After a break of roughly two months, the Premier League returned with a bang, leaving fans breathless on the opening weekend.
The nets were bulging as goalfests were seemingly everywhere, as if the English top-flight was determined to make up for lost time!
However, for the many denizens who have invested their money (virtual) in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL), thrillers are not the way to go and they would prefer one-sided encounters on the whole.
To ease the selection dilemma of the wannabe Jose Mourinhos, The Statesman is the one-stop place with a comprehensive article on who to buy this gameweek.
The indicators are:
Teams in BOLD are top 4 contenders.
Prices marked in Green indicate an increase in Base Price.
Prices marked in Red indicate a decrease in Base Price.
Goalkeepers
Jonas Lossl
Team: Huddersfield Town
Fixtures: Newcastle (H), Southampton (H), West Ham (A), Leicester (H) and Burnley (A)
Price: 4.5
Score: 9
Ownership: 2.3%
Why yes: The Terriers were the surprise package of the opening weekend as they trounced Crystal Palace away. The tall Dane seems like a decent shot-stopper and with some relatively easy fixtures up ahead, is an excellent back-up at the least.
Why no: They may have strengthened significantly in the transfer window, but the fact that they conceded 58 goals from 46 games (in the Championship) last season suggests that their defence isn’t watertight.
David de Gea
Team: Manchester United
Fixtures: Swansea (A), Leicester (H), Stoke (A), Everton (H) and Southampton (A)
Price: 5.5
Score: 6
Ownership: 32.8%
Why yes: United are in great form and their Spanish custodian is a safe and dependable choice. Upcoming fixtures should be a cinch.
Why no: Safe yes, that’s why every third manager has him. Should you already have a United defender, best you steer clear.
Defenders
Harry Maguire
Team: Leicester City
Fixtures: Brighton (H), Man Utd (A), Chelsea (H), Huddersfield (A) and Liverpool (H)
Price: 5.0
Score: 3
Ownership: 2.1%
Why yes: The summer signing had a decent outing against Arsenal, despite their defence being all over the place. The 6’2 Maguire scored a few goals last season as well and is definitely a threat on set-pieces. Brighton don’t seem spectacular in attack and the Foxes may just keep a shutout this game week.
Why no: Fixtures after Brighton aren’t kind and after their opener against the Gunners, don’t expect too many cleansheets.
Patrick van Aanholt
Team: Crystal Palace
Fixtures: Liverpool (A), Swansea (H), Burnley (A), Southampton (H) and Man City (A)
Price: 5.5
Score: 1
Ownership: 3.8%
Why yes: The wildcard pick of the gameweek. Yes, Liverpool have an excellent attacking unit, but consider Palace’s record against them. Win or lose, the Eagles always score more than two. And their mercurial full-back will be among the thick of the action against a team that will be recovering from their European exploits.
Why no: Palace haven’t had the best of starts and may just get swamped at Anfield. Aanholt is expensive as well, one could easily pick a top-six defender in his price range.
Midfielders
Kevin De Bruyne
Team: Manchester City
Fixtures: Everton (H), Bournemouth (A), Liverpool (H), Watford (A) and Crystal Palace (H)
Price: 10.0
Score: 3
Ownership: 29.1%
Why yes: It may be early days, but City do seem to be favourites for the title and for good reason. De Bruyne is one of several top quality players in their squad and the Belgian will thrive in their midst. As a bonus, his set pieces are excellent.
Why no: He is among the most expensive midfielders around and for a player who will primarily thrive on assists, may not prove to be as cost-effective as you would like. Should you already have Sergio Aguero or Gabriel Jesus, it’s best if you avoid De Bruyne.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Team: Everton
Fixtures: Man City (A), Chelsea (A), Spurs (H), Man Utd (A) and Bournemouth (H)
Price: 8.5
Score: 0
Ownership: 6.1%
Why yes: The Tofees’ record signing, Sigurdsson will be one of those key differential players this FPL season. Reasonably priced, expect the Icelandic midfielder to shine under Ronald Koeman as they bid to reach the top-four.
Why no: Look at those fixtures. Wayne Rooney has been in decent goalscoring form and is worth a look as well.
Forwards
Steve Mounie
Team: Huddersfield Town
Fixtures: Newcastle (H), Southampton (H), West Ham (A), Leicester (H) and Burnley (A)
Price: 6.0
Score: 12
Ownership: 3.4%
Why yes: Two goals on your Premier League debut isn’t a bad start, is it? Against fellow newcomers Newcastle Huddersfield look set to continue their winning run and their record signing will surely have a say in proceedings. Especially if you consider the Magpies had two defenders injured in their opener. Like Sigurdsson above, Mounie could be a massive differential this season.
Why no: It’s only one game and the season is very long indeed. A risky pick for sure.
Jamie Vardy
Team: Leicester City
Fixtures: Brighton (H), Man Utd (A), Chelsea (H), Huddersfield (A) and Liverpool (H)
Price: 8.6
Score: 13
Ownership: 11.7%
Why yes: Vardy proved on the opening weekend that he will continue to play fearlessly and that’s good news for all FPL managers who have bought him! The fleet-footed striker is one of those players who thrives on confidence and at the moment is undoubtedly full of belief. Against struggling newcomers Brighton, chances are high he will continue his goalscoring streak and should that happen, expect his price to skyrocket.
Why no: Rumours of Riyad Mahrez’s departure continue to swirl and with the Algerian unsettled, Leicester’s offensive play will suffer.
PS: The Gameweek deadline is 11.30 am GMT/4 pm IST.