Bench Boost only earns its keep when your four cheapest players are actually projected to score. GW6 has a decent spread of sub-£6.0m names with clean fixtures, so the chip is worth weighing seriously this week.
What matters this week
- Fixture quality: Brighton’s trip to Sunderland produces three of the top names (De Cuyper 4.99 xP, Groß 4.71 xP, Kostoulas 5.37 xP), while Brentford away at Aston Villa also stacks up (Kelleher 4.75 xP, Janelt 4.05 xP).
- Form vs price: Gvardiol (£5.7m, form 6.6, xP 4.68) and Groß (£5.7m, form 6.6, xP 4.71) are the standout form scores among the cheaper names, but Gvardiol travels to Liverpool, a tougher away day than his form suggests.
- Ownership as a signal: Raya’s 41.5% selected shows he is a mainstream enabler pick rather than a true differential, whereas names like Horníček (1.5%), Emersonn (3.3%) and Kostoulas (1.0%) are low-owned punts with big xP swings.
How to weigh it
The trade-off is between safe, popular enablers and cheap players with genuinely strong underlying numbers. A high xP figure on a low-owned player like Emersonn (5.63 xP, home v Fulham) or Kostoulas (5.37 xP) is more valuable for a Bench Boost than a heavily-owned name like Raya, because your bench needs points your rivals are not also banking. Form matters more than reputation here: Groß and Gvardiol both sit at 6.6 form, which should carry more weight than raw price when picking your fourth or fifth bench slot. If two players have similar xP, favour the cheaper one, it frees funds elsewhere without costing projected points.
Top picks by position
- GKP: Kelleher (£5.0m, 4.75 xP, away v Aston Villa) edges Raya on value despite Raya’s higher form (5.8), since Raya is priced and owned like a starter, not a bench filler.
- DEF: De Cuyper (£4.9m, 4.99 xP, form 6.4, away v Sunderland) is the clear top defensive score in this pool.
- MID: Groß (£5.7m, 4.71 xP, form 6.6, away v Sunderland) leads, with Janelt (£5.0m, 4.05 xP) as a cheaper alternative.
- FWD: Emersonn (£5.5m, 5.63 xP, home v Fulham) is the standout forward, ahead of Kostoulas (5.37 xP) and Evanilson (5.26 xP, away v Chelsea).
Squad-fit notes
If you already own Brighton or Brentford assets from your main XI, doubling up on their bench-priced teammates (De Cuyper plus Groß, or Kelleher plus Janelt) concentrates risk on one fixture. Spread across at least two fixtures if your bench allows it, so a single result does not sink the chip.
If you are unsure
Default to holding the Bench Boost unless at least three of your four bench players are starting with an xP above 4.5, as several names here are (De Cuyper, Kelleher, Groß, Emersonn, Kostoulas, Evanilson all clear that bar this week).
See when to play your chips, based on your actual squad
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