Gameweek 4 locks at 13:30 BST on Saturday 12 September, ninety minutes before Chelsea and Liverpool both kick off at three. The number everyone's talking about is Cody Gakpo's 28 points through three gameweeks, best of anyone in the game right now. But the fixture that's actually decided my armband is Chelsea at home to Hull — rated the easiest match of the round, and Cole Palmer takes the penalties. That's the pick I keep coming back to.
Palmer over Gakpo, and it's close
Both start at three o'clock on Saturday, both kick off before the day's late team news can complicate anything, and both have been the most reliable source of points on FootballDream all season. What tips it for me is that Palmer's floor doesn't depend on Chelsea playing well — the penalty spot does a lot of that work on a quiet day. Gakpo needs Liverpool to actually create chances against Fulham, which they usually do. Usually isn't always.
If you're City-loyal, Haaland at Old Trafford is defensible on reputation alone, but it's rated the hardest fixture of the ten this week, and I wouldn't hand him the armband unless he was already starting in your team regardless. Isak shares Gakpo's kickoff and fixture, so pairing the two is a reasonable way to lean into Liverpool without adding fixture risk on top.
The four fixtures that actually matter
- Chelsea vs Hull (H, Sat 15:00) — the easiest match of the round on paper. Palmer's case in one line.
- Liverpool vs Fulham (H, Sat 15:00) — same kickoff time, and Gakpo and Isak both start it.
- Man Utd vs Man City (Sun 16:30) — the round's toughest fixture by rating, and the entire Haaland armband debate.
- Sunderland vs Arsenal (Sat 20:00) — Saka and Gyökeres travel on Saturday-night TV, a harder trip than either home game above.
The differential worth the risk
Alex Scott at Bournemouth, home to Brentford. He's on 24 points already this season at under 5% ownership — practically nobody in your mini-league is thinking about him for the armband, which is the whole appeal. A Palmer haul, everyone gains together. A Scott haul, you gain on everyone else. Full live list, filterable by position and ownership, on FootballDream's FPL Differentials tool.
Who I'm leaving out this week
- Anything from Monday's Leeds vs Newcastle closer, purely because it kicks off last and I'd rather have my armband settled before the weekend starts.
- Manchester United's attackers — decent differential-defender case against City's away form, weak armband case.
- Triple Captain. It's gameweek four. Save the chip for a week you're actually certain about.
Play it free
FootballDream Gameweek Fantasy gives 2× points on your captain with no entry fee — build a GW4 squad, captain Gakpo or Palmer, and see how it scores against the official game for free.