FPL Cheat Sheet and Key Tips for Gameweek 3

As the Fantasy Premier League 2025/26 second gameweek is coming to an end, FPL managers have also started to think about their strategy for the next gameweek. Here we have brought the FPL cheat sheet for gameweek 3 with key FPL tips.

Now, the managers can set their third gameweek team with ease. The gameweek 3 FPL deadline is at 11:00 BST on Saturday, August 30, and it will run between August 30 and 31. Before selecting the team for a gameweek, understanding the importance of the same is very important, which we can learn from top predicted points, top transfer targets, key injuries and returns, captaincy picks, and chip strategies.

FPL Tips: Gameweek 3 – Top Predicted Points

According to our FPL cheat sheet, Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood and João Pedro from Chelsea are the FPL favourites for the third gameweek, as the in-form players will face West Ham United and Fulham, respectively.

In the meantime, without seeing the opponents, we can always pick the consistent players like Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, etc.

FPL Tips: Gameweek 3 – Top Transfer Targets

Nottingham Forest will host struggling West Ham United, who suffered 3-0 and 5-1 defeats against promoted Sunderland and Chelsea, respectively, in the first two gameweeks of the new season. So, the Forest defenders Nikola Milenković, Murilo, and Ola Aina, and the forward Chris Wood are expectedly in the hot picks list for the upcoming gameweek. These probable transfer-ins become more significant with their fifth and sixth gameweek fixtures against the promoted sides Burnley and Sunderland, respectively, after facing the hosts Arsenal in the fourth gameweek.

Manchester United, one of the most successful clubs in the world, will host Burnley in the third gameweek, as the Portuguese duo of Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes will be favourites for potential transfer ins, along with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

In the meantime, Newcastle United will face the hosts Leeds United in gameweek 3. Newcastle’s defenders Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, and Fabian Schär can be favourite names, along with the midfielder Anthony Gordon.

Chelsea forward João Pedro is in great form at present, as he is likely to become more favourite, while more than 52 per cent of managers have already selected him. In their second gameweek fixture against the hosts West Ham United, while Chelsea won by 5-1, Pedro recorded one goal and two assists. Earlier, he scored three goals in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 success, including two in the Semi-final and one in the Final. Also, he scored one goal each in two pre-season friendlies.

After scoring a brace in the season opener, Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo started the second gameweek with an assist. His growing popularity in the FPL is likely to continue, while they will now face the hosts Tottenham Hotspur.

FPL Tips: Injuries and Doubtfuls

While Chelsea have already suffered the blows of the possible departure of two strong forwards, Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku, Cole Palmer’s groin injury forced the English attacking midfielder to miss the second gameweek game against the hosts West Ham United, which the Blues won by 5-1. FPL managers surely missed the Englishman, and he currently has a 75 per cent chance of playing the next home fixture against Fulham. Managers should take a late decision on him for gameweek 3.

Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson is struggling with a lack of fitness, and the managers need to watch closely how his fitness status progresses in the coming days.

Arsenal forward Kai Havertz is struggling with a knee injury, as he is on the sidelines at present. There is no clear news about his fitness status, which can be better understood in the next few days.

In the meantime, Christian Nørgaard will miss the third gameweek fixture against the hosts Liverpool, the defending champions, due to recently suffering a knock.

Similarly, Liverpool’s right-back Jeremie Frimpong will miss the home fixture against Arsenal, as he is suffering from a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, there is no present solution news for Newcastle United’s Swedish striker Alexander Isak, although the manager is ready to continue the forward in the squad.

Returnees

The Aston Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa will return to the squad after completing his one-match suspension in the second gameweek fixture against the hosts Brentford. He was suspended for receiving a straight red card during the opening gameweek fixture against Newcastle United, where he got the red card for a deliberate foul on opposition attacker Anthony Gordon. In the third gameweek, while Villans will host Crystal Palace, the English centre-back will be available for the game.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Italian left-back Destiny Udogie is recovering well from his knee injury. If he proves his fitness, Udogie can make himself available for the third gameweek fixture against Bournemouth at home.

FPL Tips: Gameweek 3 – Captaincy picks

Talking about the FPL captaincy pick for any gameweek, a player’s form, fitness, experience, and comfortable fixture difficulty always play crucial roles. For the third gameweek of the FPL 2025/26, our favourite captains are João Pedro (Chelsea), Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City), and Erling Haaland (Manchester City).

A gameweek for a chip?

Early gameweeks of any FPL season aren’t a strong period for using any FPL chip. However, the 2025/26 season is very different from previous seasons, where all four chips (Triple Captain, Bench Boost, Free Hit, and Wildcard) can be used twice. The first set of four chips can be used for the first half of the season (before the end of the Gameweek 19 deadline, no option for carry forward), and the second set of four chips can be used for the second half of the season (from Gameweek 20). Previously, only Wildcard could be used twice in a season, the first one for the first half and the second one for the second half of the season.

However, it is still too early for the Triple Captain chip, while a strong 15-member squad can utilize the Bench Boost chip effectively.

Although it is very early to be unhappy with the selected squad, if there are some significant issues with the squad, the wildcard chip can be used. The Free Hit chip is more for taking the best benefit from the comfortable fixtures for one gameweek, and it can be utilized later in the ongoing first half of the season.