Fantasy Premier League: Four essential FPL tips ahead of GW3

We’re back with our Fantasy Premier League tips on who to captain and what transfers to make ahead of gameweek 3.

It was a mixed week for our FPL column. Our captain’s pick of Mohamed Salah paid off (just barely) as Erling Haaland blanked against Newcastle United. Ben Chilwell as our transfer decidedly did not work out, while our advice to hold onto Eberechi Eze was followed by another blank.

But we go again and hopefully with a little more luck on our side.

FPL Deadline: Friday, August 25, 6.30pm BST.

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Fantasy Premier League – Our essential FPL tips ahead of GW3:

Who To Captain In GW3

Manchester City against a newly promoted team? It has to be Erling Haaland (£14m).

Who To Buy In GW3

Speaking of Man City, Phil Foden (£7.5m) is starting to look like an essential transfer. The Stockport lad put in a man of the match performance against Newcastle, providing the assist for the winning goal, and has already racked up nine key passes in two games. Minutes have always been a risk with Foden, but he’s played every second so far and with Kevin De Bruyne (£10.3m) out of action for the next four months, the no.8 role is his to lose.

After tipping Chilwell (£5.7m) as last gameweek’s must-have transfer, I’m back again to big up Chelsea. The defeat to West Ham wasn’t inspiring, but I expect them to bounce back against a Luton side that conceded 27 chances in their opening game. Chilwell is still worth buying, while Levi Colwill (£4.5) and Malo Gusto (£4.0) offer much cheaper routes into the Blues’ defence. And there’s another attacker worth taking a chance on that we will get to momentarily.

I didn’t mention Brighton last week because I assumed it was obvious that you should have at least two of their players in your FPL team; no team in the Premier League has taken more shots (43) than them. Kaoru Mitoma (£6.6m) has continued where he left off last season, providing a goal and two assists so far. Pervis Estupinan (£5.2m) has created more big chances (3) than any other defender. Joao Pedro (£5.6m) was dropped to the bench on Saturday, but I would hold him for West Ham at home in GW3 if you have him.

Fantasy Premier League: 60 FPL team names for 2023/24

Who To Punt On In GW3

Chelsea have a very nice run of fixtures, starting with Luton this Friday. Then they’ve got Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Fulham and Burnley. If you want to take a chance on a team then this is the time.

Nicolas Jackson (£7m) is a nicely priced forward who is already in over 16 percent of FPL teams. The Senegal international is yet to find the net, but a goal is surely coming. He’s looked impressive in his first two Premier League games and provides the kind of forward presence that Chelsea have been missing for ages. Both player and club are underperforming their expected goals (xG), so they are due a goal.

Premier League Awards: Fantastic Foden, Mitoma’s solo stunner

Who To Sell In GW3

Manchester United stocks are plummeting after another lacklustre performance. A lot of managers are considering their options when it comes to Marcus Rashford (£9m), Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) and Luke Shaw (£5.5m).

Shaw is a pretty easy sell; Man United’s defence is leaky and were lucky to keep a clean sheet against Wolves. The other two are slightly trickier, given they have Nottingham Forest at home this weekend. Fernandes has no returns despite an expected goal involvement of 1.5xGI, according to Opta, while Rashford looks miserable as the central striker. I’m holding the latter while I put out other fires in my team, but I wouldn’t blame anyone for selling.

Elsewhere, I’m seeing a lot of knee-jerk transfers just two games into the season. FPL managers are selling the likes of Pedro, Jackson, Ollie Watkins (£8m) and Gabriel (£5m) in their droves, and it’s the same for James Maddison (£7.6m) even though there hasn’t been an official update on his injury status yet. These players are all in the wait-and-see category for me.

Meanwhile at Spurs, Richarlison (£7m) and Son Heung-min (£9m) just do not look like they are at the races right now. Get rid.

Read – 12 tips to help you master Fantasy Premier League