FPL: Top 5 FPL Players To Watch For Gameweek 2

The Premier League kicked off to an electric start in GW1 and there were a number of interesting results across the table.

From an FPL perspective, there were some standout performers and players who took the points leaderboards by storm. With that in mind, here’s a look at the players to watch out for going into GW2.

Pascal Groß (£5.5m) or Fabian Schär (£4.5m)

Pascal Groß had a great game against Manchester United, scoring a brace in Brighton’s 2-1 win at Old Trafford. He scored 15 points against the Red Devils sending him to the top of the FPL leaderboards in GW1.

Considering Groß was owned by only 3.8% of FPL managers, he turned out to be a differential pick that went totally under the radar ahead of the start of the season.

However, that didn’t last for long with nearly 225k managers transferring him in after GW1.

What’s notable is Groß’s influence index of 72 and a threat index of 76 after Brighton’s first game against United.

The German midfielder also completed an impressive 6 progressive passes and he also registered 3 shot-creating actions and won 3 bonus points in GW 1.

As the season progresses, we could see him perhaps be a vital cog in Brighton’s season and at £5.5m he’s a useful budget pick in midfield.

While in Newcastle’s 2-0 victory against newly promoted Nottingham Forest, Fabian Schär was arguably the best player on the pitch.

Schär scored 15 points. With quite a noticeable impact against Forest, his influence index was 66.

Schär was owned by only 4% of FPL managers, meaning he too was a differential pick that turned out to be valuable for managers who selected him before GW1.

In the game against Forest last weekend, Schär completed 4 clearances, 3 interceptions, and 2 tackles. He also recorded an impressive 3 progressive passes and 4 progressive carries.

For GW2 Newcastle play Brighton and having either Schär or Groß in your team could be beneficial in GW2 with either, or, getting some points as both sides face off against each other.

However, Schär has been transferred in by nearly 198k managers after GW1 so you really won’t want to miss out on selecting one of the pair for GW2.

Erling Haaland (£11.6m)

Another player who was off to a flying start in the Premier League was Erling Haaland, as the Norwegian scored 13 points in the game against West Ham with 2 goals against the Hammers.

Haaland had an influence index of 62.8 and his threat index was 73 as the striker was a constant problem for the West Ham backline with his intelligent runs in behind their defence.

After all the hype and the harsh criticism of his Community Shield performance, City’s new number nine scored a brace on his Premier League debut, and also being City’s designated penalty taker makes him a must-have, despite his rather high price of £11.5m which increased by £0.1m to £11.6m.

GW1 was perhaps the litmus test for Haaland with managers waiting to gauge his performance and it’s rather telling with 981k managers transferring him in after GW1.

Shuffling your team selections to accommodate him could be a good idea because he looks solid and ready to take the Premier League by storm.

Darwin Nunez (£9.1m)

Darwin Nunez was also off to a quick start as the Uruguayan scored one and assisted Salah’s equaliser against Fulham. In a game where Liverpool were struggling in all departments, Nunez came off the bench and changed the dynamic for Liverpool with his excellent movement in the box.

He earned 9 points against Marco Silva’s energetic Fulham side and had an influence index of 53.2, a creativity index of 20.6 with a very impressive and evident 112 threat index.

Nunez had an xG of 0.9 and registered 2 shot-creating actions in the short time he was on the pitch.

Nunez is priced rather low at £9.1m, especially given his potential and what we’ve seen from him so far this season. He was the player that galvanized Liverpool against Fulham and it looks like he’ll play a pivotal role for the Reds this season.

Darwin Nunez was owned by 24.6% of managers before GW1 and with 281k managers transferring him in after GW1, he’s a pick that seems like a steal at £9.1m.

If you can shuffle your strikers to accommodate Nunez, especially if your team is defence or midfield heavy, it’ll surely reap rich dividends considering what we’ve seen from him so far.

Aleksandar Mitrović (£6.6m)

Aleksandar Mitrović is a must have. Period. We had recommended Mitrovic as our top budget forward ahead of the start of the season if you’ve seen our earlier post.

His performance against Liverpool was outstanding and he was the best player on the pitch for Fulham and arguably from both sides in GW1.

The Serbian striker scored a brace with a penalty in the second half and a world-class header at the far post in the first half.

He scored 13 points, and tellingly his influence index was 82. Mitrovic has started the season on fire for Marco Silva’s side and being Fulham’s be-all and end-all and main goalscoring threat, at £6.6m, you’d better act quick and get him into your team.

Mitrovic was owned by 15% of managers before GW1 and with 524k managers transferring him in ahead of GW2, he’s a pick we would highly recommend and is a must not miss.

And hopefully, should he avoid getting injured this season, we can surely expect double figures from him for goals and at £6.6m he’s an absolute steal.

(ICT index data from fplanalytics.com and stats from Fbref and Sofascore)