In this article…
Finally, FPL is back and as usual, it never ever disappoints. With games beginning on Friday and finishing on Monday evening, each match was full of drama, intrigue & excitement culminating in both large and small scores for all teams.
After wishing we had chosen that player over the other and were able to spend more than the £100m budget, there is something more important each Gameweek gives us…information.
Each week I summarise all the critical information you need to know, in order to continue your march towards top spot in that mini league at work!
You can also follow our Fantasy Premier League Football Tips throughout the season for gameweekly insights and opinions.
The new season is now just over a week away, and our experts are already rolling out the first of their Premier League predictions, so now is the perfect time to get involved.
Our Premier League accumulator tips will be available every week throughout the 2024/25 season, while we will remain across all the action on the continent, the EFL and in Scotland in our various football betting tips & predictions, with fresh tips available here on Andy’s Bet Club every day.
⚔️ Gameweek 1 Review
A great start to the weekend with my three Liverpool selections starting strong.
Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) picked up a goal and assist against a disciplined Ipswich side, resulting in 14 points, combined with Diogo Jota (£7.5m) getting in on the act with a goal of his own (8 pts). Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) was certainly worth more than his price tag, picking up a clean sheet, two bonus points and an overall fantastic performance.
Pedro Porro (£5.5m) scored a fantastic goal, but after Tottenham conceded in what was a one-sided affair, he remained on 9 pts. Gabriel (6pts), Pope (9pts) and Isak (5 pts) rounded out the rest of the points with Son Heung-Min as captain not performing to anywhere close to his best.
Overall, a very strong start to the season.
✅ The Best 3 Transfers IN for Gameweek 2
🏴 Trent Alexander-Arnold – Liverpool (£7.0m, 30.0%)
The very first recommended player pick in last weeks article! Yes, we highlighted he is expensive, but we also mentioned you have to pay for quality in this game, and that is how he performed against Ipswich.
Solid defensively and mas expected, pushed forward high up the pitch which really should have earned him an assist if Diogo Jota finished as expected. His delivery is second to none and though finishing with 8 points for the first gameweek is more than respectable, he has some monster scores on route and almost secured one in the very first gameweek.
🇸🇪 Alexander Isak – Newcastle (£8.5m, 59.0%)
Yes, I agree 5 points does not sound much, but hear me out.
Isak and Newcastle played 75 minutes while down to ten men, blunting their real attacking prowess at home against Southampton. Despite this, Isak was the main man as usual and I always had confidence he would register a return, this time only an assist.
His next four fixtures see him play Bournemouth, Tottenham, Wolves, and Fulham, all of which conceded in their opening match, and in a gameweek which saw many Haaland owners opt to captain the Swede over the Norwegian robot, this certainly outlines his quality that I have no doubt you will see over the coming weeks.
🏴 Morgan Rogers – Aston Villa (£5.0m, 9.0%)
The new boy on the block performed well, very well indeed. Perhaps we should have expected this with his quite brilliant pre-season form of three goals in seven matches …
He was dynamic, direct, and dangerous on the break against a fairly solid West Ham backline. Though he only scored 2 points, it’s his set of fixtures from Gameweek 3 to 9 that requires thoughtful consideration to include him within your squad. At a cheap price of just £5m, he is also an enabler for you to balance your squad.
❌ The Best 3 Transfers OUT for Gameweek 2
🏴 Jarell Quansah – Liverpool (£4.5m, 5.5%)
Before Gameweek one, we all thought we had found a cheap defender that played for a quality side and was set to play most games. Well…erm, maybe not.
He started the game I thought fairly well but Arne Slot the Liverpool manager did not concur with myself, and he was hooked at half time for Konate. This afforded Liverpool better physicality in winning duels which to be fair to Slot, helped them win the game.
In summary, he could now highly likely not be starting the next game and for how long does that continue I am not sure. I would suggest to find the £0.5 for a slight upgrade or if you’re opting for the same price, Timo Livramento (Newcastle), Antonee Robinson (Fulham) and Lewis Hall (Newcastle) are all good alternatives.
🏴 Jordan Pickford – Everton (£5.0m, 15.0%)
Our second correct pick of pre-season was bang on the money. Though last year’s top goalkeeper in terms of points, this season will be the complete opposite.
Losing 3-0 to Brighton at home was not the start Everton imagined and to compound matters, the fact their 39-year-old defender, and FPL legend, Ashley Young was sent off; Everton are already in trouble.
Next week they are away to Tottenham and honestly, it could be a lot worse. Throw in the poor backline in front of him, and the fact Pickford is often liable to a clanger or two, do not expect this man to amass points anytime soon.
🇺🇦 Vitalii Mykolenko – Everton (£4.5m, 9.0%)
The second of our Everton players in this section. I have Everton pegged for relegation and you do not want to own a defender that concedes goals, has no clean sheets or any room to progress up the pitch for attacking returns. Though cheap and a slight enabler, I currently see no upside in the defender, either move to an alternative or reduce to a £4m option, to save funds: Valentín Barco (Brighton), Wout Faes (Leicester) or Yerson Mosquera (Wolves) all priced at £4m are suitable options.
Top Tip – As it is only the beginning of the season, be careful in making kneejerk, quick decisions on your overall team and players. Ideally you have set your team up for more than just the 1st Gameweek, so fear not. If you are adamant on moving that player out, ensure it is a calculated move for more longevity.
🦸 Gameweek 2 Captaincy Selections
🇳🇴 Erling Haaland – Manchester City (£15.0m, 52.5%)
There are two real stand out captain selections for GW2, which importantly are both playing at home.
The first is non-other than the scoring robot that is Erling Haaland. With what I thought was a slightly underwhelming performance against a very competent Chelsea performance, Manchester City will want to start as they mean to go on at the Etihad.
Haaland’s goal scoring record is ridiculous and most managers, including me, are expecting him to AT LEAST replicate that this season. Often, he is a flat track bully meaning punishing the lower teams … and heavily.
I am expecting a huge score with a hattrick and assist at the lower end of what he could achieve, and as a non-Haaland owner, I am more than worried.
🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah – Liverpool (£12.5m, 35.0%)
The alternative to Haaland for Gameweek two is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who showed that he could be back to his consistent best with a fantastic performance resulting in a goal, assist and 14 points last time out.
Next, he plays Brentford at home, whom he has a great record against – four goals and one assist in the last three meetings. Playing at Anfield will only increase the chances of him racking up a high score, with Liverpool always controlling possession and conceding very few; they had the best home record of any team last season.
With Salah already proving the doubters wrong, I am sure he will continue this for GW2 and is already my captain, which will not change (not even a consideration).
| Brentford | Salah(points) |
| Feb 2024 | 13 |
| 2023-Nov | 16 |
| 2023-May | 11 |
❓Top Gameweek 2 Differentials (<15%)
🇩🇪 Kai Havertz – Arsenal (£8.0m, 15.0%)
The Arsenal attacker was slightly forgotten about pre-season, though I am not sure why. So much of the play goes through him and although this season he has changed position from a midfielder to forward, nothing has changed in him collecting points.
In Gameweek one he scored a goal, assisted another, and got all three bonus (12 pts) to cement his importance in the side. Arsenal have a few tough fixtures with Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Man City in the next four but Havertz is definitely an option to consider for your attacking setup.
🏴 James Maddison – Tottenham (£7.5m, 5.0%)
With a great pre-season for Son and Kulusevski, all the attention was firmly off James Maddison. At the tail end of last season, he did not perform well and quite possibly this was on the minds of FPL managers, including mine.
His ex-club, Leicester was the perfect game for him to remind managers what he can do and at times he commanded the midfield, floating balls with precision to each wing and assisting Porro for the Tottenham goal (5 total pts).
Yes, they drew 1-1 with Leicester but they should have scored four and I am only talking about the first half! Over the coming Gameweeks, Tottenham will click and connect better with Maddison at the helm…keep an eye out.
🇧🇷 Rodrigo Muniz – Fulham (£6.0m, 7.0%)
One of the first picks in my squad this season, largely down to his small cost and last season display in a distinctly average Fulham side, a 7% owned forward who can score goals and plays two of the three newly promoted sides next.
Muniz has a quite frankly monstrous upside and I want to be part of it. I foresee Muniz tallying up a minimum of three returns in his next three fixtures and when you stack him up against another viable alternative at the same price, he is a clear pick in that bracket.
👁️ FPL Veteran’s Vision and Verdict
After a solid start to the season for me, I am not looking to make any transfers currently as it stands. I built my team at a minimum for the first two gameweeks and you must trust that process, even as tempting as it is.
If you have a player that is possibly injured ensure you know the extent of the injury as often in FPL things change at a rapid pace, they could even end up playing.
If you like your plan and current squad, run with it for Gameweek two, remember you can bank up to five Free Transfers so use them sparingly.
If you have a player about to drop in value do not worry, players fluctuate, and I expect you will also have a player or two that goes up too to balance it out.
Conclusion
For my final Gameweek two team and football insights/analysis throughout the 2024-2025 season, follow me on X @FplVeteran_ for daily fantasy football content.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
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