With Premier League clubs now having welcomed back their international stars from representing their nations over the past fortnight, Fantasy Premier League is ready to resume.
Gameweek 4 is now upon us, as Mikel Arteta’s men get the ball rolling on the reintroduction of league action with Nottingham Forest’s trip to Emirates Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.
With both transfer deadline day and the international break having taken place since all 20 clubs last kicked a ball, there is plenty to get stuck into as FPL managers gear up to resume their virtual battle.
GW3 SURPRISES
It has been something of a maverick start to the Premier League, with plenty of surprise results and therefore a few FPL shocks which have left many managers perplexed.
Examples of this have come in Gameweek 3, as Crystal Palace condemned Aston Villa to a 3-0 home defeat and captain Marc Guehi (£4.6m) secured a week-high 15-point total. Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi, at the same price as Guehi, wasn’t far behind as the Cherries’ 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur sealed him 14 points. Everton’s attacking players starred in their away victory at Wolves, with Jack Grealish (£6.7m) adding to what is now a total of four assists in two games, and £5.0m bargain midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - owned by fewer than 5% of managers - also hitting double figures.
Following our narrow defeat at Liverpool last time out - our first dropped points of 2025/26 - our highest scoring player from GW3 was Declan Rice (£6.5m) with four points, though his total of 16 across three gameweeks brings an encouraging average. Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber, with 28 and 26 points respectively, still lead the way in red and white and are each still available for cheaper prices than teammates Gabriel and William Saliba.
DEADLINE DAY DEALS
Ahead of GW4, there are plentiful new options ready to make their mark in the Premier League having joined new clubs on transfer deadline day.
Among them is the high-profile switch of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United to Liverpool. The Swede has not yet played domestically this season and is therefore a doubt for their trip to Burnley this weekend due to a lack of complete match fitness. However, many managers have acted quickly with a £10.4m investment to bolster their attack.
We made Piero Hincapie our final summer signing, and the Ecuadorian defender is available for £5.5m. Among the players to depart for fellow Premier League clubs on deadline day were Oleksandr Zinchenko (Nottingham Forest) and Reiss Nelson (Brentford). Zinchenko can be obtained as a defensive option for £4.9m, but is ineligible for Saturday’s contest; Nelson is the same price, registered as a midfielder, and his new loan club enjoy three home fixtures in their next four - though against some tricky opponents.
Elsewhere, Isak’s replacement on Tyneside, Yoane Wissa, has just departed Brentford and scored twice on international duty for DR Congo in the past week. The striker - owned by just 1.4% of FPL bosses - is among the crop of £7.5m forward options.
Aston Villa remain yet to score in the Premier League this term, which has sharply turned many managers away from the likes of Ollie Watkins (£8.9m) and Morgan Rogers (£7.0m). However, their fixtures remain favourable in the near future, and new signing Harvey Elliott (£5.4m) could prove to be a massive bargain should he survive rotation concerns.
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IN-FORM INTERNATIONALS
Several Arsenal players starred for their nations in superb fashion during the recent international break, with six Gunners securing at least one goal contribution and four on the scoresheet.
Mikel Merino - available for just £5.9m as a potential differential pick - was on fire for Spain, bagging four goals in two matches, including a hat-trick against Turkey. Martin Odegaard struck a goal and two assists in Norway’s 11-1 demolition of Moldova in midweek, while Rice and Noni Madueke scored for England against Andorra and Serbia respectively. Our captain is available for a £7.9 fee, while Noni can be added to your squad for £7.0m having also started against Liverpool.
Cristhian Mosquera (£5.4m) commands the cheapest FPL price of the Arsenal defenders who featured on Merseyside, having replaced the injured Saliba just five minutes into the late-August clash. The Spain under-21 international played 90 minutes in his side’s 3-0 win over Cyprus last Friday, and along with Hincapie brings a new defensive option.
With regard to fresh injury concerns, Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush (£8.4m) was substituted just 10 minutes into Egypt’s goalless draw with Burkina Faso on Tuesday and is now a doubt for Pep Guardiola’s plans.
The same fate was suffered by Ola Aina of Nottingham Forest (£5.0m), selected by just under 13% of managers, managing only 10 minutes for Nigeria in their draw with South Africa. Ange Postecoglou’s arrival at the City Ground has sparked discourse among the millions of FPL competitors surrounding the reliability of clean sheets among Forest defenders including Aina, due to the forward-thinking style of play.
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SALAH VS HAALAND
If you thought the debate among FPL participants concerning the two ultra-premium picks - Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland - had simmered since the start of the season, think again.
Salah smashed every Fantasy record there was in 2024/25, and looked a cert for almost every team at one stage this summer - even carrying the weight of £14.5m in funds - but Isak’s arrival and Hugo Ekitike’s positive start have put a potential spanner in the works. With Burnley, Everton and Crystal Palace up next for the Reds, many are tempted to stick with the Egyptian but others are diverting towards of Ekitike, Cody Gakpo or Florian Wirtz, alongside Isak.
Moving 35 miles east to the Etihad Stadium, Haaland (£14.1m) has so far racked up 24 points to Salah’s 16 in each side’s respective opening three matches. The Norwegian appears the most immune player to Guardiola’s habitual starting XI rotation over the years - nicknamed ‘Pep Roulette’ among the FPL community. Then comes the matter of the five goals he fired in one match as he and Odegaard joined forces for their nation on Tuesday night - albeit against far weaker opposition in minnows Moldova than would ever be faced in England’s top-flight.
Salah, still noted as an in-game midfielder, carries more separate avenues for potential point-scoring - including via clean sheets, defensive contributions (DefCon) and five points per goal to Haaland’s four. Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures appear slightly kinder than those of City, and a six-point gap has already emerged between the two clubs in the league table.
However, Haaland still holds the Premier League 38-game season goalscoring record - surpassing Salah’s 32 - when he struck 36 times in 2022/23. His cheaper rate by £0.4m could go a surprisingly long way for budgeting for the rest of your squad, and he is owned by 21.5% fewer managers than Salah.
Should you opt for both Salah and Haaland and risk insufficient funding for other areas of your team - or look to go braver but possibly smarter by avoiding both wallet-burning stars - the pendulum is bound to swing between the duo for the remainder of the campaign.
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