Who to target for Double Gameweek 25: Man United vs Brighton
On Wednesday afternoon, the Premier League announced that one previously-postponed match has been moved to Tuesday 15th February and created a Double Gameweek 25 for two teams – Manchester United and Brighton.
BRIGHTON vs Watford (a), Man United (a)
MAN UNITED vs Southampton (H), Brighton (H)
WHO TO TARGET
This certainly adds to the dilemma about whether it’s worth keeping Cristiano Ronaldo or not, as those are two very promising home encounters. He’s frustrated managers by not scoring over the last four Gameweeks and missed out completely against Aston Villa, so it seemed a natural time for many to sell as part of the plan to bring Mohamed Salah back in. Now it’s not so straightforward.
It’s also tricky for owners of Bruno Fernandes, who was the star of Double Gameweek 22 by raking in 23 points but was likely seen as a short-term gap for Salah. The season has felt underwhelming for Fernandes, whose 2020 arrival immediately brought FPL success, yet his 57 chances created is narrowly behind Trent Alexander-Arnold and far ahead of third place. With it not known whether the Egyptian will start against Leicester, it could be argued that Fernandes is worth keeping for a couple more Gameweeks until after this double.
Man United defensive options like David De Gea and Diogo Dalot have frustrated FPL managers over their run of supposedly promising fixtures. Some were postponed, with goals then conceded against Newcastle, Burnley, Wolves and Brentford. However, by facing the Clarets again in Gameweek 24 ahead of Double Gameweek 25, it’s probably worth holding on for slightly longer.
Fellow goalkeeper Robert Sanchez is already a popular choice yet should gain ownership over the next few weeks. In 18.2% of teams, Brighton have only kept two clean sheets since Gameweek 8 but – after their imminent blank – follow up this double by facing Burnley (H), Aston Villa (H) and Newcastle (a).
Alexis Mac Allister is a differential midfielder who has found recent form. Priced at £5.3m and owned by 0.8%. He has started each match since Gameweek 19 and his 16 shots in that period have only been bettered by Ronaldo and Harry Kane, notching two goals and an assist.
He’s burnt owners over his two full seasons but Neal Maupay is currently having his best Premier League season yet. By late January, he’s already matched his most assists and is 70% of the way towards his best goals count of ten. The main question is whether he starts both matches.
