The Scout Squad’s best FPL players for Gameweek 2

Fantasy Football Scout contributors Az, Sam, Neale and Tom pick out what they believe are the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players for Gameweek 2.

Our weekly Scout Squad feature always takes the form of a ‘Free Hit’-type selection, with the focus exclusively on the upcoming Gameweek.

All of our panelists have put forward an 18-man long-list of Fantasy assets and will explain their notable inclusions and omissions below.

The players listed will then be narrowed down to a squad of 15 (with the starting XI not exceeding a total cost of £83.0m) for the weekly Scout Picks selection ahead of the deadline at 11:00 BST on Saturday.

Each writer must meet the following requirements:

• At least one goalkeeper costing £5.0m or less
• At least one sub-£5.0m defender
• At least one midfielder listed at £6.5m or below
• At least one forward priced at £7.0m or lower
• No more than three players from the same club

SCOUT SQUAD PICKS

Most popular picks: Robert Sanchez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw, Kostas Tsimikas, Bruno Fernandes, Mohamed Salah, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Danny Ings, Michail Antonio (four), Ederson, David Raya, Son Heung-min, Ivan Toney (three)

AZ SAID…

In goal, I’ve played the fixtures with Brentford, Brighton and Man City playing Palace, Watford and Norwich respectively. As a Robert Sánchez owner, my head has been turned a bit by the performance of David Raya in goal, and I wonder if Brentford’s attacking style will suit their goalkeeper as he racks up the saves even when they concede.

I also found my defenders to be quite easy to pick this week, but there isn’t a lot of excitement there. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw and Kostas Tsimikas all stand a good chance of attacking returns in their fixtures. Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Dias are a bit more boring, but I’m backing them to keep clean sheets against Arsenal and Norwich respectively.

In midfield, it’s impossible not to select Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes after their performances last week. With question marks still surrounding Harry Kane, it seems likely that Son Heung-min will lead the line versus Wolves and could do some damage if Spurs play like they did against City (whether they will or not, I am not too sure on…).

I’ve opted for Jack Grealish as my City attacker of choice versus Norwich. He turned in an okay performance against Spurs but I’d like to see him get the ball in more dangerous areas and am hoping he can be unlocked in this game.

Adama Traore is my “Wildcard” pick. His attacking stats were immense against Leicester and if he can find some end product then Spurs should be concerned.

Up front, I’m backing Dominic Calvert-Lewin against a Leeds side who made a number of defensive errors. With crosses likely to come to him thick and fast, Leeds need to be on their toes and I’m not sure they are up to the task.

Danny Ings was incredibly poor against Watford but still managed some attacking returns thanks to his penalty; I’m expecting much more from him against Newcastle.

My other three spots could be in any order, really. Ivan Toney played well without really threatening too much but I’m expecting him to be used differently against Palace. Michail Antonio was fantastic and could have had 20+ points if he had converted his penalty and tucked away his “easy” chance, but has a tougher game against Leicester on Monday. Callum Wilson is a player who can always score, and Villa were very poor at the back against Watford so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him pop up with another goal.

SAM SAID…

All three goalkeepers look to have a good chance of a clean sheet this weekend, but David Raya really impressed in Gameweek 1: he made four saves, tied best across the division, and was one of just five goalkeepers (the only one under £5.0m) to keep a clean sheet.

Until Andrew Robertson is back, owning Kostas Tsimikas is a gift to FPL managers. Whilst Burnley scored in Gameweek 1, their goal was fortunate not to have been ruled out for a foul on Neal Maupay, therefore the Liverpool defensive double-up looks a good option.

Lucas Digne and Luke Shaw‘s fixtures also look good for a clean sheet, while Sergio Reguilion showed some good attacking form against City in Gameweek 1 and therefore offers managers with good potential upside.

Bryan Mbeumo showed himself to be a fantastic option against Arsenal and that’s why I am picking him again this week. He played in an out-of-position striker role alongside Ivan Toney and was unlucky not to register any attacking returns in the game.

Jamie Vardy‘s expected goal numbers were three times better than anyone else’s across the Leicester City team in Gameweek 1. Whilst they have a difficult match against West Ham on Monday, the Hammers did concede two goals on Tyneside and didn’t look as solid as they did last season, meaning that Vardy could get some joy going forward.

NEALE SAID…

There are a cluster of midfielders competing for our attention this week and some notable omissions from my own squad.

Leon Bailey was in the running for the leftfield fifth midfielder spot given Newcastle’s propensity for conceding chances down their right flank and the Jamaica international’s very promising second-half showing against Watford, while even Son Heung-min doesn’t get a place.

That’s not because I don’t think the ‘out of position’ Spurs winger is a fantastic option this weekend – of course he is – but more that I wanted to champion the case of Lucas Moura, who handily comes in at a price that fulfils the Scout Squad’s one sub-£7.0m midfielder criteria. The Brazilian was superb on the eye against Manchester City and, for underlying stats fans, backed that up with three shots and as many key passes. With Wolves getting to grips with a new higher defensive line, Spurs’ speedy counter-attacking trio could make hay at Molineux.

Sergio Reguilon completes a double-up from north-west London as I liked what I saw from Spurs’ defence collectively and the left-back heading in the opposite direction.

City representation seems like a must against Norwich but how do we go about picking a safe starter? Ferran Torres was “a good advert for Harry Kane” (copyright the Manchester Evening News) up top in Gameweek 1, the fitness of Ilkay Gundogan remains uncertain at the time of writing and Riyad Mahrez, City’s stand-out pre-season performer, had a off-day at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Jack Grealish ought to be involved from kick-off, at least, and showed glimpses of his potential down the left on Sunday. Joao Cancelo is a riskier punt but, despite the defeat, he was his own marauding self at Spurs, creating three chances and attempting as many shots.

Wilfried Zaha is perhaps the most surprising name in the list above. Last week I backed Kieran Tierney in my Scout Squad, having sensed teething problems down Brentford’s right in their final pre-season friendly. The Scot promptly blanked but supplied more chances than any other player in Gameweek 1, with the Bees also allowing the highest number of opportunities to be created from their right flank in the whole division. Zaha, who is yet again set to be at the forefront of everything Palace do going forward, could prosper when the sides meet this weekend.

I’ve also gone a bit different for the token £6.5m-and-under forward, with many others opting for Ivan Toney. “Never again” are two words that spring to mind whenever Neal Maupay’s name is brought up in Fantasy circles and it’s true that his goal conversion rate is on the abysmal side over the last two campaigns. But after seeing him drop a lot deeper when Danny Welbeck was present last season, his presence around the six-yard box was notable against Burnley – and even he generally hits the target from that range.

TOM SAID…

I’ve doubled up on Liverpool’s defence ahead of their Gameweek 2 meeting with Burnley, via full-backs Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kostas Tsimikas. Having Virgil van Dijk back, as well as both Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, will surely boost Liverpool’s clean sheet count in the coming weeks, while a capacity crowd at Anfield can also be an important factor. In fact, the Reds have lost their opening home league fixture only twice since 1966/67.

Brighton and Hove Albion also get a defensive double-up from me, despite last weekend’s first-half jitteriness at Turf Moor. A disrupted pre-season for Graham Potter’s backline may have played a part, but it’s worth noting that Albion still had the second-best expected goals conceded (xGC) total from open play in Gameweek 1. If they can sharpen up defending set-pieces, I’m backing Robert Sánchez and Lewis Dunk to deliver against a Watford side who I still think may struggle going forward this season.

They’re joined at the back by goalkeeping duo Edouard Mendy and David Raya, plus defenders Rúben Dias and Luke Shaw.

Raya is something of a left-field inclusion, but I was impressed by his performance against Arsenal when he made several excellent stops. Whilst they won ‘to nil’, the Bees allowed more shots overall (22) than any other Premier League side across round one, which does suggest that Raya can pick up save points even when they do concede. An away match at Crystal Palace is an one appealing, too.

Further forward, Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes are rather obvious picks, so I’ll focus on some of my other selections.

Despite an underwhelming debut, with his stoppage-time penalty his only registered attempt, Danny Ings is my top forward pick. To be fair to him, he was starved of good chances at Watford, but that should change at Villa Park with Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins both set to be involved. It’s also worth noting how open their opponents Newcastle United were in Gameweek 1, as they gave up six big chances, more than any other side.

Meanwhile, we all know Son Heung-min doesn’t need Harry Kane to perform, and I’m expecting him to deliver again against a Wolverhampton Wanderers side who are still adapting to a new system, which in the second half at Leicester City, saw them press higher up the pitch and shift their defensive line-up. A new approach then, that could leave space in behind, which could be good news for Spurs’ direct runners.

Elsewhere, I can see an open game at Elland Road as Leeds United take on Everton. Because of that, I’ve included attacking players from both sides: Raphinha, Patrick Bamford and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Whites looked particularly vulnerable in the middle of the pitch last weekend, a zone Calvert-Lewin thrives in, while Raphinha and Bamford performing in front of a capacity home crowd is an exciting prospect.

The list is completed by Riyad Mahrez, Ivan Toney and Michail Antonio, though Romelu Lukaku may be a late entry if Tuchel confirms he’s ready to start in his pre-match press conference.