With Chelsea second on our Fixture Ticker over the next five Gameweeks, we thought we’d get a fan’s view of the Blues and their potential in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Step forward Captain Sensible author Tom, a regular at Stamford Bridge.
Before the start of the season, FPL managers had long earmarked Gameweek 9 as the time to invest in Chelsea players.
However, with Nottingham Forest’s poor form under Ange Postecoglou, it’s fair to classify the Gameweek 8 trip to the City Ground as an appealing fixture.
Between now and Gameweek 16, when the Blues host Everton at Stamford Bridge, Enzo Maresca’s men face just one of last season’s top four teams and play all three newly promoted clubs, as well as Wolverhampton Wanderers, who sit 20th in the table.
But which combination of ‘assets’ to go for?
Here, we take a look at Chelsea in more detail.
WHO ARE THE MOST-OWNED CHELSEA PLAYERS IN FPL?
| Player | Position | Ownership % (top 10k) | Ownership % (overall) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joao Pedro | FWD | 62.5 | 61.6 |
| Enzo | MID | 20.0 | 14.9 |
| Caicedo | MID | 19.8 | 13.9 |
| Cucurella | DEF | 4.6 | 21.9 |
| Sanchez | GK | 2.8 | 14.8 |
| Palmer | MID | 1.6 | 11.6 |
| Chalobah | DEF | 1.0 | 7.4 |
| Marc Guiu | FWD | 0.1 | 7.7 |
Joao Pedro (£7.7m) was Chelsea’s most popular player among FPL’s top 10k heading into the Gameweek 7 deadline, per Live FPL.
Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) ranked second in ownership within this group (20.0%), followed by Moises Caicedo (£5.8m) at 19.8%, Marc Cucurella (£6.1m) at 4.6% and Robert Sanchez (£4.9m) at 2.8%.
Trevor Chalobah (£5.1m) and Marc Guiu (£4.3m) are minimally owned in the top 10K, but feature in around 7.0% of overall teams.
LATEST CHELSEA INJURY NEWS
Firstly, the good news.
Chalobah returns from suspension in Gameweek 8 after serving his one-match ban against Liverpool, while Wesley Fofana (£4.4m) has completed the concussion protocol and returned to training this week.
Furthermore, it’s been widely reported that Benoit Badiashile (£4.4m) and Josh Acheampong (£4.0m) were withdrawn against Liverpool as a precaution. The latter hasn’t even pulled out of England U21s duty.
If the initial diagnosis from Maresca is to be believed, then Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.4m) and Andrey Santos (£4.5m) could return in time for Gameweek 8. Despite withdrawing from the England squad, Reece James’ (£5.4m) injury is not thought to be of concern.
Most significantly, reports on Wednesday suggest Cole Palmer (£10.3m) will be out of action until at least Gameweek 10, although it appears the club have decided against going down the surgery route.
Liam Delap (£6.2m) and Dario Essugo (£4.4m) won’t return until at least the next international break while Levi Colwill (£4.8m) continues to recover from his long-term ACL injury.
DEFENSIVE ASSETS
A combination of injuries, suspensions and rotation has meant that nine different defenders have started at least once for the Blues across the first seven matches.
At this moment in time, it is very tricky to recommend a Chelsea centre-back in FPL.
Badiashile and Acheampong performed incredibly well against Liverpool, albeit with all the other options unavailable. The former in particular has impressed since his return from injury and is the most senior, naturally left-footed option in the squad.
From a Fantasy perspective, Chalobah has the most upside, providing he gets his place back. The Englishman has notched defensive contribution (DefCon) points in three of his six starts, the most of any Chelsea defender. He is also the biggest attacking threat, scoring twice already and bagging an assist.
That being said, no Chelsea fan would be shocked if two of Badiashile, Fofana and Tosin start against Nottingham Forest in Gameweek 8.
“If you can go with the same two, or change one after four or five games, it’s much better. The more you play together, the better the relationship gets.” – Enzo Maresca
However, don’t be surprised if a settled partnership emerges in the coming Gameweeks. As shown in the quote above, Maresca has spoken about the importance of consistency in the centre-back position. At the time of writing, though, it’s probably one to monitor as opposed to invest now.
Among the full-backs, Malo Gusto (£4.9m) and James are too unreliable for minutes to be considered, starting three and four games respectively so far. With Romeo Lavia (£4.9m) fit again, we could even see Caicedo pop up at right-back.
Cucurella is the most nailed defender at the club, starting six out of seven matches, returning two clean sheets and two assists. However, he is yet to hit the threshold for DefCon points and has been outscored by 23 defenders in Fantasy. In reality, the Euro 2024 winner probably isn’t worth the premium outlay.
With minutes concerns throughout the backline, all roads point to Sanchez if you want a Chelsea defensive asset. The Spaniard dropped in price following his red card at Old Trafford and now costs just £4.9m in FPL, that’s £0.8m cheaper than the more popular David Raya (£5.7m).
Yes, Maresca has promised Filip Jorgensen (£4.4m) some Premier League game time, but the Dane did little to impress against Lincoln City in the League Cup. Most managers will have Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) on the bench, ready to step in for the odd Sanchez rest anyway.
OFFENSIVE ASSETS
Enzo Fernandez, bought by over 140,000 FPL managers already this week, sits top for expected goal involvement (xGI), big chances and goal attempts among Chelsea attackers. The Argentinian has started every game for the Blues in all competitions, moving into a number 10 role in recent weeks. He also took a penalty in Palmer’s absence in Gameweek 3.
Caicedo is also being heavily bought ahead of Gameweek 8 after his 10-point haul against the champions. No player has racked up more than his 96 DefCons in 2025/26. A word of caution, though, Caicedo’s three goals have come from a tally of just 0.5 xG. While there is no doubt the Ecuadorian has exceptional potential for DefCon points, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t score again this season!
In contrast, Joao Pedro is being heavily sold after blanking for the third consecutive match, despite being the second-highest scoring forward in the game. Admittedly, the Brazilian has looked quiet, registering just two shots in four Gameweeks.
However, by his own and Maresca’s admission, Pedro has been playing through an injury. Left out of the Brazil squad, a week off comes at a great time ahead of Chelsea’s fixture swing. Another boost to Pedro’s Fantasy prospects is his Champions League suspension, making him a sure-starter in Gameweek 9 against Sunderland.
As for the wingers, Pedro Neto (£7.0m) is the only one to start every Premier League game, although Estevao (£6.5m) has nearly doubled the Portuguese’s xGI tally in two fewer starts. While the latter’s underlying data is very impressive, don’t be surprised if Maresca continues to ease the 18-year-old into life as a Chelsea player with managed minutes. In truth, none of the wide men can rival Fernandez as the midfielder of choice.
CONCLUSION
All things considered, in my opinion, the best Chelsea players in FPL right now are (in order) – Enzo Fernandez, Joao Pedro, Robert Sanchez and Marc Cucurella.
In my own team, I’m keen to buy Fernandez for Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m), provided he comes back from international duty unscathed. He faces a tight turnaround for next week’s trip to Nottingham Forest after Argentina’s friendly against Puerto Rico was rescheduled.
If I were on a Wildcard in Gameweek 8, I’d opt for Fernandez and Pedro while keeping the third spot free in case Palmer returns to fitness quicker than expected, or a reliable, cheap centre-back emerges, as I suspect one or two will.
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