Another gameweek done. Twenty-two goals across six matches, with West Ham's 5-1 capitulation to Chelsea grabbing the headlines. The league averaged 53 points, but the spread tells the real story: 29 points separated the highest from the lowest, suggesting plenty of variance in how managers navigated the week.

Chelsea's visit to the London Stadium turned into a rout. Chalobah, Neto, Enzo, Caicedo, and João Pedro all found the net, with Cucurella and Enzo providing the assists in a performance that left West Ham's defence in tatters. Across London, Arsenal made light work of Leeds with a 5-0 victory, Timber scoring twice alongside Saka and Gyökeres (also twice), while Calafiori and Timber himself orchestrated the attacking play. Liverpool's trip to Newcastle proved tighter, but Gravenberch, Bruno G., and Osula's goals secured a 3-2 win despite the hosts' resistance. Spurs, meanwhile, upset Manchester City 2-0 with Johnson and Palhinha on target, while Burnley beat Sunderland 2-0 through Anthony and Cullen.

The standout performer was Jurrien Timber, who returned 24 points from two goals and an assist. João Pedro chipped in 15 points from a goal and two assists, while Pickford's clean sheet and bonus points yielded 15 as well. Cullen managed 14 from a goal and assist. Across The Premier Pundits, managers averaged 53 points, but that figure masked considerable divergence in how squads performed and how captaincy decisions landed.

Five managers captained Mohamed Salah for 4 points. Two others backed Erling Haaland, who also returned 4 points. This wasn't a case of differential thinking; it was consensus, and consensus failed. Salah played in Liverpool's 3-2 win but didn't register a goal or assist, leaving those five captains with just the doubled baseline. Haaland faced Spurs' resolute defence and similarly blanked on attacking returns. The captain's armband, supposedly the lever for gaining ground on rivals, instead became a leveller. No manager pulled ahead through captaincy this week. No manager fell behind because of it either. The league's top scorer, Timber, went uncaptained across the board, a reminder that the best FPL weeks often belong to those who simply picked well rather than those who gambled on the armband.

Lisa Brown and Mike Anderson both left 15 points on their benches. Hannah Taylor managed just 2. That 13-point gap between the best and worst bench management represents the kind of variance that separates a mid-table finish from a title push over a season. Brown's bench depth worked against her this week; Anderson's wildcard rebuild, activated ahead of the gameweek, left him with players who scored but didn't make the starting eleven. For context, Anderson scored 42 points across his playing squad but still finished with a gameweek total of 56 after bench points were factored in. The mid-table pack averaged 8.6 bench points, suggesting most managers struck a reasonable balance between squad depth and starting-eleven strength. But the outliers tell the tale: squad construction matters, and it matters unevenly.

Mike Anderson deployed his wildcard this week, a bold move at gameweek two. His rebuild yielded 42 points from his starting eleven, with Cucurella (6 points) the standout, but the chip didn't deliver the explosive return some might have hoped for. He scored 56 points overall, moving him from sixth to fifth in the league standings, a modest gain given the magnitude of the decision. Anderson captained Haaland, who blanked on attacking returns, a small misstep within a larger strategic pivot. His transfer activity suggests he's willing to make moves early; he made no additional transfers this week, content to let the wildcard settle. Whether this proves prescient or premature will depend on how his new squad performs over the next few gameweeks.

Alex Davies holds third place with 679 total points, down one spot from last week. His gameweek score of 56 points came largely from Murillo (17 points) and Andersen (10 points), a defensive-heavy return that kept him competitive despite captaining Saka for just 8 points. Lisa Brown remains eighth on 645 total points, her 53-point gameweek held back by that 15-point bench. The gap between Davies and Brown stands at 34 points, a meaningful margin but not insurmountable given the league's volatility.

Chelsea host Fulham in gameweek three, a fixture that could see João Pedro and Enzo continue their attacking form. Manchester United face Burnley, while Spurs travel to Bournemouth fresh off their City upset. Leeds visit Newcastle in what shapes as a competitive encounter, and Wolves host Everton in a potential relegation-zone clash. The fixture list offers no obvious rest periods; managers should monitor squad rotation carefully, particularly among the sides competing in European competitions. Differential opportunities will likely emerge from the lower-table matchups, where form remains unpredictable and captaincy picks remain scattered.