The Scout analyses the standout forwards after the Chelsea star was ruled out for a couple of weeks with a thigh injury

An injury to Chelsea‘s Joao Pedro (£7.9m) is set to shake up managers’ forward lines in Fantasy Premier League after the Brazilian was ruled out for a few weeks by Blues manager Xabi Alonso on Tuesday afternoon.

Joao Pedro is currently the second most-owned player in 2026/27 Fantasy and his huge 68 per cent ownership will now plummet as his backers seek out replacements.

Who’s in good form?

Erling Haaland (£15.7m) has climbed to the top of the overall player standings thanks to his prolific recent form.

The Manchester City star has struck five goals over the last four Gameweeks, with 33 points and no blanks showing why he is such a reliable captain pick.

Aston Villa‘s Nicolas Jackson (£6.7m) has been Haaland’s nearest rival, amassing 30 points across Gameweeks 5-8. The Senegalese scored four goals during this spell, including a brace and 13 points against Man City last weekend.

AFC Bournemouth‘s Evanilson (£6.2m) and Brighton & Hove Albion‘s Charalampos Kostoulas (£5.7m) have each been involved in (scored or assisted) four goals and have averaged over 6.0 points per match.

Liverpool’s Alexander Isak (£9.0m) scored three goals in as many appearances and, similarly to Haaland, didn’t blank in this period.

Top-scoring forwards, last four Gameweeks

Player
Pts
G
A
Blanks

Haaland
33
5
0
0

Jackson
30
4
0
1

Evanilson
27
3
1
1

Isak
26
3
0
0

Kostoulas
25
2
2
2

G = Goals
A = Assists
Scroll across to see the full table

Who’s had the most attacking threat recently?

Everton‘s Thierno Barry (£5.6m) has boasted the greatest goal threat of all forwards over the last four Gameweeks.

Although he has scored just twice, Barry has had 10 big chances, which are situations where a player is expected to score.

That’s at least twice the total of any other rival apart from the six of Haaland. As you can see from the table below, Haaland also created two big chances for his team-mates, which means he was involved in a total of eight big chances across the last four Gameweeks. 

In terms of goal threat, Jackson’s five big chances and 13 shots in the box both rank among the top three forwards here. 

Similarly to Haaland, Fulham‘s Gonzalo Garcia (£6.0m) and Brentford‘s Igor Thiago (£7.8m) have boosted their all-round potential by creating two big chances each.

Isak had only two big chances across his three outings in this spell and is essentially included as a means of comparison.

Goal threat, last four Gameweeks

Player
BCI
BC
BCC
Shots in box

Barry
10
10
0
13

Haaland
8
6
2
14

Garcia
6
4
2
9

Jackson
5
5
0
13

Thiago
5
3
2
7

Evanilson
4
3
1
11

Isak
2
2
0
7

BCI= Big-chance involvement
BC= Big chances
BCC= Big chances created
Scroll across to see the full table

Who’s had the biggest influence on their own club this season?

By assessing each player’s impact on their own club over the season so far, you get a better idea of which players are shaping up as talismen, and which players are under or overperforming. 

The table below helps to establish that both Haaland and Isak have been in a league of their own this season.

Haaland has been involved in 55 per cent of Man City’s big chances, and 45 per cent of their goals.

Isak, meanwhile, has been involved in exactly 54 per cent of Liverpool’s big chances and goals, highlighting his outstanding start to life under head coach Andoni Iraola.

Crucially, Haaland and Isak have converted a lofty 30 per cent of their shots to showcase their world-class finishing skills. Whether they can sustain that is perhaps debatable over the full season, though.

Jackson’s numbers are relatively similar, along with Ipswich Town‘s Emersonn (£5.5m).

The Villa star has been involved in 46 per cent of their big chances and his output backs that up, with Jackson being involved in 50 per cent of their goals. 

Evanilson has been involved in 58 per cent of Bournemouth’s goals, compared with only 41 per cent of their big chances. While that suggests a drop in output is imminent, his 14.3 per cent goal conversion, which is the percentage of shots that are converted into goals, offers room for improvement.

Elsewhere, Barry, Garcia and Newcastle United‘s Yoane Wissa (£6.0m) have all proven major disappointments.

All three have been involved in more than half of their club’s big chances this season but their goal involvement and goal conversion rates have failed to mirror those statistics.

Attacking stats, 2026/27

Player
BC inv.
Goal inv.
Goal conv.

Barry
64.0%
43.0%
11.1%

Haaland
55.0%
45.0%
30.0%

Isak
54.0%
54.0%
30.0%

Wissa
54.0%
20.0%
5.6%

Garcia
53.0%
14.0%
4.8%

Emersonn
50.0%
50.0%
14.3%

Jackson
46.0%
50.0%
21.1%

Evanilson
41.0%
58.0%
14.3%

Joao Pedro
41.0%
47.0%
31.3%

Scroll across to see the full table

Who’s got the best fixtures?

By factoring in the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), where a score of one is regarded as the easiest possible fixture and five the hardest, you can refine your search according to the players with the kindest schedules.

Spur’s Omar Marmoush (£7.0m) and Ipswich’s Emersonn have the lowest FDR averages across the next five Gameweeks, while Villa and Bournemouth also score under 3.0, further lifting the appeal of Jackson and Evanilson.

Although Liverpool’s average FDR of 3.4 is among the very worst here, it’s mainly down to their home match against Arsenal this weekend. 

Beyond that, the Reds’ Isak faces three of the current bottom eight clubs in his subsequent four matches – Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Sunderland.

FDR analysis, next five Gameweeks

Club
FDR ave.
No. of bottom eight opponents
No. of top five opponents

TOT
2.4
3
0

IPS
2.6
3
0

AVL
2.8
3
0

BOU
2.8
2
1

EVE
3.0
1
1

LEE
3.2
3
2

BHA
3.2
1
1

LIV
3.4
3
1

FUL
3.4
2
1

NEW
3.6
2
2

Scroll across to see the full table

So, who are the best replacements for Joao Pedro?

As always in Fantasy, any decision is ultimately squad-dependent, and your chosen formation will play a big part in how to replace Joao Pedro.

Certainly, Alonso’s decision to play Morgan Rogers up front in Gameweek 9 shows there’s no point in looking at Chelsea forward Danny Welbeck (£5.8m).

If you’re prepared to wait another Gameweek, and avoid Liverpool’s home match against Arsenal, then Isak arguably could come in as a season-long transfer if he continues his influence on Iraola’s side. 

Bringing in the Swede alongside Haaland in a two-man frontline could prove the optimum strategy, allowing you to profit from the consistency of defenders in Fantasy by playing four or even five at the back.

For managers playing a 3-4-3 set-up, Jackson’s goal threat and more clinical finishing give him the edge over Evanilson, although both have the form and fixtures to offer great value over the coming period.

It’s worth noting that Joao Pedro is predicted to drop in price at 00:00 BST on Wednesday 28 October, with Isak and Jackson both predicted to rise. So some managers may need to make a move immediately.