Another gameweek done. Twenty-one goals across six matches, with Everton's 3-2 comeback at Wolves grabbing the headlines and leaving half the league's captains wondering where it all went wrong.

Everton's visit to Molineux produced the week's most entertaining contest. Dewsbury-Hall opened the scoring before Ndiaye added a second, only for Wolves to level through two quick replies. Beto's late intervention settled it, though the narrative belonged to Everton's composure under pressure. Elsewhere, West Ham dismantled Nottingham Forest 3-0 with clinical efficiency, Paquetá, Bowen, and Wilson combining to expose Forest's defensive frailties. Crystal Palace's 3-0 demolition of Aston Villa proved equally one-sided, Guéhi, Sarr, and Mateta finding the net to announce Palace as genuine contenders. Manchester United edged Burnley 3-2 in a chaotic affair, while Chelsea's 2-0 win over Fulham maintained their early momentum. Across The Premier Pundits, managers averaged 46 points, a respectable haul that masked significant variance in how individual squads performed.

Mohamed Salah's armband proved a popular choice among three managers, yet delivered only 4 points each. Erling Haaland, despite his pedigree, managed the same return for his captains. Bruno Fernandes, captained by David White, contributed an identical 4 points. Across the league, no captain returned more than 4 points, a remarkable leveller that rendered armband selection almost immaterial to differentiation. This wasn't a case of one or two managers backing the wrong horse; it was a collective misfire where the consensus picks all underperformed simultaneously. The week belonged instead to those who'd captained differentials or simply got lucky with their selections. For a league where captaincy typically separates the wheat from the chaff, this gameweek felt almost democratic in its disappointment.

Bench points ranged from 2 to 17 across the ten managers, a 15-point spread that speaks to wildly different squad construction philosophies. Emma Evans left 17 points unused, a costly oversight that undermined what was otherwise a respectable 42-point gameweek. Mike Brown's 14 bench points suggested similar squad management struggles, though his overall position remained stable. David White, by contrast, managed just 5 bench points, indicating either superior squad depth or ruthless selection discipline. These variations matter less in isolation than cumulatively; across a season, the difference between consistently leaving 15 points on the bench and leaving 5 compounds into genuine league position shifts. The mid-table pack averaged 7.6 bench points, suggesting most managers struck a reasonable balance between squad strength and selection precision.

Four managers made transfers targeting midfield upgrades this week, moving away from Cole Palmer and into players like Sarr, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, and Grealish. On paper, the logic held; Palmer had disappointed, and these alternatives offered either form or fixture appeal. In practice, the moves yielded minimal immediate returns. Sarr scored 11 points for Crystal Palace, a solid return that nonetheless felt underwhelming given the transfer cost. Gibbs-White, Ndoye, and Grealish combined for modest contributions that didn't justify the minus-4 point hit one manager absorbed. The lesson wasn't that these transfers were wrong, but rather that midfield churn rarely pays dividends in the short term. Patience, as ever, remains the FPL virtue most managers lack.

David White leads The Premier Pundits on 679 points, holding rank 3 overall despite slipping one position this week. His 73-point gameweek was built on Murillo's 17-point haul and solid contributions across the board, though his captaincy of Fernandes proved unfortunate. Mike Brown sits second in the league on 659 points, rank 6 overall, having managed 45 points this week despite Salah's disappointing armband return. Emma Evans occupies third place on 645 points, rank 8 overall, her 42-point gameweek hampered by the 17 bench points that might have altered her trajectory.

Arsenal face Nottingham Forest in Gameweek 4, a fixture that carries title race implications as the Gunners sit atop the Premier League table. Everton's visit to Aston Villa offers another intriguing matchup, particularly given Everton's momentum from their Wolves comeback. Newcastle's home fixture against Wolves provides a chance for the hosts to build on their early season form, while Fulham's clash with Leeds offers Championship versus Premier League intrigue. Managers should monitor squad rotation across these fixtures; with no international break immediately following, fixture congestion remains manageable, but early-season fatigue may yet influence team selection. The week ahead promises clearer differentiation than Gameweek 3 offered, with captaincy choices likely to carry genuine weight once more.