FPL Gameweek 2 Preview - All You Need to Know

Greetings all, and welcome to our full Gameweek 2 preview. Which, of course, is also our first preview of the season. How exciting!

How are we all feeling? 

I hope the answer is ‘completely and utterly calm, Joe – thanks for asking.’ Because that’s exactly how you should be feeling. It’s only been one week, after all. 

Did I feel completely and utterly calm, when I saw Semenyo rack up 15pts, then Rogers – who I chose over him for my own team – do absolutely nothing against Villa? 

I did not!

But… do as I say, not as I do. 

It has only been one week, and – whatever happened – it’s not that bad. Yet. 

On that cheery note, let’s crack on with the preview!

Gameweek 1 Recap

James wrote a brilliant recap of everything that happened in Gameweek 1. It runs through each game, and gives you all the key FPL takeaways – who actually played, who looked good/rubbish, how the overall teams looked, and loads more. 

I’d highly encourage you to read all those reports here. 

The post also contained plenty of good advice for Gameweek 2. 

Again, I’d recommend reading the whole thing – it’s worth it – but here were the main takeaways:

• Don’t panic. It’s been one week
• Don’t make transfers, unless you really need to fix a major problem
• Don’t buy Reijnders (specific, I know, but it’s emblematic of GW 1 overreactions in general, and James gives lots of good reasoning).

Latest Transfers and Injuries

At the time of writing, these are the biggest injury and transfer-related news stories (which are actually important in Gameweek 2):

• Havertz is injured. He wasn’t FPL-relevant himself, and Gyokores already seemed like the starter up top, but at least this does confirm it. More meaningfully perhaps, it also meant that…
• Arsenal bought Eze! Obviously, don’t buy himself yet. I do think he’ll end up as the starter on the left though, so – if he’s still around 6.5 by then – he’s a tasty target got when Arsenal’s fixtures turn
• The above also makes me less confident in Palace’s other forwards – Sarr and Mateta. They just worked so brilliantly as a trio, and Eze was the most creative (and best) of the three. I want no part of them for at least the next couple of weeks, where their fixtures aren’t great anyway
• Speaking of Arsenal, Ben White might be injured yet again. In which case, Timber will be back on the menu – keep an eye out 
• Konsa is suspended this week, after his idiotic red card. Adjust your lineups accordingly
• Gvardiol is back in training. I continue to want no part of Ait-Nouri, and I’d be nervous about taking a City centre-back too

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, we won’t dwell too long on the upcoming matchups this time out. 

That being said, this is the perfect opportunity for me to mention our new darling – the Full 90 FPL fixture ticker.

We spent hours on it across the offseason, and it’s now the number one tool we’re using to plan out all our own transfers. 

It’s completely free of charge, and you can check it out right here. 

Best Attacking Fixtures

It’s not a huge surprise to see Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool here, as we all loaded up on them prior to GW1. Start all your Chelsea players again, even after their disappointing performance against Palace. 

Bournemouth also come storming in, after playing a very hard fixture against Liverpool in GW1. This is one run neither of us wanted to miss out on, hence grabbing their assets in our original teams. 

Villa also appear with a pretty steady, if not spectacular set of fixtures. They looked rubbish against Newcastle – but, again, don’t panic. 

Last… and indeed least, even with a good run I would advise avoiding Newcastle. They didn’t look very effective against Villa, and – unfortunately for them – play Liverpool this week.

Best Defensive Fixtures

Pretty similar to the attacking ticker, overall. 

You can start defenders from every team on this list in Gameweek 2, with confidence. That includes Liverpool away to Newcastle’s attack, which looked pretty toothless without a certain wayward Swede up top. 

The only different team is Forest, taking Newcastle’s position. They were unlucky not to clean against Brentford in GW1, and – Arsenal aside – are startable in all the other upcoming games.

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.

• Reijnders – No. See the various reasons why not here

• Semenyo – Yes. I (Joe) had him in all my preseason drafts… then swapped him for Rogers at the last minute. Sigh. He’s great, and so are his fixtures

• Etikite – No. Liverpool did just bang in four goals, but now they have Newcastle and Arsenal – two of the best defences in the league. Wait for his better run from GW4 onwards

• Wood – Yes. Excellent start, coming off an excellent season (even if he did significantly outperform his xG). Four of his next five fixtures are pretty/very favourable

• Haaland – Yes, in theory… but you’d need to hit him in for the Spurs game. I absolutely love this as a fixture for him, but also… you probably shouldn’t be hitting in GW1

• Ballard – Who had a Sunderland defender racking up 17pts in GW1? I know I did. Come on – all the signs were there. (But, seriously – no, don’t buy him. He’s still 4.5, and there are lots of more reliable 4.5’s out there). 

• Kudus – No. He looked excellent in week 1, but A) it was Burnley, and B) he plays City away this week. Check back in for GW3

• Richarlison – No. Two great goals, but he’s just too much of a minutes/rotation risk with Solanke lurking

• Ait Nouri – Maybe. I wouldn’t, because who the hell knows when he’ll actually start, but you can’t argue with the fixtures

• Cash – Yes, if you’re specifically looking for a 4.5. Villa looked solid defensively, he was particularly strong (and got DefCon points), and they definitely have a nice defensive fixture run

Should I Sell?

I know, I know – we’re just looking at these for fun right now, and you shouldn’t be making any transfers yet, blah blah blah. 

But still… I love looking at the Most-Sold players after GW1. 

Really?! You spent all that time figuring out your team, and you’re binning Cole Palmer or Ollie Watkins after one blank?!

It just makes me chuckle.

Anyway, if you are just playing for fun, here are quick takes on the most-sold players right now.

• Wirtz – Maybe. I wouldn’t have had him for these opening fixtures anyway, and Newcastle then Arsenal back-to-back is tricky. At 8.5, I’d be fine swapping him with Semenyo for a couple of weeks, say, then getting him back for Burnley in GW4 if he’s looking good

• Gvardiol – Maybe. He’s back in training… but, City’s defence is such a logjam that I’d be tempted to bin him anyway. I much prefer Cucarella at 6.0, say, or saving some money with Munoz at 5.5

• Konsa – Maybe. Personally I’m going to try and hold him, even through his suspension, since Villa’s fixtures are good for a while now. If you’re planning an early wildcard though, I’m fine binning him for Cash, say

• Isak – Yes. Absolutely no idea what’s happening with him, and there are so many other good forward options 

• Joao Pedro – No. The same Delap-related worries as before exist, but he has West Ham away now, which is just lovely 

• Bowen – Yes. I love him in real life, and he’s usually good despite a crap team around him, but his fixtures are terrible  
• Frimpong – No. I don’t love the early sub, obviously, but I wouldn’t be close to bailing on him yet
• Marmoush – Yes. I don’t want any part of City’s winger situation – you’ve got no idea who’s going to start from week to the other 
• Palmer – No. You can’t possibly give up on him yet, and doubly-so before West Ham away
• Watkins – No. Villa’s attack did look terrible, but Brentford’s defence was also rubbish in GW1
• Gyokores – No. He’s about to play Leeds at home, for God’s sake!

Captaincy Corner – Gameweek 2

It’s an easy one for me, this week – Haaland.

If you just watched MotD, it probably looked like Spurs dominated Burnley on Saturday. They did not. 

Burnley cut through them time and again, and just couldn’t finish anything off… because they’re Burnley. It looked like the same old Spurs defence to me, with Romero in particular being absolutely all over the place. 

I think Haaland is going to have a field day. 

And, for the non-Haaland owners among you:

• Saka vs Leeds is the tastiest combo of all, and a very safe pick. He was completely shut down against Man U, but I’d be shocked if he doesn’t return here

• Palmer vs West Ham feels higher-risk, higher-reward. Palmer is in my team, but I’d struggle to fully back him after not only GW 1, but… the whole second half of last season

• Watkins vs Brentford also feels slightly risky, after Villa’s performance in GW1. But there’s also a world of difference right now between Brentford’s defence and Newcastle’s

• Salah is… well, he’s Salah. He’s always a safe choice. Newcastle away is a horrible matchup, but he’s as good a bet – week in, week out – to get a goal anyway

In short, I’m very glad I have Haaland this week!

If I didn’t, I’d definitely captain Saka. 

If I didn’t have him either, I’d probably just be boring and cap Salah. 

Palmer and Watkins are your more fun alternatives. They just also feel significantly more likely to blank than any of the other three. 

Final Thoughts

Well, I sincerely hope you enjoyed this Gameweek 2 preview. Maybe you even learned something – a man can dream!

Personally, I’m very happy to be back in the swing of things. 

My own Gameweek 1 could’ve been so much better, if I’d just taken Semenyo over Rogers (did I mention I picked Rogers over Semenyo? I think it might have come up already). 

But, it’s still a lot of fun to have FPL back in our lives. And the start of the season is always particularly enjoyable, with all the overreactions and whatnot. 

(Not me, though. I didn’t spend my entire Sunday cursing Morgan Rogers’ name. Not this guy). 

Thanks for reading everybody, and best of luck in Gameweek 2!