There were mixed emotions across Gameweek 1 of the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season.
Those who were bullish on Manchester City players were rewarded, while Liverpool’s forwards and Arsenal’s defenders offered safe routes to points. Those who made bold moves for Sunderland players were also left smiling come Saturday evening.
Managers averaged 54 points across the opening round of fixtures and many will be hoping for more during the upcoming gameweek, with some standout matches on the horizon.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s FPL squad for Gameweek 2.
Goalkeepers
Looking only at Gameweek 2 fixtures, cheap goalkeepers could bring huge returns. Burnley’s Martin Dúbravka (£4.0m) is already an incredibly popular back-up stopper in FPL and the Slovakian started the 3–0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. He’s in 34.5% teams at the time of writing and is expected to feature between the sticks when the Clarets host Sunderland on Saturday.
Djordje Petrović (£4.5m) endured a difficult start to his Bournemouth career as he travelled to Anfield on his competitive debut, with the Cherries ultimately losing 4–2 despite a spirited second-half comeback. However, the Serbia international hosts Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend and is highly unlikely to concede four, with a clean sheet possible against the struggling Old Gold.
Despite Petrović’s higher price point, Dúbravka is the leading choice in goal for Gameweek 2.
Defenders
With Manchester City hosting Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool visiting Newcastle United, there isn’t great clean sheet potential among several of the top defences. However, Arsenal’s home clash with Leeds United means their assets will be heavily targeted, and Gabriel (£6.0m) remains the leading candidate given his attacking potential from set pieces.
Opting for cheap enablers in defence might be crucial to success in Gameweek 2, which is why we have chosen another Bournemouth defender in Marcos Senesi (£4.5m). Their backline hardly looked watertight against Liverpool but they should have an easier time of things against Wolves.
Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m) is another cost-effective option. The Manchester United defender will travel to Fulham on Sunday having performed well in his left wing back role up against Bukayo Saka last time out. The Red Devils impressed in defeat to Arsenal and head to Craven Cottage with a strong record, winning their last eight visits.
Newly-promoted defenders come in handy for Gameweek 2, with Burnley’s Maxime Estève (£4.0m) and Sunderland’s Omar Alderete (£4.0m) residing on our bench. The former is a nailed-on starter and the latter might have worked his way into the XI after assisting from the bench last weekend.
Midfielders
Cole Palmer (£10.5m) is our most expensive midfield pick and already finds himself in over half of all squads. While he underwhelmed against Crystal Palace in Chelsea’s opener, he should get more joy against West Ham United on Friday night considering the dismal defensive record of the Irons. Given he’s on penalties and normally at the heart of things for the Blues, we expect a return at the London Stadium.
Our cheap defence has allowed us room for Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) at home to Leeds. Much like Palmer, the Arsenal winger wasn’t at his electrifying best on the opening weekend, but he remains his side’s most likely route to goal. He’s the perfect captain choice for Gameweek 2.
Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) is a strong captaincy shout, too, with the Portuguese midfielder in typically creative mood last time out. He produced five chances for teammates and should benefit from playing with more clinical forwards this term. He’s also a shoo-in for defensive contribution points.
Tijjani Reijnders (£5.6m) announced himself to the Premier League with a dazzling debut at Molineux, scoring and assisting in an all-action midfield display. Having already been tipped as one of the FPL bargains of the season, he made good on his potential with a ten-point return. He’s now gone up in price but could quickly become an essential Manchester City pick.
Another cheap midfielder who earned plenty of plaudits during Gameweek 1 is Elliot Anderson (£5.5m). He accumulated six points in Nottingham Forest’s 3–1 win over Brentford, managing an excellent assist. He visits Crystal Palace this weekend and could be in for another return.
Forwards
Like his new clubmate Reijnders, Man City’s Erling Haaland (£14.5m) was devastating in his first outing of the term. He bagged himself a brace and 13 points to reward those who backed him over Mohamed Salah—with managers who owned both celebrating an impressive haul. He has a good goalscoring record against Tottenham despite City’s struggles in the fixture, netting four in six matches.
Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) underwhelmed in Gameweek 1 as Aston Villa’s clash with Newcastle ended goalless, but a trip to his former side Brentford should yield a better outcome. Watkins has eight goal contributions in as many Premier League meetings with the Bees, who looked incredibly vulnerable at Forest last Sunday.
Marc Guiu (£4.5m) didn’t earn any minutes for Sunderland against West Ham but remains our budget option in attack.
Best FPL Gameweek 2 Team
When Is the FPL Gameweek 2 Deadline?
Due to Chelsea’s upcoming visit to West Ham, the Gameweek 2 FPL deadline is Friday, Aug. 22 at 6.30 p.m. BST (1.30 p.m. ET, 10.30 a.m. PT). That means all transfers and team changes must be made prior to this time.
After this deadline passes, managers will be able to begin making changes for Gameweek 3.
READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND GOSSIP
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Best Team to Pick for FPL Gameweek 2.