Chip Strategy
GW7 Wildcard: budget for Palmer, Rogers and João Pedro
Chelsea’s attacking triple costs £25.4m. Compare it with a two-player draft across GW7–13, using attacking rates, average minutes and the bench you can afford.
Palmer, Rogers and João Pedro cost £25.4m between them. A GW7 Wildcard can accommodate all three Chelsea attackers, but you need enough money left for the rest of your starting XI and a bench you can use.
Our preference is to build the squad across Chelsea’s GW7–13 fixtures, then decide whether the third attacker earns his place. Pick two if buying all three forces you to accept weak cover or a starter you would otherwise replace.
Give the Chelsea picks seven fixtures
Chelsea visit Everton in GW7, then host Spurs and Manchester United. They follow that with Sunderland away, Leeds at home, Nottingham Forest away and Crystal Palace at home.
That gives you four home matches across seven Gameweeks. You can hold the attackers through several fixtures instead of expecting the Everton match to justify the whole investment. You still need to accept the away games and check each player’s fitness and starting outlook before the deadline.
Plan a review around GW14, when Chelsea host Liverpool, followed by Manchester City away in GW15. Those matches give you a reason to reassess the triple rather than commit three club slots without a later checkpoint.
Compare the price with the attacking evidence
Palmer and Rogers are FPL midfielders; João Pedro is a forward. Buying all three uses two midfield places, one forward place and your three Chelsea slots.
- Palmer: £9.7m. He averages 88.2 min/match, with 0.37 xGI/90.
- Rogers: £7.9m. He averages 86.7 min/match, with 0.55 xGI/90.
- João Pedro: £7.8m. He averages 86.2 min/match, with 0.64 xGI/90.
Here, xGI/90 means expected goal involvements per 90 minutes. These are season-to-date performance rates, not predictions for the next fixture. Read them alongside average minutes per match; a player still needs time on the pitch to turn his attacking involvement into FPL returns.
Palmer costs £1.8m more than Rogers despite the lower attacking rate so far. That gap deserves scrutiny when you build the Wildcard. You can prefer Palmer, but paying the extra needs to fit the squad you want rather than follow his price tag.
Rogers and João Pedro offer the cheaper route into two Chelsea attacking slots. Their playing-time records support consideration, although past appearances cannot guarantee the next start. Check current team news before locking either into your XI.
Put two-player drafts beside the triple
Rogers and João Pedro cost £15.7m together. Palmer and João Pedro cost £17.5m, while Palmer and Rogers cost £17.6m.
Build the £25.4m triple beside the pair you would otherwise choose. Then inspect the players you can afford in the remaining positions. If the triple forces an avoidable weakness in defence or leaves you without a usable substitute, keep the pair and spend elsewhere.
You can test future squad drafts in We Play FPL to map transfers and line-ups across the Chelsea holding period. Put your preferred pair and the triple into separate drafts, then check who starts when you need cover. A bench player has more value when you can identify the Gameweeks in which you will use him.
Three Chelsea attackers also leave you no Chelsea slot for a goalkeeper or defender. Include that restriction in the comparison if you had planned to use a defensive pick from the same club.
Buy the third attacker when the squad can support him
Choose the triple if you want to hold all three through GW7–13 and can retain a starting XI and bench you trust. Choose two when the third player takes money from a more useful squad improvement.
Before the GW7 deadline on 17 October at 10:00 UTC, check availability and expected starts, then review the whole draft. The Chelsea fixture run gives you a reason to invest; your budget decides how many attackers to buy.
Chip Strategy
FPL GW7: Sell Bruno only if the money improves your squad
Keep Bruno Fernandes unless his sale funds a stronger squad. Compare the Haaland captaincy route, Saka’s fixtures and the midfield downgrade before using your transfers.
Keep Bruno Fernandes for GW7 unless you can name the upgrade you will buy with the money. At £11.9m, he ties up enough budget to change your squad elsewhere. Selling him makes sense if you gain a preferred premium, such as Haaland for Ipswich at home, and still field a midfield you trust.
A sideways switch after a blank needs a stronger case. Bruno has Leeds away in GW7 and Bournemouth at home in GW8. You can hold him through that pair while you deal with an injured starter or preserve a transfer for new team news.
Judge the whole transfer plan
Compare your starting XI before and after the moves. Write down the midfielder replacing Bruno and the player you would remove to buy Haaland. Include any points hit and the bench player you would need if a new signing misses out.
Haaland costs £15.6m and faces Ipswich at home in GW7. You gain a strong captaincy option by buying him, but you also commit more budget to your forward line. A Bruno sale helps only if the cheaper midfielder fits the weeks you intend to keep him.
Haaland averages 88.2 min/match with 0.91 expected goal involvements per 90, or xGI/90. Bruno averages 90.0 min/match with 0.67 xGI/90. These season-to-date measures describe past chances; they do not predict either player’s GW7 score. Bruno’s rate also includes a large GW2 contribution, so avoid assuming he creates at that level each week.
You can test the transfers across several Gameweeks in We Play FPL before changing your live team. Compare the line-ups you would field through GW10, including the weeks you need cover. Future squad drafts help you see the cost of a downgrade beyond the next captaincy pick.
Saka gives you a different holding period
Saka costs £9.6m, £2.3m less than Bruno at current buying prices. Your selling value can differ, so check the money available in your own squad before planning a second move.
Arsenal face Forest away, Everton at home, Liverpool away and Hull at home in GW7–10. Hold Saka if you want that run and a possible captaincy option against Hull, subject to his fitness and expected start. You accept Liverpool away in GW9 as part of that plan.
Saka averages 84.3 min/match with 0.83 xGI/90. Keep him in consideration for his attacking chances, while judging what you gain elsewhere from a transfer. Decide whether the saving gives you a better player in another slot. If you would spend it on your bench, you have less reason to use a transfer.
Choose a budget midfielder for the weeks you need him
Tavernier at £6.1m and Sávio at £6.5m offer different ways to release money. Bournemouth have Sunderland at home in GW7, Man Utd away in GW8 and Leeds at home in GW9. Spurs have Coventry at home, Chelsea away and Palace at home over the same weeks.
Sávio’s recent average is 90.0 min/match, compared with Tavernier’s 73.0 min/match. Favour Tavernier only if you expect his minutes to recover and accept the uncertainty. His potential penalty route depends on the continued absence of Kroupi and Kluivert, who rank ahead of him.
Across the season, Tavernier averages 82.7 min/match with 0.48 xGI/90; Sávio averages 82.5 min/match with 0.41 xGI/90. Both are midfielders, and both rates use the season-to-date sample. Sávio has yet to record an attacking return. Choose him if you prefer his recent minutes and Spurs’ run, while planning for Chelsea away. A cheap midfielder who leaves you needing another transfer can undo the benefit of releasing funds.
Check Szoboszlai before selling a fit starter
Szoboszlai costs £6.9m and carries a hamstring flag with a 75% chance of playing. He averages 88.0 min/match with 0.46 xGI/90. Liverpool face Brentford away in GW7 and Brighton at home in GW8, then Arsenal at home in GW9.
Wait for a fitness update if your bench can cover him. A weak bench makes a replacement more urgent. If he misses both GW7 and GW8, you would keep an injured midfielder ahead of an Arsenal fixture, but that absence remains a scenario rather than a confirmed recovery timeline.
Use the news to rank your transfers before committing to a Bruno sale. Keep Bruno when the alternative leaves your starting XI no stronger. Sell when you can afford the full plan, accept the replacement’s minutes risk and gain the captaincy or squad upgrade you wanted.
Prices, availability and season-to-date metrics checked on 12 October 2026. The GW7 deadline is 17 October at 10:00 UTC. Recheck fitness and expected starts before confirming transfers.
Chip Strategy
FPL GW5: King or Calafiori for your starting XI?
Our narrow GW5 preference is King, but Calafiori’s attacking involvement and clean-sheet route keep the choice close. Check minutes and formation before benching either.
Josh King gets our narrow nod over Riccardo Calafiori for GW5 if you own both, expect both to start and can keep a legal formation. King hosts Manchester United; Calafiori travels to Brighton. You can make a case for either, so check the rest of your XI before choosing your first substitute.
King has the higher early attacking involvement rate. Calafiori offers attacking returns alongside Arsenal’s clean-sheet potential. The gap is small enough that fresh minutes news should carry more weight than a firm verdict based on four matches.
King offers the attacking edge
King has started four matches and played 346 minutes. His season-to-date expected goal involvement rate is 0.41 per 90: 0.30 xG/90 and 0.11 xA/90. At £5.5m, the Fulham midfielder has contributed through shooting as well as chance creation.
For an existing owner choosing one starter, we favour that attacking involvement at home to Manchester United. Treat it as a preference under uncertainty. Those rates describe the chances King has had and created so far; they do not predict a return this weekend.
You also need to separate selection from recruitment. You can start King from your bench without spending a transfer or committing to a longer holding period. This comparison gives you no reason to manufacture a new purchase.
Calafiori keeps the decision close
Calafiori has started four matches and played 326 minutes. The £5.8m Arsenal defender has recorded 0.33 xGI/90, split between 0.17 xG/90 and 0.16 xA/90. His attacking involvement sits close enough to King’s that benching him carries a clear risk.
His defensive measure is 0.68 expected goals conceded per 90 over those same 326 minutes. That describes the quality of chances conceded during his minutes so far, rather than a clean-sheet probability for Brighton away. Still, you should account for both his clean-sheet route and his involvement going forward when comparing him with a midfielder.
Choose Calafiori if the latest team news gives him the clearer route to a full appearance, or if your formation requires another defender. King’s small attacking-rate advantage does not justify ignoring either condition.
Check the formation before moving the bench
King is an FPL midfielder and Calafiori is a defender. You need at least three defenders in your starting XI. Replacing Calafiori with King works only if the remaining lineup still meets the formation rules.
You can test the two lineups in We Play FPL and compare the players’ performance data before settling on your bench order. Start with the squad you own, then check whether you are choosing between these two or overlooking a weaker starter elsewhere.
Both players currently have available status. Recheck fitness and expected starts before the GW5 deadline on Friday 18 September at 17:30 UTC. With no adverse news and a legal XI, our preference stays with King. Keep Calafiori as a strong alternative rather than treating this close call as a reason to change your transfer plan.
Chip Strategy
FPL GW5: Groß or Mamadou Sangaré, who should you start?
Lean towards Groß if both midfielders are in your squad. Compare his attacking involvement and set pieces with Sangaré’s defensive contributions and shorter minutes sample.
If you own Pascal Groß and Mamadou Sangaré and have one GW5 midfield place to fill, lean towards Groß. His attacking involvement and set-piece duties give him the stronger case, even with Arsenal visiting Brighton. Sangaré offers a different route through defensive contributions against Chelsea, but his early numbers need a minutes check before you treat him as the safer starter.
Both cost £5.7m and occupy a midfield slot. For this decision, leave the transfer button alone: choose which of your existing players earns the place in your XI or sits first on your bench.
Groß has the stronger attacking case
Groß has played 360 minutes across the opening four Gameweeks, with 0.42 expected goals and 0.15 expected assists per 90. His combined expected goal involvement rate is 0.57 per 90, compared with Sangaré’s 0.32 over 300 minutes.
Those are season-to-date performance rates, not GW5 points predictions. Groß will face Arsenal at home, so carrying his four-match average into this fixture would overstate what the number tells us. The appeal lies in how he can contribute: he ranks first in Brighton’s current penalty, direct-free-kick and corner/indirect-free-kick orders. Those responsibilities offer routes to a return even when Brighton struggle to create from open play. Duties can change, and a penalty opportunity is never guaranteed.
His 360 minutes also matter. He has completed four full-match equivalents, while Sangaré has started four matches but accumulated 300 minutes. That difference strengthens the case for Groß if you expect both to start again; it does not confirm either player’s next appearance.
Sangaré’s contribution rate deserves a closer look
Sangaré has recorded 13.50 defensive contributions per 90, compared with Groß’s 5.25. Managers who want exposure to that scoring route have a reason to consider the Brentford midfielder. His attacking profile is more modest: 0.12 expected goals and 0.20 expected assists per 90 across his 300 minutes.
The risk is treating a season average as a guaranteed return in one match. A per-90 rate describes performance over a full-match equivalent. It does not tell you how long Sangaré will play against Chelsea, how his contributions will fall across individual matches, or whether he will earn contribution points this week.
Chelsea at home gives him a demanding assignment too. Choosing Sangaré because Groß faces Arsenal would skip half the comparison. Weigh each player’s likely minutes and scoring routes, then decide which uncertainty you prefer.
Set the XI, then the bench order
With both available and no fresh minutes concern, start Groß ahead of Sangaré. If neither makes your XI, the same preference puts Groß ahead in your bench order, subject to the formation rules for automatic substitutions.
You can compare Groß and Sangaré in We Play FPL using player statistics and upcoming fixtures, then test the two lineups in the planner. Keep any projected points separate from the season-to-date rates above; neither can guarantee the result of a single match.
Revisit the choice if team news changes the minutes outlook. A credible indication that Groß will miss out or play a reduced role would weaken the recommendation, while stronger evidence of a full match for Sangaré would narrow the gap. Check availability before the GW5 deadline on Friday 18 September at 17:30 UTC. Until then, Groß’s attacking involvement, set pieces and minutes record give him the edge for an existing squad’s starting spot.
