We’ve already written lots of stuff to get you ready for the season, and you’ll have done loads of your own research too.
Instead of doing a big preview just for Gameweek 1, therefore, we decided to collect together all the most important news and tidbits which you might have missed, and which could have an impact on the first week.
Transfer News
Obviously, transfers are happening all the time right now. Here are the recent ones that actually matter in FPL, though.
- Kane is Finally Off… Probably
Harry Kane has been given permission to travel complete medical tests ahead of Bayern move 🚨🔴 #Kane
Bayern are increasingly confident to get Kane deal done on Friday — as positive final round of talks with player’s camp took place tonight.
It’s about final details now. pic.twitter.com/bLWTrDyIrC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 10, 2023
The story has dragged on and on, which is also annoying in FPL. It looks like he is leaving now, which will have a knock-on for other Spurs players:
- Richarlison is probably the main beneficiary. We have to wait and see if he actually plays as the 9, so we don’t really want to risk it for Gameweek 1. But if he is starting up top, for a good team, and is out of position in FPL as a midfielder, and all that for only 7.0… he becomes pretty irresistible
- Maddison remains a good pick, at 7.5. The attack will be worse as a whole, but he’ll surely get more free kicks in dangerous positions now
- Son is tempting as an asset… but not for his price, unfortunately. Richarlison is far better value
- Kulusevski is only 7.0… and is also quite tempting. Kane played a big rolein his early success, so – again – this is a wait-and-see
- Matt Turner to Forest
A nice late gift for FPL managers. Turner’s move to Forest is sealed, meaning we’ll have a starting keeper for only 4.0.
With his fixtures, he actually rotates well with Johnstone, Steele, and Pickford. So, he should probably be your backup keeper if you have any of them, or even a premium goalie.
- Gvardiol to City Confirmed
He’s only 5.0, which is fine. He’ll probably be nailed eventually, but not from Gameweek 1. Avoid for now.
- David Raya to Arsenal
Fascinating real-life transfer, and makes Ramsdale an avoid in FPL. He’ll (probably) start the season, but there’s no guarantee he keeps the job.
- Ross Barkley to Luton
He was reportedly very good in Ligue 1 last year, but didn’t have the legs to play every week. We assume it’ll be the same this year. Might be a bench option, if he’s super cheap, though.
- Maguire and Ward-Prowse to West Ham
These transfers are currently being confirmed. They’re happening so late that we’ve got no idea if they’ll be able to start in Gameweek 1… and neither is good enough in FPL to risk it.
Injury News
Last week, and especially around the weekend, we had a few worrying injury stories. Jesus was the most impactful in FPL, but there were also rumours about Mbuemo (although he seems to be fine).
Here are the most recent injures:
- Nkunku
He’ll be out for a few months. It’s a shame in real life, and hurts all other starting Chelsea assets in fantasy.
It does mean Chukwuemeka might start the season as Chelsea’s 10, but there’s no guarantee. Also it looks like they might try and get someone new for the medium-term as a replacement.
- Hojlund
Hojlund won’t be playing in Gameweek 1, as he’s injured. It should only be a short-term injury, but he’s probably not worth getting right now regardless.
Other News
Any other business? Plenty!
- Guaita Throwing a Tantrum
Roy says he’s downed tools. Johnston is probably a lock now as Palace’s number one keeper.
Who cares, you say? Actually, Palace had the 5th-best defence in the league last year, according to xGC.
- More Stoppage Time… Good and Bad For Us
In general, more stoppage time should make the better teams better and the worse teams worse. 4.5 defenders from bad teams aren’t generally worth owning anyway though, so there’s no big impact there.
Apparently there will also be more yellow cards for time-wasting. Again though, there’s no way to know how this affects us in FPL. We just have to assume we’ll get hit with more yellows (for defenders and midfielders, rather than forwards).
- Potential 4.5 Starting Forward?
Due to Sheffield United’s numerous injuries up top at the moment, William Osula is the only forward at 4.5 who genuinely has a chance to start rather than come off the bench. He started their final pre-season game at the weekend. Not a long-term hold, but worth keeping an eye on.
Wrapping Up
They’re all the main stories for now (if we missed any, please shout at us on Twitter, Reddit, or wherever else you like).
Again, we’ve got tons more stuff geared towards getting you ready for Gameweek 1. You can get that all in one place here.