FPL season comparisons: West Ham's Jarrod Bowen vs Bournemouth's Evanilson

Click here to join the official TSZ FPL mini-league or join using the code 'xevugs'

We run the rule over two enticing FPL forward options in West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m) and Evanilson (£7.0m) of Bournemouth, using last season’s stats to help decide which of them would be the better Gameweek 1 pick for FPL managers going into the 2025-26 Premier League season.

Whilst the numbers weighed heavily in the favour of Jarrod Bowen last season, it’s important to note that he played significantly more minutes than Evanilson, 657 minutes to be precise which adds up to just over seven full Premier League games. But Bowen has been a reliable FPL performer for a while now and he didn’t let owners down in 2024-25.

In 2,974 minutes of action, West Ham talisman Bowen racked up 13 goals and 11 assists with a whopping 21 bonus points elevating his overall FPL score to 193 points. His xGI (expected goal involvements) was 15.1, so Bowen significantly outperformed this metric.

Evanilson ended his debut Premier League campaign with 15 attacking returns in 2,317 minutes on the pitch, scoring ten goals and also gaining five assists, a more than respectable number when considering that the ex-Porto striker doesn’t play for a ‘big six’ club. He also managed 20 bonus points, just one less than Bowen and 128 points overall.

Although the long-term value play may well be to pick Evanilson, the Gameweek 1 fixtures really lean heavily towards Bowen. Bournemouth travel to defending Premier League champions Liverpool, whilst the Hammers are away at newly promoted Sunderland. With that in mind, Bowen is probably worth the extra spend.

Verdict: Jarrod Bowen (£8.0m)