Our gameweek · Gameweek 7
FPL GW7 team reveal: Haaland captain at 10.4 xP
Expected Pointless · Sunday 18 October 2026, 07:44 UK
Here is our FPL GW7 team reveal, now that the deadline (Saturday 17 October, 11:00 UK) has passed. We lined up in a 3-5-2 with 
Haaland as captain, projected at 10.4 against Ipswich at home. The starting eleven carries a projection of 66.0 for the gameweek.
| Player | Price | xP |
|---|---|---|
| Starting eleven3-5-2 | ||
 Tzolakis HUL GKP | £4.7m | 4.3 |
 De Cuyper V BHA DEF | £5.2m | 7.3 |
 Guéhi MCI DEF | £6.0m | 6.4 |
 Calafiori ARS DEF | £6.0m | 5.2 |
 Groß BHA MID | £6.1m | 6.7 |
 Saka ARS MID | £9.6m | 6.1 |
 Ødegaard ARS MID | £6.8m | 5.2 |
 Mbeumo MUN MID | £7.8m | 4.7 |
 Rogers CHE MID | £7.9m | 4.6 |
| Haaland C MCI FWD | £15.7m | 10.4 |
 João Pedro CHE FWD | £7.8m | 5.1 |
| Bench, in order | ||
 Martinez CHE GKP i, 0% chance | £5.0m | 0.0 |
 Thomas COV DEF | £4.0m | 4.5 |
 Wissa NEW FWD | £6.2m | 4.0 |
 Egan HUL DEF | £4.1m | 3.9 |
Why is Haaland the captain?
Our model has Haaland at 10.4 xP for Manchester City's home game with Ipswich, far clear of anyone else in the squad. His projection across the next six gameweeks is 49.7, and the fixture list stays kind: Aston Villa away, Brighton at home, then Forest away and Fulham at home. The one tough date is Arsenal away in GW12, where he drops to 6.1.
At £15.7m and 76.5% ownership he is not a differential, so the armband is about protecting the floor rather than chasing rank.
De Cuyper is vice-captain at 7.3 xP against Crystal Palace at home. A defender as vice is unusual, but he is the second-highest projection in the squad, and his Brighton team-mate Groß is next at 6.7 in the same fixture.
What changed from last week?
We made two moves:
Gvardiol out, Thomas in. Gvardiol is projected at 3.3 this week and 16.6 over six, while Thomas, at £4.0m, has 4.5 this week and 24.4 over six.
Gibbs-White out, Saka in. Gibbs-White faces Arsenal at home and is projected at 2.9. Saka is at 6.1 for the trip to Nottingham Forest, and 36.7 across the next six.
The Arsenal presence is now heavy: Calafiori (5.2), Saka and Ødegaard (5.2) all play Forest away. That is a deliberate bet on one team's fixture run, and it carries correlated risk if Arsenal stumble.
Where is the rest of the squad strong?
Guéhi gives City exposure at the back at £6.0m and 6.4 xP, and at 17.9% ownership he is a modest differential next to Haaland. Rogers (4.6) and João Pedro (5.1) both travel to Everton for Chelsea, and Mbeumo is at 4.7 away at Leeds. These are the quieter projections.
In goal, Tzolakis is projected at 4.3 at Fulham for £4.7m.
What about the bench?
The bench is where the one real concern sits. Martinez, our first-choice bench keeper at £5.0m, is flagged, and FPL's news reads "Head injury - Unknown return date" with a 0% chance of playing. His projection this week is 0.0. He sits on the bench, so it costs nothing in GW7, but it leaves us without cover if Tzolakis is hurt or rotated.
Behind him are Thomas (4.5), Wissa (4.0) and Egan (3.9). Those are cheap fillers rather than strong auto-sub options, and the keeper slot is the first thing to revisit.
How has our team done so far?
Our team has beaten the FPL Experts in four of six gameweeks, 17 points ahead on total, and 46 points above the FPL average. You can follow the comparison on us v the FPL Experts and watch this week unfold on live scores. Our broader views for the week are in our captain picks for the week and our team news for the week.
How we worked this out
Every number above is a projection from our model, which combines start probability, fixtures, attacking and defensive output, and bonus points, for each player in each gameweek. They are forecasts, not results. Ownership and prices come from FPL itself, and the flag on Martinez is FPL's own news. See model accuracy for how the projections have held up.
How this is written: an AI model drafts it from our projections and FPL's own data, and it is published only after an automatic check that every number, player and link in it comes from that data. The projections are graded in public on the scorecard.