FPL 23/24 tips: Best picks for Gameweek 3, complete fantasy football squad
Gameweek 3 brings another Friday evening deadline. To avoid getting caught out take a look at our complete guide to the best players for Gameweek 3.
We spent all summer creating Squawka Score, our fantasy football ranking system, which gives each player a percentage score and is designed to help you identify the gems set to propel themselves onto the FPL main stage. And now after the first week of the season we’ve been given some ideas as to how the campaign could play out.
Fancy your chances against our Squawka Score super computer? We’re challenging you to beat us in our own mini-league. You can sign up here or use the league code 8ju9vx to join the Squawka Challenge League.
You can also find a full breakdown of what Squawka Score is, and how it works, via this link.
We’ve used Squawka Score to pick our squad for Gameweek 3, which has a few interesting fixtures. While we’re not expecting you to fully change your team, unless you’re an early Wildcard user, we’ve assembled a 15-man squad (within a budget of £100m) with players you should be considering — taking into account value, points, performances and fixtures — when looking at early transfers.
Gameweek 3 picks
Andre Onana, Man United
FPL price: 5.0m
Squawka Score: N/A
Onana might have seen some controversy in his debut for Man United but the stats don’t lie; the Cameroonian ‘keeper has made more saves than any other keeper in the league, except Bernd Leno. With Manchester United adjudged to have an ‘easy’ fixture in Nottingham Forest, it could be a high-scoring week for the United number one.
Raphael Varane, Man United
FPL price: 5.1m
Squawka Score: 59%
There are similar reasons for picking Varane here as there were for selecting Onana, with Nottingham Forest not being the hardest of opposition (according to the FDR, anyway). Factor in that Varane has already scored once this season and has taken four shots in two games, it’s easy to see why the Frenchman represents a dual threat at both ends of the pitch.
Pervis Estupinan, Brighton
FPL price: 5.1m
Squawka Score: 80%
Is there a player (other than Erling Haaland) that has united FPL players as much as Estupinan? The Ecuadorian is a consistent scorer of points on the platform and it’s easy to see why, with the most shots by a defender (5) so far this season, the most assists by a defender (2) so far this season and the added bonus of a goal last weekend.
Ben Chilwell, Chelsea
FPL price: 5.7m
Squawka Score: 37%
Chilwell has established himself as one of the most coveted defenders in FPL this year, with the left back getting forward at will so far. In fact, Chilwell had the most touches in the final third by any player in Chelsea’s opening game of the season and followed this up by having the second highest amount of final third touches of any defender across the league in Gameweek 2.
James Maddison, Spurs
FPL price: 7.6m
Squawka Score: 65%
Maddison has certainly enjoyed a good start to lift at Spurs, with the midfielder leading the way when it comes to assists (2), as well as playing the most progressive passes (17) in the Spurs squad. With ‘Ange-Ball’ in full effect, it could be Maddison that benefits the most and he could be an astute pick up ahead of a decent run of games for his club side. Be wary of his minor injury, but that gamble could pay off with interest if he does shake off the problem.
Solly March, Brighton
FPL price: 6.5m
Squawka Score: 83%
If we’re allowed to toot our own trumpets for a second, March was our star differential ahead of Gameweek 1 and he’s making us look like superstars so far. A nine-point haul against Luton, on the opening day, was swiftly followed by a 15-point tally a week later, against Wolves. If March can keep this up, surely an England call-up won’t be far away?
Mo Salah, Liverpool
FPL price: 12.5m
Squawka Score: 80%
‘A disappointing season’ for Salah last campaign. That was the cry from many at the tail end of the 2022/23 season. We’d definitely struggle to call 19 goals and 13 assists across a season ‘disappointing’, though. That translated to FPL too, with Salah scoring over 230 points for the sixth consecutive season. With a run of enticing games coming up for Liverpool, it might be the time to jump on the Salah train before his price goes up.
Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford
FPL price: 6.7m
Squawka Score: 75%
Some predicted Brentford might struggle for goals this season, with Ivan Toney missing for much of the campaign, but they hadn’t put enough respect on the names of Mbeuemo and Yoane Wissa. Three goals, and 23 FPL points, in the opening two weeks have seen Mbeumo draw the plaudits and, with five ‘easy’ fixtures from the next seven for Brentford, there is still plenty of time to profit from Bryan.
Eberechi Eze, Crystal Palace
FPL price: 6.4m
Squawka Score: 68%
The England youngster was one of the most impressive players in the league last season, and that has carried into the new campaign, with Eze having more shots on goal than any other midfielder in the league so far this season. Eze has established himself as the main man at Selhurst Park this season and he could represent a sound investment as a mid-range option.
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Erling Haaland, Man City
FPL price: 14.0m
Squawka Score: 75%
It doesn’t need too much justification, does it? Two goals already this season, a 75% Squawka Score and an average of 4.26 shots per game give some context to this pick, but if you aren’t one of the 91.1% of FPL players who own Haaland, are you really even playing the game?
Julian Alvarez
FPL price: 6.5m
Squawka Score: 73%
It might seem a little strange to pick Alvarez when we’ve already got Haaland in the team, but what’s the harm in doubling up on Manchester City attackers when they’ve got four ‘easy’ fixtures in their next five games. Alvarez is averaging two shots a game, one goal a game and has benefitted from the injury to Kevin De Bruyne.
Alphonse Areola, West Ham
FPL price: 4.0m
Squawka Score: N/A
Adam Webster, Brighton
FPL price: 4.4m
Squawka Score: 36%
Axel Disasi, Chelsea
FPL price: 5.0m
Squawka Score: N/A
Odsonne Edouard, Crystal Palace
FPL price: 5.5m
Squawka Score: 35%
Every week we’ll give you a full squad we recommend for that specific Gameweek, but it’s not feasible changing all 15 players on a regular basis if you want to stay competitive. These will merely be our favourite 15 picks within a 100M budget for that Gameweek, for if you’re considering using your Wildcard, or want to overhaul your squad at a cost.
We’re also playing along in the traditional style, tweaking our team one transfer at a time. And we’re challenging you to beat us in our own mini-league. You can sign up here or use the league code 8ju9vx to join the Squawka Challenge League.
Here’s our Squawka Challenge team for Gameweek 3.
