Fantasy Premier League managers who have patiently waited to use their bonus chips will be getting twitchy fingers ahead of an intriguing upcoming double gameweek.
Over the course of a Premier League campaign, FPL bosses can use four different chips to hopefully boost their points tallies. They are the wildcard (x2), free hit, bench boost and triple captain.
The optimum time to use them, with the possible exception of the wildcard, is for a double gameweek when some clubs have twice as many games as usual. This is the case in Gameweek 25 with Brentford, Liverpool, Luton Town and Manchester City all playing two matches.
If you are tempted to pick one this week, it looks to be a straight shootout between the triple captain and the bench boost, with title challengers City and Liverpool both having a strong pair of fixtures. Free hit looks as though it would be better saved for a blank gameweek in 26 or 29.
i‘s top scorers in Gameweek 24
- Erling Haaland – 13 points vs Everton: Haaland’s first Premier League goals since the end of November saw him earn a fifth double-digit score of the campaign.
- Diogo Jota – 7 points vs Burnley: Jota continued his fine form in front of goal by nodding in Liverpool’s opener against the Clarets. He has scored five goals in his last six league games.
- Ivan Toney – 6 points vs Wolves: Toney has provided attacking returns in three of his four matches this season after finding the net in Brentford’s win at Molineux.
Includes players selected in i‘s Fantasy Football newsletter
One thing to take into consideration is that Gameweek 26 will be a blank one with eight games rather than the usual 10 being played due to the Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Chelsea at Wembley. Luton and Spurs are the two other clubs that will have the weekend off.
The Gameweek 25 deadline is at 11am on Saturday 17 February.
This is an extract of i’s Fantasy Premier League tips. Sign up here to receive the newsletter every week this season for our full 11-player team, advice on the best captain and more!
Gameweek 25 fixtures
*3pm kick-off unless otherwise stated
Saturday 17 February
- Brentford vs Liverpool (12.30pm)
- Burnley vs Arsenal
- Fulham vs Aston Villa
- Newcastle vs Bournemouth
- Nott’m Forest vs West Ham
- Spurs vs Wolves
- Man City vs Chelsea (5.30pm)
Sunday 18 February
- Sheffield Utd vs Brighton (2pm)
- Luton vs Man Utd (4.30pm)
Monday 19 February
- Everton vs Crystal Palace (8pm)
Tuesday 20 February
- Man City vs Brentford (7.30pm)
Wednesday 21 February
- Liverpool vs Luton (7.30pm)
Erling Haaland (Man City)
There is unlikely to be a more obvious time to use your triple captain chip than on Erling Haaland in Gameweek 25.
Haaland’s performance against Everton in City’s last league fixture will have convinced plenty of managers to activate their triple captain.
After barely having a touch for the first 70 minutes, Haaland delivered two late goals to win his side the game, smashing home a volley on his right foot before bullying Jarrad Branthwaite en route to bagging a second with his left.
His Premier League record at the Etihad is phenomenal. Since making his home debut in the competition in August 2022, the Norwegian has scored 30 goals and registered 10 assists in just 26 games, averaging 7.96 FPL points per appearance.
If Haaland maintains that average in Gameweek 25 he will end up on a colossal 48 points if you triple captain him. It’s extremely tempting.
Price: £14.4m Points: 131 Gameweek 25 fixture(s): Chelsea (h), Brentford (h)
Andy Robertson (Liverpool)
A fully fit Trent Alexander-Arnold would be the optimum defender to own for this double, however his half-time substitution against Burnley due to a knee issue is a worry for FPL managers. Jurgen Klopp may not fancy risking him in both games with the Carabao Cup final taking place a few days after the Luton fixture.
If you already own Alexander-Arnold wait to see what Klopp has to say about his availability on Friday before making a decision. The good news is that every other defender in FPL is cheaper, meaning you can easily swap him out for someone else in the Liverpool backline, such as Virgil van Dijk or Andy Robertson.
In last week’s tips, we said Van Dijk was the best defender to buy for the double given his reliability of starts and while that remains a fair argument Robertson is a more exciting, differential option. The Scot played 90 minutes against Burnley last Saturday and looked sharp, creating five chances and having one shot. He is in just three per cent of squads at the time of writing.
Price: £6.4m Points: 29 Gameweek 25 fixture(s): Brentford (a), Luton (h)
Ivan Toney (Brentford)
Brentford’s fixtures are not the best, but Ivan Toney has shown in the past that he is well capable of scoring against any team in the Premier League on his day. City will be all too aware of Toney’s threat given he netted both goals against them in a shock 2-1 home defeat last season.
A clinical first-time finish at Molineux last weekend means that Toney has managed four goal contributions (three goals and an assist) in four appearances since returning to action following his eight-month suspension. The Bees have looked good in general up front with Toney back, averaging two goals per game.
Toney can probably be ruled out of the captaincy conversation given Liverpool and City are in the top three defensive sides in the division this season, but he could conceivably score against one or both of them. He has had more big chances (with six) than any other player since his first appearance of the campaign in Gameweek 1.
Price: £8.2m Points: 26 Gameweek 25 fixture(s): Liverpool (h), Man City (a)
Phil Foden (Man City)
Just over two weeks on from scoring a hat-trick (and earning his best-ever gameweek score) against Brentford, Phil Foden faces them again in the second of Manchester City’s fixtures.
The Bees were powerless to prevent Foden from beating them almost single-handedly on their own turf and with Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne both fitter now than they were then, City’s attack looks even more formidable. Foden has been in fine form of late, registering four goals and four assists in his last seven outings.
City’s first game against Chelsea could also be profitable for their attackers as the Blues are unlikely to be content with sticking 10 men behind the ball for the entire game. Should they look to take the game to City, Foden and co will have spaces to exploit.
If you have the funds, tripling up on Foden, De Bruyne and Haaland looks like a solid investment.
Price: £8m Points: 127 Gameweek 25 fixture(s): Chelsea (h), Brentford (h)
Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
It’s hard to think of anyone who has frustrated FPL managers as much as Darwin Nunez has since he joined Liverpool, as those who owned him in Gameweek 22 will no doubt attest when “Captain Chaos” hit the woodwork a record four times in the win over Chelsea. Life is a rollercoaster when you’re watching the Uruguayan through an FPL lens.
There will be FPL managers out there who have vowed to never pick Nunez again after being burned by him in the past, but that would be unwise. Liverpool have two decent fixtures away at Brentford and then at home to Luton which boosts Nunez’s appeal.
Here’s further food for thought for the non-believers. Since Gameweek 19, Nunez has registered four goals and two assists in six games and is second only to Bukayo Saka for expected goals. Besides Haaland, he’s the best forward to own this week.
Price: £7.6m Points: 96 Gameweek 25 fixture(s): Brentford (a), Luton (h)
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