This week in FPL Challenge, Fantasy managers are pitted against Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand as his former club take on Manchester City in a fierce local derby.
Managers have an unlimited budget to pick their 6-a-side team, with all Man Utd and Man City players scoring DOUBLE points.
This means if you choose a captain from one of those two clubs, they will earn FOUR times their points total with the armband.
Managers can also select players from the other nine matches, but none of them will earn double points.
Here, The Scout highlights some of the best picks, focusing mainly on the Manchester clubs.
Erling Haaland (Man City)
The Man City forward’s last three seasons have been packed with goals, particularly during the early parts of a campaign.
Indeed, the Norwegian scored 28 goals in 18 matches across Gameweeks 1-6 during those seasons.
Haaland's goals GW1-6, last three seasons
| Statistic | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
| GW1 | 2 goals | 2 goals | 1 goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| GW2 | 0 goals | 0 goals | 3 goals |
| GW3 | 1 goal | 1 goal | 3 goals |
| GW4 | 3 goals | 3 goals | 2 goals |
| GW5 | 3 goals | 1 goal | 1 goal |
| GW6 | 1 goal | 1 goal | 0 goals |
Haaland has started this season strongly, too, with three goals over the first three Gameweeks.
His 14 shots, 13 shots in the box and six big chances – which are situations where the player is expected to score – are all league-high totals.
Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)
Although the Portuguese star has only one converted penalty to his name so far, he has demonstrated his huge potential for assists by creating 12 chances, more than any other player in Fantasy.
Fernandes has become even more appealing this season due to his tendency to accumulate the game’s new defensive contribution points, doing so in two of the three Gameweeks so far.
He boasts a good recent record against Man City, too, with three goals and three assists across his last eight meetings with them in all competitions.
Bryan Mbeumo (Man Utd)
The Cameroonian was the second-highest scorer in Fantasy while playing for Brentford last season, producing 20 goals, nine assists and 236 points.
That all-round ability has already been in evidence at Man Utd.
Mbeumo’s seven shots in the box lead the way for the Red Devils, while his nine chances created place third among ALL players.
Tijjani Reijnders (Man City)
Since signing for Man City in the summer, Reijnders has started each of the club's first three matches, returning a goal and an assist in that time.
The Dutchman is the only City midfielder to have played every Premier League minute, and his budding chemistry with Erling Haaland has caught the eye.
With Omar Marmoush picking an injury on international duty with Egypt and being ruled out of Gameweek 4, Reijnders may play a more advanced role.
Rayan Ait-Nouri (Man City)
For a third Man City pick, check out flying full-back Ait-Nouri, if he is named in the starting XI.
Pep Guardiola named Ait-Nouri among City's injury doubts in his press conference on Friday, but remember, in FPL Challenge you can see the line-ups and change your team right up until kick-off.
If Ait-Nouri misses out, Ruben Dias looks a solid pick, while Josko Gvardiol carries an attacking threat should he recover from injury and start for the first time this season.
His total of 11 attacking returns last season was more than any other defender in Fantasy, with his four goals and seven assists earning the Algeria international a summer move from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Matthijs de Ligt (Man Utd)
The Dutchman can offer many routes to returns against Pep Guardiola’s side.
De Ligt’s totals of four points from defensive contributions, and four shots in the box, are both more than any other defender from the two Manchester clubs.
Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace)
It may make sense to look outside of Manchester when selecting your goalkeeper, given there are question marks over whether new signings Gianluigi Donnarumma and Senne Lammens will start for Man City and Man Utd respectively, and because there are no substitutes in FPL Challenge.
Henderson has picked up 15 points in three starts this season, with Crystal Palace keeping two clean sheets.
The Eagles now host promoted Sunderland in Gameweek 4. And, while the Black Cats have impressed at home, in their last away game they failed to score against Burnley.
Other options
If you don’t want to triple up on either Man City and Man Utd, there are plenty of tempting picks, albeit they will NOT earn double points.
Liverpool’s visit to Burnley immediately catches the eye.
Mohamed Salah remains on penalties for the Reds and is unlikely to be substituted at Turf Moor.
Forward Hugo Ekitike boasts stronger form than his fellow summer signing Florian Wirtz, scoring in three of his four appearances.
As mentioned above when we discussed Henderson, Crystal Palace also have a nice home fixture against Sunderland.
In-form forward Jean-Philippe Mateta scored at Aston Villa last time out, following strikes in the UEFA Conference League and Community Shield, while midfielder Ismaila Sarr is another to consider if he is passed fit.
In Palace's defence, wing-back Daniel Munoz has the main attacking threat, while centre-back Maxence Lacroix is reliable for defensive contributions and is a big threat from set-pieces.