Fantasy Premier League: GW2 preview
AUGUST 9, 2022
The Premier League finally returned for another season over the weekend and it’s time to analyse what we saw and turn our attention to the hot FPL talking points in preparation for Gameweek 2! Thanks to all of you who read our Gameweek 1 Preview, we hope you continue to enjoy our regular FPL coverage.
Player watchlist
Ivan Perišić (5.5 million)
FIXTURES
Chelsea (A), Wolves (H), Forest (A), West Ham (A)
FORM
N/A
MINUTES
24 mins vs. Southampton (H)
STATISTICS
0.0 NPxG + xA per 90
RATING
C
As expected, Ivan Perišić’s (5.5m) minutes were limited, as he came off the bench in the 66th minute to replace Ryan Sessegnon at left wing-back. Antonio Conte will be looking to build up his match fitness and help him return to his title-winning form at Inter. However, Ryan Sessegnon had a solid performance against Southampton and managed to get himself on the scoresheet, which will give Antonio Conte a selection headache for the London Derby this weekend.
If you don’t own Ivan Perišić, I would probably avoid bringing him into your team due to his minutes risk and Chelsea will likely be a challenging fixture for Spurs. If you own him, you’ll need to ask yourself whether you are willing to keep him until he becomes a regular starter for Spurs (he is expected to, but Sessegnon might continue to provide a lot of competition).
You could bench him this week if you have another player capable of playing in your starting XI, or you could gamble and hope he starts against Chelsea. Tottenham Hotspur have some decent fixtures after the Chelsea fixture, so it might be worth holding onto him. Conversely, Ivan Perisic (5.5m) is an easy transfer to Kyle Walker (5.0m) if you want to attack City’s fixture against Bournemouth this week or Oleksandr Zinchenko (5.1m) if you think he will continue to do well.
Dejan Kulusevski (8.1 million)
FIXTURES
Chelsea (A), Wolves (H), Forest (A), West Ham (A)
FORM
MINUTES
85 mins vs. Southampton (H)
STATISTICS
0.61 NPxG + xA per 90
RATING
B
Dejan Kulusevski (8.1m) had a fantastic game against Southampton, as he managed to grab a goal and an assist. He has already gone up in price, so he won’t be an easy transfer if you’re wanting to swap out an 8.0m midfielder for him. Kulusevski looks to be holding down his spot on the right side of the front three for Spurs, but he’s usually the first attacker to be substituted during games. Richarlison (8.5m) is back from suspension so he might steal some minutes from the front three moving forward.
Dejan Kulusevski (8.1m) is a great player for FPL as he’s shown to be a consistent goal and assist threat in open play, but I think it would be worth waiting another week to bring him in to see how the front three shapes up for a difficult fixture. Particularly if you own Luis Díaz (8.0m), Bukayo Saka (8.0), Mason Mount (8.0m) or Jadon Sancho (7.5m), I don’t think you need to rush out to get him because these players are all decent options for Gameweek 2.
I’d also argue that going for a Manchester City midfielder like Phil Foden (8.0m) has the highest potential for points, given they have Bournemouth for Gameweek 2 and very good fixtures in the medium term. Although, there is always going to be some risk involved regarding rotation in the starting XI for Manchester City.
Darwin Núñez (9.0 million)
FIXTURES
Palace (H), United (A), Bournemouth (H), Newcastle (A)
FORM
MINUTES
39 mins vs. Fulham (A)
STATISTICS
3.66 NPxG + xA per 90
RATING
B
Darwin Núñez (9.0m) was not guaranteed to start last week due to the competition with Roberto Firmino (8.0m) for the striker position, evidenced by his 39-minute cameo off the bench. However, the situation has definitely changed as Firmino delivered a poor performance and Darwin made a huge impact to score Liverpool’s second goal.
I would expect him to start against Crystal Palace and he could easily get on the scoresheet again if Liverpool manages to break down Patrick Viera’s defence.
Jürgen Klopp still trusts Firmino as a vital player for the Reds, so don’t expect him to be completely phased out anytime soon though. I don’t think we need to rip out our teams to bring him in this week, particularly if you already have 2 or 3 valuable Liverpool players. Mohamed Salah (13.0m), Trent Alexander-Arnold (8.0m), Andrew Robertson (7.0m) and Luis Díaz (8.0m) are fantastic options moving forward and you definitely would not want to use up a transfer or two to get rid of them.
The 9.0m price point for Darwin is also tricky, because it will require 2 transfers in most cases, and you would likely need to downgrade a premium defender or midfielder to get him into your FPL team. It’s just not worth it after one week. I’d highly recommend saving the transfer, so you assess the situation next week and have 2 transfers up your sleeve. I don’t think this only applies to Darwin. There aren’t many situations or circumstances that I can think of that I would endorse using a transfer this week (and most definitely a -4 hit).
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Captaincy candidates
PLAYER
Erling Haaland (11.6M)
FIXTURE
Bournemouth (H)
NPxG per 90
1.12
xA per 90
0.0
RATING
A+
PLAYER
Mohamed Salah (13.0M)
FIXTURE
Crystal Palace (H)
NPxG per 90
0.51
xA per 90
0.35
RATING
A
PLAYER
Kevin de Bruyne (12.0M)
FIXTURE
Bournemouth (H)
NPxG per 90
0.11
xA per 90
0.61
RATING
B+
PLAYER
Gabriel Jesus (8.0M)
FIXTURE
Leicester (H)
NPxG per 90
0.14
xA per 90
0.0
RATING
B
PLAYER
Darwin Núñez (9.0M)
FIXTURE
Crystal Palace (H)
NPxG per 90
2.12
xA per 90
1.55
RATING
B
Erling Haaland is by far the most appealing option for Gameweek 2 captaincy, as he managed to score 2 goals against West Ham, and Manchester City host Bournemouth this weekend. He played 90 minutes and looked lively throughout the game. I don’t think Bournemouth have suddenly become a tougher fixture after their surprising win against Aston Villa, as Manchester City is a completely different proposition for the Cherries, one that you would expect them to concede. Kevin De Bruyne is a decent option if you don’t own Haaland, as he is the most likely City midfielder to start and play 90 minutes.
Mohamed Salah shouldn’t be overlooked, as he managed to score 12 points without really stealing the headlines after Liverpool’s draw against Fulham. He still manages to get into dangerous positions without playing very well. Gabriel Jesus looked dangerous last week and is a decent option against Leicester, who were disappointed to come away with a draw after conceding 2 second-half goals against Brentford. Outside options include Harry Kane (Chelsea, H), Heung-min Son (Chelsea, H) and João Cancelo (Bournemouth, H).
JAMES' TEAM SELECTION
This is the team I settled with last week. I’m happy with the 73 points and the team is looking good for Gameweek 2.
I ended up going with Andrew Robertson (7.0m) as my fourth defender, which didn’t pay off this week but I’m confident he’s going to get a lot of points during Liverpool’s great run of fixtures. I decided to go with Aaron Ramsdale (5.0m) instead of Ederson (5.5m) and save the 0.5m, so I could spend it on Pedro Neto (5.5m) instead of Leon Bailey (5.0m). This also leaves me with a spare Manchester City spot to bring in a midfielder or forward in the future. Oleksandr Zinchenko (5.1m) would’ve been a great option as well and I’m sure managers who own him are really happy with their choice.
Despite Manchester United’s poor performance and result against Brighton, I still think Marcus Rashford (6.5m) is fantastic value and I don’t regret selecting him. He gets into good positions, and he should have gotten himself on the scoresheet.
There’s a 99% chance I’ll be captaining Erling Haaland (11.6m) this week to target the Bournemouth fixture, and I’m really happy with Gabriel Jesus (8.0m) and Gabriel Martinelli (6.1m) moving forward. All the best for Gameweek 2!
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