With Gameweek 2 almost coming to an end bringing a lot of disappointment to managers with only 4 teams keeping a clean sheet, lots of price rises and drops, and in all a low Gameweek score for the majority of players, knee-jerking over transfers is already underway and, in this article, we discuss the best players to target in all positions strictly on the basis of fixtures.
CHELSEA
A lot of managers seem to have banked a transfer, and now head into this Gameweek with flexibility regarding their transfer moves.
The best fixture run-in for the next 6 gameweeks is undoubtedly Chelsea. They face Luton, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Fulham, Burnley, and Aston Villa, which on paper are very favourable fixtures for the 1-billion-pound squad which looked very dominant in the first half against West Ham yesterday and certainly showing signs of improvement.
Nicolas Jackson, a 7.0m forward looked sharp in pre-season and in matches and looks like a very decent punt for a forward and could serve as a brilliant replacement for Joao Pedro, whose rotation risk has arisen as De Zerbi looks to adapt to a new system, and for managers who own Ollie Watkins who faces Liverpool, Chelsea and Brighton in the next 5 fixtures.
Malo Gusto is another Chelsea asset who is priced just at 4.0m and with Reece James out of the squad for a considerable number of weeks, he looks nailed on for the right-back position in the squad.
🥇 Chilwell (£5.7m) – very advanced, getting into great positions (as demonstrated by his disallowed goal vs Liverpool).
🥈 Jackson (£7.0m) – 1.32 xG in his first 2 games – goals imminent.
🥉 Gusto (£4.0m) – cheap attacking wingback set to play with Reece James ruled out. pic.twitter.com/gopETpcrHR
Ben Chilwell, the vice-captain of the Blues has taken over captaincy duties in the absence of Reece James and is playing a much-advanced role in league games than expected which makes him a very tempting option for their next few fixtures.
In the loss against West Ham yesterday, he had the opportunity to score a goal and is always pinging crosses from the edge of the box making him a higher attacking threat much like Trent Alexander-Arnold in the previous years.
Though he has risen to 5.7m already, not owning him could hurt your rank in the next gameweeks which is why he should be in your list if you’re considering a defender transfer.
BRENTFORD
This is another team who has brilliant fixtures ahead in the next few weeks, with them facing teams like Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, Everton, and Burnley at home, Nottingham Forest away, and could even unsettle teams like Newcastle and Manchester United.
They have scored 5 goals in 2 matches and Thomas Frank has been doing wonders with his squad even without the lack of his talisman Ivan Toney, which has made him turn to Bryan Mbeumo for his penalty duties.
Mbeumo has scored 2 out of his 2 penalties already in these past couple of gameweeks and looks a big threat every time he plays.
Priced at just 6.6m and the highest point-scoring midfielder this gameweek, he could serve as a replacement for James Maddison, who was witnessed walking on crutches leaving the stadium in a 2-0 over the win of Tottenham Hotspur over Manchester United yesterday and could be an injury worry for his owners.
Another impressive one – Wissa and Mbeumo are the top two in the league for non-penalty xG, and Mbeumo's taken 2 pens! (albeit sample size of two games for these stats)
Yoane Wissa is another forward who has already scored 20 points in the first 2 gameweeks and with the tasty fixture run-in of his team and playing at the central 9 position on the field, he is definitely an inexpensive valuable forward to be looked at.
LUTON TOWN
Another cheap forward to look at as a differential is Luton’s main man Carlton Morris. Priced just at 5.5m, even though Luton Town have Chelsea to face in their next game, the fixtures after that look more than decent for them.
Facing the likes of Fulham, Wolves, West Ham, Everton, and Nottingham Forest from GW4 to GW9, Morris is an affordable striker option who could provide value from the bench if you’re ever caught on the wrong side of Pep’s roulette.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
The toons have Liverpool in their next game, but after that all their fixtures rank at 2 on a scale of 2 to 5 on the fixture difficulty rating provided by the Premier League app.
Alexander Isak is turning out to be the most important player in the Saudi owned side, producing a 13-point haul in his first game against Aston Villa.
A blank against the best defence in the league should not let people underestimate him as the 7.6m forward looks bound to rack up goals and assists with the easy fixtures being on his side, and could also act as a differential if you are looking for an immediate forward replacement against a leaky Liverpool defence on the weekend.
Newcastle also have strengthened themselves defensively this season, and if you’re looking for a strong bench option for the short term future Sven Botman is your go to guy. Priced at 4.5m and also providing an assist in his first game, he looks to be nailed to start the most games in the Newcastle side.
Kieran Trippier is the second highest owned defender in the games and at 6.5m he can provide insane attacking threat against teams like Brentford, Sheffield United, Burnley, West Ham, Crystal Palace and Wolves, all of which Newcastle face until Gameweek 10.
MANCHESTER CITY
Phil Foden is next up priced at 7.5m, another inexpensive value midfielder to switch to if you plan on making a transfer in that area.
Man City is a team where fixture difficulty is hardly an issue but when they face teams like Sheffield United, Fulham, West Ham United, Nottingham Forest, and Wolves in the next weeks it would be a mistake to overlook their players.
With ownership just under 10%, De Bruyne injured for four to five months, Bernardo Silva out as well, and no new signings incoming in the considerable future, he becomes less of a rotation risk in the treble-winning side and gets nailed on for a lot more starts in the short term to add creativity in the team.
If you can figure out the defender in this City side who can start most matches, you always want to bring them in your team immediately as they just always look so solid defensively. Ederson (5.5m) is as good as it gets if you’re willing to spend big on a goalkeeper and want to shift from the likes of Pickford, Turner, or Onana whose defense has looked questionable at times.
Ruben Dias is finally fit and back as well and priced at 5.5m he provides an immediate straight replacement for Reece James who is also priced the same and is now out for a number of months following his hamstring injury.
Dias when fit is City’s best centre-back and is expected to start the most games over the next few easy fixtures, so for managers looking for some easy clean sheet points, Dias must be high on your shortlist.
🥈 Foden (£7.5m) – was sensational vs Newcastle when deployed centrally.
🥉 Alvarez (£6.5m) – goal and assist so far this season.
Foden and Alvarez have played every PL minute so far.
With Gundogan/Mahrez leaving and KDB's injury – they should get more gametime this season. pic.twitter.com/LNwGSEd0ro
Julian Alvarez is another forward who is being trusted a lot more by Pep Guardiola who is playing the advanced 8 role in the Premier League is already averaging 6 points per game for the League winners. A 6.5m punt is worth considering given their fixture run in, and Silva’s injury is beneficial for his minutes.
Even in an untimely benching for him, he can provide a lot of value from the bench as he can play just as better centrally when being rotated for the infamous Erling Haaland.
MANCHESTER UNITED
The Red Devils though have looked poor in their first two games, have oppositions in the likes of Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Burnley, and Sheffield United in the next few fixtures which makes their defenders a lot more appealing.
Luke Shaw priced just at 5.5m is a defender who can provide a lot of attacking value against the lower divisions of the league, and at over 25% ownership if you haven’t already got in your team, he should not be someone to overlook.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is another defender you could target if you are looking to save some money as he’s directly 1m cheaper than his fullback partner and has established himself as the number one right-back choice in Erik Ten Hag’s team providing a lot of defensive value and even an assist in his first game.
He is starting to play much more advanced than he has in recent years as well which makes him a top differential to look at if you want to add some bench quality to your team.
