the world, and a guy that is super attacking off set pieces. What’s not to like?

I know captaining a defender feels wrong. I feel that too. But, he’s genuinely the best option among the doublers.

Timber could be a fun differential with the same defensive upsides who could spike a return. Rice is pretty similar but the ceiling feels lowers because his big points returns need to come from attacking output which is only okay.

The only single gameweek players I would consider are the same guys we talk about week in, week out. B. Fernandes and Haaland. They are great but they only get 90 mins when these other guys have potential to get 180.

Triple Captain Gabriel in FPL Gameweek 26?

It’s the question on everyone’s mind heading into FPL Gameweek 26: should you triple captain Gabriel or wait for Haaland?

The case for Gabriel: We know Arsenal have a confirmed double gameweek, while Manchester City’s isn’t locked in. There’s also uncertainty around Haaland’s fitness and whether he’d start both matches. Gabriel is currently second only to Haaland for points per 90, and although Arsenal’s fixtures are away from home, they’re still favourable. With Wigan in the cup, he’s likely to be rested between the two league games. And let’s be honest, triple captaining a defender is fun!

The case for Haaland: His ceiling is simply unmatched. You could reasonably expect to triple captain him in Gameweek 33, and he’s already delivered eight double-digit hauls this season. He has the pedigree to explode in any fixture – a hat-trick against Palace or a goal against Arsenal wouldn’t surprise anyone. That upside is enormous. By comparison, Gabriel’s realistic ceiling sits around 20 points, and a return closer to 10 feels more probable.

For me, the real deciding factor is your bench boost strategy. In Gameweek 26 only two teams double. Gameweek 33 could feature up to eight teams with doubles, and Gameweek 36 may have two to four. That makes Gameweek 33 the most attractive bench boost opportunity — which clashes with a potential Haaland triple captain. The only wrinkle is that if City reach the FA Cup final, they might get another double in Gameweek 36. Even then, that scenario is uncertain, as the fixture could instead be moved to the midweek after Gameweek 37.

If your head is hurting and you want a simple answer to “is triple captaining Gabriel a good idea?” then yes, it is. Is it the best idea? Nobody knows, this is FPL!

Wolves Also Double…

As for Wolves, they’re probably best avoided. Despite having a double Gameweek, they suck. 

They’re not a strong option from either an FPL or real-world standpoint. 

The only remotely viable pick is Mateus Mane at £4.6m as a budget third forward, but even then he’s unlikely to be someone you’ll actually want to start.

Their defence is average at best and doesn’t offer much appeal either given how leaky they have been this season.

Best FPL Fixtures Gameweek 26

Best Attacking Fixtures

Arsenal

There isn’t a huge amount to love here, largely because of Bukayo Saka’s injury. As we mentioned last week, Noni Madueke remains a punt – and a fairly risky one at that.

Beyond him, you’re mostly looking at Declan Rice as a steady but unspectacular option. I know he has been a bit poor recently but the routes to points are still there.

The striker situation is even messier. With Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Jesus all in the mix, it’s very difficult to predict who starts each match. That uncertainty makes the Arsenal forwards tough to recommend right now.

Liverpool

Liverpool offer more clarity. Wirtz looks close to nailed and is currently my preferred way into their attack. I am actively looking at ways to bring him in by GW27, and possibly this week.

The Sunderland away fixture isn’t ideal – they’ve been strong defensively at home – but the run after that is appealing and Sunderland are still a newly promoted side.

Hugo Ekitike was the flavour of the month last week, but I still have real concerns about his minutes. If you want to take the gamble, it’s defensible, but there’s a genuine risk he starts getting rotated in some of these easier games.

Manchester City

This one is simple: Erling Haaland is the pick. After all our whinging about him not doing anything, he simply returned twice against Liverpool at Anfield this week.

Antoine Semenyo is still a consideration, but he’s hovering on the edge of Champions League squad involvement, which introduces some nervousness around minutes in the medium-term. And at Full 90 FPL, secure playing time is pretty damn important. Still, it shouldn’t be an issue for a few gameweeks.

Crystal Palace

Ismaïla Sarr stands out as the clear attacking option. Sarr’s underlying numbers have been strong for a couple of seasons now, and there’s a chance he’s on penalties as well with Mateta out. He looks like an excellent pick, especially after scoring at the weekend.

Strand Larsen now looks (temporarily) nailed as Palace and Mateta seem to be inclined to fix his knee. But, I would still be a little nervous until we know Mateta’s going for surgery (which we should next week, but not necessarily before the deadline).

Daniel Muñoz deserves a mention too. Technically a defender, but functionally an attacking asset, he consistently takes up aggressive positions. Palace also rank very highly for defensive fixtures over the next five, which adds to his appeal.

Bournemouth

Bournemouth are dealing with a frustrating injury situation. As a budget enabler, Kroupi Jr at £4.6m makes sense if you’re restructuring and need a cheap third forward to sit on the bench. He serves a similar purpose to Mateus Mane at Wolves – purely a squad-balancing option.

For reliable minutes, Evanilson is the standout. He hasn’t exploded over the past year or so, but his underlying numbers remain solid. Bournemouth are an entertaining, attacking side, and their fixtures look good through to around GW32, which lines up nicely with a potential wildcard window.

Aston Villa

Morgan Rogers is the main name here. His underlying numbers aren’t spectacular, but he keeps outperforming them. At some point, I may have to accept that overperformance might just be part of his profile. Maybe…

Ollie Watkins is also firmly in the conversation. The arrival of Tammy Abraham suggests some rotation risk, but Watkins still projects as the primary option and consistently delivers strong minutes.

Chelsea

Chelsea are a pass for me. Enzo Fernández has a decent number of routes to points. And João Pedro is fine (if you don’t mind weak underlying numbers). But, they only have two standout fixtures in this run – followed by three difficult ones – which isn’t enough for me to justify investment right now. You might think otherwise, if you do, I would prioritise Enzo.

Palmer said he was sure he would keep scoring “when I’m back proper fit” so I’d avoid him for this midweek.

Best Defensive Fixtures

This doesn’t always happen (hence having two tickers) but we have ended up with the same list here…

Arsenal

I’ve already told you all the guys to pick here. In order of preference in my head: Gabriel, Timber, Raya and Saliba. Calafiori is a maybe because he is a minutes risk.

Liverpool

At Liverpool there is only one real pick and that is Virgil. I don’t completely hate Konate but the difference is only 0.5 and you get much more attacking threat from Virgil. 

You can say they have been poor all year and I wouldn’t argue with you on that one. However, xGC suggests the defence has been underperforming so you could take a bet that it will revert to the performance it should have been hitting in this favourable run and I wouldn’t call you crazy. By any means.

Man City

I can’t really recommend anyone here. Everyone is a minutes risk. Guehi, Ruben and Nunes are probably the most nailed but I would always be worried about rotation. I’d rather have double Arsenal and Virgil or Munoz.

Crystal Palace

These guys make me nervous with only two clean sheets since gameweek 14. That game though, was away to Burnley. So, if there’s a time for them to turn this form around it is now – playing Burnley at home.

That being said, I am not hopeful given the turmoil and the amount of games this first team has played this season on account of European games.

I still like Munoz, as I said above, because of his attacking prowess. Richards or Lacroix are more maybes for me.

Bournemouth

Unlike Joe, I don’t mind this defence. They were good earlier in the season with good fixtures. They haven’t had a good run like this since. And, their run coincides with the wildcard window many of us are looking at. In other words, they get bad fixtures again from 32.

Senesi continues to hit defcon on a regular basis so I like him in all formats. Truffert has attacking potential but it’s not huge. Still worth a go in a draft format where picks are more sparse. Hill is super cheap at 3.9 and is not bad for defcons either.

Aston Villa

Matty Cash is an attacking full back in a good defence, particularly at home, for only 4.8. You will want to bench him in most of his away games but you can probably play him away to Wolves. And, he rotates reasonably well with a Sunderland defender – who you also only want to play at home.

Konsa is mega cheap at 4.4. But he never gets defcons. Take the high upside pick unless you are desperate for money.

Chelsea

I think you should just ignore them. It’s only really Chalobah or Cucurella who have consistent minutes enough for us to consider and they are quite expensive. Plus, they only have two good fixtures left and the underlying numbers tell us this defence is pretty middle of the road.

You and your team can do better.

(Obviously hold them if you own them though).

Transfer Tips – FPL Gameweek 26

As the title says, just triple up on Arsenal assets ahead of FPL gameweek 26 if you have not already. And, I have covered a LOT of the good picks above. But, let’s look at should I buy/sell for some others.

Should I Buy?

Long-time readers know the drill. 

But for anyone new…

I will look at the most-bought players in FPL ahead of gameweek 26 that are not mentioned above, give my opinion on whether you should buy them too. 

I try to stay objective and not just recommend my team but, of course, it’s my opinion. 

Fernandes – Yes. Possibly the best asset in FPL right now. He scores, he assists, he defcons. He’s excellent. I don’t care about his fixtures.

Mbeumo – Maybe. Ask me a week ago and it’s a definite yes. But, right now, I’d rather have Wirtz for similar money. The fixtures are fine. But that’s it. Just fine. He’s obviously a great player who likes to shoot a lot. But, I don’t think it’s clear cut right now. Particularly as they are still working through their best team – he played more off the wing this week which might be what happens going forward. And rumours suggest a lack of fitness.

Cunha – Maybe. I feel similarly about him too. He shoots a tonne though and with Dorgu out his minutes should be more consistent. On the other hand, he doesn’t last 90 mins very often.

Bowen – Maybe. I like Bowen and he’s the talisman on this team which I like. But the fixtures turn in a couple of weeks. Evanilson has better fixtures, but is less important to the team. It’s a tough call.

Wilson – No. Not ahead of a trip to Man City. I am not a huge fan of the guy but he’s one of those players that maybe I should just accept I am getting it wrong on because he keeps delivering. Either way, it’s a very simple no ahead of one of the toughest fixtures in the league.

Calvert-Lewin – No. The next three fixtures are pretty tough.

Anderson (NFO) – Yes. Okay at lots of stuff, on some set pieces and VERY GOOD on defcons – he hit them in like 60 mins this week. A bit like a diet Rice.

Should I Sell?

And, in the reverse: here I am looking at some of the most sold players ahead of FPL Gameweek 26 and giving my opinion on whether you should sell.

Thiago – No. As I said last week, good fixtures are just around the corner. You see that Arsenal fixture and think this is an obvious move. Look one more week ahead and look at the great fixtures. I’d probably just hold, take my two points or bench him and then play him for the good run.

Foden/Cherki – Yes. Not nailed.

Tarkowski – No. Hold this guy. He gets defcons almost every week.

Thiaw – Yes. Newcastle are such a weird team. Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit. I just don’t trust them.

Van der Ven – Yes. Spurs fixtures do not look good for a while and the defence isn’t super solid.

That’s It.

I’m knackered. How are you doing? Come and tell me on Reddit.