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A swift turnaround is coming in Fantasy Premier League with a Friday deadline this week followed by another next Tuesday.
After back-to-back double gameweeks involving Liverpool, things settle down this weekend with a regulation 10 matches taking place.
Even so, the Reds are the main point of interest as they are involved in the titanic fixture of Gameweek 26 against Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.
Arsenal will look to keep the pressure on the leaders when they host West Ham, while Brentford and Bournemouth assets are likely to come into focus ahead of promising upcoming fixtures.
This week’s deadline is at 6.30pm on Friday, 21 February.
Jordan Pickford (Everton)
It’s a damning indictment of Manchester United’s misfiring strike force that it would be surprising if Everton fail to keep a clean sheet against them.
The Red Devils have failed to score in five of their last nine league matches and have lost Amad Diallo, their leading scorer since Ruben Amorim took charge, to injury until the end of the season.
Alejandro Garnacho is without a goal in 18 games; Rasmus Hojlund has gone 15 games without one; Joshua Zirkzee has one in 13; even Bruno Fernandes has drawn five successive blanks. Jordan Pickford gets the gloves.
Price: £5.1m Points: 108 Gameweek 26 fixture: Man Utd (h)
Gabriel (Arsenal)
West Ham have yet to enjoy a new manager bounce under Graham Potter and have struggled for goals lately, scoring just twice in their last four league matches.
Arsenal, meanwhile, registered their ninth clean sheet of the campaign away at Leicester City last weekend, a record that only Liverpool and Nottingham Forest (both 10) can top.
Gabriel has had at least eight more shots on goal than any other Arsenal defender and remains the standout option from Mikel Arteta‘s backline.
Price: £6.3m Points: 100 Gameweek 26 fixture: West Ham (h)
Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth)
Bournemouth have lost just one of their last 13 league matches (to Liverpool in Gameweek 24) and Milos Kerkez has been one of many in red and black to catch the eye.
During that run, Kerkez has provided two goals, an assist and five clean sheets. His excellent form has not gone unnoticed with Liverpool among the clubs circling.
The Hungarian ranks joint-fourth for defender points in FPL over that period, along with teammate Dean Huijsen (£4.5m) who is an alternative option for managers shopping on a budget.
Price: £5m Points: 92 Gameweek 26 fixture: Wolves (h)
Djed Spence (Spurs)
Question: Which team has earned the most clean sheets over the past two gameweeks? Answer: Tottenham Hotspur.
That’s right, Ange Postecoglou‘s great entertainers have shut up shop by registering back-to-back shutouts in wins over Brentford and Manchester United.
Djed Spence has been a key reason, earning consecutive Player of the Match awards and claiming a maximum of three bonus points in both games. He is owned by just 0.3 per cent of managers at the time of writing.
Price: £4.4m Points: 31 Gameweek 26 fixture: Ipswich (a)
Dango Ouattara (Bournemouth)
You may have noticed that we’re playing a game of Cherry Roulette with our picks. Antoine Semenyo has made the cut a few times, while Justin Kluivert got the nod last week.
Now, it’s Dango Ouattara’s turn. The versatile Burkina Faso international started only four of his team’s opening 15 league fixtures but has established himself as a regular of late and flourished as a makeshift No 9.
Only Mo Salah and Phil Foden have scored more goals (11 and seven) than Ouattara (six) since Gameweek 15 and he has also contributed three assists in that time. Despite his form, he is still selected by fewer than five per cent of managers.
Price: £5.1m Points: 93 Gameweek 26 fixture: Wolves (h)
Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
When FPL offers you a gift, you take it. Priced at just £4.6m and set to become a regular starter for the second-best team in the division, Ethan Nwaneri’s in-game avatar may as well come with bows and a gift tag attached.
The 17-year-old has made an electric breakthrough this season. Only Kai Havertz (with 15) and Bukayo Saka (nine) have scored more times for the Gunners than Nwaneri (seven) and both are currently out injured.
Despite limited game time, Nwaneri has produced three attacking returns (two goals, one assist) in his last four appearances. And across the whole of 2024-25, he is second only to Saka for shots per 90 minutes in Arsenal’s squad.
Price: £4.6m Points: 39 Gameweek 26 fixture: West Ham (h)
Mo Salah (Liverpool)
Sunday’s game at the Etihad is monumental for Liverpool who have left the door leading to the Premier League trophy slightly ajar to Arsenal after two draws in their last three matches.
If the Reds are to seal a big three points, Mo Salah will inevitably have played a big part. Salah’s form has been so imperious that he leads both the goalscoring and assist tables by five apiece (24 goals, 15 assists).
Even though Liverpool have suffered a mini wobble, Salah’s output has been unaffected, with six goals and two assists from his last five outings.
Price: £13.7m Points: 259 Gameweek 26 fixture: Man City (a)
Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford)
A defeat to Arsenal last Saturday condemned Leicester to a ninth loss in their previous 10 league games ahead of Brentford’s visit on Friday night.
The Bees earned just two points from their first nine away fixtures but have since taken maximum points in each of their last three on the road.
Bryan Mbeumo produced three goals and an assist in those three matches. He also ranked second for both shots (behind Yoane Wissa) and chances created (behind Mikkel Damsgaard) in those games, which shows he offers a more rounded threat than Wissa.
Price: £7.9m Points: 152 Gameweek 26 fixture: Leicester (a)
Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton)
Southampton‘s form across their last 10 has been only marginally better than Leicester’s with four points compared to three. They’ve also conceded one more goal (26 in total) in that period.
Targeting struggling teams is a staple FPL tactic which is why Kaoru Mitoma joins Mbeumo in this week’s XI.
The Japanese winger scored one of the goals of the season against Chelsea last Friday and has been in excellent form lately. Mitoma has managed three goals, an assist and three double-digit scores in FPL in his last five appearances.
Price: £6.3m Points: 105 Gameweek 26 fixture: Southampton (a)
Beto (Everton)
If you compare Beto’s form before David Moyes rejoined Everton and his form after it’s as if you’re analysing two different players.
The Guinea-Bissau forward netted four times in his first 42 Premier League games for the Toffees and has matched that total in just five appearances under the ‘Moyesiah’.
Salah is the only player to have outscored Beto in the last two gameweeks (five goals to four having played a game more) and Everton’s man in form faces an injury-hit Manchester United team next.
Price: £4.9m Points: 50 Gameweek 26 fixture: Man Utd (h)
Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace)
Beto’s transformation under Moyes is not dissimilar to Jean-Phillipe Mateta’s metamorphosis under Oliver Glasner.
Mateta’s goal against Beto’s Everton last Saturday took him to 24 in 38 matches since Glasner’s first game in charge in February last year. Only Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak, Cole Palmer and Salah have outscored him in that time.
The Eagles blank in Gameweek 29 but have a good short-term schedule either side with fixtures against Fulham (a), Aston Villa (h), Ipswich Town (h), Southampton (a) and Brighton & Hove Albion (h) in their next five. Boom, boom, boom, boom.
Price: £7.3m Points: 110 Gameweek 26 fixture: Fulham (a)
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