{"id":584814,"date":"2021-02-26T09:34:52","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T14:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=584814"},"modified":"2021-02-26T09:34:52","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T14:34:52","slug":"fantasy-premier-league-gameweek-26-preview-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/26\/fantasy-premier-league-gameweek-26-preview-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 26 Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fantasy <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/01\/19\/arsenal-talent-bukayo-saka-continues-to-impress\/\" target=\"_self\">Premier League<\/a> gameweek 26 is perhaps the biggest double gameweek in the history of FPL. This bonanza of football starts this Saturday. A staggering 14 teams play twice this gameweek. Read on to find out more about it.<\/p>\n<h2>Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 26 Picks<\/h2>\n<h3>Teams That Play Once<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/06\/11\/premier-league-legends-ian-wright\/\" target=\"_self\">Arsenal<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/18\/jose-mourinho-harry-kane-decision-wolfsberger\/\" target=\"_self\">West Ham United<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/07\/steven-bergwijn-gareth-bale-key-underperformers-tottenham-hotspurs-forward-line\/\" target=\"_self\">West Bromwich Albion<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/22\/marcelo-bielsa-leeds-united-boss-looking-to-decide-his-future-at-the-end-of-the-season\/\" target=\"_self\">Leeds United<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/15\/southampton-lose-six-successive-premier-league-games-for-the-first-time-in-the-clubs-history\/\" target=\"_self\">Southampton <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/25\/returning-players-glenn-murray\/\" target=\"_self\">Brighton &amp; Hove Albion<\/a> play only once this gameweek. The other 14 teams all play twice in this massive gameweek.<\/p>\n<h3>Goalkeepers<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/7956236f\/Emiliano-Martinez\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Emiliano Mart\u00ednez<\/a> is the pick of the keepers this week. Aston Villa&#8217;s form has not been great recently but the Argentine has made a plethora of saves to gain valuable points. The last away match at Brighton was a particularly great one for Martinez as he made nine saves to earn a clean sheet. He&#8217;s kept clean sheets in the last two away trips. With two away games coming up this week, Martinez could get a lot of points.<\/p>\n<p>With three clean sheets in the last four matches, <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/2f965a72\/Alphonse-Areola?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alphonse Areola<\/a> should be considered. Fulham have improved quite a lot and their defence has been stubborn- even against top opposition. A clean sheet at Crystal Palace is possible. The home game against Spurs could be good considering their recent poor form.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/4b40d9ca\/Nick-Pope?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nick Pope<\/a> has tough fixtures but he often shines in these matches. He scored 11 points against both Arsenal and Liverpool earlier in the season.<\/p>\n<h3>Defenders<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/bd6351cd\/Joao-Cancelo?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jo\u00e3o Cancelo<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/01\/18\/resurgence-of-john-stones-key-to-manchester-city-revival\/\" target=\"_self\">John Stones<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/31c69ef1\/Ruben-Dias?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">R\u00faben Dias<\/a> remain hot picks this season. However, all of them have been rotated from time to time so nobody can say for sure which of them will start both. <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/119b9a8e\/Aymeric-Laporte?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aymeric Laporte<\/a> is also in the mix these days.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/1b84dbe1\/Lucas-Digne?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lucas Digne<\/a> has two good-looking games from which he can gain a lot of points. He will want to celebrate <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/24\/lucas-digne-signs-everton-contract-extension\/\" target=\"_self\">signing a new contract<\/a> with a good performance. However, Everton&#8217;s inconsistent home form will worry FPL managers. They have lost their last three home games on the trot.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/246d153b\/Ola-Aina?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ola Aina<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/c81d773d\/Tosin-Adarabioyo?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tosin Adarabioyo<\/a> are worthy picks this week. Fulham will play in gameweek 29 as well so one can hold them for a while. Both of them are available at 4.5.<\/p>\n<h3>Midfielders<\/h3>\n<p>In terms of FPL, <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=507c7bdf,9227838e&amp;search=Bruno+Fernandes&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bruno Fernandes<\/a> is in great form.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/01\/19\/wonderkid-joao-pedro-verbally-commits-future-to-watford\/\" target=\"_self\">Manchester United<\/a>\u00a0have two away games this week. Traditionally, the Portuguese has been quite spectacular in away matches. As always, he is never far away from a big score as the designated penalty taker and United seem to get a lot of penalties.<\/p>\n<p>Bruno Fernandes is the highest scorer in FPL so far this season. In fact, he has scored 26 points more than <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/e342ad68\/Mohamed-Salah?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mohamed Salah<\/a>, the second-highest scorer. So, despite the tough fixtures, he is a very good choice for the armband this gameweek.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Liverpool\u2019s terrible run of form, Mohamed Salah has scored reasonable points. In fact, he is the top scorer in the Premier League so far this season. The match at Bramall Lane will attract FPL managers. However, Liverpool\u2019s poor form is worrying.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/b400bde0\/Raheem-Sterling?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Raheem Sterling<\/a> has had an inconsistent season so far, but he\u2019s produced decent points on FPL recently. Unlike recent seasons, his ownership is rather low at 12.7 percent. So, a big score for him could see a huge rise in ranking. However, Sterling played for 69 minutes in the Champions League and the risk of missing one of the two games is a deterrent.<\/p>\n<p>Tottenham Hotspur are passing a torrid time. <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/92e7e919\/Son-Heung-min?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Son Heung-min<\/a> scored at Turf Moor earlier in the season. However, he has been quite poor recently. Can the South Korean rediscover his early-season form? It would be quite a gamble to hand him the armband this week. There is no doubt that he will start both as he was rested for the Europa League alongside Kane.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/01\/18\/ilkay-gundogan-metronome-manchester-city-midfield\/\" target=\"_self\">Ilkay G\u00fcndogan is in the form of his life.<\/a> The German has two home games coming up. However, will he start both? G\u00fcndogan\u00a0played the whole game\u00a0against Borussia M\u00f6nchengladbach on Wednesday night. That uncertainty is what might prevent FPL managers from captaining him. However, as G\u00fcndogan showed in the last double gameweek, even one match is enough for him to do enough damage. He scored 19 points in that one game.<\/p>\n<p>From the cheaper options, <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/7c104bb7\/Ademola-Lookman?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ademola Lookman<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/c47541e0\/Bertrand-Traore?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bertrand Traor\u00e9<\/a> could be considered. The injury to <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/b0b4fd3e\/Jack-Grealish?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jack Grealish<\/a> might see Traor\u00e9 play a more prominent role. <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/3a24769f\/Ross-Barkley?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ross Barkley<\/a> is in poor form and his place is under threat from the new signing <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/6e7f1353\/Morgan-Sanson?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Morgan Sanson<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Strikers<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/59e6e5bf\/Dominic-Calvert-Lewin?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dominic Calvert-Lewin<\/a> returned from injury to help Everton get their first win at Anfield in 22 years. He has decent fixtures this gameweek. In fact, Calvert-Lewin scored a hat-trick in the return fixture against West Brom earlier in the season.<\/p>\n<p>The striker is a tempting one to captain, that is for sure. However, Everton have been very inconsistent this season, especially at home. They have lost their last three home games on the trot. Still, Calvert-Lewin is a decent shout for the armband. Richarlison is in good form as well but Calvert-Lewin should be prioritized.<\/p>\n<p>Tottenham Hotspur are in really poor form. In fact, they have picked up only three points in the last six matches. However, the fixtures for them this week are tempting. Kane scored against Fulham earlier in the season in a 1-1 draw. Traditionally, Kane does well against this calibre of opposition. His recent form has not been great though. On a plus point, Kane\u00a0was rested\u00a0in the Europa League.<\/p>\n<p>With matches against Leeds United and Sheffield United, <a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/aed3a70f\/Ollie-Watkins?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ollie Watkins<\/a> should be considered. He is a frustrating player to own in FPL but he is bound to get chances to hurt the Yorkshire teams.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/bc0bfc64\/Josh-Maja?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Maja<\/a> is a cheap striker to consider as well if you are short of units. After a brilliant start to his Fulham career, Maja has blanked in the last two matches. However, he seems to have nailed down a starting slot for Scott Parker&#8217;s side so one could take a punt on him.<\/p>\n<h3>Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 26 Captaincy Picks<\/h3>\n<p>Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/25\/fantasy-premier-league-captaincy-dilemma-gameweek-26\/\" target=\"_self\">this article<\/a> to find out about the best captaincy picks.<\/p>\n<h3>Fantasy Premier League Top Picks<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/21a66f6a\/Harry-Kane?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Harry Kane<\/a> (\u00a311.1)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=507c7bdf,9227838e&amp;search=Bruno+Fernandes&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bruno Fernandes<\/a> (\u00a311.6)<\/li>\n<li>Ilkay G\u00fcndogan (\u00a36.1)<\/li>\n<li>Dominic Calvert-Lewin (\u00a37.7)<\/li>\n<li>Mohamed Salah (\u00a312.6)<\/li>\n<li>Raheem Sterling (\u00a311.6)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/1b84dbe1\/Lucas-Digne?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lucas Digne<\/a> (\u00a36.1)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fbref.com\/en\/players\/5eecec3d\/John-Stones?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Stones<\/a> (\u00a35.2)<\/li>\n<li>Son Heung-min (\u00a39.5)<\/li>\n<li>Emiliano Mart\u00ednez (\u00a35.3)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Main Photo<br \/>\n<a id=\"PWedBSaDT_l51OH04jlgww\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.co.uk\/detail\/1230998054\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'PWedBSaDT_l51OH04jlgww',sig:'NPXUrystb-INHiLmoqT7nRQ7Egj6UM45hv-vdDZEEoI=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1230998054',caption: true ,tld:'co.uk',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fantasy Premier League gameweek 26 is perhaps the biggest double gameweek in the history of FPL. This bonanza of football starts this Saturday. A staggering 14 teams play twice this gameweek. Read on to find out more about it. Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 26 Picks Teams That Play Once Arsenal, West Ham United, West Bromwich [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2794,"featured_media":585061,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[3009],"class_list":["post-584814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-premier-league","tag-fantasy-premier-league"],"modified_by":"Tom Cunningham, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2794"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=584814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/584814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=584814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=584814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=584814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}