There are spots in the starting lineup for Manchester City and Liverpool’s new strikers, as well as a £4.5m midfielder who caught the eye last weekend.
So, were you pleased with your Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 1 score? Or are you aiming for the first Wildcard?
If you had a great start to the campaign, don’t let it get to your head – this is a marathon, not a sprint. And don’t be discouraged if your chosen players delivered the FPL equivalent of Manchester United’s performance on Sunday. Better days are on the way (at least for your fantasy team).
In terms of the most popular FPL players, it was a mixed bag. Only half of the top ten most-owned assets in the game delivered returns in the first weekend: Mo Salah (of course), Erling Haaland (of course), Joao Cancelo, Reece James, and Gabriel Martinelli.
The most notable points-dodgers were Gabriel Jesus, who was the most selected player in FPL history prior to Arsenal’s trip to Crystal Palace, Harry Kane, and Trent Alexander-Arnold. All three are on the list of “most-binned” movies ahead of this weekend, which seems a little early.
Gameweek 1’s top performers
Goalkeepers:
- Ederson (Man City) – 7 points
- Mendy (Chelsea) – 7
Defenders:
- Schar (Newcastle) – 15
- Kelly (Bournemouth) – 12
- Zinchenko (Arsenal) – 12
Midfielders:
- Gross (Brighton) – 15
- Kulusevski (Spurs) – 13
- Salah (Liverpool) – 12
Forwards:
- Haaland (Man City) – 13
- Mitrovic (Fulham) – 13
- Darwin (Liverpool) – 9
So it’s on to Gameweek 2, which features some intriguing matchups. The “Golden Generation derby” begins with Aston Villa vs. Everton, followed by Brentford vs. Manchester United.
Gameweek 2 fixtures
Saturday 13 August
- Aston Villa vs Everton
- Arsenal vs Leicester
- Brighton vs Newcastle
- Man City vs Bournemouth
- Southampton vs Leeds
- Wolves vs Fulham
- Brentford vs Man Utd
Sunday 14 August
- Nottingham Forest vs West Ham
- Chelsea vs Spurs
Monday 15 August
- Liverpool vs Crystal Palace
Ederson (Man City)
As I mentioned in my FPL goalkeeper season preview, Ederson, Alisson, and Edouard Mendy are much more appealing options now that their prices have been reduced over the summer. Ederson is unlikely to accumulate many save points, but he is a clean sheet magnet, as evidenced by three Golden Gloves in four seasons. As impressive as Bournemouth was on the first day, doubling up on City’s defense this weekend appears to be a foolproof strategy.
Price: £5.5m Points: 7 Gameweek 2 fixture: Bournemouth (h)
Reece James (Chelsea)
Tottenham’s tag as the team most likely to upset Manchester City and Liverpool this season will face an early acid test when they face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Spurs have failed to score a single goal in any of their previous six meetings with their London rivals. Given that damning statistic, picking a Chelsea defender feels sensible and Reece James caught the eye against Everton, taking all but three of his side’s 21 set-pieces at Goodison Park.
Price: £6.0m Points: 7 Gameweek 2 fixture: Tottenham (h)
Joao Cancelo (Man City)
Bournemouth at home is precisely the kind of game in which Pep Guardiola tends to rotate but considering Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker are City’s only senior full-backs right now, it seems unlikely either will be given a rest. Despite picking up a yellow card against West Ham, Cancelo still hoovered up two bonus points, and unusually given his attacking tendencies it was thanks to his defensive efforts.
Price: £7.0m Points: 7 Gameweek 2 fixture: Bournemouth (h)
Kieran Trippier (Newcastle)
Brighton and Newcastle delivered two of the best team performances of the Premier League’s opening weekend, making their upcoming meeting one of the weekend’s more intriguing match-ups. It is a tough one to call but the Magpies may feel as though they can cause their opponents problems from corners; Kieran Trippier took nine in the first game – third among all players – and has Big Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, and Callum Wilson to aim for.
Price: £5.0m Points: 7 Gameweek 2 fixture: Brighton (a)
Andreas Pereira (Fulham)
Much maligned during his time at Manchester United, perhaps Andreas Pereira is better suited to playing for a club where the glare of the spotlight is less intense. That’s certainly how it looked on his first Fulham start as he caught the eye alongside fellow new recruit Joao Palhinha in midfield. Pereira was picked out as one of the best budget picks and he showed why against Liverpool by operating as Fulham’s most advanced player and taking all of their set-pieces.
Price: £4.5m Points: 2 Gameweek 2 fixture: Wolves (a)
Mo Salah (Liverpool)
It says everything about how valuable an FPL asset Mo Salah is that even on a day when Liverpool was way, way short of their best he still managed a 12-point haul against Fulham. Salah supplied a goal and assist at Craven Cottage and his link-up play with summer signing Darwin Nunez showed plenty of promise. Jurgen Klopp has a depleted midfield to pick from but surely Liverpool can’t be as disjointed against Palace as they were in Gameweek 1.
Price: £13.0m Points: 12 Gameweek 2 fixture: Crystal Palace (h)
Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)
An FPL price-riser after scoring the opening goal of the Premier League season at Selhurst Park. Gabriel Martinelli missed a good early chance but soon made amends by nodding Arsenal in front from close range. Martinelli registered an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.84 from those two efforts, which was only bettered by Brighton’s Pascal Gross among midfielders.
Price: £6.1m Points: 8 Gameweek 2 fixture: Leicester (h)
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham)
On the evidence of their first game, it might take a bit of time for Nottingham Forest’s new-look team to gel, which makes them a side to target in FPL. Forest faced the highest number of shots (23) in Gameweek 1 and their opponents Newcastle recorded the second-highest non-penalty xG (1.86) of the opening weekend. Jarrod Bowen was the third-highest scoring midfielder in the game last season and will see this weekend as an ideal chance to get up and running this campaign.
Price: £8.5m Points: 2 Gameweek 2 fixture: Nottingham Forest (a)
Brenden Aaronson (Leeds)
Brenden Aaronson impressed on his Leeds debut, is relatively cheap, and may be directly up against Moussa Djenepo who badly struggled in Gameweek 1, hence his inclusion. Writing in The Score, Daniel Storey highlighted the American’s link-up play with Patrick Bamford as an area of promise for Leeds. Much to the dismay of FPL managers (including Micah Richards), Aaronson (correctly) had a goal taken off him against Wolves as Rayan Ait-Nouri beat him to Bamford’s pull-back.
Price: £5.5m Points: 2 Gameweek 2 fixture: Southampton (a)
Erling Haaland (Man City)
As debuts go it was pretty ominous, wasn’t it? Erling Haaland won a penalty, scored it himself, and added a second with an ice-cool finish. Not only that, Haaland ranked top among all players in the league for shots in the box (with five) and xG (1.74) in Gameweek 1. Two down, 258 to go.
He could quite conceivably have had a debut hat-trick, admitting that a miscued header from close range was “a bit shit” to a presumably rouge-faced Geoff Shreeves. The Norwegian is the most-bought player in FPL ahead of City’s clash with Bournemouth at the Etihad. Expect him to be the most captained too.
Price: £11.6m Points: 13 Gameweek 2 fixture: Bournemouth (h)
Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
Klopp has preached patience when it comes to Liverpool’s record signing, but Nunez is certainly putting forward a strong case to replace Roberto Firmino in the starting XI. In both of his competitive appearances for his new club, Nunez has come on and made an impact, scoring against City in the Community Shield before providing a goal and assist on his Premier League bow. Despite only playing 39 minutes, Nunez ranked third for xG in Gameweek 1.
Price: £9.0m Points: 9 Gameweek 2 fixture: Crystal Palace (h)
