Best FPL differentials: Bukayo Saka owners have ready-made replacement in Arsenal's Noni Madueke
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By Ben Grounds
Published 05/02/2026 at 21:13 GMT
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Fantasy Premier League is back for Gameweek 25 and there is a Friday night deadline courtesy of Nottingham Forest's trip to Leeds United - so do not get caught out by the 18:30 GMT cut-off point. Chelsea forward Joao Pedro is the most transferred-in asset this week after his recent upturn in form but differential options include Arsenal winger Noni Madueke and West Ham defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
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Fantasy Premier League is entering the business end of the season, with just 14 rounds remaining. Most managers will still have plenty of cards up their sleeve, so planning when to activate them becomes crucial in order to make up ground in mini-leagues and the pursuit of a competitive overall rank.
This week, the make-up of March's Carabao Cup final became known, with the ripple effect leaving FPL managers contemplating how best to navigate the first Double Gameweek of the season, as well as the Blank Gameweek caused by Arsenal and Manchester City booking their place in the Wembley showdown.
Arsenal will have two fixtures in Gameweek 26, owing to their away match with Wolverhampton Wanderers being brought forward, while Man City's home encounter with Crystal Palace - originally scheduled for March 21 - will need to be rearranged at a later date.
Tripling up on Arsenal, therefore, will be a popular move among the herd, in addition to increased investment in the likes of Manchester United's attack, who will look to spearhead a fourth league win in a row when they take on Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Saturday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
If you are unsure where to turn, here are three other players who could make a big difference in Gameweek 25.
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As ever, the categories are:
Player 1: Max 10% ownership
Player 2: Max 5% ownership
Player 3: Max 2% ownership
FPL players only have until the 18:30 UK time deadline on Friday, February 6, to make changes to their side ahead of a full round of fixtures.
1. Eli Junior Kroupi, £4.7m - Forward, Bournemouth, 6.1% - Aston Villa (H)
Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth are worth our attention. The Cherries are on a hot streak despite the sale of Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City midway through last month. Semenyo's story at the Vitality Stadium had its fairytale ending as he plundered a stoppage-time winner against Tottenham.
It ended an 11-game winless run for Bournemouth but, since waving Semenyo goodbye, Iraola has not looked back. His side were denied victory at Brighton & Hove Albion in spectacular fashion late on, but successive wins over Liverpool and Wolves mean the visit of out-of-sorts Aston Villa will hold little fear.
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Junior Kroupi celebrates his sublime finish at Wolves last weekend
Image credit: Getty Images
This was the fixture which introduced the south coast club to the big time back in August 2015, when Eli Junior Kroupi was just nine years old. Now, after eight Premier League goals already to his name this season from just 10 starts, he has a record in his sights.
As confirmed by the Premier League, the last French teenager to hit double figures in a single top-flight season was Nicolas Anelka while at Arsenal during the 1998/99 campaign. He ended up on 13 before he turned 20 - a milestone Junior Kroupi does not celebrate until June.
Having come a long way already from his days turning out for Lorient's reserve team in 2022/23, his shot conversion rate is the best of any player in the division - his eight goals coming from just 21 shots (38.10%).
As reported by Opta, only three non-British teenagers in Premier League history have reached double figures in a single season, with Anelka joined by Robbie Keane and Romelu Lukaku, but do not back against Kroupi joining that esteemed company as early as this weekend against a Villa side starting to look over their shoulders in the race to qualify for next season's UEFA Champions League.
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2. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, £4.1m - Defender, West Ham, 4.2% - Burnley (A)
It is not often this season that a West Ham United defender would have been on your radar. After all, no side has conceded more than the 30 goals shipped in the second half of games.
From a defensive perspective, the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo was expected to lead to a more robust outfit.
But since the Portuguese took charge back in September, they have chucked away almost as many points - 15 - as they have earned in total. From a position of relative control against Chelsea last weekend, a second-half collapse continued that trend to keep The Hammers marooned in the relegation zone.
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Aaron Wan-Bissaka provided two assists against Chelsea
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Notably, West Ham appointed the former Rayo Vallecano boss Paco Jemez as first-team coach in January 2026. The Spaniard is renowned for his attacking style and that has already been reflected in the side's more expansive use of full-backs.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was instrumental in how Espirito Santo's side set the proverbial cat among the pigeons in the opening half an hour at Stamford Bridge, providing both the assists for Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville, who has been shortlisted for the Premier League Player of the Month award for January.
Having tipped Summerville in this column a fortnight ago, we return to offer a further gift in claret and blue against shot-shy Burnley. Scott Parker's side are staring relegation firmly in the face having failed to register an effort on target away to Sunderland in a 3-0 reverse on Monday night.
Wan-Bissaka will be awaiting their response and, having recently earned DEFCON points in the victory at Tottenham, his potential as an enabler at £4.1 million feels worthy of our investment.
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3. Noni Madueke, £6.8m - Midfielder, Arsenal, 0.8% - Sunderland (H)
With 325,963 sales at the time of writing, Bukayo Saka is the most transferred-out player this week after the Arsenal winger limped out of his side's warm-up against Leeds last weekend.
There have been reports that Saka is set to miss the next three Premier League games, with the North London derby against Tottenham earmarked for his return on February 22.
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Noni Madueke provided a goal and an assist against Leeds
Image credit: Getty Images
Arsenal's fixtures remain good in the short-term, however, and so the 12.3% of FPL owners should consider offloading Saka in favour of his understudy Noni Madueke.
Drafted in at short notice at Elland Road, Madueke collected a 14-point haul to end his long wait for a goal in the competition stretching back to January 2025 and his time at Chelsea.
But the 23-year-old looked like he was ready to make up for lost time, having been used predominantly from the start in cup competitions this term by Mikel Arteta, with Saka blocking his pathway.
Inheriting his share of set-piece duties to go with his open-play threat, the visit of travel-sick Sunderland to the Emirates Stadium feels too good an opportunity to focus solely on the Arsenal defence.
Stream the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Men's and Women's FA Cup and more on TNT Sports and discovery+
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