05 Aug, 2025
Best Chelsea FPL Players to Own and to Avoid in 25/26
With plenty of big name transfers joining the club this summer, as is the Chelsea way, we have to take a look at which Chelsea players FPL managers should own and which ones to avoid ahead of the 25/26 season!
By: Ahsan Ejaz
The Club World Cup Champions are riding a high after embarrassing PSG in the CWC Final, and there is a lot of FPL hype around their players. Joao Pedro is over 50% owned which is wild. Cole Palmer is in every FPL team it feels like despite only 6 G/A in the second half of last season (GW20-38). Enzo Maresca’s squad has had some serious upgrades this summer with the likes of Joao Pedro, Delap, Gittens and Hato among others. So we need to reassess who FPL managers should be looking to target from Chelsea and what traps to avoid. Are we falling victim to recency bias after watching one great performance against PSG, or are FPL managers correct to be investing heavily in Chelsea stocks ahead of the 25/26 season?
Best Chelsea players to own in FPL 25/26
1. Palmer
2. Cucurella
3. Joao Pedro
4. Colwill
5. Caicedo
Best Chelsea FPL players in 25/26
1. Palmer (£10.5m)
The case for Palmer makes itself. He has been one of the best players in FPL for 2 seasons running. He is comfortably Chelsea’s best player, their leader, main chance creator, one of their chief goal-scorers and their penalty/set piece taker.
Palmer had a rough second half of the 24/25 season, where he only registered 6 G/A from GW20-38 due to teams focussing on and man marking him with multiple players to minimise his impact. However, Palmer showed at the Club World Cup that with slight tactical tweaks to get him the ball in advantageous positions, he can’t be held down for long.
He put on a clinic against PSG, linking up with Joao Pedro, creating counter-attacks and driving with the ball into the heard of PSG’s defence and scoring magnificently. Maresca will do everything in his power to get Palmer the ball in space, whether that is centrally or off the right hand side, and allow him take shots or create chances for runners ahead of him.
You simply cannot look past Palmer’s underlying numbers. Chelsea’s star boy finished 5th in xG, 3rd in xA and 2nd in Big Chances Created. He should have used last season as a learning experience about handling the load of being a top team’s best player and bounce back stronger. And now Chelsea have improved the players around him. I think all of us are expecting a big season from Cole Palmer, and we are not wrong to do so. He is and will be Chelsea’s best FPL player to own this season despite the £10.5m price-tag.
2. Cucurella (£6.0m)
Cucrella was one of the best left-backs in Europe last season. He combines being a lock down 1-on-1 defender with being an attacking threat for one of the 4 or 5 best teams in the league. Chelsea came on strong defensively in the second half of the season, keeping 7 clean sheets in their final 12 games of last season.
His expected minutes are very secure despite Jorrel Hato joining the club, who I expect will get the majority of his minutes in League and F.A. Cup and easier Champions League group games. Cucurella will start the majority of league games, as he did last season starting 33 of 38.
The Spaniard tied Gvardiol and Milenkovic with the most goals from a Defender in the Premier League in 24/25 with 5 goals. His 5 goals came from 2.8xG which was 95th percentile for defenders. His assist tally has a chance to improve this season, as he managed only 1 assist but that was from 2.4xA. With better surrounding talent this season in the likes of Joao Pedro, Delap and Gittens among others, it’s reasonable to expect his assist tally will climb.
Cucurella has high expected minutes, in a good defensive side that might only be getting better and provides a good attacking profile in one of the best attacking teams in the league. He has a legit shot at making £6.0m look like a relative bargain.
Joao Pedro (£7.5m)
Joao Pedro hype is at it’s peak right now. He is a crazy 53% ownership which is hard to justify given he is £7.5m and 5 of his 10 goals last season came from penalties, and he will not be on penalties this season. While I can’t justify 50% EO, I can see why people are putting him in their FPL teams.
The Brazilian started the CWC Semi-Final and Final over Delap. He performed incredibly in these games, linking up incredibly well with Cole Palmer, Neto, Nkunku and others. He scored 3 goals from 6 total shots and an xG of only 0.85xG at the CWC with Chelsea and looked like he is ready to become an FPL star at Chelsea. Chelsea were one of the best attacking teams in the league last year and have improved personnel wise.
You can also look at those numbers and his xG, like with his penalty goals last season, and highlight that he is likely to regress to the mean and not keep up that goal scoring rate. However, it was in a small sample and the eye test very much spoke to a player who will take a jump in output playing around Cole Palmer and he will make his teammates better too.
The case for his output being fluky is there and easy to make, and with his high EO he could be a clear avoid to gain an impactful differential. However, he could also end up proving great value for £7.5m with a lack of great Forward options; he certainly looked like a superstar at the Club World Cup. It’s looking like it will be one or the other and no middle ground – the choice ultimately falls down to you.
4. Colwill (£5.0m)
Colwill started all 35 games he was in the squad for last season. Chelsea did not sign a centre-back of note this summer. He is one of Maresca’s guys. He will likely start every game he is fit for again this season. He chipped in a couple of goals last season from 1.9xG which is 86th percentile for defenders, and as he gets older and builds into his frame, there is a chance he becomes a greater box presence from set pieces and can get that goal tally up to 3-4. We already discussed how Chelsea ended last season performing at an elite level defensively, with 7 clean sheets in their last 12 games and climbing to 5th for xG conceded. Colwill is a really good option in Defense for £5.0m.
5. Caicedo (£5.5m)
The case for Caicedo essentially boils down to the fact that all of Chelsea’s other attacking players and all of their other Defenders have low expected minutes and are big rotation risks on a weekly basis. Whereas Caicedo is one of Chelsea’s 2 best players and a guaranteed starter every week. Additionally, FPL’s new Defensive Contribution points make him a far more attractive player to own. The Ecuadorian would have had 44 points from DC points last season which was the most among Midfielders. Caicedo is a good midfield enabler at £5.5m.
Chelsea players to avoid in FPL 25/26
Chelsea players to avoid in FPL 25/26
1. Neto
2. James
3. Gittens
4. Hato
5. Delap
1. Neto (£7.0m)
Neto is just a limited player with a limited ceiling. His 10 G/A last season certainly won’t cut it for £7.0m this season and there is now greater competition for attacking spots in the starting XI with Joao Pedro, Gittens, Delap, Estevao and possibly Xavi Simons joining the club this summer. His expected minutes will be too low.
2. James (£5.5m)
James is a quality footballer but his body has betrayed him. He struggles massively to stay fit for extended stretches and is limited to only playing 1 game a week by Maresca, which is probably necessary at this point in his career. For £5.5m and the potential rotation and injury risk, it’s just not worth the budget or headache.
3. Gittens (£6.5m)
We have not seen him in a Chelsea shirt yet and he is a raw young winger. His £52 million transfer fee will naturally lead to managers thinking he should be in line to start. But really, we have no idea what his expected minutes look like or what Maresca thinks of him compared to the likes of Neto, Joao Pedro, Estevao or Nkunku if he stays. We also do not know how he will adapt to the Premier League. Despite all that, FPL decided to price Gittens at £6.5m… No thanks (for now).
4. Hato (£5.0m)
Hato has only just joined Chelsea from Ajax and he is likely going to be Cucurella and Colwill’s understudy. Left-back and left CB are the 2 position he predominantly played for Ajax but he won’t start ahead of either Cucu or Colwill – no chance. Say it with me – you don’t own bench players in FPL.
5. Delap (£6.5m)
Despite the fact he has worked with Maresca and Palmer before, Joao Pedro ousted Delap from the starting XI for the CWC Semi-Final and Final. Hard to justify owning him until we maybe see the possibility of he and Joao Pedro playing together in an XI.
While you’re brushing up on all things Chelsea ahead of GW1, check out Chelsea’s best stretch of fixtures this season, and who their set piece takers are. Both will help you make the best FPL team selections to start off the season strong. If you are confident where Chelsea are concerned, you can see which Liverpool players and Arsenal players to own and which to avoid in 25/26! Stay on the lookout for all the other Premier League teams as we cover all 20.
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An absolute FPL Fanatic, with a strong background in sports Journalism and statistics, Ahsan is one of the key writers here at ingenuity. Ahsan’s content stretches from How-to guides right up to analytical deep dives on players, making his content appealing for both the serious fantasy player and newbie alike.