Following Chelsea FC and watching their matches is something that we all love to do as fans of this global football club. But there’s one more thing which most of the Chelsea fans do religiously – playing the Fantasy Premier League (FPL). Some play expertly, some just for timepass; some play for all 38 gameweeks, while some give up in-between; some have been playing it since years while some of them started their FPL this season. We have all types of FPL players.
FPL, the official free-to-play fantasy football game of the English Premier League, was started in the 2002–03 Premier League season. In the 22 completed FPL seasons, only 5 times has any Chelsea player been ‘Player of the Season’, scoring the maximum points. They are:
1. Frank Lampard – 2004-05 – 269 points.
2. Frank Lampard – 2008-09 – 226 points.
3. Frank Lampard – 2009-10 – 284 points.
4. Eden Hazard – 2014-15 – 233 points.
5. Cole Palmer – 2023-24 – 244 points.
But still, a lot of Chelsea players have been among the top performers in all these seasons, and almost in all positions. This 2024-25 season too hasn’t been an exception. Now that half the season is over, let’s check the performance of Chelsea players in the FPL and what to expect for the remainder half.
The Goalkeeper
This is one position where hardly any team plays more than 1 player regularly, including Chelsea. Enzo Maresca has preferred Robert Sanchez over Filip Jorgensen (who has started just 2 matches) in the League. From the FPL ‘points’ of view, Sanchez stands in 5th place:
Chelsea has kept only 4 clean sheets during this time. Looking at the difficulty of the upcoming fixtures for Chelsea and the recent form (D, L, L, D), it will be advisable to have any 1 of the 4 Goalkeepers mentioned above, or maybe Alisson Becker, who’s back from his long injury. You can think of buying Sanchez if Chelsea gets a DGW (double-gameweek).
Defenders
Many FPL players select either an RB (Right Back) or LB (Left Back) instead of any CB (Centre Back), that’s because they have a higher chance of giving more points as they go ahead to help the attackers and get assist points in the process. No doubt, for Chelsea this season, Marc Cucurella has scored the most points (46) along with Levi Colwill. Malo Gusto is at 29 points. But in the overall standings of defenders, Cucurella is at 37th place! His 46 points are not even half of the topper – Ola Aina of Nottingham Forest (95 points).
Ideally, it makes sense to avoid any Chelsea defender in your team, because there are 36 players ahead of our defenders, and the situation is not going to change. You must prefer defenders of Nottingham Forest, Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle United, and AFC Bournemouth. But still, if you want a Chelsea defender, you have only 2 good options – Cucurella & Colwill. Wesley Fofana is out injured for the rest of the season. Keep an eye on who Chelsea brings as his replacement in this January transfer window.
Midfielders
Here too, FPL players prefer attacking midfielders or wingers because they get more goals/assists and hence, more points. Cole Palmer has been our star performer right since the beginning of last season. The majority of Chelsea FPL players will be having him in their team, by default. In the overall standings of midfielders, Cole🥶is in 2nd place with 153 points, only behind the in-form Mohammed Salah (209 points already!) The next best Chelsea midfielder is Noni Madueke (16th place with 79 points). Then comes Enzo Fernandez (31st place with 66 points) and Moises Caicedo (43rd place with 57 points).
If you want to select a 2nd Chelsea midfielder besides Palmer; well, Maresca has preferred Pedro Neto over Madueke in recent games as the right winger. On the left side, there is the highly talented Jadon Sancho (51 points), who has started only around half the games but has returned with 2 goals & 5 assists. At 6.2m price, he is a good option. Even Enzo (priced at 5.1m) is a good option as he is going further up the pitch and has returned with 3 goals & 4 assists. Maresca usually uses Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix as super subs in the League as they are preferred starters in the Conference League & cups. Mudryk is out of the team as of now because of the Doping situation. Surprisingly, FPL people have put Renato Veiga in the Midfielders category instead of the Defenders! But he too, is used as a substitute player.
Strikers
In this department, we have Nicolas Jackson. After scoring 14 goals and 6 assists last season, he has upped his game and looks a very much improved player. In the overall strikers’ ranking, Jackson stands 5th place:
Nkunku has started only 3 EPL games so far, that too due to rotation. Otherwise, Maresca has used him and Marc Guiu only as substitutes. So, due to his form (9 goals & 4 assists), you can select Jackson in your FPL team, besides any 2 of the other 4 players mentioned above. Most of Chelsea fans will already be having Jackson in their team anyway.
Summing it up…
In your FPL team, a maximum of 3 players can be selected from a single club. So, the 3 Chelsea positions in FPL for the rest of the season could be filled by – Palmer, Jackson, Sancho/Cucurella. Keep an eye on the factors that could influence your decision of having any player in your FPL team – Injuries, Double gameweeks, and Rotation.
Besides playing in the EPL, Chelsea FC is expected to win (or at least reach the final of) the UEFA Conference League. We also have the FA Cup to play for. It will be interesting to see who could make the Final 11 of Maresca in the Conference League knockout games, because till now, he has successfully forged a strong secondary Chelsea team, and clearly distinguishes between these two. Still, rotation could become a factor. All the very best for your FPL prospects, may you score the maximum points.
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