The first proper Double GW of this season of FPL is upon us, and managers are going all out to maximize the benefits. Manchester City, Liverpool, Brentford and Luton are the four teams that will play twice in this GW.
GW 24 saw many FPL managers use their Wildcard, and the result was a pretty high-scoring week. Owners of Arsenal defenders and Erling Haaland captainers hauled big, with the Norwegian netting a late brace against Everton. Managers who sold Bukayo Saka also instantly regretted the move, as he scored twice, registering a 15-point haul.
After handing the armband to Diogo Jota (who scored one goal) over Haaland, I suffered a late red arrow courtesy of a Cole Palmer haul. Nevertheless, a rank drop of 40K isn't the worst going against Haaland, but it isn't ideal, as I had played my Wildcard.
Ahead of DGW 25, FPL managers' plans were thrown for a toss when Alexander-Arnold pulled up injured and was ruled out till the start of March. He's understandably the most-sold player, with the injured Pedro Porro also being shipped out in droves.
Erling Haaland, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez are the most-bought FPL assets ahead of this DGW and understandably so. Whatever your transfers and chip decisions are, ensure that you make them, and lock your team ahead of the DGW25 FPL deadline on Saturday morning UK time.
Gameweek 25 Deadline: Saturday, February 17, at 11:00 am (GMT)/ 04:30 pm (IST)
FPL Gameweek 25 Fixtures
GW 25 kicks off with Liverpool's away clash against Brentford on Saturday afternoon followed by five 03:00 pm GMT kick-offs, including Spurs' home fixture against Wolves. Manchester City and Chelsea face off at the Etihad later in the day.
Manchester United take a trip to Kenilworth Road on Sunday evening, with Everton taking on Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Monday night. The first of 'The Double' fixtures is on Tuesday night when Brentford visit the Etihad. DGW 25 concludes with Luton's Anfield clash with Liverpool.
FPL team suggested for previous GW
Here's the suggested team for the previous GW:
Goalkeepers: Neto (BOU) (£4.6 m), Martin Dubravka (NEW) (£4.2 m)
Defenders: Kyle Walker (MCI) (£5.4 m), Alfie Doughty (LUT) (£4.6 m), Kieran Trippier (NEW) (£6.8 m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) (£8.4 m), Jan Paul van Hecke (BHA) (£4.0 m)
Midfielders: Alejandro Garnacho (MUN) (£4.9 m), Bukayo Saka (ARS) (£8.8 m), Phil Foden (MCI) (£8.0 m), Richarlison (TOT) (£7.1 m), Diogo Jota (LIV) (£8.0 m)
Forwards: Erling Haaland (MCI) (£14.3 m), Elijah Adebayo (LUT) (£4.9 m), Darwin Nunez (LIV) (£7.5 m)
Captain/Vice-Captain: Diogo Jota/ Erling Haaland
GW 24 Transfers made: Wildcard Played
Points Scored (- hits): 65 (-0): 65
Overall Points: 1,415
Overall Rank: 4,61,655
Free Transfers available: 1
Money Remaining: £0.0 m
Transfers
1) Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) (DEF) (£8.4 m) - OUT | Gabriel (DEF) (ARS) (£5.1 m) - IN
Trent Alexander-Arnold's withdrawal at half-time against Burnley was revealed to be a knee injury.
His getting ruled out of DGW25 has thrown a wrench into the plans of plenty of FPL managers, including myself. While I am considering like-for-like replacements like Virgil van Dijk or even Conor Bradley, the best long-term replacement is an Arsenal defender, and that's why I'm settling on Gabriel.
The centre-back offers one of the highest goal threats for a defender in FPL, also playing for the best defence in the league. At £5.1 million, he's certainly an excellent pick for the rest of the season.
Best FPL Team for Gameweek 25
Gameweek 25 Bench: Bench Boost Played
It was disappointing to see a potential green arrow on the GW 24 Wildcard turn into a red arrow after Cole Palmer's late show against Crystal Palace on Monday, with the Wildcard not exactly going to plan.
Nevertheless, I'm pleased with the overall Wildcard team and am confident of my chances of a significant green arrow playing my Bench Boost here.
I have three Doublers from Manchester City, and two of them are pretty heavily owned. Kyle Walker is the only player whose ownership enters somewhat differential territory. I'm hoping that he can lock down two starts in the two games and help keep a couple of shutouts.
The Liverpool duo of Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez found the net against Burnley last week. While the return of Mohamed Salah could reduce their minutes a bit, I expect them to rake in the attacking returns across the two fixtures against two leaky defences.
Elijah Adebayo and Alfie Doughty have been in great attacking form for Luton in the last few games. They're certainly capable of returning against the Manchester United and Liverpool defences.
My main differentials this week will be Alejandro Garnacho and Jan Paul van Hecke, with Garnacho facing Luton away from home and Van Hecke Sheffield United away. The likes of Bukayo Saka and Richarlison are other well-owned FPL assets and could contribute some handy rank-boosting points.
Lastly, Kieran Trippier is my FPL premium asset that not many managers own right now. At home to Bournemouth, I'm hoping for a rare Newcastle clean sheet and an attacking return to get a trademark Trippier haul.
Gameweek 25 - FPL Captaincy
Erling Haaland is likely to be triple-captained by plenty of FPL managers, and there's a good chance that his effective ownership gets above 200%, making my captaining him ineffective. However, going against him in this DGW seems too risky, especially with two home fixtures he's likely to start in.
However, there's a chance that he's granted compassionate leave for personal reasons. If pre-deadline news breaks unfavourably on his availability for either of the two games, Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Phil Foden are the options I will consider for captaincy.
Best FPL XI for Gameweek 25 - Summary
Starting XI
GK: Neto (BOU) vs NEW (A) and Martin Dubravka (NEW) vs BOU (H)
DEF: Kyle Walker (MCI) vs CHE (H), BRE (H), Gabriel (ARS) vs BUR (A), Alfie Doughty (LUT) vs MUN (H), LIV (A), Kieran Trippier (NEW) vs BOU (H), Jan Paul van Hecke (BHA) vs SHU (A)
MID: Bukayo Saka (ARS) vs BUR (A), Diogo Jota (LIV) vs BRE (A), LUT (H), Phil Foden (MCI) vs CHE (H), BRE (H), Alejandro Garnacho (MUN) vs LUT (A), Richarlison (TOT) vs WOL (H)
FWD: Darwin Nunez (LIV) vs BRE (A), LUT (H), Erling Haaland (MCI) vs CHE (H), BRE (H), and Elijah Adebayo (LUT) vs MUN (H), LIV (A)
Bench: Bench Boost Played
Chips activated: Bench Boost
Point Hits Taken: None
Captain: Erling Haaland. | VC: Diogo Jota