Hive FPL GW3 Preview - This game is easy!

Published on HivePostify by @hivefpl · Fri Sep 04 2026

Welcome back to the Hive FPL weekly blog.

To start with, an apology for not posting an updated for GW2, I was out of the country without my laptop. All future holidays have been suspended until after the completion of the football season.

A reminder for this week that there's another Friday night fixture so get your team changes in now!

It's been a pretty fast paced start to the Premier League season. As anticipated, FPL managers have been throwing their chips around like candy and with a couple of popular players and captain picks scoring big last weekend, then the points are flowing! Let's see how long that continues.

In fact, last week was so profitable, that it saw 22 Hive FPL managers breach the 100 point mark! We certainly had occasions where our users got into triple figures last season but never a single game week where so many scored so big.

Between GW2 ending and GW3 beginning, we've also seen the transfer window slam shut. As with the summer more generally, there's been a lot of trade between Premier League clubs with deadline day seeing popular FPL picks like Enzo Fernandes and Daniel Munoz both make moves to join their former managers at new clubs.

Coming into the Premier League late on is Bradley Barcola who helps fill the void left by several big departures in recent seasons on Liverpool's flanks. He notched 19 goal involvements in 45 matches for PSG (Ligue 1 + UCL) last season and can be added to squads for £8mil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-fOVfnZph0

Newcastle also picked up a late signing for a talented player from Europe in the form of Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Given Newcastle's recent record in the transfer market, they'll just be happy that he signed for them before anyone else swooped in! With 18 goal involvements last year and Newcastle's strong start to the season, he might be one to watch at £6mil.

All in all, despite the very good returns that managers have achieved in the opening couple of weekends, the league still feels like it's in a state of flux with all the comings and goings.

To add to that, European football starts next week so managers need to be mindful of how that might impact minutes on the pitch as squad rotation comes into the equation.

So far, no one has taken the nuclear option and used a wildcard but I reckon we might see a few pull the trigger ahead of this weekend. As we'll explore later in the blog, there are good reasons to shake things up with some favorable fixtures for some big clubs.

GW1 Results

Division 1

Division 2

GW2 Results

Division 1

Division 2

GW3 Wildcard?

I see a lot of FPL content creators considering this as an option but it's largely due to them wanting to get Haaland into their team having left him out for the opening 2 weekends.

The trouble with a player of Haaland's price is not just the individual cost, it's the shuffling around of probably half your squad to free up the budget to get him back in.

With a home match against Coventry this weekend then you'd imagine that Haaland will be the obvious choice for the captain's armband.

The other reason to wildcard might just be that you've picked a few lemons in your initial draft. Personally, I'd be more concerned about game time at this stage of the season rather than form, the perception of which can shift overnight when there's been such a small sample size. If you don't have at least 11 starters in your squad then you do need to make major surgery or risk falling further behind.

The other concern on that front can be player value. If you've not found it already, the official FPL site now has a price change tracker where you can see which players are likely to rise or fall in value.

Of course, if your players begin to fall in value then your options for swapping them out become more limited.

If you have suffered a poor start to the season then risking an early wildcard might be necessary to avoid you having losing funds to play with later on.

The pace setters

We've noted above that a lot of the pre-season popular and indeed expensive picks have hit the ground running. Bruno is the top scoring midfielder, Joao Pedro leads the way for forwards with Haaland close by in 2nd. Many teams have at least 2 if not all 3 of these players in their squad but which other, perhaps less well owned players at the start of the season have made a splash early on and should you be looking to follow the trend and bring them in?

Hull defenders - 2 clean sheets means that Tzolakis is the top scoring keeper to date. Meanwhile, 3 Hull defenders are already sitting between 16 and 20 points after 2 fixtures. A home game against Villa suggests that they might be able to continue that run but it does get trickier after that with visits to Chelsea and Newcastle.

Cherki (City) £7.7mil - Didn't start the opening game but came off the bench to grab 2 assists. Did start the next game and scored twice before being subbed around the 80min mark. With so much competition in the City midfield, you get the feeling that this may be the dynamic for the season. That being said, City have some very appealing home games this autumn starting this week v Coventry and if those are the fixtures that he's going to start then he could continue to put up some big numbers, at least when he's on the pitch!

De Cuyper (Brighton) £4.7mil - There was a fair bit of excitement about this guy at the start of last season given his very attacking returns in his native Belgium prior to joining the EPL. His 17 points in GW1 prompted a significant rise in ownership (currently 15%) and then he delivered 0 points against Chelsea. With matches against Leeds and Coventry to come, it's likely he'll establish a better base average.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tL7OAAR5yDg

Sangare (Brentford) £5.7mil - This guy was in my draft squad until a couple of days before the season kicked off when I opted to go for the tried and trusted Pascal Gross. Gross by the way is only 3 points off Sangare's 18 point haul and I still think was the more logical pick given his EPL experience and set-piece action. However, Sangare has started life in West London very well and is definitely emerging as a serious midfield contender in the sub £6mil price bracket

Elanga (Newcastle) £6.1mil - 2 goals in 2 games means he's doubled his tally from the whole of last season. A flash in the pan or a return to form after his 17 goal involvements in the 24/25 season? What is very evident is that Newcastle are playing to his strengths. Let's see if teams in the Premier League wise up to those tactics better that Tottenham did last weekend and when they do, can Elanga continue to deliver?

Wissa (Newcastle) £6.1mil - There's a whole heap of decent options for forwards at around this price point and Wissa has thrown his hat into the ring after a GI in both games. I'd be more inclined to bring him in over Elanga because I think he's more likely to deliver consistently. That being said, Newcastle do have some very nice fixtures coming up so perhaps having both isn't such a big risk.

The under-performers

The above players have all found an early season following having been largely ignored pre-season but who might be the next players to come out of nowhere with a decent points haul?

Nketiah (Palace) £5.5mil - It's been a tough start for Palace but to be honest, the opening day result against Everton could have gone differently but for a couple of near misses. The former Arsenal man has started both matches and while he's yet to score he has an expected goal involvements of 1.14 and expected FPL points of 10.49 versus has actual 3. You suspect he's the kind of guy who needs a goal to go in to trigger a bit of a streak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYzNmeqMQ2c

Enciso (Ipswich) £5.5mil - From the brief glimpses we had of this guy when he was at Brighton, we know there's a creative threat there. It's perhaps unfair to put him in this category given he's provided 2 assists in 2 games but his attacking threat and xG suggests he's capable of adding even more. Again, could be an option for a budget midfielder and he's only by just 0.7% of teams.

Kluivert (Bournemouth) £6mil - Has the handy knack of getting subbed before the Cherries concede which means he's picked up 2 CS bonuses. He's probably on penalties which is always a plus and he does get into attacking areas. His xG and xPoints is actually higher than Rayan Cherki's despite which the City man is in over a quarter of teams versus Kluivert who is in just 1% of FPL sides.

Tags: #football #soccer #fpl #hivefpl #sports #sportsblock #footballexchange #ocd #teamuk #waivio

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