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.

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.