The second international break is almost over, and with seven Gameweeks complete, it’s the ideal moment to step back and review some key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) trends.
By analysing team value, chip usage, and player ownership in the FPL Statistics tool, alongside the Elite XI: Team Reveal Consensus XI, you can see exactly how your squad stacks up against the wider game — and more importantly, how it compares to the top 1,000 managers and a group boasting 80 Top 10k finishes between them.
One of the clearest divides between the top-performing managers and the overall game comes from team value. According to the FPL Statistics tool, the average squad value of the top 1,000 managers is already up to £102.0m, compared to £100.6m across all FPL managers.
This gap shows how proactive the top-ranked managers are when it comes to jumping on early price rises — a strategy that can make a big difference as the season progresses, especially when it comes to playing the second Wildcard.
Chip strategy can make or break a Fantasy Premier League season. To get a clearer picture, we’ve removed 14.3% of ‘dead teams’ — managers who haven’t made a team change in five Gameweeks.
Here’s how chip usage looks so far:
The numbers show that the top 1,000 managers have been much more aggressive with chip usage, especially with the Triple Captain chip — almost four in five have already deployed it.
You can view an interactive breakdown of each chip’s data on the FPL Statistics tool.
While chip usage highlights strategic differences, player ownership shows just how differently the best managers build their squads. The data below comes from the Insight Live tool, which compares ownership across all FPL managers and the top 1,000 ranked teams.
Across the entire game, the most-owned players include Haaland, who sits at a relatively modest 61.4% ownership despite delivering 9 goals and 70 FPL points in the first seven Gameweeks.
João Pedro follows closely with 61.3%, even after a run of three consecutive two-pointers, while Semenyo is owned by 59.8%.
Salah also remains a popular pick, selected by 38.4% of managers, despite what has been a fairly underwhelming start to the season by his usual high standards.
However, when we add the extra column and sort by ownership among the top 1,000 FPL managers, a very different picture emerges.
Haaland is owned by 100% of them, which comes as no surprise, while Semenyo takes second spot at 79.1%, reflecting his near-essential form with 6 goals and 3 assists in the opening seven Gameweeks.
João Pedro (60.9%) remains in the top three despite recent blanks, but there’s context behind that — Chelsea faced Liverpool last Gameweek and had a player sent off in each of the two matches before that. The top 1,000 managers appear to be showing patience with the forward ahead of his favourable upcoming fixtures.
Meanwhile, Salah’s ownership drops sharply to 26.8%, falling from the fourth most-owned player overall to 15th among the top 1,000. This suggests many high-performing managers have chosen to move away from the Egyptian, opting instead for more balanced squads or better value options elsewhere.
Beyond chip usage and ownership, another powerful benchmark is the Consensus XI — a combined team created from all Elite XI: Team Reveal squads. This represents the collective thinking of a group of managers with 80× Top 10k finishes between them.
The Consensus XI highlights just how differently the most successful managers build their teams compared to the overall game and even the top 1,000 managers:
Comparing your team to the Consensus XI can highlight both gaps and opportunities. If you’re missing several of these core picks, you might be lagging behind the pack. On the other hand, having well-chosen differentials outside this template could help you climb the ranks.
It’s also worth noting that the Consensus XI is constantly evolving. This Gameweek, two Elite XI: Team Reveal managers — Corey and Copenhagen Wednesday — have activated their Wildcards, so the team template will likely shift again in the coming days. Their new squads offer valuable insight into how top FPL minds are approaching the next phase of the season.
Seven Gameweeks in, it’s clear that the top-ranked Fantasy Premier League managers are:
If you want to stay competitive, now’s the perfect time to reassess your squad. Does your approach resemble the wider average, or are you starting to mirror the habits of the top 1,000 managers?
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