Gameweek 2 is almost over already and we have another week’s worth of valuable information.
An exciting weekend — which included a feisty London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, and saw Manchester United slump to one of the worst league starts in their history — will end with Liverpool taking on Crystal Palace at Anfield on Monday night.
Here are my main takeaways from Gameweek 2.
Aston Villa bounced back from their opening-day defeat to Bournemouth with a 2-1 win over Everton. The standout player here was Ollie Watkins(£7.4million), who made his first start after being benched in Gameweek 1.
He registered two assists, which earned him three bonus points too, and a total score of 11 points. He also had two shots in the box and created two chances. Watkins has 25 goals and 12 assists in his last two seasons, so is clearly a proven FPL asset. He is one to keep an eye on, particularly as he has dropped in price too.
Leon Bailey (£5million) was benched in this game, which came to the surprise of many FPL managers, especially after such praise from Steven Gerrard for the Jamaican in his pre-match press conference. He came on for the last 10 minutes and is now a concern for those who own him.
Whether you should get rid of him really depends on your team. If you have a strong enough squad and can bench Bailey, that could be the play as there is no better alternative at his price point.
However, if you wanted to downgrade to a £4.5million midfielder and use that money to improve your squad, then that is also a good move. Personally, this is what I would do. It’s likely that Gerrard will start with the same formation in the next game seeing as they got the win.
Elsewhere, Arsenal continued their great start with a 4-2 win over Leicester City. Gabriel Jesus (£8million) stole the show and rewarded the patient managers who kept him with a 19-point mega haul.
I mentioned last week how important it was to be patient with good players with good fixtures. With Arsenal’s upcoming games, I would recommend buying the Brazilian imminently if you don’t own him.
Gabriel Jesus racked up a monstrous 19 points in Gameweek Two (Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
Gabriel Martinelli (£6.2million) had another great game. He looks fantastic value at £6.2m and I would look to get him into my squad as soon as possible. He scored his second in as many games and also created four chances.
Although the Arsenal defence did concede two goals, I wouldn’t panic as Leicester are a good side going forward. Mikel Arteta’s men will get a fair amount of clean sheets and their defenders, such as Oleksandr Zinchenko(£5.1million), Gabriel (£5million) and William Saliba (£4.5million), are all good value. Keep the faith with them.
As expected, Manchester City thumped newly promoted Bournemouth 4-0 and provided them with a harsh reality check.
Kevin De Bruyne (£12million) and Phil Foden (£8million) managed a goal and assist each, but I would be more interested in Foden out of the two. At only £8m (£4m cheaper than the Belgian), he is looking like a great option and seems to be more likely to be selected than Jack Grealish (£7million) and Riyad Mahrez (£7.9million).
After Erling Haaland (£11.7million) and Joao Cancelo (£7million), Foden is the best City asset, considering his value.
Leeds United look like a much better team this season and their standout player so far has been Rodrigo (£6.1million). The Spaniard scored two against Southampton and has three goals in his first two games.
He moved to centre-forward when Patrick Bamford (£7.5million) went off injured and will likely carry on playing there with Bamford out of action for now. Rodrigo is listed as a midfielder in FPL, so playing up top makes him an OOP (out of position player), which is always enticing.
I would give him one more game before deciding to bring him in as Leeds play Chelsea at home next. Their fixtures after that are great, though, and he could be a great investment.
It was Pedro Neto (£5.5million) who stood out again for Wolves as they were held to a goalless draw by Fulham. He was pretty much playing as a forward and was their most advanced player, even ahead of centre-forward Hwang Hee-chan (£6million).
The Portuguese forward really should have scored at least one after being through on goal a few times and at one point, even had an open net to shoot at.
Although Neto’s display was frustrating to watch for his FPL owners, it does show that attacking returns aren’t far away. I would definitely keep the faith with him, especially seeing as he is only £5.5million and Wolves have some really good games coming up. He also takes set pieces.
In the same match, Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.6million) missed a penalty, which was just hard luck for his owners. He was a nuisance again with four shots in the box against Wolves. Hold on to the Serbian if you have him as he should provide great value.
Don’t let the penalty miss put you off buying him either. Marco Silva reassured his owners by stating after the match that Mitrovic will retain penalty duties. He is still a viable buy.
Brentford humiliated Manchester United 4-0 in a historic win for the club. Ivan Toney (£7million) again stood out as he provided two assists and a total of nine FPL points. He is Brentford’s talisman and has goals and assists in his locker.
His team-mate Bryan Mbeumo (£6million) could also be a good pick if you can’t stretch to afford Toney. His place in the team looks to be safe. Brentford have great fixtures all the way until Gameweek 11 and Toney and Mbeumo look like great options.
Needless to say, Manchester United were terrible and have a lot of work to do. Diogo Dalot (£4.5million) and Marcus Rashford (£6.4million) are the most popular picks among United players and now is the time to cut your losses if you own them — actually, the same applies to any other United assets, especially with a game against Liverpool up next.
The game of the weekend was Chelsea 2 Tottenham 2, which was full of excitement, drama and controversy.
Reece James (£6million) proved again why he is such a valuable asset. Despite conceding two goals, he managed seven points as he scored a well-taken goal.
Marc Cucurella (£5million) also threw his hat into the ring with a start ahead of Ben Chilwell (£6million). He started at left wing-back and even got the assist for the first goal via a corner. If he manages to get regular starts, then he is a fantastic value. He can play at left wing-back and as a left-sided centre-back, and the fact he is on set pieces further heightens his appeal.
James is still the best option from Chelsea’s defence but at £1million less, Cucurella isn’t far behind.
The most interesting player from this match from an FPL perspective, though, was Ivan Perisic (£5.4million). He again started on the bench like many predicted but when he came on, provided the assist for the equalising goal from Harry Kane (£11.4million).
With Wolves at home next, he may well have earnt a start for this one and if I was a Perisic owner, I would hold this week at least. In fact, as a non-owner, I am seriously contemplating bringing him in this week myself.
(Top photo: Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Article links:(https://theathletic.com/3508114/2022/08/15/fpl-gameweek-two-review/)
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