STUFF THAT MATTERS
📅 Gameweek 26 Deadline:
Tuesday, 10 February — 18:00 GMT
Blink and you’ll miss it. Literally. Set the alarm. Twice. ⏰😤
🎉 BIG NEWS:
GW26 is the first Double Gameweek of the season.
➡️ Arsenal & Wolves play TWICE, which means twice the joy… or twice the pain. Choose wisely. 👀⚔️
🚑 Injury Ward (grab a coffee, it’s busy)
Van Hecke 🧊 – Small hamstring niggle. Late fitness test before Villa.
Trossard 🐢 – Calf issue. Doubtful vs Brentford.
Ayari 🤕 – Shoulder injury. Return date unknown.
Struijk & Stach ❌ – Both ruled out vs Chelsea (hip injuries).
Khusanov 🧠 – Concussion. Doubtful vs Fulham.
Murillo ⚠️ – Calf problem. “Touch and go” said Sean Dyche.
Udogie 🩼 – Hamstring injury. Out for around a month.
André 💤 – Calf injury. Missed Chelsea game.
Hee Chan ⏱️ – Subbed after 42 mins vs Chelsea. Not ideal.
That’s the chaos accounted for.
Now let’s get into the fun stuff — transfers, captaincy dilemmas, and decisions you’ll regret either way 😈👉
GAMEWEEK 26 FIXTURES
PLAYER FORM
TEAM FORM
DEFCON MONSTERS
SAVE MERCHANTS
TRANSFER PLAYBOOK
DGW26 is where good managers get brave… and bad managers get creative. Let’s sort the heroes from the headaches 👇
🧤 Raya
Triple Arsenal defence in a DGW? Slightly unhinged. Potentially brilliant.
If you’re going there, Raya is the safest route. Arsenal attackers (bar Rice) are a minutes lottery 🎰 and fun fact: Raya has outscored Timber over the last 6 GWs. Clean sheets > vibes.
🧤 Sá
The other DGW keeper. Cheap, cheerful… but one fixture is against Arsenal 😬
Worth a buy only if you already have triple Arsenal outfielders and need a DGW body. Burning an FT just because he doubles? Nah.
🛡️ Timber vs Saliba
Neither racks up DEFCONs like monsters, but Timber has something Saliba doesn’t: attacking upside ⚡
If I’m picking one, it’s Timber every day.
🛡️ Virgil van Dijk
If you own him — hold him.
If you don’t — he’s actually a legit buy. Decent fixtures and solid DEFCON output recently.
🦅 Crystal Palace assets
Fixtures: BUR (H), WOL (H), LEE (H) by GW30 👀
• Munoz = attacking threat
• Richards / Lacroix = DEFCON machines
• Sarr = back-to-back goals 🔥
Only catch? They blank in GW31, so count your blankers before you go shopping.
🎯 Rice
Let’s keep it simple: he’s the only Arsenal attacker you can trust with minutes.
Everyone else? Minutes roulette 🎡
💙 Palmer
GW25 hat-trick. Absolute scenes.
Subbed early, long rest window, FA Cup rotation likely = very strong chance he starts GW26 & GW27.
Not guaranteed, but neither is happiness in FPL. Worth it.
🔥 Mbeumo
Limped off? Panic? Relax.
No mention from Carrick = he’s fine.
Fit Mbeumo = auto-start, easy buy, easy hold.
✨ Wirtz
4 double-digit hauls in his last 8. Fixtures smiling at him.
No overthinking here — easy buy.
🟢 Rogers
I said keep in GW25. Hopefully you listened 😉
Great next 3 fixtures and plays vs WHU (H) in BGW31. Quietly doing honest work.
🔴 Szoboszlai
One-game ban only.
If you can bench him in GW26, hold. Long-term fixtures are tasty.
🟡 Semenyo
Good fixtures. Easy hold. Even a sneaky buy 👀
But yes… blanks in GW31, so same logic as Palace lads.
🔵 João Pedro
Talented? Yes.
Predictable minutes? Absolutely not.
If you like chaos, go for it. If not, protect your peace 🧘♂️
⚡ Mané
Sneaky DGW26 punt.
Yes, one fixture is Arsenal 😬 but the other is NFO (A) who look very generous lately.
Great option if you’re freeing cash for premium mids or Arsenal defenders.
😏 Transfers done, panic levels reduced…
Next up: Captaincy chaos, chip strategy mind games, rogue differentials, and a Team Reveal that will either make me look like a genius or a fraud.
Either way — you’ll want to see it 👀🍿
CAPTAINCY BREAKDOWN & CHIP STRATEGY
To TC or not to TC?
Welcome to GW26, where every FPL manager suddenly becomes a philosopher. 🤔
Let me make this easy: YES. I like the Triple Captain this week. 💣
“But what about GW33? GW36? Haaland later?”
Fair questions. Let’s cook. 👇
🧠 Why TC in GW26 actually makes sense
Yes, more DGWs are coming.
Yes, GW33 could be big.
But here’s the catch:
GW33 screams Bench Boost, especially with a popular GW32 Wildcard.
Saving TC for Haaland in GW33 sounds nice… until you remember one of those games is vs Arsenal 🧱 (a defence which is the league’s final boss).
GW36 might look tasty, but by then the title race could be wrapped up and Pep Roulette might be spinning at max speed 🎰.
So no — TC26 isn’t panic. It’s planning.
👑 If you’re TC’ing… who gets the armband?
Gabriel. Yes. A defender. Breathe. 🧘♂️
Why Gabriel?
Arsenal’s biggest weapon = defense
Gabriel’s profile = clean sheets + DEFCONs + goals + bonus
Timber & Rice are flashy.
Gabriel is reliable violence. 💥
To quote The Mad Titan:
“Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.” 🟣
🏟️ “But both games are AWAY 😰”
Relax. The numbers have your back.
Better away in 9 out of 12 metrics
Slightly higher xG at home… but more actual goals away
Highest haul (15) came at home, sure — but more double-digit returns away
Translation?
Away Gabriel is still a menace. 🚨
🧨 Final word
Is triple captaining a defender risky?
Yes.
Is triple captaining Gabriel madness?
Absolutely not.
If your soul can’t handle it, save the chip — that’s fine.
But if you want to attack GW26 properly… this is the move.
What am I doing with the TC?
👀 Keep scrolling. The reveal is coming…
DIFFERENTIALS
TEAM REVEAL
I won’t lie — I wasn’t excited to write this part.
GW25 hurt. 😮💨
60 points in a mega scoring week.
Rank slide: 16.1K ➝ 27.5K.
That’s not a red arrow… that’s a red elevator. 📉
I flirted with the idea of ditching Garner/Wilson for Mbeumo, played it safe, saved the FT…
…that ended in regrets. Classic FPL. 🤡
🔄 On to GW26 — fresh slate, fresh chaos
Here’s how the squad looks before transfers 👇
This week? I’m choosing violence. 😈
Calculated violence… but still.
Already on triple Arsenal: Gabriel, Timber, Rice
👉 I’m happy to roll with it. No fear. 🧱I want Mané in
He doubles
He frees up cash
He enables the real move…
💥 Garner ➝ Palmer
Now before you scream “POINT-CHASER!” — hear me out.
This isn’t a one-week fling. This is a two-week punt. 🧠
Palmer could be a huge differential captain in GW27, and he’s too expensive to buy just for that week. So I’m getting ahead of it.
Risky? Yes.
Exciting? Also yes.
Regrettable? We’ll find out. 😬
🎯 And the big one…
Triple Captain: Gabriel 💣
Not officially locked…
…but let’s be honest — it’s 99% happening.
Am I confident?
Quietly. 🤫
Am I terrified?
Absolutely. 😭
And honestly, that’s peak FPL.
If Sir Alex Ferguson ever played this game, he’d probably sum it up perfectly:
“FPL… bloody hell.” 😵💫
That’s the GW26 blueprint. No more tinkering. No more tabs. (Okay… maybe one more.) 😭
If this goes right, we’re cooking. If not, we blame variance.
I’ll see you in the GW27 Preview, where we do this all again… willingly. 😅⚽
Till then - may your arrows be green and your punts be powerful.
See you on the other side of GW26. 💚⚽🔥