FPL Gameweek 3 Preview - All You Need to Know

Greetings all, and welcome to your full preview for FPL Gameweek 3. ‘Tis I, Joe, on deck this week, ready to spew all sorts of fantasy-related nonsense.

What have we got coming up? What haven’t we got coming up?!

Okay, technically there’s lots of stuff we haven’t got coming up.

But what we do have is some chat about chips, the best upcoming fixture runs, transfer tips, and captaincy picks. What else could you ask for?!

Again, probably quite a lot.

But that’s what you’re getting regardless!

Chips Chat

Now that we all get two copies of every chip, going aggressive with said chips early in the season is a pretty popular strategy, and one that James and I are both pursuing this season.

Bench Boost

A lot of people already bench boosted in either GW 1 or 2, and with decent results. This isn’t very helpful, I’ll admit… but if you didn’t do that already, it’s completely team-dependent on when you should do it, based on who’s on your particular team. The next matchup between bad teams with the cheapest players is Ipswich vs Hull in GW9, so I’d target that fixture (probably in conjunction with a wildcard to actually get those players in).

Triple Captain

Triple captain is more straightforward – just use it on Haaland this week, if you’ve got him.

It doesn’t get any better than Coventry at home, and most of the attackers around him are fit right now. He also has Ipswich at home in GW7, but I don’t know why you wouldn’t just use it now instead, assuming you’re not playing another chip this week.

Free Hit

There are a couple of good weeks coming up for your free hit. Again, the ‘best’ one for you will depend on your team.

If you’re loaded up on City and Man U players, you might want to use it in GW 4 when they play each other. You can also take advantage of several other good matchups that week – Chelsea home to Hull, Palace home to Ipswich, Brighton at Coventry, and Liverpool home to Fulham.

GW 6 is another good week to dodge your players having tough matchups. Most notably that week we’ve got City vs Liverpool, but also to a lesser extent Spurs vs Man U, and Chelsea vs Bournemouth.

There aren’t as many good fixtures to take advantage of that week though – the best fixtures go to good-not-great teams like Newcastle and Everton – so I’d probably lean more towards GW 4 for the higher points potential.

It’s a similar story in GW 8 – City have Villa, Man U have Bournemouth, Chelsea have Spurs, Liverpool play Brighton – but again, there aren’t that many amazing matchups elsewhere to take advantage of.

Wildcard

Finally, the most complicated of all – the wildcard.

Lots of people planned an early wildcard this season, which is fine in theory. I would caution against playing it too early, though.

We’re still very much in the ‘data collecting’ phase, with tons of players having literally just moved at the end of the transfer window. It’ll take a few weeks for all that to shake out, and for us to see who’s actually starting, who’s fitting in well with their new teams, and so on.

It’s also far too soon to draw any definitive trends on whether most teams are actually good or not.

We can safely say that Arsenal’s defence and City’s attack are excellent, obviously, since we knew that already and both are still true.

But through a combination of new managers and new signings, a huge chunk of the league has either started off pretty poorly but might get better (Spurs, Liverpool, Palace, Man U’s defence, Villa’s attack), or started off well but might get worse (Newcastle, kinda Leeds, definitely Hull).

James and I differ on this, largely since he’s lacking coverage of seemingly must-own players like JP and Calafiori right now, which I get.

Personally, I think it’s far too early to panic about absolutely anything, and would much prefer to just use your chips in these first few weeks, and only really start looking at a wildcard from around GW 6 onwards at the earliest.

Best Upcoming Fixture Runs

Right, let’s crack on with our regular preview features, starting with a look at the best upcoming fixture runs.

We’ll look at both attacking and defensive runs, and – as ever – these come courtesy of our very own, completely free fixture ticker.

Best Attacking Fixtures

I like Newcastle quite a bit right now, as we’ll see shortly in the transfer tips section. Their attack has looked pretty dangerous, and all four of the next fixtures are pretty inviting. I’d be more than happy to get at least one out of Wissa/Elanga/Barnes in for them.

Based on what we’ve actually seen so far, versus the names on paper, Everton’s attacking run is about as good as it gets. Spurs look like last season’s Spurs, both Man U and Chelsea’s defences have been rubbish thus far, and they get two promoted teams too.

They don’t have any standout attacking players, but Barry could actually be a very nice speculative pick for this run. He’s the only true striker left in town, scored in GW1, and put up a mammoth 1.48 xG in GW2 without scoring. I’d presume he’ll be on pens too.

Dewsbury-Hall is another option, but I wish he was a bit cheaper. He did get 15 goal involvements last year, and scored already this season in GW1… I just wish he was 6.0 instead of 6.5 – at that price, I’d just got for Elanga instead.

Fulham are rubbish, and I wouldn’t go near them right now regardless of who they play.

Aston Villa’s run comes annoyingly early, since they’re still adjusting to all the turnover. The likes of Garnacho and Manzambi (both 5.9), and Nico Jackson could be good options soon, but certainly aren’t right now. Villa still haven’t had a shot on target this season, for God’s sake.

City’s attacking deficiencies didn’t last very long, and now they have a brilliant run of fixtures. Again, Man U and Liverpool might be big names on paper, but in reality have looked poor defensively to start the season. Around those, City get dream matchups against three of the worst teams in the league, all at home. Triple up sooner rather than later!

Best Defensive Fixtures

I’m not interested in Palace, Villa, or Spurs defensively right now. Villa just don’t have any defensive options I particularly like in FPL (as usual). I thought Palace and Spurs would be solid defensively to start the season – and boy was I wrong. Bleurgh.

I do like Newcastle defensively. They played very well against Liverpool, were unlucky not to win, and then cleaned last weekend. Bournemouth’s attack is fine, but at least that fixture is at home – after that, they have four excellent defensive fixtures in a row.

Man City’s fixtures aren’t as good defensively as for attackers – they’re probably not cleaning to either Man U or Liverpool away. The three other matchups are brilliant, but their defenders are so expensive that I’m not sure you really want to be rotating them in and out. As ever with City, there’s also the question of real-life rotation, particularly among the centre-backs.

Brighton shipping 4 goals to Chelsea probably says more about the latter’s attack than the former’s defence. They should be good again this year, as they were last year, and – Arsenal aside – these are four of the nicest defensive fixtures you could ask for.

Arsenal are a tricky one this week. Their defence has looked as good as ever to start the season… but now they also face perhaps the best attack in the league. This is probably just a ‘do nothing’ week – hold any Arsenal defenders you’ve got, but don’t buy any in. Then, starting next week, we absolutely want to pile on and grab as many Arsenal defenders as we can get our greedy hands on.

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Gameweek 3 Transfer Tips

The FPL playing public has decided enough is enough, after two gameweeks, and many, many transfers are being made. Are they the right transfers, though? Well, as self-appointed FPL judge, that’s precisely what I’m here to tell you.

Let’s run through the most-bought and sold players, ahead of Gameweek 3, and decide whether or not these are indeed wise moves or not.

Should I Buy?

Cherki – Yes. I’m a big advocate of getting triple City sooner rather than later, if you don’t have it already, and he’d be my top non-Haaland pick right now
Wissa – Yes. He’s looked very good to start the season, Newcastle’s attack has looked surprisingly good as a whole, and their upcoming fixtures are excellent. He’d be my top budget forward right now
De Cuyper – Yes. Obviously all the people who piled on after GW1 won’t have been best pleased by 0pts in GW2… but I still think he’s a good pick. 4.7 is very cheap for a good defender nowadays, Brighton’s defence should be fine, and their upcoming defensive fixtures are excellent in 4 of the next 5 weeks
Elanga – Yes. James likes him a bit less than me, actually preferring Barnes, but I think he’s excellent value right now at 6.1. He’s super involved in the attack, and – as noted with Wissa – I think that attack looks very good overall, and now has excellent fixtures
Ajayi (Hull) – No. He’s obviously super cheap at 4.1, but Hull aren’t going to keep getting cleans every week. He won’t be startable pretty soon, so you’re basically just wasting a transfer. Even if you just want an enabler, get an actual 4.0 instead and save the money
Sangare – Yes… with a note of realism. I know he got 2 assists in the first game, but he’s almost certainly just going to be a DefCon merchant. That’s fine in itself, obviously, and he would be my top DefCon mid right now based on the price (and him racking up loads of DC’s) – just don’t expect him to be a game breaking player with loads of attacking returns too
Hall – Yes. Newcastle’s defence has looked pretty good, he’s got 0.34 and 0.35 xGI in his first 2 games, and the upcoming fixtures are excellent defensively as well as for their attackers. In this year’s FPL, 5.1 is also fair value
Gvardiol – Maybe. I do like the City defence in general. The question as ever, though, is who’s actually nailed. Now that they’ve got proper mids Guehi will be back in the centre-back rotation, and one of he, Gvardiol, and Dias is going to have to make way
Calafiori – Yes. He’s the best defender in the game right now, through a combination of obviously playing for a brilliant defence, and him being ridiculously attacking. The Chelsea fixture isn’t ideal… but their defence is also rubbish, so I’d actually give him a fair shot at getting another attacking return this weekend
Joao Pedro – Maybe. He’s obviously a great pick in general, but he also has easily the worst matchup in the league this week – Arsenal away. I’d wait a week and get him in for Hull in GW4
Gross – Maybe. I can’t argue with the price – getting a mid with the potential for attacking returns at only 5.5 is clearly tempting. His next two fixtures are great too, although they get trickier after that. Eh, he’s fine… I wouldn’t make an actual transfer for him myself, partly because I think there are options with far more upside, but he’s a solid pick!
Palmer – As with JP, I think he’s a fine pick (though I like him less than JP overall), but I’d wait until after the Arsenal game to consider actually getting him

Should I Sell?

Mbeumo – No. I’m absolutely baffled by this one. If he’s in your team now, you’d clearly backed him to start the season… and he just got two returns in his last game, has hit 0.5 and 1.76 xG so far, and has played full 90’s in both games. What am I missing?! I can only assume it’s the fixtures, but Everton aren’t that scary, the City game isn’t great but at least it’s at home, and then he gets Fulham, Spurs, Leeds, and Bournemouth in a row… all of which are fine. I don’t get it. As an owner myself, it hadn’t even crossed my mind to sell right now
Tzolis – Maybe. I’m quite annoyed at myself. I never normally make early season moves, but I just couldn’t help myself with this one, and was duly punished with a whopping 0pts in GW2. He didn’t do well against Cash, got hooked at half time, and Eze looked pretty good when he came on. It’d be a bit harsh if he was benched immediately… but I also wouldn’t be shocked. I wouldn’t actually sell him yet, but I would be (and am) nervous
Semenyo – No, obviously. He’s one of the best attacking players in the league and he’s just about to play Coventry at home.
Ndiaye – Yes. It was good while it lasted! I’d be very surprised if he started this week, City play Man U away next week anyway, and in general you’ve got absolutely no idea if or when he’ll play now. Move him to Sangare or Elanga, depending on whether you want DefCon stability or attacking upside
Szoboszlai – No. And it pains me to say that, because I was pretty anti-Szob coming into the season, and have been very annoyed by his returns – a ridiculously late pen in GW1, then suddenly being shifted once more to full-back partway through GW2, which helped him hit DefCons. If he’s actually playing RB again, I think he’s a solid keeper for a good while. He also has Ipswich this week, then Fulham home next week. Hold him for those, then reassess when the fixtures turn in GW5.
Gabriel – No. What more did you want from him? He just got 13pts in 2 games! Chelsea isn’t a good matchup, obviously, but Arsenal then have 5 fine/mostly excellent fixtures in a row. If you were willing to splash out on him before the season, I don’t know why you’d be running from him now!
Brobbey – Yes. Isn’t getting that many minutes, blanked in his two easy fixtures, and now has a very hard run. Just get Wissa instead
Bruno F – Life comes at your fast. One minute you’re scoring 23pts in a single gameweek. A couple of days later you’re one of the most sold players. Poor Bruno. The answer is obviously ‘no’ – don’t sell him, unless you’re super desperate to free up the funds… but I don’t know why you would be this early anyway.
DCL – Maybe. Obviously he hasn’t done anything wrong, but I don’t like Leeds’ matchups one bit – Brighton away, Newcastle, Arsenal away, Man U (although who knows what shape their defence will be in by then). He’s not a priority move, but I’d be fine taking your GW2 return and politely moving on for the turn in fixtures
Thiago – No. I’m very pleased I don’t own him myself, and have thus dodged the frustration, but I wouldn’t sell him before Sunderland at home. Bin him after that, when the fixtures get much harder. He hasn’t actually scored yet, but he did have a pen in the first game, has put up 1.0 and 0.80 xG in the two games so far, and Brentford’s attack looks good.
Shaw – Yes. I didn’t like him before the season, and I like him even less now that Man U’s defence looks rubbish. De Cuyper and Hall are more expensive attacking defenders, but also far, far better options

Erling Haaland’s Captaincy Corner

Having magnanimously ceded the crown to Bruno last week, Haaland returns this week to claim his rightful place as King of the Captains. Tactical maestro though Frank Lampard undoubtedly is, I think Coventry might struggle a little this week.

I’d probably have Bruno in second place by default, since he’s just so darn reliable, though Everton away isn’t a great fixture, and Thiago home to Sunderland would be a fun, speculative shout.

Final Thoughts

Well, there you have it – a full and detailed Gameweek 3 preview, as promised, and my first preview of the season. I feel like I’m back in the swing of things already!

As ever, feel free to reach out on Reddit with any questions/comments/observations on life, and James or I will get back to you.

Thanks for reading, everybody, and best of luck out there in Gameweek 3!