Fantasy Premier League 2015-16: Players to pick for gameweek 26

ByAkilesh Radhakrishnan, SportsCafe Editor

02/11/2016

Early in gameweek 25, Riyad Mahrez delighted neutrals and FPL managers alike when he put Manchester City to the sword, as the league leaders issued a statement of intent. It got worse for Pellegrini's men as another FPL favourite, Dele Alli, came off the bench to set up the only goal of the game to take Tottenham to second place.

City's drop from second to fourth was complete when Ozil and co-managed a win and a shutout at Dean Court. Do note that Gameweek 27 will be a blank week for the league cup finalists (Liverpool and Manchester City) and their GW27 opponents (Everton and Newcastle). Hopefully, this post will help you snare players who can fill in for the likes of Aguero and Barkley when the time comes.

Gameweek 26 fixtures

Sunderland v Man Utd

Bournemouth v Stoke

Crystal Palace v Watford

Everton v West Brom

Norwich v West Ham

Swansea v Southampton

Chelsea v Newcastle

Arsenal v Leicester

Aston Villa v Liverpool

Man City v Tottenham

Player Picks

Forwards

Costa (10.6) - Going at nearly 7 points per game since Hiddink took charge, the Spain striker is among the top options up front with form and fixture difficulty both on his side.

Rooney (10.0) - Following a barren first half of the season, Rooney has notched up 5 goals and 3 assists in the last 6 gameweeks. You could do worse than pick up a player on fire, facing the league's worst defence.

(Also Read: Man United – The transformation of Rooney and why he has not waned off)

Afobe (6.1) - Afobe has proved to be good business for Bournemouth with 3 goals in 5 games since his arrival. Selected by under 1% of FPL players, he could prove to be a shrewd differential pick at home against a struggling Stoke side.

Midfielders

Payet (8.2) - The Frenchman had an explosive return from injury, but has gone cold ever since. Faith in him remains strong at 22% ownership, and it is faith that should be rewarded as he faces a defensively dire Norwich side.

Mahrez (7.1) - The Algerian firecracker is a fixture-proof choice this season. He is capable of delivering the goods at the Emirates, and the fixtures beyond are a dream.

Firmino (8.2) - This is more of a 'hold' than 'buy'. Fresh investment in Firmino would be ill-advised as Liverpool do not play in Gameweek 27, but a game against Aston Villa after being rested midweek should see him as an outside favourite for the captaincy.

(Also Read: Thank you, Brendan Rodgers, for this mediocrity – A Liverpool fan’s lament)

Sigurdsson (7.0) - Investment in Gylfi remains thin on the ground at 4% ownership, despite him taking his recent tally to 5 goals in 6 games. Probably not the best pick against Southampton's iron defence, but he's bang on form.

Defenders

Daniels (4.6) - The Cherries left-back is cheap, gets forward, takes penalties and has a promising schedule up to Gameweek 30. Get in.

Dann (5.8) - The centre-half found the net in Wales last weekend, and the upcoming fixtures (Watford home, West Brom and Sunderland away) look good for adding clean sheet points to his goal threat.

Ivanovic (6.6) - He spends all his time in the opposition half and has a favourable run of games ahead, starting with Newcastle at home.

Keepers

David de Gea (5.6) - He's a premium keeper in premium form, and the upcoming fixtures hold plenty of promise for clean sheets.

Forster (4.9) - Southampton have kept clean sheets in all 5 games since Forster's return from injury. One shouldn't ignore that sort of form.

The Writer's Team