Welcome to the Game-week #2 issue of FPL Unplugged for the 2021/22 season! If you are new here please do consider supporting me by subscribing to my newsletter. Every week, I write about all things FPL. Right from Game-week reviews, Game-week previews, FPL trends, captain picks, Buy/Sell/Watchlist/Hold indicators and much more. Why don’t you come along?
Game-week #1: Review
Game-week #1 was a great start for almost everyone. With the game-week average being 69 points which is a very high average while the highest score of the week was 150. Salah and Bruno, the highest owned and captained midfielders both had a high point haul of 17 and 20 points respectively. Luke Shaw was the highest owned player but only returned 1 point after conceding a goal as well as being booked.
Talking about football statistics, Manchester United scored the most goals in game-week one while Leeds United were on the receiving end of that thrashing defeat. In terms of expected stats, West Ham and Everton had the best attacks accumulating an xG tally of 3.01 and 2.39 respectively, while Southampton and Newcastle United were the worst defences in terms of xGA.
Game-week #2: Preview
Game-week #1 was a very high scoring game-week and looking at some of the fixtures in game-week #2 and player, ownership one could easily see another high scoring game-week ahead of us. Some of these notable fixtures include Liverpool vs Burnley, Manchester City vs Norwich and Manchester United vs Southampton. Everyone should try and target these fixtures as I won’t be surprised if all of, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United won with 3 or more goals.
Top Transfers in this Game-week:
Paul Pogba
Bruno Fernandes
Romelu Lukaku
Michail Antonio
Richarlison
Top Transfers out this Game-week:
Harry Kane
James Maddison
Bukayo Saka
Kelechi Iheanacho
Kai Havertz
Buy/Sell/Watchlist/Hold
Buy:
1. Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes scored a magnificent hattrick against Leeds United on the opening day of the Premier League. He was the highest scoring player in game-week #1 and definitely made a great impression. Southampton had the second worst xGA in game-week #1 which means we could see another absolute thrashing from Manchester United and multiple returns from the Portuguese Magnifico. Although I would not suggest taking a points hit for him.
2. Michail Antonio and Said Benrahma
West Ham started the season on a high after coming back from behind to beat Newcastle United 4-2 on the opening weekend. Both Michail Antonio and Said Benrahma scored a goal and assisted another. The game against Leicester could go either way but I feel that this game will be a high scoring affair because both teams have great attacks but not the most secure defences and everyone should take the opportunity by getting in either of the two in.
Sell:
1. Kelechi Iheanacho
Kelechi Iheanacho is among the highest sold player this week and it is for a reason. With Barnes now fit to play, Leicester have gone back to playing with a lone striker. And with the signing of Patson Daka, the role of Iheanacho in the squad is unknown. Apart from that, even though Leicester won 1-0 against Wolves last week, statistically Wolves outperformed Leicester.
2. Kai Havertz
He is a great player, no doubt about that. But, most people (including me) had him in as a Game-week #1 punt against Crystal Palace. The fixture run from now gets a little tricky for Chelsea up until Game-week #7. He could definitely pick up a decent amount of points despite the difficult games but I just feel that there is a lot more potential for points elsewhere.
Watchlist:
1. Paul Pogba
Not many players can make 4 assists in one game. He is a very skillful player and can definitely have a great season for United. The question here is whether he can put in performances like that week after week. He had an xA tally of 0.7 but had 4 assists in the game against Leeds. The overperformance in expected stats here is a great sign but is not sustainable. Although he also had a few shots and played in an advanced role. For now, he goes into the watchlist instead of Buy list.
2. Neil Maupay:
Neil Maupay had a low ownership in the first game-week and had great underlying stats last season. He might’ve underperformed last season but he historically has always matched his xG tally. I got him in the first game-week instead of Toney who blanked and had a very high ownership. Maupay rewarded me with a goal but got booked too. But I think he is flying under the radar and everyone should keep an eye out for him.
Hold:
1. Harry Kane
Harry Kane has become the most transferred out player this game-week. That baffles me considering how f=good he is both, as an FPL asset as well as a player. He can easily have multiple returns against Wolves. Spurs showed us that they can go head to head against “the favourites” and still come out on the top. Transferring Kane out would mean people will move for Bruno by taking a hit, which again in my opinion is not worth it so early in the season.
2. Ben White
Another Englishman being transferred out in high volumes is Ben White. Arsenal have tough fixtures for the next two weeks, but he can still offer great value for money after those. Transferring out a defender so early is kinda stupid and I would rather hold onto the transfer than waste it by transferring out White.
Captain Picks
1. Salah
The narrative that Salah has a bad record against Burnley is stupid and should not be paid attention to. It is just a coincidence. That is it. Salah is among the best players to have ever played in the PL and one game is all it will take him to break this bad spell against them. Will it be today? only time will tell.
2. Bruno
If you wanna be adventurous or actually believe in Salah’s bad luck against Burnley, go for Bruno ‘Magnifico’ Fernandes. Southampton had the second worst expected goals against record in the first week and Bruno is just coming off the back of a a strong performance against Leeds. So on paper this is a pretty good game to captain him.
3. Mahrez
Norwich missed a few chances against Spurs but he generally scores all the opportunities he gets precisely. If you are feeling VERY adventurous today, give the armband to Mahrez. I could easily see City score five past Norwich and Mahrez getting in on the action too.
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