Gameweek 1 is almost over — we have only the Monday night kick-off to go, with Manchester United hosting Wolves at 8pm (BST).
There was however plenty of action over the weekend. For anyone managing a Fantasy Premier League side, there was a plethora of useful information to gain from what we saw.
These are the main talking points from the weekend’s action – and what we learned.
Burnley and Manchester City kicked off the season on Friday night and it was an unsurprisingly routine win for Pep Guardiola’s team. Erling Haaland (£14.0m) started the season in a similar manner to the last. He scored a brace in the opening game.
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City suffered a blow as Kevin De Bruyne (£10.5m) sustained a hamstring injury. This saw him replaced by Mateo Kovacic (£5.0m) in the 23rd minute. Man City aren’t short of options, especially in midfield and this might mean more minutes for Julian Alvarez (£6.5m) or Phil Foden (£7.5m), who could both deputise in the Belgian’s role.
It is tough to say who will benefit most out of the two right now, but with concerns De Bruyne could be out for a while, it’s probably best to wait a few games to see what Guardiola does. De Bruyne will have a scan today to determine the extent of the injury.
Defensively, City lined up with Rico Lewis (£4.5m), Nathan Ake (£5.0m), Manuel Akanji (£5.0m) and Kyle Walker (£5.0m), with popular options John Stones (£5.5m) and Josko Gvardiol (£5.0m) on the bench.
This is just another reminder to avoid their defence because Pep has so many options there. They are the best defence in the league, but with so many other defenders at similar price points who are nailed on to start, I think the City defence is a no-go for now.
Arsenal’s tactical switch up
Arsenal came away 2-1 winners over Nottingham Forest. Mikel Arteta’s side weren’t at their best but the usual suspects such as Bukayo Saka (£8.5m) and Gabriel Martinelli (£8.0m) bagged attacking returns.
The big surprise in the lineup was Gabriel (£5.0m) being benched and replaced with Eddie Nketiah (£5.5m) in a tactical switch by Mikel Arteta that meant Thomas Partey played a more defensive role. The Brazilian was owned by 33 per cent of managers and had started the past 73 Premier League games for Arsenal dating back to August 2021.
After the game, Arteta explained his decision: “We expected a game that actually happened and we needed somebody else there in midfield to do what we have to do the best, and have more fluidity and occupy certain spaces… I think it worked really well.”
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This is big news from an FPL perspective because it means that Gabriel is no longer nailed-on to start. This tactical shift might be a sign of things to come. We could see a lot more rotation in the Arsenal line-up this season.
Jurien Timber (£5.0m) also went off injured after 50 minutes. At the moment it looks like William Saliba (£5.0m) is the Arsenal defender most likely to start. If you own Gabriel I would wait until the Crystal Palace fixture at least before getting rid of him. Although I think transferring him out is inevitable, it’s a good idea to try and hold your transfer this week and have two free in Gameweek 3. The start of the season is the most volatile and other issues are bound to crop up.
Brighton assets are great value
Brighton ran away 4-1 winners over newly-promoted Luton Town. It was more of the same as last season, with Roberto De Zerbi’s men playing high-intensity attacking football.
Solly March (£6.5m), Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m), Joao Pedro (£5.5m) and Evan Ferguson (£6.0m) all bagged attacking returns. They will continue to score plenty of goals, making them great value.
The player that stuck out, however, was Pedro. He won and scored the penalty. He also impressed in pre-season and was a popular option among FPL managers. His owners were deservedly rewarded with seven points.
Not only is he a starter for Brighton but he played 88 minutes – plus it was confirmed that he is the first-choice penalty taker. At his price, he is insane value and with two home games in the next three — Wolves (A), West Ham (H) and Newcastle United (H) — he is likely to pick up more attacking returns.
Isak after scoring on Saturday (Ian Hodgson/AFP via Getty Images)Newcastle looking impressive
Newcastle had the result of the weekend as they thumped Aston Villa 5-1. Alexander Isak (£7.5m) was the one who started as the No 9, with Callum Wilson (£8.0m) on the bench. Isak justified Eddie Howe’s decision to start with him as the Swede scored a brace, although Wilson did score when he came on.
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It’s tough to decipher how the manager will set up going forward and although both strikers are great, there is always a chance one of them is benched for the other.
Newcastle now have a tough run of games until Gameweek 5 — playing Man City (A), Liverpool (H) and Brighton (A). Their fixtures pick up hugely after that so it is best to look at their assets then. It will also give us a few more games to monitor how Howe will set up.
Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) came on, scored a goal and assisted another, so he could be on the cards by then, too.
Aston Villa’s Moussa Diaby (£6.5m) is also one to watch – he scored the consolation goal and had two shots on target. Looking at his average position map, he was playing alongside Ollie Watkins (£8.0m) up top. Villa have two plum games against Everton (H) and Burnley (A) next.
Brentford and Spurs standouts
The notable points scorers in the 2-2 draw between Brentford and Spurs were Bryan Mbeumo (£6.5m), who converted a penalty, and James Maddison (£7.5m), who provided two assists. Mbeumo will be Brentford’s talisman with Ivan Toney (£8.0m) suspended. He played the full 90 minutes and is the first-choice penalty taker. He has great fixtures until Gameweek 8, so will no doubt score well.
Maddison can score, assist and is on the majority of set pieces, so will always be in with a chance of points. With Manchester United (H) next, though, it’s probably best to wait until Gameweek 3 to bring him in, when Spurs play Bournemouth at home.
Jackson a hold
Chelsea and Liverpool played out an exhilarating 1-1 draw and although Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m) didn’t get on the scoresheet, he was very impressive. He had four shots (two on target) and caused the Liverpool back line problems with his pace.
If you own Jackson, I would certainly be keeping faith with him. Chelsea’s fixtures until Gameweek 9 are fantastic – their next five are West Ham (A), Luton (H), Nottingham Forest (H), Bournemouth (A) and Aston Villa (H) – and he will no doubt score well over this run.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
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