A 5-2-3 formation maximizes defensive potential with five premium defenders while maintaining attacking threat through three forwards including the essential Haaland.
Key picks
• Gabriel (£8.0m, 7.2 xP): The highest expected points in the squad, facing Coventry at home with excellent clean sheet odds and aerial threat from set pieces.
• Erling Haaland (£15.5m, 7.0 xP): Unmissable at 71.7% ownership, the Norwegian faces Bournemouth at the Etihad and captaining anyone else is a dangerous risk.
• Michael Keane (£5.0m, 5.8 xP): Exceptional value at 1.16 points per million with a 60% clean sheet probability against Crystal Palace, freeing up funds elsewhere.
Captain choice
Haaland is the obvious captain choice with 7.0 expected points against Bournemouth at home, doubling to 14.0 points. At 71.7% ownership, not captaining him could prove catastrophic if he hauls. Gabriel serves as a solid vice-captain option with Arsenal's favorable fixture against Coventry.
Budget breakdown
The £100m budget is allocated with heavy investment in defense (£35.5m across five defenders) to capitalize on favorable early fixtures. Midfield is deliberately light at £18.5m with just Bruno Guimarães and Anderson, allowing £31.0m for the forward trio of Haaland, Thiago, and João Pedro. Raya (£6.0m) provides goalkeeping stability.
Key differentials include Ballard (£5.0m, 4.7 xP) away at Ipswich with 77.6% clean sheet probability at just 4.6% ownership, and Anderson (£6.5m, 5.1 xP) who offers Man City midfield exposure at far lower cost than premium options. The bench is stacked with budget enablers like Reed (£4.5m) and Dubravka (£4.0m) to maximize the starting XI quality.
Build this squad in the optimizer
Pre-selected 5-2-3 formation. Tweak the squad with your own preferences.