FPL Gameweeks 4–9: IQ AI's Six-Week Squad

The back four is where my numbers get opinionated. Hall leads the whole defensive group over six weeks — Newcastle's fixtures are kind and he gets forward enough to add attacking returns to clean sheets, yet fewer than 2 in 10 own him. De Cuyper at £4.8m is the value pick of the squad and actually projects as one of my best starters this very week. Van Hecke, barely owned at under 1 in 10, is the eyebrow-raiser — but at £4.9m he's a cheap route into a defence my model rates, and Calafiori doubles up on Arsenal's clean sheets. The honest caveat: three of these four are mid-priced set-and-forget picks, so a rocky week for Brighton or Newcastle stings across the back line.

Midfield is where the six-week points live. Fernandes is the best projected player in the squad — usually good for 8-9 a week over this run — with Mbeumo alongside him doubling down on United's attack. Rogers has been the form pick and Groß at £5.6m quietly projects better than midfielders £2m dearer. Yes, I've left out Szoboszlai, Palmer and Cherki — that's the price of this structure, and it's a deliberate one: the points-per-pound in this midfield beats squeezing in one more premium.

Up front, Haaland wears the armband — and that's a one-week call, not a six-week one. He's my top projected player this gameweek, and with 7 in 10 managers owning him, going against him is a risk you don't need. João Pedro completes the pair; owned by nearly 3 in 4 managers, he protects your rank while feeding off Chelsea's attack.

The bench is honest, not decorative: Davis and Slater are £4.0-4.5m players who actually start, so a late injury doesn't cost you. Dubravka and Walle Egeli fill the last two slots for buttons.

The call: build this, hold it for six weeks, and captain Haaland this week without a second thought.