Forwards are dominating the transfer market in FPL right now. The recent form of Wolves’ Matheus Cunha and Joao Pedro of Brighton means they are currently the two most transferred-in players.
Meanwhile, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland continues to see significant sales for a third successive week — he’s the most sold player overall heading into FPL Gameweek 13.
So, with the season in flux, who are the top forwards to own in the game right now? Let’s attempt to rank them…
1. Matheus Cunha
It’s impossible to ignore Cunha (£7.0m) in FPL right now — a player with the perfect blend of strong form and helpful fixtures.
He’s produced goal involvements in four consecutive games, scoring four and assisting three in those matches to take him to 10 returns for the season. In addition, Wolves have the best fixtures of any side over the next five gameweeks, facing Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham, Ipswich and Leicester — all teams currently in the bottom half of the table.
It’s easy to overlook Wolves because of their poor form at the start of the season, but we must consider that they had one of the toughest starts, fixtures-wise, in Premier League history.
Cunha’s underlying numbers suggest his high levels are sustainable over that run of games, having had 13 shots and created 10 chances in the past four gameweeks. He is also thought to be on penalties, but we’ll only know for sure if and when Wolves finally get one (they are one of six Premier League teams yet to be awarded a spot kick this season).
2. Erling Haaland
The mere fact Haaland (£15.1m) isn’t top of this list ensures that we ask questions of his status in our teams. He isn’t currently justifying his price tag, with the captaincy another factor.
Haaland does have the potential to punish sellers of course, with two goals in the past four gameweeks. In that time, he sits top for shots (27), shots on target (11), big chances (11) and expected goals. However, City’s overall form is a major concern, having suffered three consecutive losses in the Premier League. Their 4-0 home defeat against Tottenham last Saturday was the hammer blow here.
A shaky 3-3 draw in the Champions League against Feyenoord at the Etihad on Tuesday — having been comfortable for the majority of that game, and three up after 74 minutes — will do little to help their confidence, although Haaland did score twice.
Given the number of budget forwards at our disposal who are displaying better form than him right now, it makes sense to sell Haaland and aim for a trio of premiums in your midfield instead.
3. Alexander Isak
A poor performance from Isak (£8.5m) against West Ham on Monday came as a surprise and does cast doubt on what we can expect from Newcastle this season.
However, their Swedish striker has been incredibly consistent individually, with three goals and an assist in five appearances since returning from injury in Gameweek 9.
It’s been encouraging to see Isak complete 90 minutes in each of these games, so he should be an ever-present for Newcastle in the congested period. However, there is now added competition for places.
For FPL managers, it was a concern to see fellow striker Callum Wilson (£6.9m) appear from the bench against West Ham to play 22 minutes and push Isak into a wider role. Now he’s finally played his first game of the season, Wilson could potentially take minutes, and penalties, away from Isak.
Should Isak retain his place in the team, Newcastle’s kind run of fixtures continues, including games against Crystal Palace, Brentford, Leicester and Ipswich in the next five gameweeks.
4. Joao Pedro
Joao Pedro (£5.6m) has caught the eye following his return in gameweek 11 after over a month out through injury, registering four goal involvements in his two appearances since. That means he’s been involved in every goal Brighton have scored in those matches, which have helped them to back-to-back wins.
His minutes have been carefully managed, playing just 88 minutes combined across those victories against Manchester City and Bournemouth. And this is the biggest concern going into the most congested phase of the season. But given Joao Pedro’s high levels of attacking returns in the past two weeks, as long as he gets some minutes in their upcoming fixtures that should translate to more points for his FPL owners.
He has registered three big chances on goal in these two gameweeks and also created two big chances for team-mates. His route to FPL points is helped by him being on penalties, providing he’s on the pitch at the time.
Brighton have one of the best runs of fixtures across the festive schedule, with a great entry point this weekend at home to last-placed Southampton, followed by games against Fulham, Leicester, Palace and West Ham.
5. Dominic Solanke
Tottenham reminded us in their Gameweek 12 performance against champions City how important it is to have a slice of their attack in your fantasy team.
They’ve scored a league-leading 27 goals this season and Solanke (£7.6m) has been involved in seven of those in his 10 appearances, scoring four and assisting three. He is a favourite of head coach Ange Postecoglou following a big-money summer move from Bournemouth, regularly completing the 90 minutes.
With Richarlison out until January, Solanke should be a regular in the Spurs side during this busy period of the season. A tweak in the formation with Rodrigo Bentancur suspended should see Solanke pair up more regularly with James Maddison (£7.6m) in the No 10 role.
In the past four gameweeks, Solanke has had six shots on target, including three big chances. He has also been credited with two big chances created. That’s why he’s racking up the points. We don’t know if he’s on penalties because Spurs are another of the six sides yet to be awarded one this season.
The fixtures appear mixed at first glance, but there’s definitely promise in their next four, with home games against Fulham and Chelsea, and trips to Bournemouth and Southampton.
6. Nicolas Jackson
Chelsea’s Jackson (£8.0m) ranks third among forwards for fantasy points this season, having produced seven goals and four assists over the opening 12 gameweeks. That’s a vast improvement on his output in 2023-24, his debut year in English football, where he was criticised for his poor finishing.
Jackson should be considered fixture-proof. He has scored against the best defence in the league — Liverpool — in Gameweek 8, and five of his seven goals have come away from home.
The only reason he isn’t higher on this list is that Cole Palmer (£10.9m) is the main man in attacking positions at Chelsea and the key fantasy investment from their squad, with the fixtures perhaps not warranting a double-up across the next three gameweeks.
Chelsea face Aston Villa, Southampton and Spurs before the schedule opens up from Gameweek 16 with a juicy-looking stretch of seven consecutive green fixtures, as per the Premier League Fixture Difficulty Rating.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
