The stuff you should know.
⏰ Double Gameweek 26’s deadline is Tuesday, 10th February, 18:00 GMT ⏰
🚨 Arsenal (bre, wol) and Wolves (not, ARS) will play twice.
⏳ There are six days between Arsenal’s two Double Gameweek 26 fixtures, with an FA Cup game vs Wigan in the middle.
👀 Keep reading to find out who the Professor is triple-captaining.
Alright?
No time for moping. Or celebrating. Or whatever the hell it is you do after a gameweek ends (we like to stare into the unknowable abyss; 1 minute of staring for every big chance missed from our players).
Double Gameweek 26 knocks with tempo, like a desperate door-to-door salesman. But it’s not double-glazing on offer. It’s a double gameweek.
Swing open the door and invite us in for a cup of tea. Let’s insulate your team against the bitter winds of FPL disappointment.
Fotmob somehow got even better.
Have you seen Fotmob’s new live commentary yet? They’ve added polls, images and the ability to respond to certain actions.
It’s another reason why we use it every time there’s a game on. Live FPL points, defensive contributions, underlying stats and now an even more engaging live commentary experience.
It’s particularly useful when you can’t watch a game but still want to get a sense for how it’s going.
Find out why people message us to thank us for the introduction to Fotmob by clicking the button 👇
Double Gameweek 26’s fixtures.
The Double Gameweek checklist.
Lazy Summary: You’re probably one free transfer and a captaincy switch away from being ready for this Double Gameweek 26. Don’t overthink it.
We talked a lot about Double Gameweek 26 in last gameweek’s newsletter. So we won’t bang on about it too much here.
The thing is, you already know what to do.
Get Arsenal players. At least two, ideally three.
Probably don’t get Wolves players.
Captain an Arsenal player.
Remember that, whatever happens, you’ll still have to deal with your set of players once Double Gameweek 26 ends.
Let’s go into some detail.
The best Arsenal players to own.
Lazy summary: Gabriel, Timber, Raya, Rice, Saliba. Probably in that order.
Arsenal are competing on all fronts at the moment. There may be six days between Arsenal’s two Double Gameweek 26 fixtures, but they’ve got an FA Cup game against Wigan in the middle. Squad rotation and injury should be expected.
But there are players more likely to play 180 minutes across the two games than others. These guys are your friends.
Arsenal Defenders
David Raya and Gabriel are the two most reliable defensive picks in terms of their likelihood to play 90 minutes. Jurriën Timber hasn’t missed a minute since Gameweek 19, and William Saliba has played 90 minutes in every game since his return from injury in Gameweek 16.
Nobody is quietly ridiculing you behind your back for owning any three of these four. They might be for other reasons, but not for this.
It’s probably better to steer clear of the Piero Hincapiés and the Riccardo Calafioris of the world. Their minutes are less secure.
Arsenal Midfielders
Declan Rice is the best pick if you want the midfielder most likely to play 180 minutes in Double Gameweek 26.
Some managers are looking at Martín Zubimendi, who has scored in his last two games. But it was only in Gameweek 23 that he was hooked on 57 minutes. He’s more of a minutes risk than Rice.
With Bukayo Saka targeting a Gameweek 27 return, Noni Madueke is an interesting pick, but as we pointed out last week, he’s yet to play 90 Premier League minutes in an Arsenal shirt. His withdrawal on 59 minutes in Gameweek 25 was another reminder that, whilst he’s clearly trusted by Arteta, Arsenal still have the depth to play without him.
Arsenal Forwards
Only one of Arsenal’s forwards - Viktor Gyökeres - has completed 90 minutes this season, but the last time that happened was Gameweek 9.
The fact that Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are currently fit won’t make his chances of getting more consistent minutes any stronger.
It’s best to avoid this genre. A bit like modern country music.
The Wolves players to own if you’re that way inclined.
Lazy summary: We don’t recommend Wolves players, but Mosquera, Bueno and Mané are the picks if you insist.
We’ll say it again: We don’t advise bringing in Wolves players.
It’ll mean getting rid of a perfectly good single gameweek player. A player who might well score more points than the Wolves doubler, and a player who you’ll be happier to see in your Gameweek 27 team once the dust settles.
But we also know that, despite our best intentions, some of you will buy one anyway. You can’t help yourselves - you’re double-drunk degenerates. And if you’re going to do it anyway, we’d rather you do it safely.
Wolves’ impressive defensive stats have been wrecked by conceding two penalties against Chelsea last gameweek, but the value still seems to be in their defenders.
Yerson Mosquera if you want a chance of defensive contributions, Hugo Bueno if you want a not-so-Bueno chance of some attacking returns.
Mateus Mané is their best attacker.
But, to reiterate, this is a rogue option. Just like Wolves’ two fixtures, we are Not Arsed about bringing them in.
The best captain for Double Gameweek 26.
Lazy summary: It’s Gabriel. The Triple Captain is a reasonable option, too.
As required by UK law, it’s mandatory to captain a doubling player during a double gameweek. And it won’t shock you to hear that we’d recommend an Arsenal player over a Wolves one.
So far, so simple. The next part is trickier. Luckily for us, we covered it earlier.
Arsenal do not have an attacking talisman at the moment, which leaves Declan Rice and about four defensive picks as viable captaincy options.
Gabriel is the most-owned Arsenal player, the most dependable for defensive contributions and the most likely of Arsenal’s defenders to get an attacking return too. He will be the most-captained player among active managers this week.
He’s also a remarkably consistent scorer of FPL points. As this tweet shows, he’s never scored lower than 8 points across two games this season.
Should you Triple Captain Gabriel?
There may only be two double gameweeks this season.
If there were definitely going to be more, we’d probably take our Triple Captain and shop around elsewhere. Stick it on an Erling Haaland or a Bruno Fernandes, perhaps.
But if there are only two doubles, the Bench Boost should be used on the larger one. That’ll probably be Gameweek 33 or 36. Which leaves Double Gameweek 26 as the best opportunity for triple-captaining a doubling player.
So yes - the Triple Captain will be popular this week by process of elimination. Most good managers are using theirs.
Speaking of which…
The Professor is not making a transfer this week.
But he is playing his Triple Captain.
It goes to Gabriel, who will surely place this amongst his greatest career achievements to date.
Here’s his team:
Player form (Last 6)
Team form (Last 6)
Some extra lazy bites.
1) Daniel Muñoz is back. Prior to his injury, he was one of the best defenders in the game. He has Burnley (H) and Wolves (H) next.
2) Viktor Gyökeres is the most popular transfer in this week, doubtless owing to his brace last gameweek and his upcoming double. Our advice would be to avoid doubling players who aren’t guaranteed two 60+ minute games.
Grab your pack of tissues - it’s time to use them to wipe away tears, for once. We won’t be back in your inbox until Friday, February 20th.
Your consolation prize is a Double Gameweek 26 that stretches until next Wednesday, some FA Cup football and some Champions League fixtures to pass the time.
Enjoy the double, and remember…
Stay lazy.
The LazyFPL Team.