FPL Updates Gameweek 3 – Fantasy Premier League Tips

AGUERO! I’m sure many managers were shouting this on Sunday afternoon. A much improved week for the side with a 79 pointer, beating the average by 19 points. Our rank has improved massively and we’ve been given a green arrow of a million places up to 885k. It’s nothing amazing but it’s a respectable start to this marathon.

I’m much happier after a slow start in gameweek 1 but there’s a few players on the chopping block and plenty of names on the watchlist who have impressed over the first two gameweeks. Let’s see how we got on:

Our keepers haven’t set the world alight in the first two weeks after Fabianski’s 2 points matched last weeks score. Going into the break 1-0 up I thought there was a potential nice sum of points on the way for West Ham’s defence. The second half was a completely different story. The Hammer’s backline was an absolute shambles letting in form Callum Wilson split there defence in two and slot past Lukazs. The second was equally poor defending from a corner.

The backline continues to be a great source of points. Somehow Ben Davies has managed to come out of the first two weeks without a single goal or assist even with an expected goal involvement of 0.95 bettering Alonso, Mendy and Robertson! Fulham didn’t look like scoring at stages of the first half but some poor defending from a counter attack meant another blank for the Welsh defender. Alexander-Arnold and his teammates are the only defenders to have 2 clean sheets in 2 as Liverpool look strong at the back. A clean sheet wasn’t the only thing he picked up twice in two weeks, he managed a second booking which isn’t ideal. Trent loves to cross the ball and he’s made the most amount of crosses out of any other defender with 19 in his two games. The only problem is he doesn’t seem to be that accurate with only 3 of them being successful. Mendy rounds out the defence with another stellar attacking performance. His role as LWB in the 3-5-2 allowed him to get forward all game. Even without a clean sheet he’s still managing to pump out the points with another 2 assists (might’ve been 3).

Another mixed bag for the midfield, starting off with Mahrez who is yet to make it past the 60 minute mark. Starting from the bench in a 6-1 win is always going to be frustrating but it is to be expected now and then with the depth Manchester City have. It’s hard keep this amount of money tied up in a player who isn’t guaranteed starts so I’ll be keeping a lookout for Pep’s presser on Friday. Jota was pulled off at half time against Leicester which isn’t a good sign when the manager needed goals. His 1 pointer isn’t enough to keep his place in the side. Lucas Moura scored our first goal of the week with a curling effort beating Fulham’s keeper. He should’ve had a brace at minimum after missing a couple of glorious chances. Salah’s 2 assists on Monday night could’ve been much more but even without scoring he brought home a 9 pointer to 54% of managers. Sigurdsson 2 pointer in a 2-1 win is worrying but he was robbed of an assist after Walcott missed a sitter of a chance. He also created the joint highest amount of chances this week with a total of 6.

A Zaha blank at home to Liverpool was expected and he’s a long term prospect so I wasn’t that worried. The other striker brought home the bacon or in other words nearly 50% of our points this week in Sergio Aguero. The striker bagged his first match ball of the season along with an assist and max bonus. His 9th hat-trick equals Robbie Fowler, while he lays 2 behind Shearer’s 11.

A full house of blanks on the bench unlike last week but there’s bad news with Wan-Bisskaka picking up a 1 game ban and a -2 after taking down Salah on the edge of the box. There’s not too much to worry about as he can sit on the bench for his ban with no need to sell.

Picking the right captain is crucial. It’s the difference horrible week or an average week or the difference between and average week and a brilliant week. There’s plenty of issues in the squad but I don’t think a wildcard is needed. With 2FTs to use our midfield is getting a rejig this week. With the return of Lamela to the Spurs side and a tough run of games over the next three Lucas Moura’s short spell in the side is up. Jota’s opening two performances weren’t what I expected and with his upcoming games not getting any easier I feel there are better options in the same price bracket.

Lucas (OUT) -> Richarlison (IN)
Jota (OUT) -> Pedro (IN)

The form of Richarlison is too good to miss out on and there’s no point being stubborn when there’s plenty of points to be earned. His fixtures still are great up until gameweek 9 and he’s a bandwagon worth jumping on. The Chelsea man is the second player to come in after impressing, scoring 2 in 2 for the Blues. Chelsea have a great run of fixtures over the next 4 games and at this price I think he’s a great option.

This week’s side:

The £4.5m rotation hasn’t started off well and I don’t expect much better this week either. Patricio starts in goal with the hope of him racking up the save points as he faces Manchester City at home. A clean sheet looks off the cards but we miracles do happen.

AlexanderArnold has Brighton at home and I’m expecting them to make it 3 clean sheets in 3 and fingers crossed one of his crosses leads to a goal. This season’s must have defender Mendy travels to a Wolves side who has started the season slowly. The one and only doubt about Mendy is the odd chance Delph gets a run out but we’ve got a coverage with Cedric on the bench if that happens. Davies keeps his place in the side for now even with his tough run. I was tempted to move him onto PVA or Alonso but at the cost of 4 points I didn’t think it was worth it.

Our midfield 5 which includes 3 mid priced midfielders of new boys Pedro and Richarlison as well as Sigurdsson. I’m hoping the fixtures of Everton will keep Richarlison’s points flowing and hopefully Siggy starting to chip in. If he can’t find form away to Bournemouth there’s a few players I’ve lined up next week. Pedro comes up against a struggling Newcastle side and he’s always a slight risk on the rotation front but with Hazard yet to gain full match fitness and Willian taken off before him last week, he looks a great option at this stage. Salah faces Brighton at Anfield who have already shipped 2 goals on the road and looks a prime captaincy option this week.

Up top it’s unchanged once again. Zaha starts a 7 gameweek period of fixtures where he doesn’t face the top 6 which I’ve decided to target from the start of the season. He faces Watford at Vicarage Road who’ve only conceded once this season. He’s been partnered up front with Benteke and has just played off him. Zaha’s looked very dangerous on the counter in his first two games and I’m expecting his goals tally to increase over these 7 games. Coming off the back of a hat-trick and praise from his manager, Sergio Aguero faces Wolves on the road. Once again he’s a captaincy option as City look dominant.

The captaincy choice has stayed to the original plan even though Aguero has done his best to tempt me after his masterclass last Sunday. Salah gets the armband at home to Brighton who aren’t great on the road and looks set to be a very popular choice this week. Aguero and Salah seem to be the two obvious choices but the home game for the latter edges it compared to the formers trip to Mollineux. The only other fixture that seems better than Liverpool’s plum home game is Arsenal’s match up against West Ham who’ve looked poor defensively. Hopefully the Egyptian can keep up his 8.5 point average!

Written by FPL Junior (@FPL_Junior)

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