The FPL Template: The Players Almost Everyone Owns

The Template Check: One Shield Just Got Essential — And One Big Name Is Safe To Skip

Over a million managers moved for Pascal Groß this week. That's not herd madness — that's the crowd getting it right. Our model has the Brighton midfielder projected for more points over the next six gameweeks than anyone else in the entire template, Haaland included, and he costs £5.9m. When the move is that cheap and that good, we follow it. About 3 in 10 already own him; that number is only going one way, and every week we wait without him is a week he can hurt us.

So let's be honest about what the template actually is right now. Haaland is the non-negotiable — roughly 7 in 10 own him, he's projected for a heavy haul rate over the next six, and not owning a £15.6m player who can go massive any given week isn't bravery, it's a slow bleed. Rogers at Chelsea (£7.8m, ~4 in 10 owned) is the next-safest midfield piece, projected to be a solid weekly scorer. In defence, De Cuyper is the quiet star of this XI — £5.0m, projected better than defenders costing a pound more, and 420,000 managers bought him this week too. Brighton assets are where the crowd is heading, and the numbers say the crowd is right.

Now the uncomfortable one. João Pedro is owned by about 6 in 10 of us — one of the most-held players in the game — and our projections have him as the weakest piece in this entire XI over the next six gameweeks. Not close, either: barely a couple of points a week. Normally we'd say hold the template and don't be clever. This time the template itself has a soft spot, and when 6 in 10 own a player who's projected to blank more than he scores, skipping him doesn't cost us rank — everyone else blanks together, and our money works harder elsewhere.

The caveat: Groß is a one-million-transfer bandwagon, and bandwagons occasionally run into a bad afternoon. Fine. At £5.9m the downside is small and the upside is the best in the list.

The call: Haaland and Groß are the shields — own both before this deadline, no excuses. De Cuyper is the budget defender to buy if you need one. João Pedro is the one template piece it's safe to sell or skip. Protect the rank; spend the savings on Brighton.