FPL has its own language. Here’s what the common terms mean, in plain English. For the columns and numbers on Pitchline’s own pages, see Metrics.

Nailed: Certain to start when fit. The opposite of a rotation risk.
Rotation risk: A player who might be rested or benched, especially around European or cup matches.
Premium: One of the most expensive players, usually £10m or more.
Enabler: A cheap player, often on the bench, who frees up money for premiums.
Fodder: A very cheap bench player who rarely plays. Fine on the bench, a problem if he has to come on.
Template: The players most managers own.
Differential: A player few managers own. He can gain you rank quickly, or cost you if the popular pick scores instead.
OOP (out of position): A player listed in a deeper position than he really plays, like a winger listed as a defender. He scores more per goal and can get clean sheet points.
Set and forget: Picking a player and keeping him for months, whatever his fixtures.

GW: Gameweek: one round of Premier League matches, with one deadline.
Deadline: When changes lock for the gameweek, 90 minutes before the first kick-off.
DGW: Double gameweek: a club plays twice in one gameweek.
BGW: Blank gameweek: a club doesn’t play at all that gameweek.
FDR: Fixture difficulty rating: Fantasy’s 1 (easy) to 5 (hard) rating for each match.
Fixture swing: When a club’s run of matches turns from hard to easy, or the other way round.

FT: Free transfer. You get one a week and can save up to five.
Hit: An extra transfer that costs −4 points.
Roll: Saving your free transfer for next week.
WC, FH, TC, BB: The chips: Wildcard, Free Hit, Triple Captain and Bench Boost.
Bandwagon: A player suddenly being bought by lots of managers, usually after a big score.
Kneejerk: A quick transfer made in reaction to one result or one piece of news.
Sideways move: Swapping one player for another of similar quality. Rarely worth a hit.
ITB: In the bank: money left over that you haven’t spent.
TV: Team value: what your squad is worth. Grows when your players rise in price.
Price rise / fall: A £0.1m change in a player’s price overnight, driven by transfers.

Haul: A big score, usually 10 points or more.
Blank: A low score, usually just the 1 or 2 points for playing.
Returns: Goals, assists or clean sheets. A player “returning” scored more than appearance points.
Bonus / BPS: Up to 3 extra points for the best players in each match, picked by the Bonus Points System (BPS).
DC / DefCon: Defensive contribution points: 2 points for enough clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles in a match.
Auto-sub: When a starter doesn’t play, a bench player comes on automatically after the gameweek.
OR: Overall rank: your position among every manager in the game.
EO: Effective ownership: how much of a player’s score the average manager gets, counting captains and benched players.
Green / red arrow: Your rank went up (green) or down (red) this gameweek.

xG: Expected goals: how many goals a player’s chances were worth, based on where and how he shot.
xA: Expected assists: how many assists his passes were worth.
xGI: Expected goal involvements: xG plus xA.
Per 90: A stat divided by minutes played, so part-time and full-time players compare fairly.
Underlying numbers: Stats like xG that show how well a player is playing, beyond his points.
Over-performing: Scoring more than his xG suggests. It often doesn’t last.
PPG: Points per game: his total points divided by matches played.