Welcome to the AM’s Five Players To Watch for Gameweek 2. As long-time readers of my columns will know, my advice in seasons gone by had revolved around games that would allow you to make unlimited transfers each gameweek, selecting an entirely new 11 players if you so wished. Unfortunately Yahoo Fantasy Premier League is a glorious but distant memory, while Togga, sadly, was not able to return for this campaign which put an end to the Perfect XI column I’d been penning for the past two years.
This season I’ll be a bit more general in my advice. Whether you’re playing Official FPL, FPL or Fantrax Draft, Fantrax Salary Cap, Sky Sports, The Sun, The Telegraph or any number of other the fantasy games available to fans each season, I’ll be offering my top five picks for the week ahead, mixing “must-haves” with hunch picks and players flying under the radar. Hopefully this will offer something for everyone, whether you’re considering captain options, looking to make a transfers or pick up a free agent in draft
Before we move on to Gameweek 2, a quick look back to the opening weekend. The five players I recommended were:
- Andrew Roberton
- Diogo Jota
- Josh King
- Mohamed Salah
- Aleksandar Mitrovic
Roberton and Salah both performed as predicted, returning an assist, a clean sheet and a goal between them, plus bonus points in official FPL. Jota was rewarded an assist, at least in FPL, for being fouled for the free kick that led to Wolves’ first equalising goal. Mitrovic was a real handful against Palace and hit three shots on target, but failed to find the back of the net as Fulham lost at home. King was a disappointment, playing in a deeper role than expected and failing to have a major impact on the game. Not a bad start for the column overall, but certainly could do better. C-
Moving on to Gameweek 2, here are your fixtures:
Saturday 18 August
Cardiff v Newcastle
Everton v Southampton
Leicester v Wolves
Spurs v Fulham
West Ham v Bournemouth
Chelsea v Arsenal
Sunday 19 August
Burnley v Watford
Man City v Huddersfield
Brighton v Man Utd
Monday 20 August
Crystal Palace v Liverpool
Lots of one-sided looking match-ups this weekend, with Manchester City surely set to hammer Huddersfield at the Etihad. Spurs are rightly heavy favourites to beat London neighbours Fulham at Wembley, Manchester United should have too much for Brighton and Liverpool will fancy their chances of a comfortable win away at Crystal Palace. I also feel West Ham and Everton will beat Bournemouth and Southampton respectively. With that in mind, here are my five ...
Christian Eriksen (MF - Tottenham vs Fulham) - A key cog in the Tottenham machine, Christian Eriksen had an excellent 2017/18 season, a solid World Cup with Denmark and looked well rested in the opening fixture at St James Park while many of colleagues (*cough* Kane *cough*) looked absolutely shattered after 45 minutes. Spurs return to Wembley this weekend and will be expected to dominate possesion against the Cottagers, which should mean plenty of opportunities for the Dane to create chances from open play, corners and free-kicks. One question remains open - will the return of Kieran Trippier mean the sharing of set piece duties? We shall have to wait and see, but regardless, Eriksen is an excellent choice for gameweek 2.
Seamus Coleman (DF - Everton vs Southampton) - Who doesn’t love Seamus Coleman? The guy plays football how we all expect professionals to play, but rarely see in the modern game. 100% effort for 90 minutes in every match, charging down the wing, chasing back to defend, flying in to tackles, delivering accurate crosses and popping up with the odd goal. As I write that sentance I’m suddenly aware of the similiaries between Coleman and James Milner, albeit in different positions. But anyway, it’s been great to see the Irishman fully fit after that horrific leg injury and after a full pre-season he’ll provide renewed energy to the Toffee’s right flank. A potential clean sheet and attacking contributions beckon in a home game against a nervy Southampton side.
Marko Arnautovic (FW - West Ham vs Bournemouth) - Forget the Liverpool game. West Ham were overrun by a vastly superior team and Marko Arnautovic was starved of service throughout. What we should remember are Arnautovic’s performances in the forward role towards the end of last season and in pre-season, displaying pace, power and deadly finishing ability - a potent combination. The Hammers host Bournemouth this weekend in the sort of game they must win if the aim is to finish in the top 10 rather than scrapping their way out of a relegation battle again come May. I feel this one will end in a home win and include at least one goal for the fiery Austrian as he dominates a brittle Cherries defence.
Kenedy (MF - Newcastle @ Cardiff) - As a Spurs fan I’m quite comfortable admitting that Maurico Pochettino’s men were lucky to escape with the three points at Newcastle last weekend. The home side dominated the second half thanks to fine performances from the likes of Matt Ritchie and Kenedy. Kenedy in particular caught the eye with his quick feet and acceleration, getting in to a couple of good scoring positions before fluffing his big chance after a poor first touch. Cardiff aren’t blessed with much quality or pace so the winger could have the run of things in gameweek 2 and could be a smart differential selection - especially if he can keep his composure in front of goal.
Sergio Aguero (FW - Manchester City vs Huddersfield) - I’ve decided that the fifth player listed each week will be the 100% must-have pick, namely my captain choice (assuming you’re playing a fantasy game that allow you to select a capatin for double points.) Last week it was Mohamed Salah; this week it is Sergio Aguero. Every once in a while Aguero goes goal crazy. The Argentine has scored four or more goals in a Premier League match on three seperate occasions, more than any other player in the competition’s history, with a further five PL hattricks to his name. A home game against Huddersfield feels like the perfect occasion to improve those already-impressive statistics and so he’ll be taking the armband for my own team.
Honourable mentions: Benjamin Mendy (Man City vs Huddersfield), Bernardo Silva (Man City vs Huddersfield), Sadio Mane (Liverpool @ Palace), Alexis Sanchez (Man Utd @ Brighton), Harry Kane (Spurs v Fulham)
That’s it for Gameweek 2. Check out the Rotoworld Features page to access a host of fantastic content to get you ready for the new season. If you have any questions about a specific player or your own fantasy team then feel free to post them in the comments below or hit me on Twitter (@nikarg) and I will get back to you.
Thanks for reading - good luck to all managers this weekend.
