FPL Gameweek 7 Preview – Was Wildcarding a Mistake?

Welcome to your FPL Gameweek 7 Preview, where we break down the key fixtures, players to target, and essential strategies to maximise your points haul this week. Gameweek 6 was a bad one for many of us but Gameweek 7 offers plenty of opportunities to climb up the ranks. Let’s dive into the best picks and tips for the weekend!

Is My Season Over After a Bad Wildcard?

No… but my God it was bad.

I’m with you if you’re suffering. My wildcard cost me 38 points this week!

But, remember that everyone is still pretty close together with less than a 100 points from top 10k to 3 million. Here are the point totals at various intervals:

• 10k – 457 points
• 100k – 433 points
• 250k – 421 points
• 500k – 411 points
• 600k – 408 points
• 800k – 403 points
• 1 million – 399 points
• 3 million – 369 points

I don’t think you made a mistake if, like me, you moved off Palmer for Saka. Saka had great fixtures and Palmer didn’t.

Fernandes Ban Overturned

I was absolutely livid when Bruno got sent off. My week was going poorly enough.

But, his ban has been overturned. That means he is free to disappoint us for another week, and I will be holding him for this good run until Arsenal in gameweek 14.

European News

Not too much of note from the European games, but a couple of relevant points:

• Lewis played the full game in midweek and was really good, with an xGI of over 1. Walker was benched and rested so he probably starts at the weekend. If he started every game then I’d 100% be in on Lewis, but I just don’t know if/when he’ll play.
• Havertz scored for the second game running (the Leicester goal was fluky, admittedy). After a couple of tough fixtures, he’s back to being a great pick
• Bruno followed up his red card by getting another red card. It doesn’t affect him in the Prem though, and – as noted – his ban there has been overturned. Man U once again didn’t play great in general, though…
• Johnson scored yet again for Spurs. More on him below.
• Duran scored yet again for Villa. He still won’t be starting over Watkins, but it does continue to mean that Watkins’ minutes will be limited to 60-70mins unless he’s really playing well

Best Upcoming FPL Fixtures

Here’s a look at the five sides with the best upcoming FPL fixtures. 

(Home games are in all-caps)

Attacking Fixtures

With this table I hope you can see why I want to hold Bruno. There aren’t many great medium term fixture runs at the moment that I like and his is pretty solid. It suits me because I still want to play aggressive with my other moves and keep moving premiums around. I don’t hate a punt on Diallo because he’s so cheap but I wouldn’t do it this week and you’ll have to accept the rotation risk.

Haaland is obviously the pick at Man City. You can’t trust anyone else. If you’e thinking about Foden please stop.

Calvert-Lewin and McNeil are the options at Everton. They aren’t great but they are cheap.

Mbeumo is a priority transfer in for anyone who doesn’t own him in my opinion. He is the talisman, on pens, cheap and now they have a great run. Get him.

I would ignore all Leicester players.

Defensive Fixtures

I don’t love anyone from any of these teams. Gvardiol is fine but City seem to concede one goal a game and his attacking output isn’t reliable. Mykolenko is cheap but Everton defence has been bad. Faes is cheaper but Leicester defence is even worse and actually the worse in the league. They are closely followed by Brentford’s defence.

So, I think probably only Porro is an option because he is cheap enough that you can take the risk he gets lucky and gets a clean sheet or gets an attacking return as possibly the most attacking defensive asset in the game.

Should I Buy?

Looking at the most-bought players in FPL, ahead of Gameweek 7, and don’t know whether you should buy one? We will tell you!

• Palmer – Unsurprisingly he tops the most bought players this week after scoring 25 points last week and scoring 4 goals last week. I can’t tell you I think he is a bad player. The thing that prevent me getting him on wildcard was because he will play Liverpool and Arsenal in the next 5. Forest this week isn’t a great fixture either. I wouldn’t sell Saka for him but I am okay with selling Salah and upgrading elsewhere for Palmer.
• Jackson – No. In contrast to Palmer, I don’t trust him as much. The fixtures aren’t good enough. I’d rather have Solanke at this price point or Watkins if you can find the money.
• Mbeumo – Yes. As I said above, he should be a priority transfer for you to bring in. e is the talisman, on pens, cheap and now Brentford have a great fixture run.
• McNeil – Yes. Fine to buy. He is probably the top player to buy under 6.0 this week.
• Luis Diaz – Maybe. I’d definitely hold him if I had him but the fixtures aren’t great and he played 72 mins in the week against Bologna. I’d rather have Jota this week (because he was rested) but I’m not rushing out to get Pool assets.
• Johnson – Yes. It sounds knee-jerky to get him in but we were looking at him at the start of the season. The only thing holding us back was rotation and thats not really a problem at the moment. He rarely gets to 90 which is frustrating but hes good value and the only person at this price point i like. I’d probably take him over Maddison because i think the money can be spent better elsewhere
• Solanke – Yes. Good player, attacking team.
• Martinelli/Trossard – I wouldn’t. I think Odegaard is going to be back after the international break which means one of them will get dropped. I like Tross the most out of the two because he’s a better player. I’m still nervous about minutes.
• Timber – He has started 5 games in a row. I don’t mind getting him in, particularly as he is 0.7 cheaper than Gabriel. Again, I’m still nervous about the minutes and I took Gabriel and Saliba in my wildcard.
• Konate – No. Similarly to the above, he could be nailed after 5 starts. But I don’t think they will keep many clean sheets, if any, in the next five.
• Raul – No! He plays Man City. Are you crazy?
• Delap – Maybe. I don’t hate it because the fixtures are good. But, despite how impressive Ipswich are, they are still just a promoted team. If he is a makeweight for a better player then fine.
• Rogers – Yep. Fine to buy. He won’t set the world alight but he’s a good 8th attacker.
• Vardy – No. He’s not the same player. He has 1.4 xG from 6 games but 0 xG from 4 of those games. 0. Fine, that includes Arsenal but it also includes Everton.

Should I Sell?

And now let’s take a look at the most-sold players in FPL, ahead of Gameweek 7. We will let you know the studs and duds.

• Joao Pedro – Yes. He’s injured and its unclear when he is back.
• Isak – Yes. Also appears to be injured.
• Eze – Yes. I think its probably to call time on him, especially given the awful fixture. And, its such an easy move to Mbeumo.
• Salah – Only to make way for premiums.
• Fernandes – No. He should return well in this little run. He won’t. But, he should.
• Smith Rowe – Yes. He plays Man City.
• Saka/Saliba/Basically any Arsenal player – NO! Great fixtures. Possibly the best attacking fixture in the league.
• Son – Yes. Too expensive and we think he is injured.
• Welbeck/Mitoma – No. Not before they play Spurs.
• Watkins – No. A home game against Man United is fine and he is fine.
• Porro – No. He is really attacking and the fixtures look okay again.
• Jota – No. I think he starts this weekend after being rested midweek.

Captaincy Corner

It is a hard one this week. I think my order of preference is this:

1. Saka – Southampton (home)
2. Haaland – Fulham (home)
3. Salah – Palace (away)
4. Palmer – Forest (home)

And my logic: Southampton at home is possibly the best attacking fixture in the league. Saka’s chances of hauling is high. Whereas Fulham and Forest have been great defensively this season. Salah I just trust more than Palmer but maybe that’s foolish now.

Any of these options is fine and its a marginal decision but I think the margins favour Saka and Haaland the most. I would put those players in a higher tier than the other two.

That’s It

Thanks for reading the FPL Gamewek 7 preview, everybody. On behalf of myself and most of the other wildcarders out there, hopefully better times are ahead. In the meantime, follow us on Reddit to lament your woes (or even to celebrate your victories) with us.