This article is part of our The Armband series.
If we learned anything from the last gameweek, it's that you shouldn't trust me for this weekend's games. I was spot-on in backing both Manchester City and Liverpool for captaincy, while fading Arsenal and Chelsea. The last time I was perfect on back-to-back weeks in this article was… (I assume) never.
Nevertheless, I'll try and do the impossible. We didn't learn much from the midweek matches, only that Arsenal and Chelsea remain hard to trust and it'll take some time for Alexis Sanchez to get acclimated to Man United. Liverpool are extremely potent off a loss, while there's no reason to go against Man City whenever at the Etihad. The road is another story and that's where Gameweek 26 enters.
City have been somewhat unreliable in recent away matches, losing at Liverpool and drawing 0-0 at Crystal Palace. Of course, they also won their previous 11 away matches in league play so it's not an easy thing to predict. I'm more interested in Burnley, who have just four points in their last nine. They've faced Spurs, Liverpool and Man United in their last three at home, scoring once and giving up six. That all leads to Kevin De Bruyne again being one of the easiest players to trust for the armband. While he didn't get much done at Liverpool, De Bruyne had 13 shots and nine chances created in his prior three away matches. With numerous guys injured around him, he took on a more attacking role against West Brom and that's the hope again. Sergio Aguero may be slightly harder to trust, but he provides the upside with nine shots on goal and seven chances created in his last four starts. Raheem Sterling is the differential of the bunch, though he hasn't been getting as many shots off with just four on goal in his last four starts. For the defensive-minded, Nicolas Otamendi and Kyle Walker could be useful options against a side that likes to sit back.
The other team in focus for the gameweek is Man United at home against Huddersfield. The Red Devils didn't do much in the loss at Tottenham, but they should turn things around in a favorable spot. Huddersfield have lost their last four matches, allowing 12 goals and scoring just once. If there was a week to captain David de Gea or Antonio Valencia, this would be it. Choosing the player who will have the most success up front may be a little more difficult. It doesn't help that they didn't show much with Alexis in the lineup against Spurs. Anthony Martial is the player no one is thinking about for captain, yet he's been great with three goals, 14 shots and five chances created in his last four starts. I'd consider him over Romelu Lukaku, who has blanked numerous times even when United score multiple goals. As for Alexis, he could easily go off, but I'll wait for that to happen before captaining him.
Arsenal (v. Everton) and Tottenham (at Liverpool) are both out of the question for me. Again, I can't trust Harry Kane against any of the top five clubs and that rang true last match even if he had opportunities against United. Spurs have looked great at times on the road this season, but they also lost all three matches to Man United, Arsenal and Man City by a combined 7-1 score line. That should fit in nicely for Mohamed Salah, who can't be stopped and has three goals and three assists in his last three home league matches. Between Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, I'd roll with Firmino, but only slightly. The Brazilian is a much better goal scorer due to position and has six goals (and three assists) in his last seven starts.
Chelsea are in a good spot to rebound against Watford, who have two points from their last five matches. At this point, it's a toss up between Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata and Pedro. Don't overlook Pedro's stats when he starts, as he has 17 shots and seven chances created in his last three. With Willian out, he'll continue to make the starting XI and that'll only be a positive for his fantasy prospects.
For the rest, there are two players who stand out: Callum Wilson (v. Stoke) and Jamie Vardy (v. Swansea). Stoke have a clean sheet in their last two league matches, but that's not swaying me because Bournemouth have scored at least two goals in five of their last six. Wilson has been efficient with four goals and two assists in that period. Swansea are suddenly in form and that hurts Vardy considering he takes so few chances each match. Vardy has 11 goals this season but has just 19 shots on net, which is an incredible rate.
