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Q: Is Cole Palmer ‘essential’ now? And if so, who makes way to get him into your team?

A: With 25 points in Gameweek 6 taking him to the top of the midfielder rankings and only a few points behind Erling Haaland (£15.3m), Cole Palmer (£10.7m) is the big talking point this week. Prior to the win over Brighton and Hove Albion, his stats did not make great reading. Even after, he has had just nine shots in the box; 15 midfielders have had more.

However, it is worth mentioning that he sits joint-top with Mohamed Salah (£12.7m) and Luis Diaz (£8.0m) for big chances (seven) and second for shots on target (nine). His creativity numbers are good as well, with his seven big chances created trailing only Bukayo Saka (£10.1m, nine).

I think it is important to contextualise what happened in that Brighton game. The Seagulls were without two of their first-choice defenders and played a suicidal high line, which Chelsea set up to exploit through their front two of Palmer and Nicolas Jackson (£7.9m). The wingers Jadon Sancho (£6.4m) and Noni Madueke (£6.5m) dragged their opposing full-backs out of position, which meant that the front two had acres of space to run into. It’s unlikely we will see this sort of set-up again. While Palmer is capable of a haul against any opposition, we should take that 25-point return with a pinch of salt. 

Is Palmer a good pick? Yes. However, Salah, Phil Foden (£9.2m), Saka, Ollie Watkins (£9.1m) and Haaland are all also good picks. Chelsea’s next five opponents are Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Arsenal. There could be goals there, of course. We are still learning about Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea and it could be that they are just the most free-scoring side this season, especially with the problems at the back. 

I’ve said in earlier articles that managers can play the heavy hitters in different ways this season – either identify the best premium assets and stick with them through tougher fixtures or hop on/hop off depending on the ease of the schedule. If you’re going with the former, I think it makes sense to get Palmer this week. I think he has shown himself to be potentially the third-best premium asset behind Haaland and Salah and one can even make the case that he deserves to be in the same discussion as them every week.

However, I will be going the latter route and moving my premium assets around based on the fixture schedule. So Palmer will not be coming into my team at least until after the Liverpool fixture, when I hope to have learned more about this Chelsea side. 

Q: I’ve gone without Haaland since the Gameweek 4 Wildcard and been getting green arrows due to Watkins, Palmer, Salah, Dwight McNeil and Bryan Mbuemo. Is Haaland really that essential or could you get away with having Foden as cover now that he’s fit?

A: As your green arrows show, there is no ‘right’ way to play the game this year with the pricing the way it is. Going without Haaland allows so much investment in the rest of your squad that if captaincy wasn’t a factor, I think the majority of us would be going without the Norwegian international.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, captaincy is a big consideration and the reliability of putting the armband on him every week eliminates the need for a decision on which premium asset to back between Palmer/Salah etc.

Manchester City’s fixture run is really good over the next few Gameweeks, with matchups against Fulham, Wolves, Southampton etc. You need to have a look at who you will be captaining in those weeks and, if you think your alternative can match Haaland, there is no need to bring him in. I think I would though, as his ceiling over this run is really high. 

Q: Gabriel Martinelli or Leandro Trossard?

A: Over the past few matches, Leandro Trossard (£6.9m) has been playing false nine with Kai Havertz (£8.2m) in midfield, though realistically it has been the German playing up top with the Belgian dropping back.

With Merino now fit, however, I think Trossard could go back to competing with Gabriel Martinelli (£6.9m) for that left-wing role. I wouldn’t be comfortable picking either but if I would have to go with one, I think it would be the Brazilian as he is first choice for that position. 

Forward planning is key in FPL, so we highlighted the best teams and players to invest in for Gameweeks 7-9 here

We look at the top 10 most popular picks for the new round in terms of ownership.

You can also find the top 10 predicted player points for the round ahead here:

Our fantasy football expert @FPLReaction reveals his team for Gameweek 7 in this article here:

It’s Asia Pacific week in FPL Challenge, so here are our top tips and an expert team reveal to help you come out on top

Be sure to check out all of our latest articles over at Fantasy Football Community.