Fantasy Premier League tips: Don’t be fooled by FPL Gameweek 1

The opening weekend of Fantasy Premier League 2023-24 was an interesting one, with plenty of surprises.

Injuries and rotation blighted our defences and some hauls came from unlikely sources, but Gameweek 1 is only a small sample of what is going to happen across the whole of this Premier League season and it is important not to be too influenced by it.

Here are the mistakes to avoid on the back of the first round of matches.

Kneejerk sales

My biggest piece of advice following the new season’s first weekend of Premier League action is to avoid kneejerk moves for Gameweek 2.

Weeks of summer tinkering with our initial squads shouldn’t go to waste, with patience urged in most cases. Players you chose might need more than one gameweek to come good. That doesn’t make them bad picks.

Eberechi Eze (£6.5m) excelled for Crystal Palace away to Sheffield United, leading the way for shots (eight) and key passes (seven). He was unlucky not to come away with an attacking return and should be given another chance to impress at home to Gameweek 2 opponents Arsenal. Yet the Palace talisman and set-piece taker has already been sold by more than 60,000 of his owners.

Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins (£8.0m) is another player to see fire sales, despite an assist in Gameweek 1. With Everton up next at Villa Park, he deserves at least one more chance before departing your team.

Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m) also put in a great performance on opening weekend, but a lack of return hasn’t helped his FPL popularity. Jackson had four shots in the box and sat top for big chances with three, but he failed to find the back of the net. The opportunities will continue to come for him and Chelsea have an excellent run of upcoming fixtures, facing West Ham, Luton and Nottingham Forest in their next three.

Popular acquisitions

Alexander Isak (£7.6m) has already risen in price, with over 250,000 new owners. The Newcastle striker’s brace in Gameweek 1 impressed many, but it was a concern to see him substituted in the 67th minute. He will continue to share game time with Callum Wilson, who also scored after coming off the bench.

Newcastle are about to enter a run of challenging fixtures, facing Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton in their next three. Therefore, it’s important to bide your time with their assets, especially until we can establish which of the two forwards is first choice.

Manchester City defensive midfielder Rodri (£5.6m) is FPL’s third-most transferred-in player, with nearly 200,000 new owners. While his 13-point haul in Gameweek 1 catches the eye on the surface, it’s unlikely those returns are sustainable. Rodri has never delivered more than 10 attacking returns in a season and would need a definite shift in tactics from manager Pep Guardiola to become a fantasy asset.

The scoring matrix does not lend itself to the talents of defensive-minded midfielders, with attacking returns like he delivered against Burnley unsustainable. Rodri has become the first banana skin of the new season, largely helped by the timing of his haul in the first fixture of the season.

We’ve seen this happen before.

Brentford defensive midfielder Josh Dasilva scored in each of their first two fixtures last campaign, but those goals came from his single shot in each game. He went on a run of 13 blanks after those anomalous performances and finished the season with only six attacking returns.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) will continue to rise in stock after an impressive performance against Chelsea.

He was unlucky to come away with just an assist from an afternoon where he hit the woodwork, had a goal ruled out for a narrow offside and got off three shots on goal. As the only fit premium in the game along with Erling Haaland, Salah is difficult to fit in, but he already has 65,000 new owners for Gameweek 2.

With a home game against Bournemouth up next, he looks set to throw the captain debate wide open this weekend.

The only concern was seeing him substituted on Sunday with the outcome of the game still undecided.

Defensive dilemmas

Gameweek 1 also seemed to absolutely decimate our defences as injuries and squad rotation caused havoc.

This was compounded by just four clubs keeping a clean sheet on the opening weekend: champions City, Manchester United, Fulham and Palace.

Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.0m) found himself dropped for tactical reasons after 73 consecutive Premier League starts. That puts him among the five most-sold players for Gameweek 2 at the time of writing, but he has the potential to deliver points in the short term.

Their new signing Jurrien Timber sustained a serious knee injury in the win over Nottingham Forest, opening up a place in Mikel Arteta’s back line. It’s hoped Gabriel will be back in the starting line-up against Palace, with Fulham and Manchester United also in the upcoming schedule.

John Stones (£5.5m) was another notable absentee, missing out on City’s 3-0 win over Burnley with a hip injury.

Stones missed the Burnley game but has made the Super Cup trip (Angel Martinez – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

However, investors should keep him, with the news that he is in contention to face Newcastle in Gameweek 2 having travelled for the Super Cup fixture against Sevilla in Athens today (Wednesday).

Since playing as an attacking winger in Sunday’s draw with Liverpool, Ben Chilwell (£5.6m) has been a popular buy in this position. He spent most of the game in Liverpool’s half, with one big chance and a big chance created, plus a goal ruled out for offside. He was also involved in set pieces. Chilwell is the most-purchased defender ahead of Gameweek 2, with favourable fixtures for Chelsea coming up.

The arrival of midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton should improve Chelsea’s clean-sheet hopes but his signing could impact Chilwell’s positioning.

New head coach Mauricio Pochettino went for three at the back against Liverpool, with Chilwell and James playing as the high wing-backs. However, with Caicedo there to provide stability in front of the defence, it’s thought Chelsea could switch to a back four.

It’s something to keep an eye on in their game away to West Ham on Sunday before investing in the England international.

(Top photos: Getty Images)