FPL Double Gameweek 26 announced: Fixtures, initial reaction and chip thoughts

Eight teams will have a Double Gameweek 26 after more previously postponed Premier League matches were rescheduled on Thursday morning.

The headline news is that Liverpool get their mooted double-header against Norwich City and Leeds United, so thoughts will inevitably turn to the Triple Captain chip in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

The other clubs with two fixtures in Gameweek 26 are Arsenal, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Leeds, Tottenham Hotspur, Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 26 FIXTURES

DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 26 REACTION

DOES THE FREE HIT IN GAMEWEEK 27 NOW BECOME MORE APPEALING?

With Liverpool and Arsenal enjoying the best of the ‘doubles’ in Gameweek 26, many FPL managers will be wanting to stock up on players from the Reds and the Gunners.

However, the two teams are set to blank in the very next Gameweek after it:

Liverpool and Arsenal were due to face each other in Gameweek 27 but that fixture is definitely postponed because of the clash with the EFL Cup final.

The Reds will definitely be without a league match in Gameweek 27 if they beat Cardiff City at home in the FA Cup fourth round this weekend.

Arsenal are out of the FA Cup so technically have a free midweek but their outstanding fixtures, against Liverpool, Spurs and Chelsea, are all against teams still in the cup. Even if one of those sides were to be eliminated in the fourth round, TV companies will likely dictate whether any of those previously postponed league matches could fit around the televised cup games in Gameweek 27.

Operating under the assumption that Liverpool and Arsenal both double in Gameweek 26 and blank in Gameweek 27, then a Free Hit – for those with the luxury of doing so – in the latter might be the best way to navigate it.

TRIPLE CAPTAIN IN GAMEWEEK 26…?

Many of us have a Triple Captain chip burning a hole in our pockets and a huge opportunity to use it has now emerged after this morning’s fixture announcement.

Liverpool’s double-header against Norwich and Leeds will see many of us flocking towards Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) with the armband.

There are caveats, as Klopp’s troops are in EFL Cup final action four days after the Leeds game – so might we see some managed minutes for key FPL assets in that second Double Gameweek 26 clash as a result?

Handing the Triple Captain chip to Salah probably won’t have season-changing results either, as so many others will be backing him and his ‘effective ownership’ will be through the roof, so rank gains will likely be modest.

…OR BENCH BOOST?

Not many of us were expecting Double Gameweek 26 to be quite so big, so now an alternative chip strategy might present itself: the Bench Boost.

A quick look at the LiveFPL site suggests that the average manager in the top 10k (using this pool of managers as an example) owns just over six players from the eight teams who double in Gameweek 26.

So with three/four free transfers to use between now and the Double Gameweek 26 deadline, coupled with maybe a hit or two, many FPL managers will be well on their way to getting out a full starting XI who all have two fixtures.

Then there are the teams with appealing ‘single’ Gameweek 26 fixtures, such as West Ham United (home to Newcastle), Aston Villa (home to Watford), Brighton (home to Burnley) and Manchester United (away to Leeds), whose players many of us already own and who could easily rack up tidy scores despite the lack of a second match.

ONLY ONE GAMEWEEK 26 FIXTURE FOR GALLAGHER

Crystal Palace have two fixtures in Double Gameweek 26 but one of their most-owned Fantasy players, Conor Gallagher (£6.1m), will only have one match.

That’s because the on-loan midfielder will be ineligible to face his parent club, Chelsea, in the first of the Eagles’ two games.

AZ AND SONALDO’s DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 26 REACTION