We're halfway into the week, and that means Gameweek 2 is almost upon us. Of course, there was a lot of drama and a lot of surprises going into Gameweek 1, and so Gameweek 2 is looking to be an exciting time for any FPL player. Of course, FPL keeps moving, and there's been a lot to catch up on including price changes and team news.
I'm feeling quite hopeful about my team, last week didn't go incredibly as planned but I feel as though it's the same for a lot of people, and the fixtures are generally looking favourable for my team. I did consider a few changes, but there is one that I went with, and I definitely have my own reasons for it.
With this, it's time for the Gameweek 2 Preview! I'm going to go briefly over my own team and what moves I'm making, as well as reiterating what I said in my Gameweek 1 review, and I'll also go over some future transfer targets as well as other things to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
FPL Gameweek 2 Price Changes
This week, we've had our first set of FPL price changes, including players going up in price and down in price.
| Player | Position | Original Price | New Price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 661-ekitike | Forward | £8.5m | £8.6m | 🔼 |
| 82-semenyo | Midfield | £7.0m | £7.1m | 🔼 |
| 427-reijnders | Midfield | £5.5m | £5.6m | 🔼 |
| 525-wood | Forward | £7.5m | £7.6m | 🔼 |
| 531-ballard | Defender | £4.5m | £4.6m | 🔼 |
| 50-buendia | Midfielder | £5.5m | £5.4m | 🔽 |
| 53-malen | Midfielder | £5.5m | £5.4m | 🔽 |
| 425-echeverri | Midfielder | £5.5m | £5.4m | 🔽 |
| 413-marmoush | Midfielder | £8.5m | £8.4m | 🔽 |
| 499-isak | Forward | £10.5m | £10.4m | 🔽 |
| 596-solanke | Forward | £7.5m | £7.4m | 🔽 |
| 584-tel | Midfield | £6.5m | £6.4m | 🔽 |
None of these are really surprising, and with 430-haaland looking to be going up tonight too, it does make transfer planning a little more difficult in the coming weeks. I feel as though we're not going to see any drops from premiums until at least next week though, as many of us are in the 'wait and see' phase of the season.
FPL Gameweek 2 News : Transfers and Injuries
There have been a few developments to keep track of this week, between huge transfers and unexpected injuries. Here are the most important things that have happened at the latter end of this week:
- Alexander Isak dropped a bombshell statement against Newcastle United ahead of the PFA Player Awards, in which Newcastle United returned with a statement essentially saying they have no intention to sell Isak this summer after all. This is still developing, though, and could change week in, week out.
- Eberechi Eze has been confirmed to be moving to Arsenal from Crystal Palace. This means that from Gameweek 3 onwards, he would be an Arsenal player.
- Kai Havertz is injured with no sign of return, meaning that 666-gyokeres is the main Arsenal striker going forward.
FPL Gameweek 2 Team Selection
This is my team selection for the week. I've made one transfer, in Jeremie Frimpong for 531-ballard. I was originally going to go for William Saliba, but looking at the fixtures is what encouraged me to pick Ballard.
I know that a lot of people have transferred him in as a kneejerk to last week, and I do somewhat agree that I have, but only because I feel as though Sunderland look stronger than I initially gave them credit for.
For me:
- I wanted Jeremie Frimpong out to facilitate an 661-ekitike transfer in GW3 or GW4, so this felt like a decent move already.
- In the next two gameweeks, Sunderland face Burnley and Brentford, both teams where I feel as though Sunderland can perform if they play as they did against West Ham. I prefer that to Arsenal's fixtures in the immediate term, especially when I may want to start both 603-diouf and Chris Richards in the coming weeks.
- Ballard will be rotatable with 603-diouf, who I haven't given up on yet but I also feel as though he won't have the best fixture next week against Chelsea. But, if things go wrong, Ballard can remain on my bench with Diouf starting.
- It's also nice to have the £0.1m for a potential later wildcard, as I transferred in before the price change.
So, with this, I feel like Ballard is a solid pick (rather than locking my cash into keeping another premium. With all of the immediate price changes, I want the flexibility rather than to have to try to facilitate transfers by waiting more weeks. Unfortunately, the path of upgrading 654-strand-larsen to Ekitike doesn't work for me due to the price rise, but I feel as though Strand Larsen has a chance to perform anyway and quite like him as a selection.
FPL Gameweek 2 Captaincy
Last week, I hit the nail on the head with my first option (Erling Haaland) and then missed on the other options. Of course, I went for Mohamed Salah which was a middling choice, performing better than the other options.
Here is my top 5 choice for captaincy this week:
| Rank | Player | Matchup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bukayo Saka | Leeds United | This is the obvious option if you have him. I don't think Arsenal look amazing, but Leeds is a newly promoted team and it feels like a pretty good matchup. |
| 2 | Mohamed Salah | Newcastle United | I doubted Salah last week but it feels like he's working off the rust, plus he has a good matchup against Newcastle, and I think that it's going to be a fiery one. |
| 3 | Ollie Watkins | Brentford | While Aston Villa looked concerning last week, so did Brentford. I feel as though Watkins may score, and might be worth the captaincy differential if you want to take the risk. |
| 4 | Hugo Ekitiké | Newcastle United | Ekitike performed very well, and we could see him score against Newcastle this weekend if Liverpool does manage to perform. |
| 5 | Erling Haaland | Tottenham Hotspurs | Haaland has a good chance of performing, but Spurs look very decent and so I don't think it's going to be as clear cut as the Wolves game last week. |
Closing TIme
Gameweek 2 is shaping up to be interesting, and it'll be fun to see how things work out. I'm hoping that we can see the premiums that underperformed start to gain some points, but there are certain players who I want to replace if they underperform next week... But, for that, go and read my Gameweek 1 review!
If you want more great FPL content, keep an eye out on FPLZone. We'll be here the whole season giving you great FPL content, with the best choices as well as some poignant thoughts every week so you can get your FPL fix.
In any case, thank you for your time, and I'll see you after the weekend!
