This article is part of our Fantrax Waiver Wire series.
Gameweek 26 is weird. Your captain may not not take the pitch until a week after selecting him. While it's nice to have matches spread out over a period of seven days in the gameweek, it also means you have to project who will start a week from now. Of course, you could stick with your Liverpool players and captain Mohamed Salah, but a week from now Sadio Mane could return and bag a hat trick against Norwich City.
FPL DIFFERENTIALS
Maybe the biggest thing to prepare for is the League Cup final between Aston Villa and Manchester City, which gives four teams no matches in Gameweek 28, Arsenal and Sheffield United the other two. That means you can drop Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or... wait it out. There aren't a ton of differential moves at forward because of the Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford injuries, but there are players worth a look if you're feeling lucky. Cenk Tosun would be at the top of the list, but I don't think he returns from injury for this weekend's match. Others like Chris Wood, Joelinton, Mbwana Ally Samatta and Oliver McBurnie are at least in the discussion. Wood is by far the best of those candidates and has a manageable schedule with Bournemouth and Newcastle coming up in the next few weeks.
Maybe the biggest move to make would be dropping Kevin De Bruyne for Mane with the thought that Mane returns for the trip to Norwich.
Gameweek 26 is weird. Your captain may not not take the pitch until a week after selecting him. While it's nice to have matches spread out over a period of seven days in the gameweek, it also means you have to project who will start a week from now. Of course, you could stick with your Liverpool players and captain Mohamed Salah, but a week from now Sadio Mane could return and bag a hat trick against Norwich City.
FPL DIFFERENTIALS
Maybe the biggest thing to prepare for is the League Cup final between Aston Villa and Manchester City, which gives four teams no matches in Gameweek 28, Arsenal and Sheffield United the other two. That means you can drop Sergio Aguero and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or... wait it out. There aren't a ton of differential moves at forward because of the Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford injuries, but there are players worth a look if you're feeling lucky. Cenk Tosun would be at the top of the list, but I don't think he returns from injury for this weekend's match. Others like Chris Wood, Joelinton, Mbwana Ally Samatta and Oliver McBurnie are at least in the discussion. Wood is by far the best of those candidates and has a manageable schedule with Bournemouth and Newcastle coming up in the next few weeks.
Maybe the biggest move to make would be dropping Kevin De Bruyne for Mane with the thought that Mane returns for the trip to Norwich. That's a risky bet, but you aren't gaining much ground with De Bruyne, as he's the most popular player in the Premier League's official fantasy game, now on more than 50 percent of rosters. I've been on the Son Heung-Min bandwagon for a while and that'll continue until he's on more than 10 percent of squads. He gets more opportunities without Harry Kane on the pitch and has scored in each of the last two contests. Bruno Fernandes is drawing some attention after getting three shots on target in his first appearance, but he's not an automatic add with an upcoming schedule that features trips to Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham, as well as a home match against Man City. Of course, there isn't similar upside for other differential players unless you think James Ward-Prowse can benefit from a favorable upcoming slate, starting with back-to-back home matches against Burnley and Aston Villa.
John Lundstram has been benched the last two matches, and that could lead to some transfers out for the most popular defender. If you want to stick with Sheffield United, I'm still backing Jack O'Connell and John Egan despite a GW28 blank. The same goes for Arsenal, who are hoping to draw every match. Surrounding their GW28 blank, the Gunners are home against Newcastle, Everton and West Ham. Injuries are an issue, but Hector Bellerin is back for now and Shkodran Mustafi has started the last two. However, since their GW26 match is Feb. 16, there's a decent chance newcomer Cedric Soares returns from injury. Southampton will surely get at least one clean sheet in this upcoming stretch, and they have a slew of cheap defenders, namely Jan Bednarek.
FANTRAX FINDS
Because of injuries, there are a few options to add at forward in draft leagues, with Jay Rodriguez remaining the logical choice. While away to Southampton, he's produced six shots in three starts against Arsenal, Man United and Leicester and should continue that form as long as Ashley Barnes misses out again. Some will be keen on Glenn Murray, but I wouldn't count on him getting another start. It makes more sense to back Christian Benteke or Theo Walcott, assuming the latter is forward eligible. The Everton winger has played all but two minutes the last two matches and hosts Palace this gameweek.
The midfield is a little more limited, though you can get plenty of defensive players like Will Hughes or Harry Winks, who should both return to starting roles. There's not much to be had in terms of upside unless you're banking on Andros Townsend to return to a significant role or Roberto Pereyra to continually find the back of the net. It's mostly defensive midfielders who are available and in some leagues, that's fine.
It's a slightly better week for finding defenders to swoop up, especially if Cedric can get his first start for Arsenal. Bednarek is getting overlooked in a lot of leagues and should provide decent production home against Burnley. Kortney Hause and Ezri Konsa remain widely available and it wouldn't be surprising if they played Tottenham tight. There aren't many more moves unless you think Watford can keep Brighton in check, which leads to Adrian Mariappa, who is available in 98 percent of Fantrax leagues.
CAPTAIN DEEP DIVES
While Gameweek 26 is spread out, there are a lot of places to go for captains. Salah may be the most popular choice, but De Bruyne and Aguero won't be far behind at home against West Ham. If you want to take a different approach, this is a perfect time for Danny Ings to get back on track at home against Burnley, while Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are intriguing against Crystal Palace. Raul Jimenez is a possibility for the armband mostly because Leicester have had some recent defensive issues. Aubameyang hasn't been consistent, but home against Newcastle is a viable spot for a rebound performance, as long as you're fine waiting until Feb. 16 for your captain to play.
