With over 663,000 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers activating their Wildcard last week, not many will be using a Gameweek 7 Free Hit. But if you are, we’re here to help.
While you can never be sure of FPL’s upcoming chaos, our Premium Members Area can help by via the Rate My Team (RMT) tool.
Here, we use its points projections to build this week’s ideal Free Hit squad. One that fits within a £100.0m budget, with no more than three players per club.
WHAT IS A FREE HIT?
Each FPL team is provided with numerous chips to use throughout the season. The Free Hit can be activated once, at the manager’s choice, allowing them to form a squad for one Gameweek only.
- READ MORE: How do you use the Free Hit chip?
Afterwards, the squad will return to its regular line-up of players for the following Gameweek.
BEST GAMEWEEK 7 FREE HIT
Using RMT’s numbers and the brilliant PlanFPL website, the addition of four very cheap substitutes gives the below squad a value of £99.9m.
The starting line-up has five players in common with our Gameweek 7 Scout Picks bus team.
Furthermore, Erling Haaland (£15.3m) is recommended as this week’s captain, taking the projected Free Hit score to 66.48 points.
GK: Robert Sanchez (£4.7m)
Triple-ups of Arsenal and Manchester City are better used elsewhere, so Chelsea’s Sanchez gets the nod in goal. This is despite him being at fault for at least one goal versus former side Brighton and Hove Albion. Prior to this, he delivered consecutive double-digit points tallies.
DEF: Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.2m)
The only other defender to have scored twice is James Justin (£4.5m), whose surprising brace stopped Arsenal from securing a clean sheet last week.
Still, nobody in this position exceeds his four big chances and successful Tuesday’s Champions League shut-out against Paris Saint-Germain showed exactly why many FPL managers have opted for multiple Gunners names at the back.
DEF: Josko Gvardiol (£5.9m)
Over 1.2 million had sold Man City’s left-back over the latest three Gameweeks, with the Croat unable to touch 2023/24’s freakish late form.
Typically, Gvardiol responded on Saturday by getting inside the box and scoring past Newcastle United. Opponents Fulham have started well but the champions beat them 5-1 and 4-0 last season.
DEF: Rico Lewis (£4.7m)
Sticking with Pep Guardiola’s backline, he was full of praise for Lewis after a brilliant midweek showing in Bratislava – albeit the compliment was “there are no words”, which isn’t really anything.
His 1.63 expected goal involvement (xGI) included an assist but it was a full 90-minute runout for Man City’s only player to have started each of this week’s three matches. It could be time for ‘Pep Roulette’.
MID: Bukayo Saka (£10.1m)
Moving onto midfielders, where Saka pips Cole Palmer (£10.7m) to its number-one spot because of the enticing home fixture against Southampton.
The win over Leicester City was his first FPL blank of 2024/25. However, he did everything but score – accumulating seven shots and setting up eight chances, half of which were deemed to be big ones.
Saka responded by netting past PSG, where his wide free-kick somehow went past the goalkeeper without any other touches.
MID: Leandro Trossard (£6.9m)
Completing the Arsenal trio is Trossard, rather than Kai Havertz (£8.2m). That’s the very combination which broke the deadlock against the French giants, with Trossard’s assist following up on his two attacking returns versus Leicester.
He should remain in Mikel Arteta’s starting line-up now that Martin Odegaard (£8.2m) is injured.
MID: Bryan Mbeumo (£7.4m)
Mbeumo helped Brentford make history last week. They’re the first-ever Premier League side to score within the opening minute on three consecutive occasions. Not only that, each were netted by the 40-second mark. This certainly puts pressure on Saturday’s coin toss.
1.1 million new Mbeumo owners were instantly rewarded by his fifth goal in six and he’s about to face last-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers, the leakiest defence so far.
MID: Jarrod Bowen (£7.4m)
West Ham United’s star attacker has been relatively subdued during the early weeks, only once exceeding five points. But he’s backed for Gameweek 7, based on the home clash with Ipswich Town and last season’s 16 goals.
MID: Antoine Semenyo (£5.7m)
Lively on Monday night with three shots taking place inside Southampton’s box, Semenyo grabbed a goal to reward new owners.
He’s contributed the second-most attempts (28) in this campaign and is preparing to face another promoted side, Leicester.
FOR: Erling Haaland (£15.3m)
Expensive but way ahead of the next-best projected forward Havertz, Haaland gets the armband.
Like Saka, he’s just blanked for the first time but it should be noted that he bagged a hat-trick in last season’s equivalent hosting of Fulham. The Norwegian also got on the scoresheet during his hour in Bratislava.
FOR: Ollie Watkins (£9.1m)
Let’s finish with the sole player to be ahead of Haaland for big chances (11). Watkins has rediscovered his goal-scoring touch over the last three Gameweeks, producing four strikes alongside an assist.
Moreover, opponents Manchester United were awful last Sunday, putting manager Erik ten Hag under severe pressure.
