Hello all, and welcome to the (hopefully) glorious return of our weekly previews. We didn’t do one last week, assuming that… you probably already knew what was happening, going into the very first week.
But, now we’ve got loads of stuff to keep track of. Transfers! Injuries! Price changes! Chelsea shenanigans!
So, without further ado, let’s crack on. Here’s your FPL Gameweek 2 preview, hot off the press.
Gameweek 1 Recap
James watched a lot of football last weekend. The quickest way to get caught up on everything that happened, from an FPL perspective, is to just reread his excellent Gameweek 1 Review.
Among many other things, he highlighted:
- We had 6/10 clean sheets last weekend… but the significant trend in recent years has been a decline in cleans. So, don’t get used to it
- Liked the look of: Jota, Szoboszlai, Bruno, Trent, Bailey, Mbeumo, Munoz, Eze
- So-so: Morgan Rogers, Palmer, Diaz, Martinelli, Mateta (tired), Porro
Again, I’d recommend just reading the piece. Tons of good detail in there!
In the News
Well, we’re only one week in, so thankfully we don’t have much injury news yet. Unfortunately we’re only one week in, so we do still have loads of transfers to think about.
Transfers
Here are the most important moves for FPL:
- Trippier sounds like he’s off.
As an owner, I’m pretty annoyed! More on that in the ‘Should I Buy?’ section
- Barco is almost certainly leaving.
As always in FPL, when something seems too good to be true, especially before the season, it usually is. Remember the Iversen/Ward 4.0 Goalkeeper rotation from a couple of years ago? I wish I could forget.
He’s still only 4.0, so don’t waste a transfer rushing to get him out. That said, he is also a mighty 22% owned, so do keep an eye on him dropping from GW 2 onwards
- Evanilson went to Bournemouth for loads of money.
I’ve never seen him play, and I’m guessing you haven’t either. He’ll presumably start very soon for them though, and Solanke obviously had an excellent season as the Bournemouth striker last year. So, he’s worth keeping tabs on at only 6.0
- Felix went to Chelsea, as you might have heard.
This just makes a messy situation even worse. I wouldn’t go near any Chelsea mids right now, apart from Palmer. Don’t bin Nkunku quite yet, if you’ve got him… but he should be right near the top of your To Bin pile
- Rutter went to Brighton from Leeds.
Brighton already had quite a few forwards, but apparently they want more!
He’s the club record signing, so presumably he’ll be starting pretty soon. We don’t know who for yet, though. I guess it would make me slightly more nervous about Joao Pedro… maybe? But it’s far too soon to worry about that.
- Nketiah is probably going to Forest.
On the off-chance you were about to get Chris Wood… don’t!
Slightly more seriously, he might be worth a stash in FPL Draft, if your current third forward is rubbish. He’s a limited player, but an excellent finisher. If he does get some starts up front for Forest, he’ll score
Injuries
- No official news on Porro, at the time of writing. He’s back in training though, so should presumably be okay for the weekend
- Solanke didn’t train, however, and could be a bigger doubt
- There are injury question marks (/suspensions) across much of the entire Everton back line. This does not fill me with confidence that Pickford will turn things around, after the GW 1 horror show
Other
Chelsea played Servette on Thursday night.
Unsurprisingly, Maresca rotated, starting without Gusto, Palmer, Sanchez, Enzo, Cucurella, Colwill, Jackson…
Somewhat worryingly, Nkunku did start. He only played 58mins, and maybe Maresca is trying to build up his fitness after hardly playing last year. But I already wasn’t keen on owning Nkunku in general, the weird Felix move makes it even worse, and this puts even more doubt on his minutes against Wolves.
General Gameweek 2 Strategy
Is ‘do nothing’ a strategy? I say yes.
In general, you should really try to be conservative this week. Basically, hold your transfer if you possibly can.
That’s even more important than ever this year. Now that you can bank five transfers, you can basically execute a mini-wildcard a few weeks in. Coincidentally, some teams’ fixtures turn right around GW 6, including arguably the most FPL-rich treasure trove around, Arsenal.
That said, through a combination of injuries and transfers, you might already be in a bad spot.
This idiot, for example, started the season with Trippier and Castagne. Add in my 4.5 enabler forward, and my 4.0 enabler keeper, and 4/15 of my squad don’t currently play football. Impressive work, this early in the season. If only I’d had Barco too, I could’ve gone for the full 33% non-playing staff.
So… I probably will make a move this week, giving that malcontent Trippier the heave-ho.
If, unlike me, you are not an idiot, try to hold your transfer.
Best Upcoming Fixtures
Presumably, you did put your Gameweek 1 team together with at least half an eye on the first few FPL fixtures! So, I won’t dwell too long on the upcoming matchups in this piece.
Still, here’s a look at the sides with the best overall fixtures in the next five gameweeks.
(Home games in caps)
| Team | GW 2 | GW 3 | GW 4 | GW 5 | GW 6 |
| Fulham | LEI | Ips | WHU | NEW | Nfo |
| Chelsea | Wol | CRY | Bou | Whu | BHA |
| Liverpool | BRE | Mun | NFO | BOU | Wol |
| Palace | WHU | Che | LEI | MUN | Eve |
| Villa | ARS | Lei | EVE | WOL | Ips |
- (For the record, Southampton have very good fixtures… but we don’t care)
- I’d be fine to start Fulham attackers for any of these games, and a defender in any game except Newcastle
- Unfortunately Chelsea’s squad is a mess, and we don’t really know which FPL assets will play. I’d start Palmer and Sanchez! Apart from that, everyone feels a bit risky
- All Liverpool’s games are nice attacking fixtures. You’re fine starting their defenders against everyone except Man U too, and Trent(/Robbo) could easily return in that game anyway
- Palace’s attacking fixtures – none of those defences really worry me. Leicester and EVerton should be nice chances at cleans too
- Villa have a good record against Arsenal under Unai. I wouldn’t start a defender, but I think a Watkins, even a Bailey is completely fine. After that, you’re starting all your Villa attackers and defenders – those are four lovely fixtures
Should I Buy?
Insert boring caveat about not buying into literally any Gameweek 1 hype here. If you’re just playing FPL to – gasp – have fun though, here are quick takes on the most-bought assets among the playing public.
- Mazraoui – No. Not yet, at least. It’s boring… but the Fulham caveat must be inserted here. Man U’s defence looks much better on paper now, but the lack of defensive midfield cover remains a massive problem for me. That’s especially true against Brighton’s fast, free-flowing attack… then it’s Liverpool straight after. Let’s reconvene before Southampton in GW 4.
- Havertz – Maybe. He’s class, and he’s been in great form for ages now. Obviously the fixtures aren’t amazing, but Arsenal are. And, if they do score, Kai and Saka are the most likely to be involved by far. I definitely wouldn’t move to him from Watkins or Isak, but if you needed a Toney replacement, for example, he’d be up there
- Jota – Sure, why not? He’s only 7.5, he’s got the forward spot for now, he’s off to a great start, and they’ve got several solid fixtures. He’ll get injured at some point, but he’s super easy to move then for another mid-price midfielder
- Saka – Yes. I said in pre-season I don’t care about his fixtures, and I still don’t. He’s one of the most reliable players in FPL, and I’d back him to return against anyone except Man City
- Welbeck – No. Let’s pump the brakes on this one. He’s nice value at 5.5, but he only gets about 10 returns every year, always gets injured, and they’ve now got Man U (meh) and Arsenal (difficult) back to back
- Gvardiol – Yes, under specific circumstances. He’s my favourite Trippier replacement/Porro injury upgrade, if you’re moving on from them. Apart from that, you’ll presumably need to hit him in, which you’re obviously not doing
- Vardy – No. Again, him and Welbeck could both be find value at 5.5, but it’s way too soon to think about it
- Pope – No. Don’t make GK transfers this early unless you have to… which you don’t
- Zirkzee – No. Again, far too early
- Solanke – No. I’d rather have Havertz right now, around this price point. Long-term I really like him at 7.5, but not shortly before a Man U/Arsenal double. Also, there are injury concerns for him already
Should I Sell?
Again, you shouldn’t really make a transfer in gameweek one if you can help it. That said… as a Trippier owner I can confirm that – with some of these guys – it’s incredibly tempting!
- Trippier – Yes. I’m so annoyed. After going back and forth between him and White (with Porro as my third option), of course I chose the guy who got benched, while the other two returned.
It sounds like he’s leaving. Surely he won’t play this weekend. So, even though it’s only GW 2, I’m fine binning him.
He costs 6.0, so could be Saliba, Gvardiol, Porro, Robertson… an expensive defender who actually plays, basically! I don’t care if he ends up at Everton in a couple of weeks – it’s too much to be wasting on a defender in the meantime.
Personally I like Robbo as the top replacement, with Gvardiol second, but they’re both excellent options.
- Watkins – No. He’s the most-sold player after GW1, which is ridiculous. West Ham away wasn’t an amazing first fixture. Arsenal home isn’t actually terrible, based on Emery’s track record of revenge against them. Then he has nice fixtures straight after! An easy hold, for me
- Toney – Yes. Brentford’s attack was fine without him. If he didn’t play last week to protect his transfer value, why would he play this week with the window still open? Oh, and he plays Liverpool and City in his next three games
- Palmer – No. Chelsea’s attack looked rubbish, but he was one of the best players in FPL last season. You can’t just bail on him after one blank! I’d also expect Chelsea to play a more attacking formation vs Wolves, with Palmer… not being shunted out onto the right wing
- Nkunku – No. I’d probably give it one more week… but if he’s benched this week, or struggles for minutes, or Chelsea’s attack looks rubbish again, I’d bin. There are just too many good midfield options out there
- Quansah – Yes, in theory, since he’s probably benched now. He’s unlikely to drop again this week though, so it’s not a priority transfer
- Eze/Gordon – No. They’re both quality players, still offering excellent value, and have fine fixtures this week
- Pickford – Tempting, after that horror show! But no. If you’ve got him, it was probably for his generally fine fixtures across roughly the first 12 gameweeks. So, hold the course. Also, just don’t transfer a GK in Gameweek 1
- Andersen – No. He’s moved from Palace to Fulham, in case you missed it. But I’m presuming he starts anyway, and I wouldn’t say that’s a significant downgrade in team quality
- Foden – No. Eased back in, but he’ll surely start soon enough, especially if Savinho is injured now
Captaincy Corner
It’s all about Haaland vs Ipswich this week. James got him to start the season partly just for this fixture. It could get nasty. As a non-owner, I’m terrified. If you’ve got him, cap him (and a Triple Captain isn’t a crazy idea, since we won’t have all the double gameweeks this season).
Salah is Salah. He’s a returns machine. Brentford were fine at the weekend, but it’s at Anfield, Liverpool looked much better in the second half against Ipswich, and… it’s Salah. Captain him with confidence.
After that, it’s a sizable drop-off. There are a couple of decent options: Son home to Everton’s rubbish defence. Isak away to Bournemouth. Palmer away to Wolves.
But, I just wouldn’t overthink it this week, especially so early in the season.
It’s Haaland if you’ve got him, and Mo if you haven’t.
Final Thoughts
Well, that just about does it for your FPL Gameweek 2 preview. If it wasn’t very good… well, it’ll probably get better. Expert FPL Analysts like yours truly are also building up match fitness, you know.
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Cheers for reading, everybody!