The FPL Digest: Chilwell, Wolves + De Bruyne’s injury

The Digest articles make a welcome return to Fantasy Football Scout in 2023/24.

In these pieces, a player, team and talking point that have attracted interest in the weekend’s matches are discussed.

Five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman will be taking the reins this season, producing regular Digest articles, with only Premium Members able to access every single one.

Here, he analyses Ben Chilwell (£5.6m), who made his presence felt at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Kevin De Bruyne’s (£10.4m) injury.

THE PLAYER

Ben Chilwell has garnered more than 315,000 transfers-in since Friday’s deadline, after a hugely impressive showing against Liverpool.

It’s hardly a surprise either, given the absences of some notable FPL defenders in Gameweek 1 – namely John Stones (£5.5m), Ruben Dias (£5.5m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.0m).

Furthermore, Chelsea’s fixtures over the next seven Gameweeks are hugely appealing and the Blues indeed sit top of our Season Ticker over that spell, with only Aston Villa – whose defence remains suspect in light of Tyrone Mings’ (£4.5m) injury – to face of last year’s top-half clubs.

Chilwell’s performance against Liverpool on Sunday caught the eye for a number of reasons.

After a shaky start, Mauricio Pochettino’s side gradually grew into the match and the 3-4-2-1 worked really well. The system allowed Chilwell to bomb up the wing and he could easily have added a goal to his assist if it wasn’t for a wafer-thin VAR call.

His heatmap was reminiscent of a left winger and he racked up more touches (47) and received more passes in the final-third (31) than any other FPL defender in Gameweek 1.

Reece James (£5.5m) is, of course, another stand-out option, yet if the current tactic sticks, and it’s a big if, Chilwell looks like the superior prospect.

However, with the quality of Enzo Fernandez (£5.0m) in central midfield, I think we can expect Chelsea to build on that promising weekend display, so a defensive double-up could be a rewarding approach.

THE TEAM