The FPL action continues after a midweek Gameweek 24, with Double Gameweek 25 on the horizon.
It was a welcome return to high-scoring GWs for managers, with some popular FPL assets returning points, despite Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo blanking. Diogo Jota and Philippe Coutinho finished with 16 points apiece, with Kevin De Bruyne and Jarrod Bowen also picking up double-digit hauls.
I had a sub-par Gameweek in comparison, despite scoring 58 points against the GW average of 50. My captain Harry Kane's blank, combined with the absence of the likes of De Bruyne and Aaron Ramsdale, meant I dropped out of the top 50K.
However, a Double Gameweek for Manchester United and Brighton allows me to make amends almost immediately.
After his heroics in GW 24, Philippe Coutinho is understandably the most transferred-in player ahead of GW 25. However, Salah could edge him out for the top spot before the deadline. Budget option Jacob Ramsey has also proved to be popular after his brace.
With a much larger Double GW 26 also coming up, FPL managers have lots to think about before making their transfers in Gameweek 26. They should ensure they do so ahead of the GW 25 deadline on Saturday.
Gameweek 25 Deadline: Saturday, February 12, at 11:00 AM (GMT)/ 04:30 PM (Indian Standard Time).
FPL Gameweek 25 Fixtures
Gameweek 25 kicks off with a Saturday afternoon GMT kickoff between Manchester United and Southampton at Old Trafford. Manchester City will travel to Carrow Road later in the day.
Liverpool will make a trip to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on Sunday, with Spurs hosting Wolves at the same time. Leicester City will take on West Ham United later on.
The Gameweek will conclude with a second fixture for Manchester United and Brighton, with both sides meeting at Old Trafford on Tuesday night GMT.
Click here to view the full fixtures of FPL Gameweek 25.
FPL Team suggested for the previous Gameweek
Here is the suggested team for FPL Gameweek 24:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (TOT) (£5.4 million) and Ben Foster (WAT) (£4.0 million).
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (MUN) (£4.5 million), Matthew Cash (AVL) (£5.0 million), Joao Cancelo (MCI) (£6.6 million), Marcos Alonso (CHE) (£5.6 million), and Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) (£8.0 million).
Midfielders: Jarrod Bowen (WHU) (£6.7 million), Diogo Jota (LIV) (£8.0 million), Marcus Rashford (MUN) (£9.4 million), Demarai Gray (EVE) (£5.5 million), and Phil Foden (MCI) (£8.0 million).
Forwards: Ollie Watkins (AVL) (£7.5 million), Harry Kane (TOT) (£12.2 million), and Joshua King (WAT) (£5.8 million).
Captain/Vice-Captain: Harry Kane/ Trent Alexander-Arnold.
GW 24 Average score: 50.
GW 24 Transfers made: 1.
Points Scored (- hits): 58 (-0): 58.
Overall Points: 1498.
Overall Rank: 71,129.
Free Transfers available: 1.
Money Remaining: £0.2 million.
Note: Prices of players reflect their current saleable values (at the time of writing), and not their market values.
FPL Transfers
1) Marcos Alonso (CHE) (DEF) (£5.6 million) - OUT | Marc Cucurella (DEF) (BHA) (£5.1 million) - IN.
With a double in GW 25 and some appealing fixtures afterwards, it looks like the right time to bring Brighton's Marc Cucurella into the team. The La Masia graduate is a nailed-on starter in Graham Potter's side and a major creative outlet down the left.
Brighton has been unlucky not to keep more clean sheets, often conceding despite solid performances in defence. They'll look to be more clinical in the next few Gameweeks. Cucurella offers good value at his price, and should pick up some points over the next few Gameweeks.
Best FPL Team for Gameweek 25
Gameweek 25 Bench: Ben Foster (GK) vs BHA (H), Matthew Cash (DEF) vs NEW (A), Joshua King (FWD) vs BHA (H), Demarai Gray (MID) vs LEE (H).
While the last couple of Gameweeks were low-scoring for most FPL managers, the lack of returns from my team despite having good fixtures on paper is worrying. The Aston Villa assets and Phil Foden haven't delivered the goods for my team, and I'm hoping they finally deliver on their promise in GW 25.
The three Double GW players I have are Marcus Rashford, Diogo Dalot and Marc Cucurella. Rashford has been in decent form, but is yet to score on a start. He'll look to return to his best in front of his home fans, and better United's attacking output.
Dalot, meanwhile, has cemented his spot in his team as the first-choice right-back. However, he hasn't offered much in attack, and that's something he'll look to improve. Cucurella is a decent differential, and could record FPL hauls against Watford and Manchester United.
Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Joao Cancelo and Jarrod Bowen have been consistent performers for quite a while now. However, with most top FPL managers owning them, their performances don't affect the overall rankings much.
Lastly, Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris will look to steer Spurs to a win over Bruno Lage's Wolves after a disappointing loss in midweek. Kane could easily have had a double-digit haul against Southampton, so he'll look to make amends in this game.
I am worried about going into this Double Gameweek without any of the big hitters in Salah, Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes. I would hope my players deliver on their underlying stats to help propel me back into the top 50K.
Gameweek 25 - FPL Captaincy
Gameweek 25 captaincy is tricky, with many appealing single-fixture options proving to be tempting alternatives to Manchester United and Brighton FPL assets. However, my armband is currently on Marcus Rashford, who has a decent chance of starting both games, despite Anthony Elanga's presence.
However, United's recent performances don't inspire confidence, with neither Southampton nor Brighton likely to be easy opponents. That puts the likes of Alexander-Arnold, Joao Cancelo and Phil Foden in contention for captaincy. I'll make my final decision closer to the deadline.
Best FPL XI for Gameweek 25 - Summary
Starting XI
GK - Hugo Lloris (TOT) vs WOL (H).
DEF: Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) vs BUR (A), Diogo Dalot (MUN) vs SOU (H), BHA (H), Marc Cucurella (BHA) vs WAT (A), MUN (H), and Joao Cancelo (MCI) vs NOR (A).
MID: Diogo Jota (LIV) vs BUR (A), Marcus Rashford (MUN) vs SOU (H), BHA (H), Phil Foden (MCI) vs NOR (A), and Jarrod Bowen (WHU) vs LEI (A).
FWD: Harry Kane (TOT) vs WOL (H), and Ollie Watkins (AVL) vs NEW (A).
Formation: 4-4-2.
Bench: GK - Ben Foster (GK) vs BHA (H), 1st Sub: Matthew Cash (DEF) vs NEW (A), 2nd Sub: Joshua King (FWD) vs BHA (H), 3rd Sub: Demarai Gray (MID) vs LEE (H)
Chips activated: None.
Transfers made: 1.
Points Hits taken (if any): None.
Captain: Marcus Rashford | VC: Marc Cucurella.