FPL Gameweek 28 Analysis – FPL GW28 Tips For Fantasy Premier League Managers

Gameweek 28 gets underway tonight as Wolves take on Aston Villa in the weekend opener.

The Premier League is approaching the business end of the season, and that means Fantasy Premier League managers need to stay focused if they want to improve their current ranking between now and the end of the campaign.

In this article, we aim to help you stay up to date by discussing a defender who has been in incredible FPL form in recent weeks.

We also compare two excellent forward options to see which one could be the better pick in the coming months.

Finally, we take a look at the midfielders who are most likely to provide attacking returns in the form of goals, according to the statistics.

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FPL Gameweek 28 Deadline

The Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 28 deadline is Friday, 27 February 2026 at 18:30 GMT.

FPL Gameweek 28 Fixtures

Wolves will welcome Aston Villa.

Sunderland are away to Bournemouth.

Burnley have a home game against Brentford.

West Ham face Liverpool at Anfield.

Newcastle will host Everton.

Manchester City are on the road to Leeds.

Brighton will be hosting Nottingham Forest.

Spurs will visit Fulham.

Manchester United face Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

Chelsea clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

FPL Assets Leading On Form For Gameweek 28

Let’s start by looking at the current form amongst the best FPL players for Matchweek 28 before getting into our free fantasy football tips.

(Form is a metric that’s issued on the official FPL platform, which uses a player’s average score per match, calculated from all matches played by his club in the last 30 days.)

Goalkeepers: 

1. Dean Henderson jumps to first with 6.8 points
2. Ðorđe Petrović drops to second with 6.2 points
3. Mads Hermansen is third with 5.5 points

Defenders:

1. Nico O’Reilly moves to first with 8.2 points
2. Virgil van Dijk drops to second with 8.0 points
3. James Hill is third with 7.2 points

Midfielders:

1. Cole Palmer stays first with 9.2 points
2. Antoine Semenyo stays second with 6.8 points
3. Alex Scott moves to third with 6.0 points

Forwards:

1. João Pedro stays first with 8.8 points
2. Viktor Gyökeres moves to second with 7.0 points
3. Erling Haaland  moves to third with 6.8 points

FPL Managers Turn To Virgil Van Dijk

Liverpool’s season has not gone the way they would have hoped, as the reigning champions are currently sitting in sixth place while battling for a UEFA Champions League qualification spot.

FPL managers who invested in Liverpool assets such as Mohamed Salah, Florian Wirtz, or Alexander Isak earlier in the season have been left disappointed.

Mohamed Salah, who was selected by more than 70% of all FPL managers at the start of the season, is now owned by just 14.2% of players.

The highest owned Liverpool player is now the club’s captain, Virgil van Dijk, with 26.9% global ownership.

While Liverpool have looked shaky in the vast majority of their matches this season, Virgil van Dijk has seen an uptick in form in recent weeks.

He scored the winning goal against Sunderland in Gameweek 26 and secured a clean sheet, giving him a total of 17 FPL points in that outing.

In Gameweek 27, he provided a last-minute assist to give Liverpool a late win against Nottingham Forest.

He again secured a clean sheet and ended the game with 11 points.

Liverpool face West Ham, Wolves, and Spurs in their next three fixtures, and FPL managers seem confident that Virgil van Dijk will deliver more FPL points, as he is currently the most transferred-in player ahead of the new gameweek.

Igor Thiago Vs João Pedro

Selecting the right forward to partner with Erling Haaland has been tricky this season, with not many standout options earning regular FPL points.

Two forwards who have been fairly consistent are Brentford‘s Igor Thiago and Chelsea’s João Pedro.

João Pedro has been in incredible form in recent weeks, gaining a total of 55 FPL points in his last six outings.

Remarkably, he has not blanked since Gameweek 21, but even with this consistent points-scoring streak, he has only four more FPL points this season than Igor Thiago.

Pedro has scored a total of 139 FPL points this season and is currently priced at £7.7m.

Thiago is priced at £7.1m and has scored a total of 135 FPL points this season.

With these players matching up so closely in FPL returns, which one seems to be the better option based on their performances on the pitch?

Both players have made 27 appearances this season.

Thiago has been the more prolific goal scorer across his 2294 minutes on the pitch, scoring 17 goals for Brentford.

Pedro has scored 11 goals during his 1980 minutes on the pitch and has assisted four goals.

Thiago has provided only one assist this season, but has a very similar xA (expected assists) as Pedro, with 1.6 compared to Pedro’s 1.74.

Both players seem hesitant to shoot from range, having taken only two shots each from outside the box this season.

Inside the box, however, Thiago has taken slightly more risks, with 26 shots compared to Pedro’s 21.

While Thiago’s xG (expected goals) is higher than Pedro’s (15.04 vs 10.1), it is important to note that six of Thiago’s goals have come from the penalty spot, meaning that Thiago and Pedro have scored the same number of non-penalty goals this season.

Pedro appears to be more creative when it comes to passing and dribbling, with 11 through balls and 54 dribbles completed this season.

Thiago has completed three through balls and 36 dribbles, but seems stronger in the air, with 67 headers won compared to Pedro’s 54.

It is clear that these forward options offer different strengths and could appeal to managers for different reasons.

Thiago could be favoured by some, given he is on penalty duties, while Pedro might be more appealing to others due to his creativity.

Whichever option you choose, it will be interesting to see which striker finishes the season with more FPL points.

Top 5 Midfielders With The Highest xG

Let’s take a look at the midfielders with the highest expected goals tallies at this stage of the season:

Enzo Fernández

xG: 9.87

Goals Scored: 8

FPL Points: 120

Ownership: 19.9%

Price: £6.8m

Antoine Semenyo

xG: 8.72

Goals Scored: 13

FPL Points: 157

Ownership: 52.8%

Price: £8.1m

Kevin Schade

xG: 8.57

Goals Scored: 6

FPL Points: 87

Ownership: 1.3%

Price: £6.9m

Bruno Fernandes

xG: 8.19

Goals Scored: 6

FPL Points: 145

Ownership: 37.4%

Price: £9.9m

Cole Palmer

xG: 8.07

Goals Scored: 8

FPL Points: 82

Ownership: 16.7%

Price: £10.6m

Top 3 FPL Gameweek 28 Captain Picks:

1. Erling Haaland vs Leeds
2. Bruno Fernandes vs Crystal Palace
3. Hugo Ekitike vs West Ham

Differential Captain Pick Of The Week

Igor Thiago

Brentford’s forward is due a goal after blanking in his last two Premier League outings.

With a game against Burnley this weekend, Thiago will be aiming to add to his 17 goals this season, and might just be the perfect differential captaincy pick for Gameweek 28.

Playing Your Free Hit? 

FPL managers who are considering using their Free Hit Chip this weekend might find some value below in our FPL Tips for GW28:

GK: Martin Dúbravka (£4.0m) 

 

DEF: Nico O’Reilly (£5.0m)

DEF: Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m)

DEF: Ezri Konsa (£4.4m)

 

MID: Bryan Mbeumo (£8.7m)

MID: Bruno Fernandes (£9.9m)

MID: Morgan Rogers (£7.7m)

MID: Antoine Semenyo (£8.1m)

 

FWD: Hugo Ekitike (£8.9m)

FWD: Erling Haaland (£14.8m)

FWD: Igor Thiago (£7.1m)

 

BENCH: Ármin Pécsi (£3.8m)

BENCH: Max Dowman (£4.2m)

BENCH: Josh Acheampong (£3.7m) 

BENCH: Josh Nichols (£3.7m)

Final Thoughts

Gameweek 28 is here, giving FPL managers another opportunity to make strategic moves and capitalise on players in form.

Fixture difficulty will play a big role in shaping your decisions.

Some teams face favourable matchups, making certain assets appealing short-term picks, while others have tougher challenges that require careful planning and patience.

Staying up to date with team news, injuries, and tactical changes will ensure your transfers and captain choices are well-informed and effective.

Gameweek 28 is all about combining form, fixtures, and timely information.

Smart decisions now could give you an edge as the Premier League season heads into its decisive stages.

Here’s to another thrilling FPL gameweek!