Following Arsenal’s aggregate victory over Chelsea in Tuesday’s EFL Cup semi-final, the Double Gameweek 26 picture is confirmed.
Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers plays twice in Gameweek 26while the other 18 Premier League clubs played just once.
The Gunners and Wolves will then do that blank in Gameweek 31.
WHY IS THERE A DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 26 + EMPTY GAMEWEEK 31?
The EFL Cup Final clashes with Gameweek 31 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
So whoever made it to Wembley had to postpone and reschedule their Gameweek 31 league match for another date.
WHO WILL ARSENAL + WOLVES FACE IN DOUBLE GAMEWEEK 26?
It’s a decent double-header for the Gunners, although both games are away.
Brentford were generally good on home soil. Only two teams have scored more home goals than their 23. Only four teams can also improve on their 12 goals conceded.
Unsurprisingly, wolves are at the bottom of the home country rankings. No one has scored fewer goals (10) on their own turf. Rob Edwards’ team concedes more than two goals per home game on average.
As for the 20th-placed outfit themselves, the Nottingham Forest game looks the most winnable test – if such a thing exists in the world of Wolves.
That said, Forest are in third place for fewest big chances since Sean Dyche took over!
EARLY THOUGHTS ON TRANSFER TARGETS
ARSENAL
The lingering worries are over Bukayo Saka (£10.0 million) may sway the minds of many FPL managers.
Declan Rice (€7.5m) will now be Arsenal’s standard (and not particularly sexy) midfielder for many managers. He has enjoyed plenty of success on the road this season, albeit at a loss on his last two away trips. Seven of his eight DefCon returns have come on his trips, along with four of his five top FPL scores.
Gabriel Magalhaes (£7.0m) is a given: he has averaged more points per start (7.5) this season than any other FPL signing in any position. Is he the most notable candidate for captaincy? Handing over the armband to a defender in a Doubles Week couldn’t go wrong…
That will probably be the case David Raya (£5.9m) v Jurriën Hout (£6.3m) for many managers’ third Arsenal choice. And a good portion will have already made their bed; few will consider rethinking their Gunners’ choices now, with one Gameweek to go, while other fires remain to be fought.
Given a blank canvas, Timber offers the threat of extras that Raya does not have, even if this is not always realized. The Dutchman is the FPL’s leading defender expected goal involvement (xGI) in 2025/26.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
As for Wolves, nothing says ‘Double Gameweek fever’ more than watching a player from a Championship club take on the league leaders in one of their two games.
Budget ahead Matheus Manen (£4.6m) is the obvious name, someone who could be deployed in the Double Gameweek before being parked on the bench for emergency relief for the remainder of the campaign. He has had more shots (20) than any Wolves player since his unbroken run in the starting XI began in Gameweek 18, albeit only four have come from inside the area.
Defender Yerson Mosquera (£4.3m) could have been an outside shot, after eleven attempts in the last six gameweeks. He has also collected DefCon points in five of his last eight appearances. However, he is on nine bookings, so that choice carries a lot of risk for probably little reward.
By Call Maduyke (£6.8 million). Three Arokodares (£5.4m), we’ll be taking a closer look at players from both sides in our Scouting the Doubles series.
FIRST CHIP THOUGHTS
When there is a Double Game Week, the temptation is to use a chip.
The Bench Boost is an option, although we expect a larger Double Gameweek further down the line (Gameweek 33 or 36). For those considering it, cheap defenders like James Hill (£3.9 million), Chris Richards (£4.4 million) and Harry Maguire (£4.3m) have fair to good matches in Gameweek 26. Mane is of course another ‘boostable’ option.
And while it’s tempting to use a Free Hit to pick Double Gameweek’s assets, many of us will a) already own two or three Arsenal players and b) won’t want to go crazy with Wolves’ picks. The Free Hit will probably also come in handy in Blank Gameweeks 31/34.
The Triple Captain is perhaps the most attractive chip. There will likely be more Double Gameweek opportunities to come, but will there be a double-header worthy of this one? For example, Man City would most likely play Arsenal in one of their Double Gameweeks (33). Clubs could also focus on other competitions in Gameweek 36, if league title/Champions League qualification/relegation is sorted by then.
Something to think about before next Tuesday’s deadline.
FA CUP divides double gameweek
Both Arsenal and Wolves have a FA Cup fourth round tie between their first and second Double Gameweek 26 matches.
Arsenal play Wigan Athletic and Wolves play Grimsby Town, so there is a good chance that second division sides will be sent to play in those cup matches.
That will be the hope from an FPL perspective anyway!
NO ARTETA PRESSER PRE-GAME WEEK 26 DEADLINE?
Another thing to note is that Mikel Arteta is unlikely to appear in the media before the Gameweek 26 deadline next Tuesday. With Arsenal in action next Thursday, we expect his pre-match press conference to take place a day after the FPL deadline.
So any lingering fitness questions (e.g. about Saka) that aren’t resolved after Gameweek 25 could go unanswered before the deadline passes.
Not that Arteta would likely have offered much help…
WHY CAN’T MAN CITY OR NEWCASTLE DOUBLE IN GAMEWEEK 26?
Whoever beats Manchester City and Newcastle United in the other semi-final will also have their Gameweek 31 league match postponed.
However, none of their excellent league matches could fall in Gameweek 26.
Newcastle will play a two-legged Champions League play-off either side of Gameweek 26. Man City Are free – but their scheduled Gameweek 31 opponents Crystal Palace are not. The Eagles also have to compete in a European play-off.
Whichever of Newcastle v Sunderland or Man City v Palace is postponed in Gameweek 31 (most likely the latter) will likely move to Gameweek 33.
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