If you’re in a rush and need some last-minute Fantasy Premier League (FPL) advice, here’s a quick round-up of what you need to know about Gameweek 1.
WHEN’S THE FPL GAMEWEEK 1 DEADLINE?
All transfers and team selections need to be done by 18:30 (BST) on Friday 16 August.
PRO PUNDIT TEAM REVEALS
Heading into each season’s opening weekend, expert team reveals are amongst our most-wanted articles. It helps assess the general mood regarding team structure, early chip plans and certain players.
We’ve delivered a bunch of them over the last few days, where all have Erling Haaland (£15.0m) and Alexander Isak (£8.5m) but only Pras has selected Mohamed Salah (£12.5m). And even that was a late switch caused by Oscar Bobb’s (£5.0m) injury.
Instead, elite managers like FPL General, Zophar and Lateriser are using that money on Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m).
Former champion Simon March currently says no to the Arsenal attacker, while Sam Bonfield doesn’t want FPL’s most expensive defender.
To round things off, three Hall of Fame managers have kindly shared their latest thoughts.
LAST-MINUTE DILEMMAS
Of course, with the transfer window still open, some well-owned names could have an uncertain fortnight. Reports say Manchester City are talking about a possible Eberechi Eze (£7.0m) purchase, now that Julian Alvarez has left.
Brighton and Hove Albion keep buying, adding competition to Joao Pedro (£5.5m), Yankuba Minteh (£5.5m) and Valentin Barco (£4.0m).
At Spurs, Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) has signed for big money but it’s unknown whether he’ll immediately make Monday’s starting line-up.
OUR PRE-SEASON ROUND-UP
If any late, quick decisions need making, make sure to check out our comprehensive guide to pre-season. It shows the results from friendlies, lists key transfers and provides links to notable editorial articles.
- READ MORE: Best £8.5m+ midfielders
- READ MORE: Best £6.0m to £7.0m forwards
- READ MORE: Best £4.5m defenders
- READ MORE: Jump on, jump off: Best fixture runs for each Premier League side
Of course, there is also the much-loved minutes tracker, showing which players are more ready than others.
BEST FPL GAMEWEEK 1 CAPTAIN
The same three names lead the way for both Captain Sensible and our Rate My Team (RMT) algorithm, just in a different order.
Alexander Isak is the article’s recommended armband recipient but Mohamed Salah edges Bukayo Saka according to the number crunching.
SCOUT PICKS + DIFFERENTIALS
Our weekly selection – essentially a Free Hit in all but name – is another Salah-less squad, backing team-mate Diogo Jota (£7.5m) to do well at Ipswich Town.
There’s a Newcastle United triple-up, plus confidence that Solanke will indeed get the nod from Ange Postecoglou.
Meanwhile, a quick starter from last season, Bryan Mbeumo (£7.0m), is in our trio of differential picks alongside Minteh and defender Daniel Munoz (£5.0m).
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
We’ve predicted the starting XIs of all 20 Premier League teams.
Whatever you decide to do, good luck with FPL Gameweek 1!
