<p>Chelsea’s 6-2 win away at Wolves on Sunday left supporters feeling far more optimistic about their prospects this season.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Blues competed well against Manchester City on the opening day, but ultimately fell to a 2-0 defeat against a superior side.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the way they crushed Wolves at Molineux has given us a glimpse of what they may really be all about under Enzo Maresca – some remaining defensive issues notwithstanding. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Either side of the international break, Chelsea host Crystal Palace and travel to Bournemouth in what has the potential to be a very attractive set of fixtures for FPL managers.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That begs the question &#8211; of their most popular players, who should you sign, and who should you avoid? Read on for </span><a href="https://www.squawka.com/en/"><b>Squawka</b></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">’s verdict.</span></p>
<p><b>Visit Squawka’s </b><a href="https://www.squawka.com/en/fantasy-football/"><b>FPL tips</b></a><b> page for value picks in all positions.</b></p>
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<h3></h3>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>Cole Palmer (£10.5m)</b></h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Position: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">MID</span></h4>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Points: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">19</span></h4>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Selected by: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">36.7%</span></h4>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cole Palmer had a slow start across 122 minutes against Manchester City and in the Uefa Conference League against Servette. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, he burst into life against Wolves at the weekend, notching a hat-trick of assists for Noni Madueke and grabbing a goal of his own just before half-time.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Up next in the Premier League for Chelsea is Crystal Palace, against whom Palmer notched two assists during his last meeting in February – and the England international should be fresh with Enzo Maresca likely to rotate against Servette on Thursday.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Expect Palmer to ignite from here now that he’s off the mark, and if you’re not signing him, know that others will be.</span></p>
<p><strong>Verdict: Sign</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_66497" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66497" class="size-full wp-image-66497" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Palmer-GW3.jpg" alt="Cole Palmer's stats" width="897" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Palmer-GW3.jpg 897w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Palmer-GW3-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Palmer-GW3-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Palmer-GW3-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" /><p id="caption-attachment-66497" class="wp-caption-text">Cole Palmer&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></p></div>
<h3></h3>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>Christopher Nkunku (£6.5m)</b></h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Position: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">MID</span></h4>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Points: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">2</span></h4>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Selected by: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">11.9%</span></h4>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nkunku put in a strong 58-minute performance against Servette last Thursday and opened the scoring from the penalty spot. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, Palmer will be taking spot-kicks when Chelsea are at full strength and Nkunku then played just eight minutes from the bench against Wolves.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After such awful injury problems last season, it appears the Frenchman is having his minutes managed by Maresca. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So with that and potential upcoming signings in mind, it may be a good idea to pass on him for the immediate future – while keeping him in your notebook as winter approaches.</span></p>
<p><strong>Verdict: Avoid</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_66552" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66552" class="size-full wp-image-66552" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145043.109.jpg" alt="" width="798" height="650" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145043.109.jpg 798w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145043.109-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145043.109-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145043.109-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /><p id="caption-attachment-66552" class="wp-caption-text">Christopher Nkunku&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></p></div>
<h3></h3>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>Marc Cucurella (£5m)</b></h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Position: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">DEF</span></h4>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Points: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">2</span></h4>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Selected by: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">6.4%</span></h4>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cucurella was one of the stars of Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph, but has had a slow start to the new Premier League season.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He’s not exactly been </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">bad</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. He just doesn’t add value for FPL managers. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">C</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">helsea are not a defensively solid team and Cucurella averages 0.05 big chances created since the start of last season in the league. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To put this in context, Malo Gusto averages 0.37, the fifth-most in the Premier League among defenders.</span></p>
<p><strong>Verdict: Avoid</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_66556" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66556" class="size-full wp-image-66556" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145346.946.jpg" alt="" width="798" height="650" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145346.946.jpg 798w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145346.946-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145346.946-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145346.946-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /><p id="caption-attachment-66556" class="wp-caption-text">Marc Cucurella&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></p></div>
<h3></h3>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>Noni Madueke (£6.5m)</b></h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Position: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">MID</span></h4>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Points: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">20</span></h4>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Selected by: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">5.1%</span></h4>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Madueke has been linked with a move away from Chelsea all summer, and after sitting out the opening weekend defeat to Manchester City, those rumours only increased.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But then he came off the bench to score against Servette, which forced Maresca to start him against Wolves. His reward? A hat-trick scored within the space of 14 second-half minutes, all set up by Palmer. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There’s no way Madueke gets dropped now and with his confidence this high, £6.5m might feel like a bargain come the end of the week – the English forward scored the winner the last time Crystal Palace came to Stamford Bridge in December. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our verdict is sign, but he is perhaps the most tentative call on this list as <strong>Pedro Neto (£6.5m)</strong> could very possibly cement a starting spot as the season progresses.</span></p>
<p><strong>Verdict: Sign</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_66553" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66553" class="size-full wp-image-66553" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145139.765.jpg" alt="" width="798" height="650" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145139.765.jpg 798w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145139.765-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145139.765-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145139.765-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /><p id="caption-attachment-66553" class="wp-caption-text">Noni Madueke&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></p></div>
<h3></h3>
<h3></h3>
<h3><b>Nicolas Jackson (£7.6m)</b></h3>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Position: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">FWD</span></h4>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Points: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">12</span></h4>
</li>
<li aria-level="1">
<h4><b>Selected by: </b><span style="font-weight: 400;">3.7%</span></h4>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jackson was extremely disappointing against City, but recovered with a goal and an assist against Wolves, so this is a really tough call.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We know the Senegal international can be a patchy goalscorer, going on mini-runs where he can’t miss, followed by sequences where he looks like a centre-back playing up-front. Perhaps this is the start of a purple patch. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are players performing better so far for much cheaper, with the likes of Yoanne Wissa and Danny Welbeck scoring 13 and 21 points, respectively.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">But Chelsea look like they’re cooking and if this is, indeed, one of Jackson’s golden spells, £7.6m would be a very cheap price to pay for his output. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Penalties excluded, Jackson averages 0.59</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;"> expected goals per game since the start of last season, the fourth-best rate in the Premier League.</span></p>
<p><strong>Verdict: Sign</strong></p>
<div id="attachment_66554" style="width: 808px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66554" class="size-full wp-image-66554" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145158.665.jpg" alt="" width="798" height="650" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145158.665.jpg 798w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145158.665-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145158.665-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FFStuffImage-2024-08-30T145158.665-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" /><p id="caption-attachment-66554" class="wp-caption-text">Nicolas Jackson&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></p></div>
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FPL tips: Sign or avoid? The five most popular Chelsea players in FPL | Squawka

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