Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 3

Welcome to Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 3

Time to look ahead to Gameweek 3 – who has 2 free transfers in their pocket? Or, now that it is Thursday and price swings have occurred who had 2 free transfers and wonders what to do with the other?

We got you covered.

Goalkeepers & Defenders

(Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

With the sinister amount of key defender injuries and absentees so far, it seemed prudent to focus on defender tips; but I confess to being somewhat one sided with the tips; left sided to be precise with a plethora of exciting left backs to choose from. This early in the season stats aren’t so useful as the data set is so small and things can change very quickly as teams come into form, so I have mainly focused on the fixtures.

First up is the top scoring defender so far, Pervis Estupiñán (£5.2m) with a goal and 2 assists already. Brighton’s fixtures are potentially a bit mixed moving forward (WHU, NEW, mun, BOU, avl, LIV); however, I would certainly consider playing him every week regardless of the fixture, such is the potential for attacking threat and the ensuing high ceiling.

Next up, marauding like a prime Marcus Alonso at times in GW1, is Ben Chilwell (£5.7m). However, an assist and disallowed goal against Liverpool, was followed by a frustrating game away to West Ham. I wouldn’t be discouraged by the substitution though, and plan to take advantage of the promising upcoming run of games (LUT, NFO, bou, AVL, ful, bur). If in need of a more budget friendly option, Levi Colwill (£4.5m) and potentially Malo Gusto (£4.0m) in the short term, can give access to the appealing run, but with much reduced attacking potential, as can Robert Sánchez (£4.5m) between the sticks.

Continuing with the left-sided theme, Rico Henry (£4.6m) has started the season well and delivered an assist at home against Spurs followed by a clean sheet at Craven Cottage. Brentford’s encouraging run of fixtures continues for a few weeks yet (CRY, BOU, new, EVE, nfo, mun) and could be especially appealing if there is potential to rotate with a bench defender for the tricky trip to St. James’ Park in GW5. Alternatively, Mark Flekken (£4.5m) could provide a reasonable balance of clean sheet and save point potential if you are searching for a keeper.

Dovetailing nicely with the tougher games for teams like Brentford and potentially Brighton, Destiny Udogie (£4.5m) could be a useful squad option. I’m not anticipating a lot of clean sheets from Spurs, however there is opportunity for attacking returns with a good number of touches in the final third and the fixture run also being decent in the short term (bou, bur, SHU, ars, LIV, lut).

Moving on to probably the best defence in the league. Manchester City are a potential clean sheet machine over the coming GWs (shu, FUL, wha, NFO, wol, ars), however rotation and lack of attacking returns from defenders makes picking options tricky. On balance I would probably go with Joško Gvardiol (£5.0m) given the reasonably favourable price tag or even Ederson (£5.5m). I must confess that I have never had Ederson in my own team or even contemplated it until now, due to the low ceiling and high price, but if clean sheets are consistent enough, he could be reasonable cover.

A few additional thoughts, looking slightly further ahead I would keep Kieran Trippier (£6.5m) on the radar and potentially consider him in a few weeks (LIV, bha, BRE, shu, BUR, whu). If you are after budget enablers, in goal Alphonso Areola (£4.0m) and Matt Turner (£4.0m) are both good value, as are Jordan Beyer (£4.0m) and Issa Kaboré (£4.0m) in defence.

Midfielders

(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Looking to offload those United assets may leave you with some cash swilling about your pocket. So far it is the £6.5m players who have lit the place up. We knew at the start of the season that Bryan Mbeumo (£6.7m) and Kaoru Mitoma (£6.6m) were looking like top value – especially with the former being a penalty taker (and being fortunate enough to be given two chances in as many games) and the latter playing a starring role in arguably the most fluent attacking team in the league. If you haven’t got one or either, it’s never too late. Swallowing your pride and fixing your mistakes is a key part of FPL and these guys will undoubtedly continue to play a pivotal figure from GW3 onwards.

Raheem Sterling (£7.0m) would have been a ‘for old-times sake’ pick last season (and some could argue that’s still the case this), but looking at his opening two performances it doesn’t look like he is revelling in his elder statesman of the team role. He played really well in the opening match at home to Liverpool and gave West Ham countless problems on Sunday with his driving with the ball and 17 ‘box entries’. Taking a look at what’s ahead with Luton and Forest at the Bridge next and a good next six, it would be very surprising to see him with a row of ‘2s’ in these games.

Luis Díaz (£7.7m) is already off to a flyer with a goal in each of his first two. We back him to continue with his place in the team and he has posted very good minutes – 85 & 76 – in each of these games. He is looking fresh after injury and is a maverick player who we know the manager really trusts. After Salah, he looks to be – at least currently – the least indespensible of all the attackers.

Until the injury on Sunday, Carney Chukwuemeka was looking like the obvious £4.5m pick for the article with Pape Sarr (£4.5m) the next in line. He’s now moved to the front of that line due to the Chelsea man’s injury, with his 75 minutes and goal against Manchester United. He may indeed share minutes with Oliver Skipp but if it is for bench fodder, he does seem the most reliable AND capable of the small-fry in midfield.

Blissfully there are fewer Manchester City midfield options nowadays (although look out to see how new boy Jérémy Doku settles in during the coming weeks). Phil Foden (£7.6m) and Jack Grealish (£7.4m) are still the best picks for the City midfield in its current De Bruyne-less state. Foden played centrally last game (rather than on one of the wings) and unleashed his inner beast. Expect more of the same this weekend. An away trip to strugglers Sheffield United should scream points, and the fixtures that lie ahead are also winnable (aren’t they all?!).

If you haven’t ditched your Man Utd assets, or are wanting to capitalise on their game against Nottingham Forest, Bruno Fernandes (£8.5m) may be your man. He’s perhaps the biggest under-performer of the season so far (1.94 xGI apparently!) but is a creator and is due a return to make up for it. When Rasmus Højlund (their new Danish striker, already owned by 0.8%, bizarrely) recovers from his injury and enters the fray, Rashford will be back on the left wing and everything will be right in the world. But until that happens, games still need to be won, and surely Forest at home is the perfect fixture to turn their fortunes and gather some momentum.

Having already scored on his debut versus Newcastle, Moussa Diaby (£6.6m) also played his part (albeit without a goal or assist) in last week’s 4-0 win over Everton. Aston Villa travel to Turf Moor this weekend to face Burnley (who had a rest in their blank gameweek 2). Diaby’s main strength, his speed (he was clocked at 22.7 mph last October vs Wolfsburg), is a large part of his appeal. Diaby’s also cheaper than forward Watkins if you’re looking for a way into the Villa attack.

Forwards

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

With João Pedro being benched and then booked in Gameweek 2 earning him a grand total of ZERO points, there are a lot of managers looking to replace him. Yours truly included! I have listed a few of those that I consider top contenders below and one of which I have already jumped the gun to bring in!

I’ll start with the man I’ve maybe prematurely brought in and that is Nicolas Jackson (£7.0m), the new number 9 at Chelsea. Now some people may be avoiding him due to the Chelsea 9 curse or that fact he hasn’t actually scored yet but the main reason I’ve gone for him is I’ve felt he has been very unlucky. A few great chances against Liverpool and even more against West Ham. He has an xG of 0.53 and 0.79 in the two games. He has the fifth highest xG among strikers with on 1.32 without scoring. Surely this won’t continue? What better time to get your first goal than in a match against a newbie – and that’s just what’s on the cards this weekend for Chelsea and Jackson. Luton come to visit and they are the people’s favourites to be the whipping boys of the league. Last weekend they had a blank so they could come into this game fresh or they could be rusty. After getting trounced 4-1 in their opener could that still be on the players’ minds? I hope it is and that they are worried, causing lots of mistakes. I feel Jackson is a nice long term pick for the next few games too so I feel okay with going early.

We are only two weeks in and already with a price rise, Yoane Wissa (£6.1m) had pretty big boots to fill with the absence of Ivan Toney. Fill them he has! Getting a rise from £6.0m to £6.1m with 3 attacking returns in 2 games with 2 goals and 1 assist. Those who went with him from the start surely feel like gloating. Obviously all eyes were on midfielder Bryan Mbuemo but Wissa has staked his claim for sure! The question is, can he keep it up? He has had 10 shots (9 of which were inside the box) which is more than any other player in the league right now so he is definitely trying his hardest to score. Now he doesn’t have the easiest of games this weekend with Crystal Palace visiting Brentford but I surely wouldn’t put it past Thomas Frank’s men to get a goal or two and hopefully Wissa will be involved.

The man who has completed football at the age of 23! Julián Álvarez (£6.6m) is a young man who has literally done it all in terms of winning trophies. Premier League champion, World Cup champion and European champion. There wasn’t a massive clamour for him among FPL managers before GW1 as KdB was fit, Foden was around, Grealish and that blond robot who has ruined the game were all primed to start. However, Álvarez has proven everyone wrong with back-to-back 90 minute appearances. KdB has got a long term injury as well so that has definitely helped the Argentine’s minutes. I’m sure getting an assist and then the winner vs Newcastle hasn’t hurt his chances either. He should keep that starting spot this week and coming up against promoted strugglers Sheffield United. It could be a goal fest for the juggernaut that is Man City.

I’ll finish with a villain both in team nickname and current FPL potential, Ollie Watkins (£8.0m). What I mean by this is that in Villa’s two games so far this season Watkins has not hit the back of the net. He has grabbed 2 assists which are good but one of those was only winning a penalty. If you are following me still and realise what it means for Watkins to assist a penalty then you’ll have clicked that this then means he is no longer on penalty kick duty (you can’t assist yourself in FPL)! This is a massive blow for his 24.8% of owners as we brought him in for that focal point of the attack, the penalty duties and goal scoring. The other worry we may also have is Watkins didn’t make 90 minutes against Everton! He was hooked off in the 73rd minute with his replacement getting a goal within 40 seconds of coming on. Does this substitution show Emery might be trying to keep Watkins fresh and if a game looks won he’ll be taken off? Only time will tell us that. Villa go to Turf Moor to face a Burnley side that will either be fresh after their blank last week or be cold from not having a game. They lost 3-0 in their opener to City so can they bounce back and pick up their first points? I hope not and think Watkins could get some more points this weekend. He might turn into a short term pick but for now I think get him in!

I’ll just give an honourable mention for Eddie Nketiah (£5.6m). I’ll be honest I’m not too sold on him as he could be dropped at any moment. Having played 72 then 78 minutes in his first two games does show that he probably won’t complete games. On Twitter the other night I saw people surprised that Nketiah was starting over Trossard but he does have 1 goal and 1 assist in the opening 2. His xG for the Palace match was 0.81 yet he couldn’t put it in the goal. He hit the post and some fans seemed to think he was wasteful in his attacks. He did win the pen for Ødegaard so coming up against Fulham who conceded 3 against Brentford could offer plenty goal opportunities for the young man. I will likely still avoid but, if you don’t mind the risk, I think Eddie is worth it!

Thanks for reading Fantasy Football Tips Gameweek 3. This article was written by Stone Frog, MattX, GP and Loud Atlas.

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