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Who are the best FPL Challenge GW26 picks? Players who feature in this Tuesday’s match between Chelsea and Leeds United will have their points doubled. We use Opta data to find the top players to target.
It’s Gameweek 26 of FPL Challenge, and we’re confronted with another of the Premier League’s biggest rivalries. This time it’s a real classic: all players are awarded double points when Chelsea host Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Chelsea took a gamble when appointing Liam Rosenior as successor to Enzo Maresca last month, but it has paid off so far – the Blues have won seven of their nine games in all competitions under their new head coach, scoring an impressive 2.4 goals per game.
This is an interesting match for Leeds because it was the reverse fixture at Elland Road in December – a 3-1 win for the hosts – that served as the starting gun for what has been an outstanding period for Daniel Farke’s side, who have been beaten only twice across their last 13 games.
With both teams filled with capable point-scorers, you might be expecting a clear-cut selection this week, with three players picked from each side. But you would be mistaken. This isn’t any ordinary week of FPL Challenge.
Read our player selections below to find out why.
Goalkeepers and Defenders
David Raya, Gabriel Magalhães and Jurriën Timber: Arsenal vs Brentford (A) and Wolverhampton Wanderers (A)
Yes, you read that correctly – in a week where Chelsea and Leeds players are awarded double points, we’re tripling up on Arsenal’s defence by selecting David Raya, Jurriën Timber and Gabriel Magalhães.
That’s because Chelsea and Leeds players aren’t the only ones with an increased scoring ceiling this week.
Arsenal reached the EFL Cup final by eliminating Chelsea at the semi-final stage, and their Premier League match against Wolves, which would have been played on the weekend of the final, has been brought forward to February 18, a date that will be included in GW26.
This means that we can now benefit from Arsenal’s defensive excellence for trips to both Brentford and Wolves.
The Gunners have an FA Cup match against Wigan sandwiched in between, and this should make it easier to predict who will start both league games. Mikel Arteta will likely use the Wigan game for rotation while going full strength against Brentford and Wolves.
It’s never easy to predict who will score the goals for Arsenal, and so tripling up on their clean-sheet potential therefore feels most wise.
Only Erling Haaland (7.5) averages more points per start than Gabriel (7.4) in FPL this season, and we’ll be handing the Brazilian the armband as a result.
Midfielders
Cole Palmer: Chelsea vs Leeds United (H)
No shocks here – our first Chelsea selection is Cole Palmer.
The England international has been struggling with an ongoing groin problem for some time now, and there have been concerns that it could put his place in the Three Lions’ World Cup squad at risk if the issue doesn’t subside.
As a result, even though we’re well into the second half of the season, it had felt like his campaign had never truly gotten started. Gameweek 25 changed everything, though.
Palmer scored a hat-trick away to Wolves on Saturday, albeit two came from the penalty spot, and he did so in 38 first-half minutes. It was the third time he’s scored three first-half goals in a Premier League game, and he is now the only player in the competition’s history to have done so as often.
He is now averaging 13.7 minutes per point this season in FPL, the best rate of any Chelsea player. Palmer is simply a must-own in GW26.
Bruno Fernandes: Manchester United vs West Ham (A)
You have to be an incredible player to still be selected in a Gameweek where two teams have double points and two teams play twice. Bruno Fernandesis an incredible player.
The Portuguese star scored against Tottenham last time out, and in doing so, became only the sixth player to register 200 combined goals and assists in all competitions for United in the Premier League era, after Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes.
Rooney (295 games) was the only Man Utd player to reach this milestone in fewer appearances than Fernandes, who played his 314th game for the club at the weekend.
It continues a quite incredible run of form for the United captain, who has earned a league-high 74 points since GW15 despite missing three matches during this period.
Michael Carrick’s side do face a rejuvenated West Ham this week, but no opponent seems capable of stopping them from achieving an elusive fifth consecutive victory.
Forward
João Pedro: Chelsea vs Leeds (H)
Our final selection goes to Chelsea’s João Pedro, who may be enjoying the best run of form of his career.
The Brazilian has returned figures of eight points, 12 points, 10 points and eight points across his last four outings in FPL, with three goals and four fantasy assists.
Indeed, across the last four gameweeks, João Pedro leads all players in FPL for total points (38), bonus points (8), attacking returns (7) and minutes per point (7.1).
Both of his fantasy assists against Wolves came from winning penalties that were then converted by Palmer, which showcases his ability to return points in a variety of ways.
GW26 Honourable Mentions
Trevor Chalobahis your best bet if you want a Chelsea defender in your team this week. He has started all but one game in the Premier League this season, while he’s also received two additional defensive contribution points in six consecutive games.
Dominic Calvert-Lewinis the best option among the Leeds squad. His scoring has slowed a little of late, but he’s still a real danger for any defence. Chelsea have conceded seven goals across their last five games in all competitions.
Viktor Gyökeresis the man to go with if you would prefer to use an Arsenal attacker instead of tripling up on their defensive assets. He hit a brace against Sunderland on Saturday, and since the turn of the year, no Premier League player has scored more goals across all competitions than him (5).
Opta Analyst’s Team Reveal: Gameweek 26 FPL Challenge Picks
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