Looking for the best FPL Gameweek 3 transfer tips for the 2026/27 season? We have analysed the standout Gameweek 2 statistics, the most popular early transfers and two Manchester City midfielders who should be on managers’ shopping lists.
Despite his 23-point FPL haul and impressive underlying statistics, Bruno Fernandes is one of the top five players being sold. Similarly, Gabriel is being sold despite consecutive clean sheets while Rayan Cherki is soaring in popularity with nearly a million transfers in.
Bruno Fernandes recorded an expected FPL points (xFPL) score of 16.6 in Gameweek 1, the highest total in our Custom Stats table.
The Portuguese international took more shots (eight) than any other player and was also joint-top for big chances (three) alongside Bryan Mbeumo. After a blank in Gameweek 1, he showed why FPL managers continue to back him with the armband in home fixtures.
Phil Foden (11.0) and Rayan Cherki (10.6) were third and fourth for xFPL. Both players attempted an identical number of shots in the box but the Frenchman landed three attempts on target, compared to none for the former. They also created three chances each with Foden faring better for big chances created (two vs one).
No player created more chances than Morgan Rogers in Gameweek 2 (four) and the England international is also top for attempted assists (nine) over the opening two Gameweeks. Two of these were classified as big chances created by Opta.
He also attempted two shots in the box and racked up an xFPL score of 7.6.
Riccardo Calafiori notched his second FPL assist in as many games and racked up the highest xFPL score (9.5) amongst defenders this Gameweek. He sits top of the FPL defender points (20) after two Gameweeks and is justifying his status as the most owned defender in FPL.
The expected FPL points (xFPL) model estimates how many points a player’s performance was likely to produce. The calculation uses underlying data including expected goals, expected assists, expected clean sheets, appearance points and projected bonus points.
It is best used to assess the quality of a player’s performance rather than simply looking at his final FPL score.
Cherki is the most-bought player ahead of Gameweek 3. Over 900,000 managers had transferred him in at the time of writing, according to our Transfer Analytics tool.
Yoane Wissa opened his account for the season with a goal against Spurs. The DR Congo international could offer great value but faces competition in the budget forward bracket from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who also found the back of the net.
Meanwhile, defensive assets Maxim De Cuyper and Semi Ajayi continue to be popular acquisitions, with the Belgian international’s ‘out-of-position’ role on the wing appealing to FPL managers.
At the other end of the market, Bryan Mbeumo is the most-sold player, despite registering a goal and an assist against Ipswich. More than 350,000 FPL managers have parted ways with the Cameroon international.
Bruno Fernandes has also been sold by nearly 200,000 FPL managers following his 23-point haul, which is surprising. Christos Tzolis, Antoine Semenyo and Dominik Szoboszlai complete the top five.
Calvert-Lewin to Wissa accounts for 28.3% of the leading forward transfer combinations, while Brian Brobbey to Wissa represents a further 11.2%.
Wissa features in seven of the top 10 forward transfer combinations, with Erling Haaland and Gonzalo García also proving popular.
Meanwhile, Alexander Isak’s goal against Nottingham Forest was not enough to convince FPL managers to keep the faith. He is being sold in droves, alongside Igor Thiago, Igor Jesus and Richarlison.
Cherki is the most popular midfield target by a distance with the French international featuring in five of the top 10. Cole Palmer and Anthony Elanga, who have scored in successive matches are also being bought..
Manchester United midfielders Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes account for five of the top 10 midfielder transfers out with Enzo Le Fée, Semenyo and Florian Wirtz also on the chopping block.
With attacking returns in consecutive Gameweeks, Joško Gvardiol features in seven of the top 10 defender transfer combinations. De Cuyper accounting for the remaining three.
Manchester United defenders Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are being sold, while Gabriel and Ben White are also seeing sales despite back-to-back clean sheets.
Foden and Cherki are both popular FPL targets after their returns against Crystal Palace with Manchester City playing newly promoted Coventry at the Etihad Stadium.
As the above image from our Player Heatmaps feature shows, although Cherki has scored two goals compared to none for Foden, the England international has actually had the better goal threat numbers for both shots (five vs three) and Expected Goals (1.03 vs 0.64).
The Frenchman has the edge when it comes to creativity though, he is ahead for both attempted assists (five vs seven) and Expected Assists (1.28 vs 1.30).
It is also worth mentioning that Cherki has played just 110 minutes compared to Foden's 172, which makes his numbers all the more impressive.
If Cherki can nail down his spot in Enzo Maresca's side, he could be an outstanding FPL option.
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