FPL GW13 Free Hit: 6 Essential Players to Own This Week

Build the best Free Hit team for FPL Gameweek 13. Six essential players to own this week including Phil Foden, Mohamed Salah and Igor Thiago.

November 28, 2025

FPL GW13 Free Hit: 6 Essential Players to Own This Week

By:

BigMan Bakar

November 28, 2025

Daily Fantasy Soccer Cheat Sheet

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FPL GW13 Free Hit: 6 Essential Players to Own This Week

Building a Free Hit squad for FPL Gameweek 13 requires balancing explosive upside, secure minutes and fixture strength. With several premium attackers in top matchups and multiple mid-priced enablers offering high ceilings, this is a Gameweek where Free Hit managers can generate meaningful rank gains.

Below are the six essential players who should form the core of any GW13 Free Hit draft.

Check out RotoWire's updated GW13 FPL rankings and FPL tips to improve your squad.

Our GW13 FPL cheat sheet include predicted lineups, team odds, goalscorer odds, set-piece stats, player stats and more.

6 Essential Players for a Gameweek 13 Free Hit

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Erling Haaland remains the first name on any Free Hit draft. The home fixture against Leeds is as good as it gets, which is why Haaland will also be the default captain for the vast majority of Free Hit managers (and non-Free Hitters).

Haaland has been in red-hot form and carries an unmatched ceiling. His ownership makes going without almost impossible, and the combination of form, fixture and reliability makes him a non-negotiable.

Igor Thiago (Brentford)

Igor Thiago has been one of the most reliable forwards in recent weeks. He's scored in four of his past five league starts and looks full of confidence despite a recent missed PK. A home fixture against Burnley, who continue to post some of the poorest defensive numbers in the league away from home,

FPL GW13 Free Hit: 6 Essential Players to Own This Week

Below are the six essential players who should form the core of any GW13 Free Hit draft.

Check out RotoWire's updated GW13 FPL rankings and FPL tips to improve your squad.

Our GW13 FPL cheat sheet include predicted lineups, team odds, goalscorer odds, set-piece stats, player stats and more.

6 Essential Players for a Gameweek 13 Free Hit

Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

Igor Thiago (Brentford)

His price also creates flexibility across the rest of your team, making him one of the best forward picks for this Free Hit.

Matty Cash (Aston Villa)

Matty Cash offers the perfect blend of attacking upside and clean sheet potential. Aston Villa face a Wolves side who have scored the fewest goals in the league, and Cash's possible set-piece involvement only strengthens his case. He remains the standout pick in the Villa defence, with the ability to haul at both ends of the pitch.

Phil Foden (Manchester City)

Phil Foden looks like the City midfielder to target. With no early team leaks guaranteed, Foden's security of minutes puts him ahead of other options. He's started nine consecutive Premier League matches and carries a strong combination of creativity and goal threat. With City expected to dominate, having a second attacker alongside Haaland feels essential.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Mohamed Salah is an explosive differential this week. West Ham conceded more than four xG to Bournemouth and have looked fragile defensively. Salah's ownership is far lower than usual, which means the upside for Free Hit managers is significant if he delivers.

Kevin Schade (Brentford)

Kevin Schade is the high-risk, high-reward punt of Gameweek 13. Burnley have conceded the highest expected goals in the league, and Schade offers pace, directness and a real eye for goal. Not many will own him due to his yellow card tightrope, but the potential upside makes him a standout differential.

Don't forget to use our Predicted Lineups page which is updated throughout the week before confirmed team news 75 minutes ahead of kickoff.

Honourable Mentions (Optional Picks)

Rayan Cherki & Matheus Nunes (Manchester City)

Cherki and Nunes are closer to Man City differentials since Foden and Nico O'Reilly are bigger names in FPL. However, Cherki has already shown his upside in prior games, while Nunes is almost just as likely to be involved in the attack as O'Reilly.

Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa)

Tielemans is back in the Aston Villa mix after returning from injury, going 84 minutes in the GW12 win against Leeds while supplying 11 defensive contributions. With DEFCON possible and a revolving position that sometimes includes set pieces, similar to Enzo Fernandez, Tielemans is an intriguing Villa differential.

Best Free Hit Structure for GW13

There are two clear GW13 forwards in Haaland and Thiago that most will be after. If you're on Salah, it'll be hard to fill your third forward, so a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 formation is most likely in those cases.

If you're fading Salah away at West Ham, it could be a differential move to spend on a third forward like Ollie Watkins or Jean-Philippe Mateta to possibly create a 4-3-3 formation, or something similar.

Given the amount of chatter about a Free Hit in GW13, it's important to not copy the general sentiment if you want to be different. There are plenty of ways to go and the first method may be to target a differential third forward.