🚨 GW26 - why it's crucial and how to master it 📈

Summary for the lazy

⏰ Gameweek 26's deadline is 11:00 GMT, Saturday 4th March

😴 It'll host 10 regular fixtures

👀 A lot of managers will be playing their Wildcard

🍟 Blanks and doubles for the next six gameweeks are confirmed

🏆 Win up to £10,000 this weekend playing Fantasy5. It's free - play here.

Stick around for the official LazyFPL chip strategy of choice.

Alright?

This email will mostly be about chip strategy. Try to contain your excitement.

Whilst Double Gameweek 25 was disappointing for most (when aren't Double Gameweeks disappointing?), its events were arguably overshadowed by Tuesday and Wednesday's FA Cup games.

The results of these games - some expected, some surprising - have chartered a course through the choppy sea of double and blank gameweek confusion that thrashes before us.

But don't fear. Grab a safety vest and hop on board HMS Lazy. We'll cruise through the next six gameweeks, slaloming around the driftwood, rock formations and rusty shopping trolleys vying to sink us.

There's onboard entertainment (a Celine Dion tribute, obviously), a 24h buffet and drinks included. All aboard.

Turn your fantasy smarts into a £10k prize

By virtue of reading these emails, there's a semi-decent chance you know more about fantasy football than most. At the very least, you probably know your Haalands from your Holgates.

Playing Fantasy5 is probably the best way to ensure that knowledge doesn't go to waste (well, unless your mini-league is paying the winner 10 grand). It's free, easy and quicker to enter than you can say "it turns out the best Double Gameweek 25 attacker was Gabriel Martinelli...who woulda thought?".

We talked about Fantasy5 last week: it's the free-to-play prediction game where you pick five players who you think will hit their fantasy points targets each week. If you get all five right, you win £10,000 (the top prize varies if you're not based in Ireland/UK).

Btw, we've created a free Fantasy5 mini-league for UK/Ireland players. The winner will get a year's worth of free LazyFPL premium, which is basically priceless (but is actually worth around £36).

Here's my selection for this week. This is what you're up against...

If you're in the UK, playing Fantasy5 means you'll need to create an account with BoyleSports (don't worry, it's still free and there's no deposit required). 18+ only, gamble responsibly, visit begambleaware.org.

The stuff we learned this week

Let's start with this. It's the latest from @BenCrellin, and it sheds a lot more light on what to expect from the rest of the season.

The most important change since our last email is that Blank Gameweek 28 has now been cemented. And guess what? It's not as bad as we feared.

Brighton, Fulham, Liverpool, Man City, Man United and, perhaps most painfully for FPL managers, West Ham will all blank in Gameweek 28. This, reader, is the biggest blank gameweek of the season. Consider ourselves lucky.

There's also more clarity around Gameweek 32, which once threatened to be a much bigger blank. Instead, a maximum of four teams will blank. They are likely to be Man City, Man United, Brighton and Chelsea, but Fulham and Leeds could replace two of those sides and blank instead.

In a bizarre turn of events, it's Brentford that are suddenly fighting off the desperate advances of points-hungry managers - a line I never thought I'd write. They have six fixtures in the next four gameweeks, with no blanks between now and the end of the season either. Brighton players are also popular.

The next section will cover chip strategy. The section after that will cover the players worth looking at.

The best FPL chip strategy

In a rush? Well, it's probably:

- Wildcard Gameweek 26 (that's this week) or Gameweek 27 - Bench Boost in Massive Double Gameweek 29 - Free Hit in GW34/37 (depending on which is the better double)

Here's the explanation: I'm not the sort to exaggerate, but the chip-strategy feud that currently divides FPL managers could engulf the entire world in war.

There are two chip-wielding camps, one of which already has its finger hovering over the Wildcard button, threatening to press it imminently. Let's look at them both:

Camp 1:

• Wildcard Gameweek 26 (that's this week) or Gameweek 27

• Bench Boost in Massive Double Gameweek 29

• Free Hit in GW34/37 (depending on which is the better double)

The logic here is that Wildcarding this week or next lets you attack Double Gameweek 27, navigate Blank Gameweek 28 and attack Massive Double Gameweek 29 with the Bench Boost. You can then use your Free Transfers and your Free Hit to prepare your team for Blank Gameweek 32 and the Doubles in 34 and 37.

Camp 2:

• Wildcard in Gameweek 33

• Bench Boost in not-so-massive Double Gameweek 34

• Free Hit in Blank Gameweek 28 or even Double Gameweek 29

The logic here is similar to Camp 1, but swapped around. It argues that Free Transfers are better used now, so that the Wildcard can be used to prepare for the final straight of the season.

A bit of analysis

Camp 1 is way more popular amongst the managerial elite. Some of the best managers in the world are playing their Wildcards as we speak, including The Professor. He outlined his logic (and Wildcard team selection) in last night's Premium newsletter.

The key advantage to playing it now is that, for most teams, it's the easiest way to adequately prepare for the blanks and doubles ahead without taking hits.

The key disadvantage to playing it now is that we know less now than we will later. Ivan Toney is two yellow cards away from a two-game suspension. Will he pick up another one this week? There's also an international break between Gameweeks 28 and 29, which usually means at least one injury to your carefully crafted squad.

Camp 2, meanwhile, is quickly becoming the fringe choice. This chip strategy is for the FPL hipsters; artisanal, hand-crafted and only available on vinyl. It does give you more data to work with, and some teams are already nicely set-up to navigate the next four gameweeks with free transfers alone.

Fundamentally, it's very team dependent. If you have a lack of Brighton, Brentford and Newcastle players and you've over-indulged in Liverpool assets, you're probably better off in Camp 1.

**THIS PART IS SUBJECTIVE**

Personally, I like the idea of waiting another week before I pull the trigger, regardless of potential price rises. A lot can happen in Gameweek 26: Toney could get booked, key players could get injured and y'know what? I rather like my team as it is. Sue me (but please don't).

The best players for the next four gameweeks

We'll reveal the Professor's team shortly, but in the mean time, here are some players to consider when preparing for the next four gameweeks.

Ivan Toney - as mentioned, if he gets two yellows in his next eight matches, he gets a two-match ban. According to @LetsTalk_FPL, he currently gets a yellow every 2.63 games. Still, he's Brentford's main man, and it's unlikely his ongoing gambling tribunal will resolve in a ban before the end of the season.

Robert Sanchez - one for Kepa owners. Apparently Brighton's keeper rotates perfectly with Kepa, and when has rotating your goalkeepers ever resulted in heartbreak? From @FPL_Harry:

Double Brentford defence - this sounds mental, but expect to start seeing it everywhere. There's method to the madness, too. Since the World Cup, Brentford have - statistically at least - the 6th-best defence in the league. Pinnock and Mee are our choices.

Brighton attackers - the three M's, Mitoma, March and Mac Allister, are picking up steam. March has the best stats, Mitoma has the form, Mac Allister's appeal has increased recently but his role in the side is too fluid to depend on his current numbers being sustained.

Ollie Watkins, an extra Newcastle defender (probably Schar) and triple Arsenal are also popular.

The key stats

The need-to-know numbers for Gameweek 26.

The best captain for Gameweek 26

A watershed moment for 22/23 captaincy, because it looks like Erling Haaland won't be the most popular captain amongst active managers, despite having the same number of fixtures as everyone else.

Usurping the Norse God is the in-form Bukayo Saka, who plays Bournemouth at home.

Is that the right decision? Let's have a quick look.

This comparison of their underlying stats since the restart tells an interesting story. Saka, despite his impressive goalscoring form, is massively over-performing. Remarkably, he's only had 4 big chances since Gameweek 17.

Haaland, meanwhile, has had 19.

Newcastle are clearly the tougher opponent. Since the restart they have enjoyed one of the best expected goals conceded away from home, whilst Bournemouth have the fourth-worst.

But Man City are a more potent attacking threat at the Etihad too. Since Gameweek 17, they've registered the same xG at home as Arsenal, but in two fewer games.

So do you go for the statistically superior Haaland with the trickier fixture, or the over-performing Saka with the easier fixture?

Both are good options, but in 50/50 instances like this, I tend to opt for the one with the later kick-off. That way, I can stave off the inevitable disappointment for a little while longer.

Saka it is.

The Professor is playing his Wildcard

It's happening.

Here's what he's got so far, but it's subject to change. If you want to know exactly who he ends up with, you'll need to be part of the Premium WhatsApp group. Sign up to Premium here.The Prof is likely to captain Saka and currently sits at 87k OR.

The Prof had to send this in a jiffy on his work laptop, so you can't see the BetterFPL chrome extension in action, but using it has made picking a Wildcard team loads easier. Try it for free for a month using the code [FPLTIPS].

Other important tidbits

• James Maddison should be fine for the weekend, in case you were worried.

• Thiago Silva is out for 6 weeks

• You enjoyed last week's Venn-diagram. Here's a mutated version to account for the latest fixture updates (note that Brentford is the only team in every circle).

Right, that's your lot. Good luck with Gameweek 26, we'll be back in your inbox at the same time next week.The FPLTips team.