This FPL Gameweek 26 strategy article reviews the FPL points as a metric team after Gameweek 25. We take a look at the data before moving on to the team for Double Gameweek 26.

If you’re interested in reading the article that explains this in detail, you can find out more in my introduction to using FPL points as a metric.

Gameweek 25 Review – FPL Strategy

The Wildcard was played and we got 78 points, taking us up to 56K from 70K! A great start for the refreshed team.

Robert Sanchez (£4.6m) and Adam Webster (£4.4m) combined for 24 points, whilst our captain Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m) also scored 24 points following a 97th minute goal against Brighton on Tuesday night.

We’re now well set for Gameweek 26 with some big decisions ahead.

78 Points in Gameweek 25 for a green arrow up to 56K!

The Data – FPL Gameweek 26 Strategy

Goalkeepers

Goalkeepers FPL Points Conceded and Scored, with their next four fixtures based on FPL Points Conceded

As we can see, it’s Norwich that have given up the most FPL points to opposition Goalkeepers so far.

Wolves, Arsenal, Watford and Brentford make up the remaining five. It’s worth noting that the postponements are skewing these figures slightly, so I’ve also done this on a Points Per Game (PPG) basis:

The Goalkeeper Data on a Points Per Game Basis

What we see is that Burnley creep into the teams conceding the most points on a PPG basis.

When we look at FPL Points scored by goalkeepers, Arsenal are top on a PPG basis, with Wolves, Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea making up the top five.

When we look at the fixtures, Arsenal and Brentford both have decent fixtures coming up, and with this weeks double, I’d expect Aaron Ramsdale (£5.1m) to gain plenty of ownership, despite a blank gameweek next week.

Defenders

Defenders FPL Points Conceded and Scored, with their next four fixtures based on FPL Points Conceded

Chelsea are still top of the table for FPL Points scored by their defenders, but Man City are catching them up.

Liverpool, Arsenal and Wolves make up the top five teams scoring the most FPL points.

Norwich sit bottom of the table for points conceded. Burnley, Brentford, Wolves and Watford make up the teams conceding the most FPL points to opposition defences. Wolves both scoring and conceding lots of FPL Points. Now let’s look at it on a PPG basis:

Points Conceded and Scored on a Points Per Game (PPG) Basis

We see Burnley and Everton creep into the teams conceding the most FPL Points to opposition Defenders now, having played less games overall.

Looking at the fixtures, I’d expect popular moves to be for Arsenal and Wolves Defenders, given that they have a double gameweek this week (more on these specific matchups later).

Midfielders

Midfielders FPL Points Conceded and Scored, with their next four fixtures based on FPL Points Conceded

The Midfield Table shows Liverpool are now only four points clear at the top for most FPL points scored. Man City have been closing the gap significantly in recent weeks after some monster midfield hauls. However this week Liverpool play Norwich and Leeds – the two teams conceding the most FPL Points to opposition midfielders. So I’d expect this gap to widen again.

Man United, Chelsea and West Ham complete the top five in terms of Points Scored.

Norwich have conceded the most FPL points to opposition Midfield units so far.

Leeds, Brentford, Watford and West Ham make up the five teams conceding the most points. Let’s see how this changes on a PPG basis:

Points Conceded and Scored on a Points Per Game (PPG) Basis

Here we see Burnley back in the teams conceding the most FPL Points to the opposition position, replacing West Ham. We also see that Leeds are conceding marginally more FPL Points to opposition Midfielders than Norwich on a PPG basis.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Man United all have decent fixtures, but with those first two teams blanking in Gameweek 27, you’ll need to ensure you have suitable cover (unless you plan to Free Hit in Gameweek 27).

Forwards

Forwards FPL Points Conceded and Scored, with their next four fixtures based on FPL Points Conceded

Watford, Leicester, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Southampton make up the top five teams with Forwards scoring the most FPL points so far.

A lot of these teams play two up top each week, which can sway the numbers to a certain extent.

There really isn’t a lot to choose from at this position right now, making it tricky to identify targets for our team.

Newcastle, Everton, Norwich, Man United and Watford are the teams conceding the most FPL points to opposition forwards. Let’s see what the PPG table looks like:

Points Conceded and Scored on a Points Per Game (PPG) Basis

Watford Forwards are averaging 11.2 PPG at the moment, but with Roy Hodgson entering the fold, their swashbuckling days may be numbered.

Southampton have three green fixtures coming up, but its difficult to work out who will play each week as they like to rotate their attackers.

Home and Away Data – Points Per Game Basis

FPL Points Conceded and Scored for each position, both Home and Away, on a PPG Basis

The teams performing badly at home according to FPL Points Conceded per game are Watford, Norwich, Burnley, Wolves and Everton.

On the other hand, Norwich, Leeds, Crystal Palace, Brentford and Burnley are performing poorly away from home. Note that Burnley and Norwich are giving up plenty of points regardless of whether they’re home or away.

The teams performing well at home according to FPL Points Scored in respect of Points Per Game are Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs.

Liverpool and Man City are absolutely dominating in their home fixtures, averaging over 60 FPL Points Scored per game.

The teams performing well away from home according to total FPL Points Scored per game are Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City and Wolves.

Specific Double Gameweek 26 Data For Double Gameweek Teams

Arsenal

Arsenal’s Double Gameweek Data

Arsenal really go have a plum tie coming up against Brentford. The Bees are in the top five teams conceding the most FPL Points at every position when they play on the road. Considering that The Gunners themselves are in the top five teams scoring the most FPL Points in the Goalkeeper and Defender positions when they play at home, I think Ramsdale and someone like Ben White (£4.5m) are both excellent plays.

Burnley

Burnley’s Double Gameweek Fixtures

This is a pretty tricky double for Burnley, looking at the data. Spurs are in the top five teams giving up the most FPL Points to Opposition Goalkeepers, so Nick Pope (£5.4m) could have a decent week. Wout Weghorst (£6.5m) and Maxwell Cornet (£5.9m) could also be considered, but with Midfield spots at a premium and Forward lacking options, Weghorst would be my play, if he’s passed fit for the weekend.

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace Double Gameweek Fixtures

I’m almost viewing this Double Gameweek as a single, given the difficulty of the Chelsea fixture. The Watford game is very nice for Palace, given that at home, Watford are in the top five teams conceding the most FPL Points to the opposition at each position.

The only position that Palace do well in is Forward, where they are in the top five teams both at home and away. Odsonne Edouard (£6.5m) could be a good option but it’s clear that he’s a rotation risk, and with one of these games against Chelsea, I don’t think I’d be considering him.

Leeds

Leeds’ Double Gameweek Fixtures

This isn’t a good double for Leeds. Given their form as well, I’d say that they’re a hard pass. I’d normally consider Raphinha (£6.5m) but given his substitution and the comments from his manager about that decision being tactical over injury, I’d be weary of him being a nailed asset for now.

Liverpool

Liverpool’s Double Gameweek Fixtures

This is the probably the best Double Gameweek Liverpool could have hoped for. Both Norwich and Leeds are in the top five teams conceding the most FPL Points to opposition Defenders and Midfielders when they play away from home. Mohamed Salah (£13m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m), Andrew Robertson (£7.1m) and Diogo Jota (£8.5m) could all do extremely well this week.

Note: Jota was taken off with an ankle injury in the Champions League game against Inter Milan on Wednesday night and is awaiting a scan.

Liverpools defence are averaging the most FPL Points scored per game at home and their Midfielders are only behind Man City. I’d fully expect Salah to be Triple Captained by the majority of players this week. There is slight concern over reduced minutes, but we’ve seen what he can do in reduced minutes before when he came off of the bench against Crystal Palace last season.

are Elite FPL Managers playing the Triple Captain this week?

Spurs

Spurs’ Double Gameweek Fixtures

Looking at the data, it is suggested that whilst the Man City game is a bit of a write off, the Burnley game is actually better for the defensive assets in Spurs team. Hugo Lloris (£5.4m), Sergio Reguilon (£5.4m) and Emerson Royal (£4.9m) could all do well against Burnley.

Most of the chances Burnley have conceded in their last six games have been down their right hand side, so I think Reguilon would be my choice, but we’ve seen how prone to rotation he is.

Watford

Watford’s Double Gameweek Fixtures

In the very small timeframe that Roy Hodgson has been in charge of Watford, it is clear that they are now focussed on a “Defence First, Attack Second” style of play. This is bad news for all of those FPL Managers on Watford Forwards. I can’t see it getting much better in this double either. You might be better off going with a Watford Defender/Ben Foster (£4.1m) and hoping for a couple of 0-0 draws.

Wolves

Wolves’ Double Gameweek Fixtures

If I were to target any Wolves assets, it would be either their Defenders, or an outside punt on Raul Jimenez (£7.4m). I’d back either Conor Coady (£4.7m) or Romain Saiss (£5m) to potentially nick an attacking return against Leicester, and there’s a very real chance their game against Arsenal could bring a clean sheet.

Jimenez looked like he was starting to find some confidence against Spurs, and with a game in Gameweek 30, I think he’s a solid option for the next few weeks.

FPL Gameweek 26 Team

So after that deep dive into the data, here is the current lineup for Gameweek 26:

The Gameweek 26 Bus Team

The potential injuries that both Jota and Weghorst have could rule out my original plan of Bench Boosting this week. Fortunately though, we have a ready made Triple Captain in Mohamed Salah. The Vice Captaincy will probably go to Trent Alexander-Arnold.

If both Jota and Weghorst are fit, I may upgrade Neal Maupay (£6.6m) to Raul Jimenez (£7.4m). However to do this, I’d need to free up some cash, so I may look at transferring out Bruno Fernandes (£11.7m) to Heung-Min Son (£10.7m).

Transfers – FPL Double Gameweek 26 Strategy

If Jota is out, I may look at a reshuffle and attempt to bring in Andy Robertson. This would, however, provide me with a bench headache if I’m not bench boosting.

As always I’ll wait for news from the Press Conferences before deciding what is best.

Captaincy – FPL Double Gameweek 26 Strategy

Mohamed Salah. Either as regular captain or as my Triple Captain. No one else comes close to him this week.

the best captain for FPL Double Gameweek 26

Conclusion – FPL Double Gameweek 26 Strategy

Well there we have it. As always, there is a lot to think about ahead of the weekend. I hope you’ve found this interesting and it would be great to hear your thoughts on it!

If you’re on Twitter and you’d want to drop me a follow, I’m @RichP_FPL. Cheers!

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FPL Gameweek 26 Strategy – Using FPL Points as a Metric

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