Fantasy Football tips: Best Gameweek 2 picks, captain choices and price changes

Abraham Smith

How was Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 1 for you? Whether you’re loyal to Harry Kane or trying to contain your complacency about captain Alexsandar Mitrovic, the time for absolution has mercifully come.

At least that’s the theory. In Act Two, watch Kane prove his class against Chelsea, and Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah – your sensible newcomers, of course – fail against opponents reincarnated as resilient underdogs with vigor.

As the new season’s twists and turns only add to the mystery of the dark art of successful crafting, The sports news will not be stopped from offering some ideas that might help.

After a value option for your valuable free transfer? Want a captain that isn’t Haaland or Salah? Take a break from staring at your squad and consider these suggestions.

MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo in Fantasy Premier League: price, position and how many points Man Utd star could get

The best Gameweek 2 picks

Robert Sanchez (4.5)

Brighton’s Sanchez sits in the sweet spot between goalkeepers who are busy enough to pick up points for saves and protected enough not to tend to concede a points-threatening streak.

The Seagulls’ excellent start at Manchester United on Sunday provided a good example of this: Sanchez made five saves – two more than the number required for an extra point – but avoided losing a point by missing twice.

Spain international Sanchez also bagged a bonus for being one of the best players in the opener at Old Trafford, despite reminders of his entertaining penchant for self-sabotage. Brighton have a reasonable string of games ahead of them, avoiding every team that finished in the top six last season through October.

William Saliba (4.5)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was impressed, as were fans and pundits by 21-year-old Saliba’s performance at Crystal Palace, where the debutant was part of a secure defensive display that helped the Gunners ease the pressure on their way to a 2-0 win to withstand.

Saturday’s visit to Leicester is Arsenal’s only game of the rest of the month against a side who finished in the top half of the Premier League in 2021/22 and United – hardly an intimidating prospect as things stand – are the only top-12 side out of the last season they will face each other in September.

It will be worth watching if Arteta decides to rotate the youngster but Saliba already looks like one of the strongest potential budget signings at the back.

Gabriel Martinelli (6.1)

When prolific midfielders aren’t exactly gold dust in the FPL, Martinelli was worth his weight in points for managers who invested in the budget Arsenal prodigy before the action started.

A goal conceded and Arsenal’s opening goal of the season after 20 minutes gave the Brazil international a start as promising as his side enjoyed on the pitch.

A popular pick prior to the start of the season, Martinelli has now been picked by more than 25 percent of Fantasy Premier League managers.

MORE: Arsenal team news ahead of Matchweek 2 game vs Leicester City

Erling Haaland (11.6)

There are no prizes for originality here: players who have been waiting to see how Haaland fare on his Premier League debut could have cursed their decisions as they watched the blasphemous machine in the 2-0 win at West Ham both goals scored by Manchester City.

City now have a potentially excellent run of games in August, starting with a visit to newly-promoted Bournemouth on Saturday, followed by a trip to Newcastle – victims of a 9-0 aggregate result against the reigning champions last season – and home games against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest.

MORE: Explain every Erling Haaland goal celebration

FPL Gameweek 2 Captain Selection

Kevin de Bruyne (12.0)

Points provider De Bruyne set up Haaland’s second goal at the London Stadium and scored the biggest home win of any City player in the FPL in 2021/22.

De Bruyne scored 15 goals and provided eight assists in 30 Premier League games last season. He’s another big hitter who’s likely to shine in City’s forgiving streak of games.

As a midfielder, De Bruyne is worth a point more than a striker when it comes to goals and goals conceded. He’s also relatively ubiquitous by Pep Guardiola’s selection standards, completing the minimum 60 minutes with two points in each of City’s last five league games.

MORE: Fantasy Premier League: Can you add De Bruyne to your team and still have Ronaldo, Lukaku & Salah?

Mohammed Salah (13.0)

Some FPL players are happy to give Salah the captaincy for much of the season, without renewed consideration, and his performance in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at Fulham, where he became the first player to score on the opening day in six consecutive opening weekends of the Premier League, batting suggest that this might be wise.

Salah, who has the potential advantage of being classified as a midfielder, has seven goals and six assists in 10 games against Crystal Palace, who travel to Anfield on Monday after suffering a 10-game defeat in the encounter.

Supporters of an armband residency for Salah are unlikely to be dissuaded by the fact that Liverpool visit United a week later – the scene of a hat-trick for Salah in 2021/22 – before Bournemouth and Newcastle are hosted.

MORE: Liverpool team news for Matchweek 2 game vs Crystal Palace

Erling Haland

Only pious adversaries would deny Haaland could hit a hatful against Bournemouth if he continues the form he showed against the Hammers, not to mention his fearsomely productive stint at former club Borussia Dortmund.

There is always a risk of rotation with Guardiola, especially against opponents he calmly considers less dangerous. There’s also a sense that Haaland is keen to further build on his already menacing momentum against a team that finished runners-up in the second division last season.

However, as Kanes Blank showed for Tottenham in their 4-1 home win against Southampton, there is no guarantee of picking the strongest players, even if their teams sprint to victory.

Darwin Nunez (9.0)

While it would be silly to suggest Nunez will score regularly in the Premier League, his goal, assist and bonus point over the course of a 39-minute cameo at Craven Cottage had his managers expecting more against Palace.

Reds manager Jurgen Klopp will certainly be tempted to make the same change he made in the 51st minute on Saturday by replacing Roberto Firmino with Nunez from the start in week two.

Nunez is a more affordable option for players looking to add him this week and is currently ranked as the player most likely to score according to the FPL’s threat index.

Fantasy Premier League price changes – which FPL players have been up and down?

Kane and Haaland started the season as players priced at 11.5 but they’ve gone in opposite directions by 0.1 – reflecting the reported number of around 700,000 managers who have signed the Norwegian phenomenon since Sunday, with England’s 500,000 Captain should have deleted.

Whilst it is generally advisable to wait until just before the transfer deadline each week when making changes, signings can sometimes become urgent due to price changes being announced on a daily basis.

Martinelli and Oleksandr Zinchenko are both up 0.1 in price, but teammates Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe are both down 0.1.

Aleksandar and Dejan Kulusevski have also risen in price in the first half of the week, while Marcos Alonso and Keinan Davis, the Aston Villa forward who has struggled to be fully fit since pre-season, have fallen.

player GW1 price GW2 price
Erling Haland 11.5 11.6
Harry Kane 11.5 11.4
Dejan Kulusevski 8.0 8.1
Eddie Nketiah 7.0 6.9
Anthony Martial 7.0 6.9
Aleksandar Mitrovic 6.5 6.6
Gabriel Martinelli 6.0 6.1
Emile Smith Rowe 6.0 5.9
Marco Alonso 5.5 5.4
Nonean Davis 5.5 5.4
Oleskandr Zinchenko 5.0 5.1

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