Fantasy Premier League 2016-17: Players to pick for gameweek 2

ByArun S Kaimal, SportsCafe Editor

08/18/2016

After an exciting opening gameweek, which ended on Monday, the games are coming thick and fast with the first Friday night clash of the season. Leicester City’s shock loss against Hull has reduced the value of Vardy and co. with Coutinho being the favourite for most FPL managers.

Before going into the player picks of gameweek 2, let’s take a look back at how our picks for the first gameweek had performed.

Forwards

1. Sergio Aguero - 9 points

2. Zlatan Ibrahimović – 9 points

3. Andre Gray – 2 points

Midfielders

4. Eden Hazard – 10 points

5. Riyad Mahrez – 8 points

6. Nathan Redmond – 10 points

7. Erik Lamela – 9 points

Defenders

8. Toby Alderweireld – 2 points

9. Luke Shaw – 2 points

10. Wes Morgan – 1 points

Goalkeeper

11. David de Gea – 2 points

12. Victor Valdes – 2 points

* Goal scorers are in bold.

From the 12-player picks, we made in the opening gameweek, six of them proved to be goal scorers with all the four midfield players scoring goals. The highest scorer of the week Phillipe Coutinho, who scored two goals against Arsenal, was not among our player picks, but even without Liverpool’s magician our midfield quarter earned a combined total of 37 points. Sergio Aguero and Zlatan Ibrahimović also starred for us with goals in the attack. Apart from the defensive picks, which returned a combined total of 7 points from four players, the opening gameweek proved to be a good one for our readers.

So, on to the second gameweek.

Gameweek 2 fixtures

Man Utd vs Southampton

Stoke vs Man City

Burnley vs Liverpool

Spurs vs Crystal Palace

Swansea vs Hull

Watford vs Chelsea

West Brom vs Everton

Leicester vs Arsenal

Sunderland vs Middlesbrough

West Ham vs Bournemouth

Player Picks

We went for tried and tested players in the opening gameweek, and it proved to be fruitful. With the second gameweek coming thick and fast, it would be better to hold on to your players than tinkering too much in this early stage.

Forwards

1. Sergio Aguero (13) - After his goal against Sunderland in the opening game, the Man City goal-machine went and scored a hat-trick against Steaua Bucharest, even after missing two penalties, in the first leg of the Champions League play-off. The Argentine looks to be in a rich vein of form, and he will once again be the first man on the team sheet for Man City against Stoke. Aguero will be once again the preferred captain for the week.

2. Zlatan Ibrahimović (11.5) – The Swede is part of 44.8% of the teams in the FPL – third behind Aguero and de Gea – and after his goalscoring Premier League debut against Bournemouth last week, Ibrahimović once again takes the place alongside Aguero in our line-up.

3. Alvaro Negredo (6.6) - Instead of Burnley’s Andre Gray, we have gone for former Man City forward Álvaro Negredo this week. His opening day goal against Stoke has pushed his price up by 0.1, and you won’t be able to go for a like-for-like swap with Gray, who is 6.5m. With matches against Sunderland, West Brom, and Crystal Palace coming for Middlesbrough in the next few weeks, Negredo will be a good buy at this point.

Fernando Llorente (6.5) and Jermain Defoe (7) will be other options to consider for this gameweek.

Midfielders

With all four of our midfielders scoring goals in the opening gameweek, we have decided to keep the midfield constant for the second gameweek.

4. Hazard (10) – The 2014/15 Player of the Year scored from the penalty spot against West Ham, and with matches against Watford, Burnley, and Swansea coming up, it would be better to hold on to the Belgian.

5. Redmond (6) – A new role as a striker has seen Redmond become a part of 9 percent of the squads in the FPL. After a goal-scoring opening game, the Englishman is likely to get a longer run alongside Shane Long. But, an away match against Manchester United in GW2 might decrease his preference among FPL managers.

6. Erik Lamela (7) – The Spurs attacker has fixtures against Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Stoke, and Sunderland coming up, and if Coutinho (8.1) and Barkley (7.5) are out of your budget, then Lamela should be considered as a constant presence in your team.

7. Mahrez (9.5) – At 9.5, last season’s player of the year will eat away a big part of your budget, but if he continues his goal-scoring run, you are likely to get a good value for your money. After his new deal with Leicester this week, the Algerian will be looking to put in a big performance against Arsenal this week.

Coutinho, Barkley, Gaston Ramirez (5.5), and Martial (9.5) will be the other options to consider for this gameweek.

Defenders

Just two teams managed a clean sheet in the opening week – Swansea and West Brom. However, normalcy is expected to return for the defences this week.

8. Luke Shaw (5.5) – Although he scored only 2 points in the first game, a home fixture against Southampton might help you to get more points from him this week.

9. Toby Alderweireld (6.5) – After a 1-1 draw against Everton, Toby Alderweireld will be looking to keep a clean sheet in gameweek 2 when they take on Crystal Palace at home. With a favourable fixture list ahead after their match against Liverpool in GW3, the Belgian should be expected to give many a bonus points in the coming weeks.

10. George Friend (4.5) – The Middlesbrough left-back will be a good pick in your team, considering the fixtures for the team. With him just costing 4.5m, he could become a good ‘Friend’ for you.

James Collins (4.5), Gareth McAuley (4.5), Jordi Amat (4) will be other options to consider this gameweek.

Goalkeepers

11. David de Gea (5.5) – One match without a clean sheet will not change David de Gea’s place in our squad. The Spaniard kept 15 clean sheets last season, and a home match could give him the first this season.

12. Victor Valdes (4.5m) – Middlesbrough’s winnable fixtures is the reason for going for the former Barcelona custodian, and a match against Sunderland could help him raise his value in the FPL.

Ben Foster (4.5) and Lukasz Fabianski (4.5) are the other goalkeeping options to consider this gameweek.