Finally, all the big guns blazed in unison — Pedro, Sarr, Tarkowski, Timber, Anderson, Gabriel, Senesi — all hit double-digit hauls. Even long-forgotten FPL legends like Saka, Palmer, Salah and KDH also delivered 9-pointers. Of the Top 5 owned assets, only one guy blanked — Haaland. Feel for the managers who chose the Robot as captain.
The FA Cup 5th round matches are behind us, but what awaits is an extremely packed calendar for clubs still in the hunt for European glory. Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest all have a high probability of rotation. Planning for this tricky gameweek is therefore crucial, as the stakes are very high at this stage of the season.
So, let’s start with our BUY-HOLD-SELL article for this GW, sponsored by …. Well, nobody. We are poor, but you can help here if you want.
FPL GW30 Transfer Tips: Two Players to BUY
João Pedro (£7.6m) – FWD, Chelsea – 45.9% TSB
Pedro was a HOLD in GW29; he quickly upgrades himself to a BUY this week.
Whether you measure from GW16, GW17, GW18, GW19 or any subsequent GW, Pedro remains the highest-scoring forward on a cumulative basis.
Top Players for FPL Points since GW22:
Up next is Newcastle, against whom Pedro scored in the reverse fixture. Newcastle also holds the unwanted record of conceding the highest number of goals since GW21.
With Delap starting in the Cup game, rotation should not be a risk either. Buy Pedro for points up the pitch. Joao Pedro and Chelsea also have a fixture in GW31(vs Everton) where Manchester City, Arsenal, Palace and Wolves blank.
James Hill (£4.1m) – DEF, Bournemouth – 5.4% TSB
If Pedro secures points up top, Hill does the same at the back.
The £3.9m Hill began starting matches from GW19. Since becoming a regular starter from GW19, among all defenders he ranks:
• 1st for assists
• 1st for defensive contribution points
• 1st for DEFCON points
• 3rd for total FPL points
Top Defenders for DEFCON since GW19:
Up next is Burnley — a team ranked 20th (worst) across all key attacking metrics:
• Shots
• Shots on Target
• Shots in the Box
• Big Chances
• xG
Unless something catastrophic happens, Hill should thrive in this fixture.
FPL GW30 Transfer Tips: Two Players to HOLD
Virgil van Dijk (£6.2m) – DEF, Liverpool – 32.5% TSB
Virgil is among the Top 4 most transferred-out unflagged defenders this gameweek, which feels slightly surprising given Liverpool’s strengths in 2026.
• No team has scored more goals from set-pieces (excluding penalties) than Liverpool.
• Liverpool have kept 3 clean sheets — the second-highest in the league.
Both trends heavily favour VVD, who is always a major threat during set-pieces. Since GW23, the Dutchman has been the standout defender in the game, ranking:
• 1st for FPL points
• 1st for Shots on Target
• 1st for Big Chances
• 1st for xG
• 1st for Goals Scored
• 1st for Goal Involvements
Next up is Spurs at Anfield — a side going through a miserable run. Spurs have conceded the most league goals in 2026 and are currently on a 5-game losing streak without a win this year.
Erling Haaland (£14.6m) – FWD, Man City – 61.4% TSB
Haaland is the most transferred-out forward this gameweek. People might have forgotten that he scored 16 points in the reverse fixture against the Hammers.
His underlying numbers remain elite. Among forwards, he ranks 1st for:
• Shots
• Shots on Target
• Shots in the Box
• Big Chances
• xG
• Goals Scored
• xGI
• Goal Involvements
• Big Chances Created
• xPts
• BPS
• Bonus Points
• FPL Points
I request that you give him one last chance before his unavailability swings the argument firmly against keeping Haaland.
FPL GW30 Transfer Tips: Two Players to SELL
Micky van de Ven (£4.4m) – DEF, Spurs – 21.0% TSB
One of the Top 5 owned defenders in the game, Micky van de Ven is currently unavailable due to suspension following a red card against Crystal Palace, forcing him to miss the upcoming match against Liverpool.
But even before that, his record has been abysmal.
0, 0, 7, 0, 1, 3, 0, 0, -3
These are his scores in the last 9 games. That 7-pointer came against everyone’s favourite Burnley.
So, I will spare my words. You are intelligent enough to take this call.
Robert Sánchez (£4.9m) – GKP, Chelsea – 13.5% TSB
Since GW17, only two teams have kept just one clean sheet — one of them is Burnley. The other is Chelsea.
In this stretch, they even faced West Ham, Wolves, Leeds and Burnley.
Now they face Newcastle, Manchester City and Manchester United in the next four.
But the bigger issue is that Sánchez did not start against Villa in the league but started against Wrexham in the Cup. It’s early days, but signs suggest that Sánchez may no longer be Chelsea’s No.1 goalkeeper.
Liam Rosenior about Robert Sanchez benching in GW29:
“The way I work with goalkeepers – I don’t have an outright number one. I want competition in every area, and Filip has been waiting very patiently for his chance and I’ve given it to him this evening. Filip has been very good in training.”
“Rob(Sanchez) is an outstanding goalkeeper and I just saw Filip in training and sometimes as a manager you have to go with your gut. Filip gave us something different and they will both be fighting it out for the rest of the season.”
With zero form and negative minutes security, Sánchez is a sell.
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