Fantasy Football Tips: Must have picks for FPL Gameweek 2

An eventful opening weekend of FPL has seen the transfer market busy as managers look to capitalise on key performing players heading into the next round of fixtures. So who are the must-have players to pick for FPL Gameweek 2? Holly Shand returns with her recommendations which you can read about below. 

Gameweek 1 Review

Last week I predicted Pervis Estupinan, Bukayo Saka and Erling Haaland to be the key players on opening weekend. They each passed with flying colours: Estupinan bagged an assist against Luton, Saka scored against Nottingham Forest and captain Haaland delivered a brace against Burnley.

That meant an outstanding opening weekend for my FPL team which scored 88 points, catapulting me to the top 100k in Gameweek 1, out of eight million squads. It’s my best ever start to an FPL season with high hopes for a great campaign. 

Defender: Ben Chilwell (£5.5m) vs West Ham (A)

Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell was one of the standout performers in Gameweek 1, playing as an advanced winger in this opening game under Mauricio Pochettino. He came away with an assist but it could have been so much more: he had a goal disallowed for a tight offside and also missed a big chance.

The signing of Moises Caicedo at Stamford Bridge could increase clean sheet hopes for the Blues this campaign. It might mean a shift to a flat back four in future fixtures, but Chilwell can still excel as the more advanced of the two full-backs, with Reece James deeper. He’s also heavily involved in set pieces. 

Midfielder: Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) vs Bournemouth (H)

Mohamed Salah got another Premier League campaign underway with an attacking return and looked frustrated to be departing the pitch on 70 minutes with an assist against Chelsea. He was the shining light in Liverpool’s attack with three shots on goal: he hit the woodwork and had a goal ruled out for offside.

Salah is on penalties for Liverpool and is expected to provide a captain alternative to Erling Haaland this weekend, who has a trickier fixture at home to Newcastle United. Monitor Haaland’s performance and minutes in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday evening before making a decision. Salah infamously blanked in the 9-0 defeat of Bournemouth last season.

Forward: Ollie Watkins (£8.0m) vs Everton (H)

Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins grabbed an assist in the defeat to Newcastle United last weekend but fantasy managers are prematurely losing faith in the striker. He’s the third most sold forward going into Gameweek 2, with over 60,000 managers parting company with him at the time of writing.

Watkins had two shots in the box and created two chances in Gameweek 1 and could be a key player for Gameweek 2 with a home game against Everton. He chalked up two assists in this fixture last campaign. Watkins is also on penalties and regularly completes 90 minutes so he has plenty of routes to fantasy points.

Most selected players

Below are the ten players who have the highest ownership percentage so far for Gameweek 2.

• Erling Haaland: 90.8%
• Bukayo Saka: 65.4%
• Pervis Estupinan: 55.3%
• Marcus Rashford: 48.8%
• Kaoru Mitoma: 38.5%
• Kieran Trippier: 32.5%
• Mohammed Salah: 29.7%
• Gabriel: 29.6%
• Andre Onana: 29.4%
• Joao Pedro: 27.3%