Congratulations, you made it through the first gameweek and hopefully you’re feeling back into FPL like us. I’ll admit that picking the gameweek 1 squad was pretty stressful; it felt like a lot of unknowns with new managers, transfer business not done and clubs having limited time to work on a pre-season after the international tournaments over summer.
Here, only what will be a regular piece, we assess what we learnt from the previous gameweek and some early thoughts on the gameweek ahead.
We will deal with what we see are hot topics but would love for this to be a chance for you to get your questions answered so if you have any FPL questions you want answered, message @FPLwithStu on X and we’ll look to give you an answer.
What to do about Chelsea players?
Image source: BBC Sport
Before the games kicked off, I thought Chelsea attackers would be a good buy. The reason for this is they looked an attacking team in their pre-season games, Enzo Maresca’s record at Leicester, his previous tutelage under Pep and Chelsea’s performances last year, I was anticipating a fairly open team that would look to control games with possession.
The big downside to having Chelsea assets in your team is the same reason they are making all the headlines – they have a huge squad and seem to be unable to stop buying.
I’m not going to go into the pro’s and con’s of this “strategy” of theirs of buying up every young player who has potential that they can get their hands on. However, what this has meant is they have a wealth of talented players but an overinflated squad which doesn’t seem to have cohesion. For an FPL manager the problem is simple – who in that big squad will you pick and will they get played?
My observations of the match against Man City was that Nkunku, who I thought was a potential bargain given his quality, may not be the FPL asset I had thought. He played wide left instead of his favoured number 10 position and got taken off before 60 minutes for new signing Pedro Neto (who looked quite good when he came on). Competition for any of the attacking places is a bit ridiculous and while it was reassuring Nkunku started, it’s concerning he came off so early.
Cole Palmer looked sharp and besides Neto, was Chelsea’s brightest spark. Saying that, Chelsea always looked under City’s control and as they say; City had another gear if needed.
Chelsea will fare better against lesser teams so it’s too early to panic sell but who is making the team is going to be something to keep an eye on. They have a decent fixture run ahead, starting with Wolves away next game.
Are Liverpool players already essential?
Image source: BBC Sport
I’ve seen a lot of chat from mainstream football commentators and FPL content makers alike, talking up Liverpool. Let’s get it straight, they won 2-0 against a newly promoted side.
I watched the game, Ipswich looked good for 0-0 at half time and it didn’t look like the easy fixture everyone said it would be. Saying that, Liverpool’s attack started to click much more in the second half and they deserved the win. There were a lot of interesting FPL takeaways too.
Salah continues to be a great FPL asset despite the change in manager/system and his age. He’s going to get returns and the tactics Liverpool played suited Salah in that he could isolate fullbacks and get into shooting or assisting positions. I would say that he operated a bit wider and may turn out to assist more than previously, but time will tell. However, is he better than Saka who is £2.5m cheaper? It’s not clear cut and with nearly identical performances in GW 1 (1 goal + 1 assist) and a similar role as key attacking threat on the right of a front 3 and their team’s penalty taker, there’s not much separating them yet.
Diogo Jota is one to consider bringing in if you didn’t already have him. I’m a fan of Jota but as an FPL manager his injury record is a nit concerning. He’s one of those players who always seems to get something when he plays but historically hasn’t played enough at Liverpool. He’s playing the number 9 role but actually in a way that means he vacates space to allow the wingers and attacking midfielders to move into. Just big question marks over whether he will stay fit and when Darwin Nunez or Gakpo might challenge his minutes.
I was right about Szoboszlai. The tactics mean that he will be making a lot of moves into the box for pullbacks and loose balls. He got credited with an assist but I was impressed by often he found himself in shooting positions in and around the box. Statistically he put up an expected goal involvement of 0.39 which is decent and something I expect to remain high.
Are Brighton players going under the radar?
When Brighton went 1-0 up and I saw it was Mitoma who scored, I had a little smile to myself. I had tipped him to be one of the under the radar picks this year. It’s 1 game and he may go quiet but Brighton looked good and Mitoma was heavily involved.
No European football this year could be a real benefit to the team and Mitoma’s form and fitness. I also like what I saw from Minteh, the signing from Newcastle. They didn’t want to sell him and only had to for FFP reasons so don’t underrate him. Too early to consider bringing in and I’d prefer Mitoma given his FPL pedigree.
The game finished 3-0 and Brighton were good for it – they are ones to watch for sure.
Have we been fooled by Spurs?
Image source: cnn
Nearly everyone agreed, Dom Solanke to Spurs was a really good signing. He’s probably the highest level striker they could realistically attract and has Premier League experience in abundance. He’s also a great tactical fit for Spurs but he blanked in GW 1.
Not time to panic though, Spurs drew the game but could have won comfortably if they’d been a bit more clinical – they had the chances. Solanke had the chances. His expected goal involvements were 0.49 so on another day he could have had more. Give him some time to bed into the team because the assessment that he fits what Spurs do hasn’t changed because of one game.
Porro looks like he could be essential. I went without him in favour of Gvardiol but the positions Porro gets into for a defender are bonkers. He scored which continues his good attacking form from pre-season but it’s where he was that interests me most – in open play he was attacking a cross in the penalty area. If you don’t own him, he’s one for the shortlist.
Should I be making transfers for Gameweek 2?
Now for some general advice.
You get 1 free transfer a week, they add up week after week to a maximum of 5. If you use more than this allowance then you take a “hit” of 4 points off your score.
I wouldn’t recommend making transfers after 1 week unless you have an injured player or you’ve made a big mistake and need to sort it asap. Chances are, the reason you put a player in your team has not changed after 1 game. For example, Solanke blanked but he’s still a good pick and has Everton at home next week. Hold tight.
Top transfers so far – just a knee-jerk?
The following are currently the most transferred in and out players this week. Should you be following suit?
Image source: FPL
Salah and Saka are expensive players so if you’re bringing them in it’s because the premium you picked didn’t perform and they did. While I was keen to have 1 of these 2 plus Haaland, I’m not about to change my choice after 1 game. Perhaps if you chose Son then Saka looks a better choice right now but with Everton at home next, Spurs players are worth holding. You’ve also got to ask yourself if 1 game is enough to decide that your team needs it’s key players changing?
Jota and Havertz I get, they are reasonable priced and now we know they are playing as their team’s striker. However, we knew that a week ago really so the game only confirms it further. Jota I like a lot, as mentioned above, but his injury record is a worry. Havertz was also a top point scorer last year and playing as a striker means he’ll be in among the chances for one of the league’s top sides. There is a rotation risk with Gabriel Jesus but Arsenal don’t have lots of depth in that position so his minutes should still be good. Both are good picks but for me nothing about them has changed since before the games, except they both scored.
Image source: sportingnews
Nearly a quarter of a million managers have brought in Mazraoui – how many of those are United fans? He passed the eye test, got 3 bonus points and a cleansheet. All good things but there’s a reason I don’t have any United defenders in my team and it’s their terrible defensive record last season. While Fulham didn’t score I didn’t think the United defence looked that great – an improvement but I need more before I’m convinced. Man United also had a terrible injury record last year and Mazraoui has a poor fitness record too so the odds on him staying fit aren’t the best. This one feels like chasing points from last week (careful of that!). I’d have him as one to watch at best right now.
Image source: FPL
Rodri I get, he’s injured and no known return date. We knew this before the gameweek so what was he doing in over 120k teams? Oh, and he’s a defensive midfielder so not a great FPL pick anyway.
Trippier has been brilliant for Newcastle and his attacking output has been so good for a defender that he’s been an FPL must-have before. However, no minutes against Southampton is concerning and with a £6.0m price tag I see why many will be shifting to likes of Porro or even Mazraoui but it’s too soon to decide in our opinion. Like many, he’s back later from international competition so will probably come into the team soon.
Watkins is expensive and wasn’t at his best against West Ham but this feels like too much of a knee-jerk reaction. They do have Arsenal next which is not ideal but if you have him you’ve got to hold him now, Villa have a great run of fixtures after that game. I think he’ll punish those who jumped too soon.
I said above that I thought Palmer looked bright against Man City and let’s face it, there will be easier tests ahead. He showed last season that he can perform despite the chaos around him and that simply hasn’t changed because he didn’t score against City. A great run of fixtures ahead so he’s an easy hold. Save the transfer!
Image source: skysports
Right, last but not least, Ivan Toney. Left out of Brentford’s win because of transfer interest. A lot of talk of Saudi clubs coming in. But Thomas Frank said nothing is “close” so it could rumble on until the end of the window. If he stays he may not play until end of August at which point he has Man City and won’t definitely come straight back into the team. If you have him I think he’s got to go asap. The worry is that if you leave it too late his value will drop (if a player gets sold by a lot of FPL managers then their value goes down) so you could get priced out of your preferred replacement.
We’ll be back with some more ahead gameweek 2, including our team reveal. If you have any comments or questions you want us to answer message us @FPLwithStu on X.
