The FPL Template: The Players Almost Everyone Owns

The Template, GW6: Groß Is the New Must-Have — and João Pedro Is the Safe Skip

827,000 managers bought Pascal Groß this week. That's not a trend, that's a stampede — and for once the crowd is dead right. Our model has the Brighton midfielder projected for around 50 points over the next six gameweeks, the best number in the entire template XI, ahead of even Haaland's 48.8. At £5.9m, with only about 3 in 10 of us owning him so far, he's the rare pick that protects our rank *and* pushes it. That window won't stay open — every week we wait, he becomes a shield rather than a weapon.

Let's be clear about what we must cover. Haaland, £15.6m, owned by about 7 in 10 — non-negotiable. He projects nearly 49 points over six, and not owning him is a bet against the field we don't need to make. Rogers (£7.7m, ~4 in 10 owned, around 36 points projected) is the other midfield piece we'd be nervous without.

The crowd is piling into Brighton generally — Groß, Kostoulas and De Cuyper all sit in this week's top five transfers in — and De Cuyper is the quiet value of the lot. He's £5.0m, owned by fewer than 3 in 10, and projects around 30 points over six gameweeks, which from a budget defender is template-defining stuff. He's the cheapest route into a defence our model clearly rates.

Now the honest bit: João Pedro. Nearly 6.5 in 10 of us own him, and he projects just 12 points over the next six — the worst number in the whole XI by a distance. Normally we defend the template fiercely, because owning what everyone owns is how ranks survive. But a shield only works if it blocks something, and 12 points over six weeks blocks nothing. This is the one template piece it's genuinely safe to walk away from. The caveat: 6.5 in 10 owners means a blank hurts nobody — so if your transfers are needed elsewhere, holding him a week costs little.

The call: Haaland and Groß are the shields — own both, no debate. Buy De Cuyper if you need a defender. And João Pedro is your sell: move his £7.7m into Rogers or fund the Groß purchase. Skip him with a clear conscience — the crowd will catch up to this one soon enough.