The Bench Boost chip lives or dies on the quality of your fourth and fifth players. GW3 offers a strong spread of affordable options with genuine xP upside, concentrated around teams with favourable home fixtures. Here is what the data says.
The Principles for GW3
A successful Bench Boost requires cheap players who project well for this specific gameweek, not just long-term assets. Home fixtures matter. Clean sheet potential matters. And forwards with attacking returns matter more than ever on the bench. GW3 delivers on all three fronts across multiple clubs.
Goalkeepers
Pickford leads the position with an xP of 4.67 at £5.5m, selected by just 8.8% of managers, as Everton host Manchester United at home. His form rating of 3.5 is modest but the fixture is workable. Tzolakis at £4.5m posts xP of 4.52 and a standout form figure of 5.0, with Hull hosting Aston Villa. He is the cheapest viable option in the position and suits a budget-conscious bench. Raya (£6.0m, xP 4.40, 38.3% selected) and Kelleher (£5.0m, xP 4.40, 6.6% selected) round out the category, both hosting reasonable opposition.
Defenders
Manchester City defenders dominate here. Guéhi tops the position at xP 4.76 (£6.0m, 19.5% selected, form 6.0) with City hosting Coventry. Gvardiol follows at xP 4.69 (£5.5m, 14.6% selected, form 7.0), the same fixture giving both significant clean sheet potential. Tarkowski (£6.0m, xP 4.56, form 3.0) plays in that Everton home game, while De Cuyper (£4.6m, xP 4.55, form 8.5) is a standout value pick at Brighton, who host Leeds. De Cuyper’s form figure is the highest in this defensive group and his price is the lowest.
Midfielders
M. Sangaré leads the midfield picks at xP 4.38 (£5.6m, form 7.0, 9.4% selected), with Brentford hosting Sunderland at home. Lewis-Potter (£5.5m, xP 4.14, form 5.0) from the same fixture offers a second Brentford coverage option at low ownership of just 1.2%. Ndiaye (£6.0m, xP 4.18, 16.0% selected) and Elanga (£6.0m, xP 4.15, 2.2% selected) are the pricier alternatives, but xP figures across this group are tighter than in other positions. Midfielders are the weakest category for Bench Boost purposes in GW3.
Forwards
This is where GW3 Bench Boost value is most concentrated. Gonzalo tops every player in this entire list at xP 5.82 (£6.0m, 4.2% selected, form 3.0) as Fulham host Crystal Palace. McBurnie (£5.5m, xP 5.42, form 2.5, 2.2% selected) gives Hull a second route in, with that home fixture against Aston Villa. Emersonn (£5.5m, xP 5.34, form 4.5, 1.9% selected) hosts Liverpool for Ipswich, a tougher ask, but the xP holds up. Barry (£5.5m, xP 5.26, form 4.0, 3.6% selected) rounds out the group in that Everton home game.
Squad Fit Notes
If you are activating Bench Boost in GW3, prioritise at least one City defender, Gonzalo as your forward benchmark, and Tzolakis or Pickford in goal. The Brentford home fixture gives you double midfield coverage via Sangaré and Lewis-Potter at a combined £11.1m. The forward position offers the clearest xP separation from the rest of the bench, so do not cut corners there.
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