Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 1 has passed and in true fantasy fashion it left us with unexpected results, questionable player performances and some good old bench frustration.
It's important to remember that gameweek 1 isn't necessarily an indicator of which players are in form, instead it should be used to see which players are in their manager's plans and who stands out in their respective formations and systems.
As always there's a number of talking points ahead of Gameweek 2, luckily @jamieFPL has pulled out the trending topics and shared his insight on them:
OOPS, we've found them again.
Which midfielders were deployed in more advanced roles? As highlighted in pre-season a number of players listed as midfielders were likely to start in more advanced roles and in some cases as forwards, making them potentially good out of position (OOP) picks. Nathan Redmond was a popular choice after his new boss Claude Puel compared him to Thierry Henry. In Gameweek 1 he found the net against Watford whilst starting up top alongside Shane Long and after the match claimed Puel “gave me confidence to play up front”. Anthony Martial started on the left side of an attacking midfield trio and contributed with two assists in their 3-1 victory over Bournemouth. Elsewhere, Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Firmino started as centre forwards, while Gaston Ramirez was deployed as an advanced attacking midfielder tucked in behind Negredo.NegreDO or NegreDONT?
Is Alvaro Negredo better than my existing 6.5m striker? Alvaro Negredo marked his league debut for Middlesbrough with a goal in their 1-1 draw at home to Stoke City. Elsewhere, other widely owned 6.5m strikers Shane Long (14.8%), Andre Grey (12.5%) and Andy Carroll (8.7%) failed to return any more than a couple of points. After just a single game, a number of managers have already made their cheap third striker their main transfer priority and are looking to bring in the former Man City man. Elsewhere, Adama Diomande (4.5m) and Salomon Rondon (6.5m) found the net, whilst Fernando Llorente (6.5m) impressed on his debut registering the highest number of shots on target (4) in Gameweek 1. However, none of these players managed to make the bandwagon with Negredo who scored with a scrappy header on to his shoulder from one yard out. If you somehow managed to select a striker around the 6.5m mark who didn't play in Gameweek 1 then maybe you have a case for Negredo, otherwise, show some faith in your choice at least for the next couple of weeks whilst closely monitoring the form of Negredo.Tigers For Sale!
What next for Leicester players? Leicester City started their title-defence season with a 2-1 defeat to newly promoted, and injury ridden, Hull City. The Foxes were clear favourites for this fixture and many expected it to be a walk in the park, but following their defeat a number of fantasy managers are considering offloading their Leicester players in true knee-jerk fashion. If you believe Gameweek 1 is an indicator of long term form then go ahead and join the 14 thousand managers who transferred out Vardy yesterday, however, we'd recommend at least waiting until Gameweek 3. Next week Leicester face Arsenal who are plagued by defensive injuries with Per Mertesacker and Gabriel Paulista ruled out, and Laurent Koscielny lacking match fitness. They displayed their defensive fragility against Liverpool, conceding four goals in their opening match.Bye Bye Bainesy.
Has Leighton Baines lost his fantasy appeal? Those who watched Everton draw 1-1 with Tottenham on Saturday will have noticed that Leighton Baines was not involved in any set-pieces. Kevin Mirallas took corners from both sides whilst Ross Barkley was trusted with free kicks. Barkley also took Everton's most recent penalty in their final pre-season friendly against Espanyol, which despite not being that bad, was saved. Ronald Koeman showed that he's opting for three central defenders and two wingbacks, which does serve as a plus to Baines' fantasy potential. Their opening match didn't prove an indicator of his true potential in this system as they shied away from crosses whilst Gerard Deulofeu lead the line as cover for Romelu Lukaku. It wouldn't be logical to take a point hit removing him from your sides, so debating taking him out only really applies to those who intend on playing an early wildcard. What made Baines such a solid choice in recent years was his involvement with set-pieces and penalties, now that he's off them his appeal has decreased. If you're playing an early wildcard and need to free up 0.5m, downgrading him to teammate Ashley Williams wouldn't be a bad idea.Guardiola Has No Hart.
What's the deal with Joe Hart? Pep Guardiola marked his Premier League managerial debut with a narrow 2-1 win over Sunderland but instead stole the headlines with his decision to bench Joe Hart in favour of Willy Caballero. When asked about Hart's future in the first team, Guardiola responded: "Maybe the next game it changes, maybe not. I needed the build-up and to use the goalkeeper to play quicker to arrive the balls behind the line. Willy had this quality first of all, he trained more times. He arrived on the first day. Guardiola has been persistently linked with Marc-André ter Stegen and more recently Claudio Bravo. More importantly, Joe Hart is no longer ‘nailed on' in goal for Manchester City, so if you're part of the 6.0% that own him, you should probably look to reinvest that 5.5m elsewhere.
