Gameweek 1 is done and dusted, and you're probably busy at work putting together your FPL team for the second weekend of Premier League action. We've enlisted the help of expert AbuBakar Siddiq to help you with your decision making.
@BigManBakar has put together a list of five learnings from Gameweek 1 that you can apply to your GW2 FPL team selections. Best of luck...
FPL: Learnings from GW1 and tips for GW2
1. Erling Haaland is essential
I don't like using the term "essential" that loosely but I genuinely think it does justice to Erling Haaland's (£11.6m) FPL prospects at the moment.
Haaland was top among all players in the league for shots in the box, big chances, xG, expected goal involvement (xGi) and non penalty xGi in Gameweek 1. I suspect these are statistics we will often see this season - given how Man City play, the majority of chances should fall to Haaland which will make him a talisman from an FPL point of view. Man City create a silly amount of chances and, historically, Haaland has been an xG overperformer - which is exactly what you want from your premium FPL pick.
READ HERE: Watch: Erling Haaland Warned To Clean Up His Language In Post-Match Interview
As if my confidence in him needed some further re-assurance, Pep Guardiola pretty much confirmed that Haaland will be on penalties this season:
If someone is going to take his ball he will punch the faces of one of his mates. I'm pretty sure of that.
Now this is fairly big news, especially when you factor in the number of penalties Man City are likely to get - they have been awarded nine or more penalties in each of the previous three seasons.
When you factor in that Haaland is owned by over 50% of FPL managers at the moment and the significant majority of them will captain him against newly promoted Bournemouth in Gameweek 2, I just think avoiding him is far too risky a call to be making at this stage of the season.
READ HERE: The Best Fantasy Football Names For Your FPL Team In The 2022-23 Season
2. Darwin Nunez is the real deal
I really liked what I saw in Nunez's brief stint against Fulham. He looked like the ideal FPL player - one who would be central to Liverpool's attack and hog the big chances left, right, and centre. His tally of four big chances in just 44 minutes on the field was in fact the joint highest big chance tally with Erling Haaland (£11.6m) in Gameweek 1.
I think if you're on an FPL Wildcard this week, Nunez has to come in - he's a significant upgrade on Roberto Firmino (£8.0m) so I think Klopp will give him a regular run of starts from now on in. Liverpool have one of the best attacks in the league with the fixtrue run firmly in their favour, so I have no doubts on Nunez's ability to do well.
However, I don't think this makes Andy Robertson (£7.0m) or Luis Diaz (£8.0m) poor picks overnight - they are solid picks in their own right and I see no reason to switch them out just to shoe-horn Nunez into your teams right away. Wait and watch.
READ HERE: Klopp Cites 'Dry Pitch' For Role In Liverpool Draw With Fulham
3. Andreas Pereira is the £4.5m midfielder to own
Pereira is the pick of the cheap midfielders we have at the moment. He was the one player who caught my eye the most this weekend. He had a higher advanced position than even Aleksandar Mitrovic (£6.6m) and was on all set pieces. He's definitely a playable option in the easier fixtures for Fulham.
In my opinion, he's a gift to FPL managers - he is a £5.5m midfielder priced as £4.5m!
4. Martinelli is the standout budget midfielder in his price range
I think the Brazilian is by far the best midfielder to own in his price bracket in FPL. If you don't have him in your squad, I would strongly recommend you to get him in.
Martinelli had a very strong pre-season and continued his fine form in the Premier League with a goal against Crystal Palace. Truth be told, he could have had even more - he spurned a glorious opportunity to register in the early stages of the game as well. Arsenal's fixtures are great and he is showing no signs of stopping.
READ HERE: Premier League Kits 22/23: Every Team's Home Jersey Ranked
5. No need to knee-jerk
I think the plan for most FPL teams with Haaland in them should be simple - save the transfer and re-assess next week. I see quite a few people talking about potentially wildcarding in GW2 but I think we have such limited information available to build an optimal squad. Historically, I love an early Wildcard myself but I don't see enough opportunities available.
I don't think at this point we have learnt anything new to knee-jerk. Trust your initial picks - you picked them for a reason. Two free transfers in GW3 can be huge!
SEE ALSO: Join The Balls.ie Fantasy Football League And Win Stuff
