The opening weekend of a new season is usually packed full of goals, drama and Fantasy Premier League points and the first gameweek of 2023-24 certainly did not disappoint on any front.
A total of 28 goals were scored and with many converted by well-owned FPL players, including a certain Erling Haaland, there was a more than respectable average score of 64 points in Gameweek 1. If you got off to a flier treat yourself to something nice, like a chocolate hobnob or a bubble bath.
The prospects for plentiful FPL points look good for Gameweek 2 as well with a number of compelling fixtures taking place.
Spurs fans will catch their first (official) glimpse of “Angeball” in north London when their side host an unconvincing-looking Manchester United on Saturday, before early pace-setters Newcastle face reigning champions Manchester City later that night at *checks notes* 8pm.
There should be plenty of entertainment to enjoy elsewhere too, not least in the three London derbies that will be drip-fed throughout the weekend: Fulham vs Brentford is on Saturday, followed by West Ham vs Chelsea on Sunday and rounded off by Crystal Palace vs Arsenal on Monday.
One match that will not be taking place, however, is Luton vs Burnley which has been postponed to allow the Hatters more time to get Kenilworth Road up to Premier League standards. It will be a couple of weeks before the away fans can ascend the famous stairs into the Oak Stand.
This week’s deadline is at the unusual time of 6.15pm on Friday so after making your lunchtime meal deal choices be sure to log into the app and check that your team is in working order.
i‘s top three scorers in Gameweek 1
Here were the three highest-scoring players from i‘s starting XI for Gameweek 1.
- Erling Haaland – 13 points vs Burnley: It doesn’t take a genius to pick Haaland in their FPL team, but allow us a humble brag for correctly predicting his number of goals (2) and number of FPL points (13) last week. Hopefully, the crystal ball works again this week!
- Bukayo Saka – 10 points vs Nottingham Forest: A magnificent goal and three magnificent bonus points to go with it. Taiwo Awoniyi’s late consolation for Forest succeeded in boosting Saka up the bonus point charts. Nice.
- James Maddison – 9 points vs Brentford: With Haaland and Saka both hugely popular assets, Maddison was the headline star of our Gameweek 1 picks. Tottenham’s new No 10 made an instant impact with a pair of assists in Ange Postecoglou’s first game.
Gameweek 2 fixtures
*Luton vs Burnley has been postponed while improvements are made to Kenilworth Road
Friday 18 August
- Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United
Saturday 19 August
- Fulham vs Brentford
- Liverpool vs Bournemouth
- Wolves vs Brighton
- Tottenham vs Man Utd
- Man City vs Newcastle
Sunday 20 August
- Aston Villa vs Everton
- West Ham vs Chelsea
Monday 21 August
- Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest)
There was precious little that Matt Turner could do to prevent either of Arsenal’s goals last weekend: a deflected strike from Eddie Nketiah smashed in at close-range and a wonder goal from the wunderkind Bukayo Saka.
Turner was otherwise solid and will hope to build on his debut by earning a first clean sheet at the City Ground. Forest restricted Arsenal to the third-lowest xG in the opening weekend, while their Friday night opponents Sheffield United managed the second-lowest xG, despite playing at home against Crystal Palace.
Price: £4m Points: 2 Gameweek 2 fixture: Sheffield United (h)
Ben Chilwell (Chelsea)
An early price riser after an electric display against Liverpool. Ben Chilwell was listed as Chelsea’s left wing-back when the teamsheets were released, but he was effectively playing as a wide forward with Levi Colwill drifting out to the flank to man mark Mo Salah.
Chilwell registered his first attacking return of the campaign with a cute header into the box for Axel Disasi to bundle in and was unfortunate to not add to his tally after having a well-taken goal ruled out for a marginal offside.
Price: £5.6m Points: 7 Gameweek 2 fixture: West Ham (a)
Pervis Estupinan (Brighton)
Pervis Estupinan left it late but eventually got his rewards for an excellent first game display by providing an assist for Evan Ferguson in injury time of Brighton’s 4-1 win over Luton.
The Ecuadorian created more chances (with six) than any other defender in Gameweek 1 and was also joint-top for shots (three) alongside Everton’s Nathan Patterson.
Price: £5m Points: 7 Gameweek 2 fixture: Wolves (a)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
A one-pointer at Stamford Bridge marked a disappointing return for Trent Alexander-Arnold owners, but like Chilwell he would have earned a better score were it not for VAR’s meddling after Salah’s cheeky finish from his pinpoint pass was chalked off.
A home game against Bournemouth offers Alexander-Arnold a very reasonable chance of getting off the mark. In the corresponding fixture in 2022-23, he scored a goal, set up another and kept a clean sheet to earn a whopping 17 points. More of the same please, Trent.
Price: £8m Points: 1 Gameweek 2 fixture: Bournemouth (h)
James Maddison (Tottenham)
It didn’t take long for James Maddison to become the centrepiece of Tottenham’s attack. As well as setting up both of their goals at Brentford, Maddison created more chances (with six) than the rest of his teammates combined.
Further returns could be forthcoming against Manchester United this weekend, given how open they were against Wolves on Monday. Gary Neville described United’s midfield in that match as “non-existent” and if they give Maddison as much space as they afforded Wolves’ players they could be in for a rocky afternoon.
Price: £7.5m Points: 9 Gameweek 2 fixture: Man Utd (h)
Moussa Diaby (Aston Villa)
The sole positive from Aston Villa’s demoralising drubbing at St James’ Park on the opening weekend, was Moussa Diaby who capped a lively debut with a smartly taken goal to briefly give his side parity.
Diaby posted some encouraging stats too with three shots taken and two chances created, while he played in a very advanced role just off Ollie Watkins in attack.
Price: £6.5m Points: 7 Gameweek 2 fixture: Everton (h)
Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford)
On the plus side, Bryan Mbeumo is definitely Ivan Toney’s penalty-taking understudy at Brentford after finishing with aplomb past Guglielmo Vicario from 12-yards; on the negative side, he can still be an incredibly wasteful finisher, as demonstrated by an awful miss just before half-time.
Mbeumo can be a frustrating player given his propensity to combine the sublime with the ridiculous, but he is listed as a midfielder in FPL and deployed up front by Thomas Frank, which makes him an excellent FPL option. Remember, midfielders earn one extra point per goal than forwards.
Price: £6.5m Points: 7 Gameweek 2 fixture: Fulham (a)
Mo Salah (Liverpool)
Pity the Stamford Bridge groundstaff who were required to pick up the various pieces of strapping that a stroppy Salah had left discarded on the pitch following his substitution on Sunday. Liverpool’s litterbug might have had some explaining to do to Jurgen Klopp after the game.
Salah’s influence on the game waned in the second half, but he was superb in the opening 45 minutes, teeing up Luis Diaz to score with a precision pass and scoring himself before being denied by VAR.
Salah famously failed to return in Liverpool’s 9-0 thumping of Bournemouth last August. Surely he won’t be quite so charitable against the Cherries again?
Price: £12.5m Points: 5 Gameweek 2 fixture: Bournemouth (h)
Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal)
Eddie Nketiah seized a rare opportunity to lead the line for Arsenal by scoring their first goal of the season against Nottingham Forest and Mikel Arteta’s praise of him after the game suggests it’s his position to lose.
“I’m delighted for him because he is a role model,” Arteta said, before stating that the 24-year-old had “trained like a beast” after being disappointed to start the Community Shield on the bench.
An excellent short-term punt for Arsenal’s promising run of fixtures.
Price: £5.5m Points: 8 Gameweek 2 fixture: Crystal Palace (a)
Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea)
Nicolas Jackson may not have enjoyed a goalscoring debut for Chelsea but he impressed sufficiently against Virgil van Dijk to earn a spot in this week’s team.
The summer signing from Villarreal looked sharp and dangerous in the final third, firing off four shots (two on target) for a combined xG of 1.19. With striker options thin on the ground, Jackson is certainly one to watch.
Price: £7m Points: 1 Gameweek 2 fixture: West Ham (a)
Erling Haaland (Man City)
Erling Haaland’s ownership currently stands at a staggering 90.5 per cent which is reason enough to buy him if you are one of the 9.5 per cent without: the non-believers can expect their team to sink like a stone whenever he scores.
It is obvious that the Norwegian is the first name on the teamsheet, but there is a debate to be had over whether he is the strongest captain option this week, given City face Newcastle and Liverpool host Bournemouth. Those with Salah and Haaland in their squads have a tricky decision to make…
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Price: £14m Points: 13 Gameweek 2 fixture: Newcastle (h)
