Okay, before we get into everything you need to know ahead of Gameweek 26, let’s talk through Gameweek 25.
And the horror show it ended up being.
And how better to rid you of its horrors than through some guided meditation? Take a deep breath in and hold your breath as I say some calming words:
A babbling brook glides gracefully down an evergreen hill. Fluffy clouds glide through a sunny, blue sky. An injured Jota brashly haunts my nightmares, slashing his knife around my quickly diminishing hopes of a green arrow.
At peace now?
To avoid the same pain we all faced in Gameweek 25, make sure to check out the free LazyFPL newsletter. You’ll get all the information you need to know each gameweek, written concisely and humorously.
Gameweek 26 and 29
Gameweek 26 is a blank gameweek.
This means that certain teams do not have a fixture this week, namely Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Luton.
At least now we know that our players won’t score any points, instead of having to live with blind hope for that mythical green arrow.
As for Gameweek 29, the fixtures, hence the players I recommend, are projected to have binary fixtures. These are available to see at fpl.team.
Who to Buy in FPL Gameweek 26?
Gabriel and Saliba
I feel like I recommend having one (or two) of Gabriel and Saliba every week.
And there’s a good reason for it.
Arsenal have conceded the least xGA for any team in the league, only conceding 0.72 per 90. For context, this is equivalent to conceding less than one penalty per game.
They also have the highest xG from attacking set-pieces, and we know what Gabriel’s big head is capable of.
In the words of a certain great Portuguese manager (no, not Fabio Borges): “Mr. (insert your name here), pay, pay, and don’t speak.”
Which is oddly reminiscent of Chelsea’s current transfer strategy.
Marcos Senesi
*MAJOR CAVEAT ALERT*
Don’t expect much from Senesi this week. Or if you’re not using a chip in GW 29.
If you don’t fall into those two categories, Senesi is great.
Yes, he plays Manchester City this week; however, that’s followed by bur, SHU+LUT, blank, EVE, CRY. In other words, Bournemouth have the most ridiculously favourable fixture run I’ve ever seen. They quite literally play four of the five worst attacks in their next six.
And they’ve improved defensively too.
It makes far too much Senesi (sense) to buy Senesi this week. And that was a truly horrible pun.
Pau Torres and Reguilon are other good options. Ait-Nouri, Dawson and Kilman are too, although that’s with the same caveat as Senesi (blank gameweek 29).
Bukayo Saka
Saka’s next three fixtures are absolutely ridiculous.
He faces NEW (17th for xGA), shu (19th for xGA), and BRE (9th for xGA).
As for his underlyings? They’re higher than they’ve ever been. His npxG/90 is 0.65, and he has 19 G+A in 24 starts.
He’s also stopped being charitable with penalties, so there’s really no reason to not buy Saka.
Unless you like red arrows, that is. Which I don’t. They like me, though.
Hwang Hee-chan
“4 words, 28 letters, say it, and I’m yours.”
“Chris Milder’s Sheffield United.”
Need I say more?
Hwang is honestly a viable captain pick this week. And he’s more than decent for the next few too, barring blank gameweek 29. He faces SHU, new, FUL, blank, avl, bur in his next six, and FPL Review’s Massive Data model projects him to be the third highest scoring midfielder even with one less fixture than most.
To add to this, he has an npxG/90 of 0.50, is nailed, and is likely to be on pens.
“I’m all yours, baby; forget about that Pedro Neto fella!”
As mentioned last week, Ødegaard is still an excellent option. Douglas Luiz is a solid one too, especially for blank gameweek 29.
Dominic Solanke
A double gameweek of Sheffield United (H) + Luton (H) in Gameweek 28 gets me going more than watching Darwin Nunez miss another chance.
What’s that? Solanke also plays three of the worst defences in the league in his next six?
Think of Solanke as Peter Crouch (so lanky), but better. He’s nailed on for 90 on penalties and has an npxG+xAG/90 of 0.64.
Dread it, run from it; fate arrives all the same. And fate the no.9 for a club who has England’s second best beach. Not that there’s much competition, but the arrogant seagulls of Brighton scare me.
Ollie Watkins
Even typing out Watkins’ name makes me shudder. Watkins is a man who does nothing for you when he’s actually in your team, but decides to become a better finisher than a por- but decides to become the best finisher in the world when he’s not in your team.
So you best bring him in, as he plays NFO, lut, TOT, whu, and WOL in his next five, and crucially has a fixture in BGW 29.
Furthemore, he’s nailed on for 90 and has an npxG+xAG/90 of 0.71. Not to mention, he already has 23 G+A in his 25 starts.
Rumour has it that Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s parents actually intended to name him Ollie Gunnar Solskjæer. They wish he could be as good as Ollie Watkins.
As mentioned in last week’s article, Ivan Toney is still a great option.
Who to Captain in FPL Gameweek 26?
Surprise! It’s Erling Haaland again. Unless you like seeing Dan Burn writhing in pain, in which case, boy, oh boy, do I have an alternative for you?
Erling Haaland
Yes, Bournemouth have improved defensively. But this is City we’re talking about. The only team in the world that can score 100 goals, and still have scored less than the charges against them.
City are third for xG over the season, and Haaland has an npxG/90 of 1.04. If you input his xG and xA numbers for FPL points, that gives you a base of around 8.14 xP per game. This is a simplification, of course, but that should give you an idea of what Haaland can do.
I also think Haaland gets 88–90 minutes this week, with his rest coming vs. Luton Town in the FA Cup. More minutes, more points.
It’s that simple, really.
Bukayo Saka
If Dan Burn comes up against Bukayo Saka, there’s only one thing Dan Burn can do. Put on his big boy face, be brave, and immediately fall to his knees, begging Saka to not embarrass him by leaving him on the ground, legs spread, in the perfect template for an oversaturated Instagram edit.
I’ve already told you about how good Saka is, so let’s take a look at Newcastle’s last five Premier League games.
They’ve conceded 10 xG, meaning 2 xG per game. And this is without the 7 xGA they conceded to Liverpool.
Howe’s intense pressing as well as an injury crisis that led to an injury to Joelinton have destabilised Newcastle’s rest defence.
And they’re coming up against an extremely functional Arsenal side.
I prefer Haaland, but I’m not against captaining Saka; it’s a free-risk situation, in my opinion.
Otherwise, Hwang Hee-chan is a great punt.
As always, I’d like to end with a story. I met Marcus Rashford and asked him why he’s stopped pressing. Is it an injury? A silent protest against Ten Hag’s shiny head? He laughed and replied, “I’m a part of the Lazy Revolution.”
And you should be too. Sign up for the free LazyFPL newsletter, to win more by doing less.
