Here are the best players to buy for Gameweek 2. We're going to break it down by position to look at the best players for next week. I'll be posting articles like this all season so stay tuned!
Goalkeepers 🧤
Realistically you shouldn't be looking at a keeper transfer unless on a free hit or a wildcard, but there's still a lot to be learned even if this isn't the week you're looking that way. The standout fixture is Arsenal home to Leeds which has Raya top on 4 points this week. If I was using a chip this week he would be in my team without question.
Where it gets interesting is the next picks on the table: Sanchez, Petrovic, and Dubravka, all on 3.7 points. A huge number of us picked Dubravka as our backup keeper, and if Sanchez or Petrovic is your other keeper, which are you starting? Chelsea and Bournemouth will be a better defense this season, though Burnley have got the fixture home to Sunderland. In my case I'm doubled up with Esteve so therefore considering a hedge with Sanchez and Esteve.
Chelsea are away to West Ham who were goalless vs Sunderland. Petrovic has Wolves at home who were also goalless in GW1, albeit vs Man City. Who starts in goal for Man City next gameweek? Avoid Trafford, Ederson is on the table but it's unclear. Pep said yesterday, "Ederson is my player. He's our player. Ederson has been the keeper of six Premier League [titles] in seven years. He's the keeper of the #UCL and he won it, saving in Madrid, and the Final [vs Inter] in the last minutes. He's the player that nine years, every single game."
We'll have to see if he does leave but until the window closes I'm steering well clear. It's also not impossible for him to leave and they sign a new GK which leaves Trafford as backup, though he did look a very capable pair of hands in his debut.
Looking at the next 5, Petrovic leads among the £4.5m keepers. Liverpool is out of the way and now it's Wolves, Spurs, Brighton, Newcastle, Leeds. So if you're on a wildcard and want a super cheap combo, go with him and Dubravka. No other £4m keepers played in GW1.
Defenders 🛡️
Next up are the defenders. Arsenal center-backs Gabriel and Saliba are at the top for the Leeds game, with Gabriel topping the charts this week. He's my preference over any other Arsenal defender for his better goal threat. Assuming no injuries, he'll probably finish the season as Arsenal's top-scoring defender, so go for him over Saliba. Calafiori of course scored in GW1 and kept a clean sheet but he's not nailed so I'd still much rather Gabriel.
The challenge with Palace was always the starting fixtures, and yet they managed a clean sheet away at Stamford Bridge. They're home to Forest next, and it's GW4 and GW5 with Sunderland and West Ham back to back that looks incredible. It's a really good entry point to buy Munoz now for £5.5m. Besides Trent, who's left, he was the top defender for expected goal involvement last season with 8.5 xGI. It's like having an extra midfielder in your team owning him.
Gabriel and Cucurella are my two favorite premium defenders currently. Ait-Nouri had a good debut, it's just the longer term question mark over his nailedness as Gvardiol returns to the team. Gvardiol and Ait-Nouri were third and fourth for xGI last season in fact. We'll see them starting together plenty of course.
Senesi looks fantastic for £4.5m if you're in need of a cheap defender, playable in lots of upcoming weeks. He registers extremely well for defensive contributions per 90; in fact, in GW1 again he came away with 15. He normally averages just over 10 so he'll get you those extra points a lot over the coming weeks. Truffert is the upside chasing alternative who could get the odd attacking return from left-back; he's the Kerkez replacement. It's rare we see a £4m defender on these and Esteve just sneaks in with 4.2 points, joint with some big hitters this week in fact. Of course his longer term projections aren't nearly as good. This is really the only week you'll be happy starting him. If you're on a wildcard I'd consider a Leeds £4m defender instead: Bijol, Gudmundsson, Rodon in that order personally. They should be a better defense over the season than Burnley, and on a wildcard you can play for a strong defense this week, e.g. Gabriel, Munoz, Senesi would be my starting back 3. Lewis had a brilliant GW1 with a clean sheet, 2 assists and bonus. His lack of nailedness will become a headache at some point though, we've been here before last season - it's hard to imagine a world where he's starting every match and he's pricier than 24/25. Porro doesn't make the table, who is a popular defender, just 2.5 projected points away at Man City. Though I should mention what happened last time he played there, as much as it pains me to say because I benched him, he scored, kept a clean sheet, and got bonus for a 14 pointer I think it was. Who remembers that?