Most FPL managers went without Manchester City & Manchester United options in GW1 given their lack of fixtures; however most are trying to work out how to shoe horn them in now.
City open with a difficult trip to Wolves, however United’s home fixture with Crystal Palace is one of the more appealing picks of the weekend.
Chelsea’s fixture with Liverpool is a tricky one for FPL managers, with most owning at least one player from both sides.
Arsenal and Everton on paper have favourable games and the likes of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Richarlison are real captaincy options this week.
Everton vs. West Brom: Richarlison
Price: 8.5
Everton opened their campaign with an impressive win at Spurs, whilst the Baggies return to the top flight didn’t go to plan, suffering a 3-0 home loss to Leicester City.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lucas Digne got the points in GW1; however the underlying stats of Richarlison were impressive and he really should have scored at least one.
The move from midfield to forward reduces his appeal and although he is £1.5m more expensive than Calvert-Lewin, he is more consistent and the Brazilian has history for starting campaigns well.
Other options
Lucas Digne (6.0)
Dominic Calvert Lewin (7.6)
Leeds United vs. Fulham: Mateusz Klich
Price: 5.5
Two of the three promoted sides meet on Saturday and although both suffered opening day defeats, the performances couldn’t be more contrasting.
Leeds United gave the champions Liverpool a real scare at Anfield, only losing to a late penalty, whilst Fulham were convincingly beaten by Arsenal.
Going forward Leeds United looked really good; however r ecord signing Rodrigo is likely to be among the substitutes once again here.
Midfield options from Leeds could be the way forward then with Jack Harrison and Mateusz Klich both opening their accounts for the season at Anfield.
Other options
Jack Harrison (5.5)
Stuart Dallas (4.5)
Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace: Bruno Fernandes
Price: 10.5
Manchester United open their campaign off against Crystal Palace on Saturday & are big favourites to secure all three points.
Palace are defensively solid, but have serious injuries at the back meaning more than one United asset could prove to be a good option.
Realistically any from Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Antony Martial and Bruno Fernandes are good picks and there is no real wrong choice.
As we saw on the opening day though, penalty takers are better picks and given United’s record of receiving them, Fernandes appears to be the number one choice.
Other options
Marcus Rashford (9.5)
Anthony Martial (9.0)
Arsenal vs. West Ham United: Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
Price: 12.0
We picked him last week & it’s hard to look past the Arsenal captain once again here given the favourable fixture.
A positional change to midfield only increases the Arsenal captain’s appeal, meaning higher returns for goals as well as clean sheet points up for grabs.
West Ham were poor against Newcastle and anything other than a comfortable home win would be a real surprise.
Other options
Willian (8.1)
Gabriel (5.0)
Southampton vs. Tottenham: Danny Ings
Price (8.5)
Both Southampton and Tottenham suffered 1-0 defeats in their season opening fixtures last weekend and I wouldn’t be against having no options in this one.
The pair also had mid-week fixtures with Spurs travelling to Bulgaria in the Europa League and the Saints suffering a disappointing home defeat to Brentford in the EFL Cup.
Danny Ings scored the winner when the pair met last term and looks a good shout here.
Other options
Matt Doherty (6.0)
James Ward-Prowse (6.0)
Newcastle United vs. Brighton: Matt Ryan
Price 4.5
Both matches between the two sides finished 0-0 last season and another scoreless fixture wouldn’t be a shock on Sunday.
Newcastle looked defensively solid against West Ham, whilst Brighton conceded three against Chelsea, however they came via individual mistakes and world class finishing.
Matt Ryan is the better pick of the two keepers for the season, especially as Karl Darlow is only starting due to injuries and is bemusingly 0.5m more expensive than the Brighton shot stopper.
Other options
Jamal Lewis (4.5)
Tariq Lamptey (4.5)
Chelsea vs. Liverpool: Timo Werner
Price: 9.5
We’ve gone for a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday and it’s a tough game to suggest FPL options for.
Timo Werner looked dangerous against Brighton on his debut and reportedly rejected Liverpool in favour of the Blues.
Liverpool were defensively poor in their victory over Leeds United and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the German opened his account as a result.
Other options
Reece James (5.0)
Sadio Mane (11.9)
Leicester City vs. Burnley: Timothy Castagne
Price: 5.5
Leicester City eased to a 3-0 win at West Brom last weekend with debutant Timothy Castagne opening the scoring for the Foxes.
Castagne was an attacking full-back during his time in Italy with Atalanta and appears to have carried that into the Premier League.
Burnley have had a very quiet window and didn’t have a fixture in GW1. On paper it’s a home victory and another clean sheet for Leicester looks likely.
Other options
Jamie Vardy (10.0)
James Justin (4.5)
Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United: Jack Grealish
Price: 7.0
Aston Villa were another side without a GW1 fixture and they open their campaign off at home to Sheffield United.
The Blades looked very poor in their defeat to Wolves last week and could find it difficult again here.
Villa captain Jack Grealish signed a new long term deal during the week and having recently made his England debut, he will be desperate to start the campaign off well.
Other options
Matty Cash (5.0)
John Egan (5.0)
Wolves vs. Manchester City: Raheem Sterling
Price: 11.5
Wolves won both meetings between the two last term, recovering from a two goal deficit in the home fixture and City will have their work cut out here.
Raheem Sterling scored twice in the defeat last season and looks to be Manchester City’s best option, however Kevin de Bruyne is another who will be highly owned.
Adama Traore caused City all manor of problems last year, however he is likely to be playing deeper this term, meaning he has less appeal.
Raul Jiminez has an incredible record against the divisions better sides and he assisted two and scored one against City last year.
Other options
Raul Jiminez (8.5)
Kevin de Bruyne (11.5)
GW2 Dream Team:
(4-4-2): Ryan; Gabriel, Digne, Dallas, Castagne; Aubameyang (C), Fernandes, Rashford, Grealish; Vardy, Richarlison
GW1 Dream Team
(4-5-1): McCarthy (2); Fredericks (0), Tierney (6), Egan (0), Robertson (4); Aubameyang (14)(C), Salah (20), Mane (2), Saint-Maximin (3), Son (2); Werner (5)
Total points: 58
GW1 Average: 50
