Fantasy Premier League is well and truly back after the first gameweek of the season saw most managers earn a healthy return of FPL points.
It made for a nice return to the game, with an average score of 64 showing just how well the most-owned players performed on the opening weekend.
Another Friday deadline means a relatively quick turnaround for GW2, so here are our key tips and advice on what transfers to make and who to captain.
FPL Deadline: Friday, August 18, 6.15pm GMT.
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Fantasy Premier League – Essential tips for FPL Gameweek 2:
Who To Captain
Let’s be real here, this is not even going to be an argument for 90 percent of the season; Erling Haaland (£14m) is a cinch for the armband almost every gameweek.
However, the fixture list for GW2 will make many a manager consider their options. Manchester City, you see, host Newcastle United, one of the best defensive units last season. Liverpool, meanwhile, face Bournemouth, one of 2022/23’s worst defences, at Anfield.
Due to their high value, most FPL teams have just one of Haaland or Mohamed Salah (£12.5m). If you started the season with the latter, it was almost certainly with the intention of captaining him in GW2. You shouldn’t move away from that plan now, even after Salah’s strop while leaving the Stamford Bridge pitch last Sunday.
If you only own Haaland of the two, then there’s no discussion to be had. The Magpies will provide a resolute challenge for City, but they are almost unstoppable at Eastlands and Haaland loves scoring in front of the home crowd.
Captain: Mohamed Salah
Man Utd & Liverpool contact Bayern Munich over Gravenberch transfer
One Player To Buy
Newcastle United’s electric performance against Aston Villa on Saturday caught everyone’s attention, including FPL managers. Alexander Isak (£7.6m) is the most transferred in player of the week, while Harvey Barnes (£6.5m), Sven Botman (£4.5m), Sandro Tonali (£5.5m) and Kieran Trippier (£6.5m) have all seen significant increases in ownership.
But Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell (£5.6m) is the standout transfer to make this week. Against Liverpool the left-back made the assist for Alex Disasi’s goal, had a goal of his own chalked off for offside, had one big chance and created another, and played extremely high up the pitch as a wing-back after Mauricio Pochettino unexpectedly lined up with a back three.
Whether or not Chelsea line out like that every week remains to be seen, but Chilwell is nonetheless a terrific transfer to make, especially with Moises Caicedo’s arrival making them a more defensively sound unit. Selling Luke Shaw (£5.5m) would be the obvious move, although Chilwell’s early price rise makes him an awkward buy. Malo Gusto (£4.0m) could be the way into the Blues’ defence instead after an injury to Reece James.
Buy: Ben Chilwell
Newcastle ‘working on’ deal to sign Chelsea left-back
One Player To Sell
Given the spate of bad injuries that occurred in GW1, there is unfortunately a few players that will need to be shipped out of FPL teams before Friday’s deadline.
Kevin De Bruyne (£10.4m), Jurrien Timber (£4.9m) and Tyrone Mings (£4.5m) all left the pitch injured at the weekend. Meanwhile, Reece James (£5.5m), who was subbed off during Chelsea’s draw with Liverpool as a precaution, appears to have developed another serious problem that will keep him sidelined for a while.
But the most highly-owned player in FPL currently on the treatment table is John Stones (£5.4m), who didn’t even make the Man City squad for the Burnley game due to a hip problem. Although Pep Guardiola said that he should be fine for the Newcastle game, it is rumoured that he has injured his hamstring.
If you can swap him out for Ben Chilwell, then do so, but the price changes make that very hard to do unless you left yourself budget space at the start of the season.
Sell: John Stones
Guardiola rules out Cole Palmer loan, but hints forward could leave Man City
One Player To Hold
Gameweek 1 always leads to a flurry of transfer activity as FPL manager scurry to get in the player they should have had from the beginning or the hidden gem that has popped up out of nowhere with an impressive performance.
It often leads to a lot of panic buying and selling. Hundreds of thousands of managers have already gone cold on the likes of OIlie Watkins (£8.0m), Marcus Rashford (£9.0m) and Martin Odegaard (£8.5m), all of whom we expect to be very good FPL assets this term.
Over 130,000 FPL managers have offloaded Eberechi Eze (£6.5m) at the time of writing after he failed to deliver an attacking return against Sheffield United. Disappointed as they may be with the lack of points, this is a decision we think they will come to regret.
Eze had the most shots (8) and chances created (7) of any player in the Premier League in GW1. According to Opta, the Crystal Palace attacker had an expected goal involvement of 1.20xGI. On another day he could have easily hauled big and the transfers would be flying in for one of the best value players in the game.
It could be worth waiting to see if his price falls before bringing him in in the coming gameweeks.
Hold: Eberechi Eze.
Olise turns down Chelsea move to sign new Crystal Palace deal
One Player To Watchlist
Tottenham are a team we are very curious about when it comes to fantasy. They have lost their talisman and FPL points monster in Harry Kane, but that could lead to other players in the squad raising their game and end product.
Ange Postecoglou is also implementing a new, much more attractive style of football at the club after Spurs fans were forced to sit through Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho’s brands of ‘winning’ football the past three years.
James Maddison (£7.5m) has the potential to be the standout FPL asset at Spurs. He laid on two assists against Brentford, created six chances and took two shots, plus he is going to be on a lot of set pieces this year. His price point is also perfect if you’re looking to move away from Arsenal and Manchester United midfielders.
Richarlison (£7.0m) is another midfielder on our radar. With Kane gone the Brazilian played up top at the weekend. It didn’t pay off and there may be tweaks in the formation to come (it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Son Heung-min (£9.0m) up top at some stage), but being out of position in FPL makes him a very interesting prospect.
Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m) is another one to keep tabs on after impressing against Liverpool.
Watchlist: James Maddison.
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