Start Tarik Muharemović ahead of Lewis Hall if you own both and have one place available in your GW7 defence. We lean towards Muharemović for his defensive contributions and his lower rate of expected goals conceded. Hall offers more attacking involvement, so treat this as a close call.

Both play at home: Leeds face Manchester United and Newcastle face Aston Villa. You can make this choice through your starting lineup without spending a transfer.

Muharemović has the stronger defensive contribution rate

Muharemović averages 11.33 defensive contributions per 90, compared with Hall’s 8.68. At an average of 90.0 minutes per match, he has also given owners a dependable playing-time record. Hall averages 89.8 minutes per match, so neither player has a meaningful advantage in historical playing time.

We prefer Muharemović because he has done more defensive work across that similar match opportunity. A season average cannot guarantee a defensive contribution return against Manchester United, but it gives us a reason to favour him when deciding between two available defenders.

He also has the lower xGC/90: 1.46 against Hall’s 1.77. That measure describes the quality of chances conceded while each player was on the pitch. It does not provide a clean-sheet probability for this weekend. You still need to account for the opponent, and we would avoid presenting either home fixture as a comfortable clean sheet.

Hall offers more attacking involvement

Hall has recorded 0.19 expected goal involvements per 90, compared with Muharemović’s 0.09. His greater attacking involvement gives you a sound reason to start him if you prefer that route to points.

Those attacking rates remain modest. You would need more than this gap to treat a Hall return as likely or to dismiss Muharemović’s defensive contribution advantage. We favour the latter for GW7 while recognising that Hall can reward owners who make the other choice.

For a side-by-side check of performance data and upcoming fixtures, you can compare both defenders in We Play FPL before setting your lineup. Keep any predicted points separate from the historical rates used here; predictions do not guarantee a result.

Make the lineup decision for the players you own

At £5.0m for Muharemović and £5.3m for Hall, the price difference has no effect on this week’s starting choice for managers who own both. Keep the transfer decision separate: a marginal preference for one fixture provides little reason to sell Hall.

Check final fitness and expected starts before the GW7 deadline on 17 October at 10:00 UTC. Both have clear availability flags at the time of writing. If that changes, reassess the choice. With both available and one starting slot to fill, our pick is Muharemović.

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.

Bobby Thomas is my first choice of these two cheap defenders when you need dependable playing time. Nobel Mendy costs £0.1m more and has the higher defensive contribution rate, but Thomas has spent more time on the pitch. That matters when you need a bench player to cover a missing starter.

Kobbie Mainoo offers another route to defensive contribution points at £5.5m. His current injury flag makes him a player to monitor before the GW7 deadline rather than a purchase to rush through.

Thomas or Mendy: compare time on the pitch

Thomas costs £4.0m and has averaged 87.8 min/match for Coventry. His 12.64 DefCon/90 gives him a scoring route beyond clean sheets. Mendy costs £4.1m, averages 67.8 min/match for Hull and records 13.81 DefCon/90.

DefCon/90 measures defensive contributions per 90 minutes. You still need the player to reach the scoring threshold during the match. Defenders earn two points for ten combined clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles. A high rate cannot guarantee that outcome if a player leaves the pitch early or misses the game.

Thomas has the stronger playing-time record for a manager who needs cover. Mendy remains a candidate if you accept more uncertainty over his time on the pitch and prefer Hull’s upcoming opponents. Check expected starts before buying either.

Clean-sheet prospects also belong in the comparison. Thomas records 1.70 xGC/90, against Mendy’s 1.51. Those season-to-date expected goals conceded rates describe past performance; they do not promise a clean sheet in the next fixture. Neither player should enter your team on the assumption that defensive contribution points will arrive each week.

Their home games start in GW8

Thomas visits Spurs in GW7, then faces Fulham and Sunderland at home in GW8 and GW9. Mendy visits Fulham before home games against Brentford and Ipswich Town.

That makes both worth considering for cover beyond this weekend. If you need the new defender in your GW7 XI, assess the away fixture as part of the purchase. A pair of later home games will not help you fill an immediate gap.

You can use the We Play FPL planner to test your GW7–10 line-ups and see which defender covers the weeks your squad needs. Include GW10 in that check: Thomas visits Everton, while Mendy visits Arsenal. Decide how you will cover those matches before committing to the slot.

Mainoo needs a fitness check first

Mainoo has reached the midfield defensive contribution threshold in five of his six appearances. Midfielders need twelve contributions for two points, with ball recoveries counting alongside clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles.

He averages 74 min/match and records 14.80 DefCon/90. His 0.17 xGI/90, the season-to-date rate of expected goals plus expected assists, shows why the appeal here rests on defensive work rather than attacking output.

At £5.5m, he can suit a manager seeking that scoring route in a budget midfield slot. Fitness and a starting place come first. Mainoo currently has an unspecified-injury flag with a 75% chance of playing; that does not establish a recovery date or confirm that he will start.

Man Utd visit Leeds in GW7 and host Bournemouth in GW8, before Chelsea away and Aston Villa at home. Wait for a reliable fitness update and assess his likely role before buying. An unavailable midfielder cannot provide the cover you bought him for.

Choose the player who can cover your squad

I favour Thomas for the cheaper price and stronger playing-time record. Mendy is an alternative for managers who prefer Hull’s fixture sequence and can carry the playing-time risk. Keep Mainoo on the watchlist until his fitness and starting outlook improve.

Before the GW7 deadline on 17 October at 10:00 UTC, check expected starts and identify the matches in which you need each player. Treat defensive contribution points as a useful scoring route, with the same attention to availability and fixtures you would give any other budget pick.