We’ve put together our Scout Picks ‘bus team’ for Gameweek 2 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).

The upcoming Scout Squad nominations, as well as the pre-match press conferences, will help shape our finalised picks.

However, this early draft, at the very least, offers an insight into the players and teams who will be under consideration.

There are, as ever, certain restrictions for our squad:

• An £83.0m overall budget for our starting XI
• An overall squad limit of £100.0m
• No more than three players per team

A reminder, too, that the Scout Picks are for the upcoming Gameweek in isolation.

GAMEWEEK 2 FIXTURES

Using our Members’ ticker, here is the Gameweek 2 difficulty ranking:

THE LIKELY LADS

Erling Haaland (£15.5m) and Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m) both found a way to blank on the opening weekend.

It’s the first time that Haaland hasn’t scored in a Gameweek 1 fixture since he joined Manchester City, but it’ll take more than that to put owners off the Norwegian. He still fired out five shots and will face a Crystal Palace side that doesn’t quite feel right at the moment.

Fernandes was narrowly behind him as FPL’s top 2025/26 points scorer. Able to have three chances and create three more in Manchester United’s shock defeat to Hull City, despite being sluggish on the eye, he’s built up enough goodwill to be trusted versus another promoted team, Ipswich Town. Whether that extends to another double-up with Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) is another question.

Fellow highly-owned asset Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) was on the verge of joining them as disappointments until scoring a spot-kick at Newcastle United, deep into stoppage time. Does that mean he is Liverpool’s preferred penalty taker?

“I think we have not only Dom [Szoboszlai] and Alexander [Isak] – we have more very good specialists. Alexis [Mac Allister] also was on the pitch and he’s a very good penalty-taker, Cody [Gakpo] – we have a lot. But I think Dom showed the level. It’s an almost impossible penalty to stop.” – Andoni Iraola, post-match

The Reds weren’t convincing on Tyneside, but still racked up 27 shots and 2.98 expected goals (xG). All-rounder Szoboszlai took every corner and free-kick, too.

Liverpool next host Nottingham Forest, who’ve won their two previous Anfield trips without conceding, but that shouldn’t really be a factor in FPL decisions.

Meanwhile, one Arsenal defender was always going to make this line-up but, considering how striker-less Aston Villa collapsed at Brighton and Hove Albion, perhaps Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m) should be joined by a teammate. Like the Italian, Ben White (£5.5m) assisted on night one.

IN CONTENTION

The Gunners’ middle goal saw Christos Tzolis (£6.5m) provide for Bukayo Saka (£9.5m). Their exciting new signing set up seven pre-season strikes, and 23 throughout his final Club Brugge campaign – but Saka and Martin Odegaard (£6.5m) actually found the net against Coventry City. Settling on one of these is tough.

Speaking of the Sky Blues, covering their defence at home to Hull via attacking full-back Milan van Ewijk (£4.0m) or defensive contribution (DefCon) deliverer Bobby Thomas (£4.0m) suddenly seems less essential after the Tigers’ famous win. But it’s still worthy of consideration.

That MKM Stadium result also adds uncertainty to Man United’s Harry Maguire (£5.0m), Senne Lammens (£5.0m) and Luke Shaw (£4.5m) against Ipswich. Is this the Red Devils’ backline that kept three clean sheets in last season’s final six outings? Or only two during their first 21? The odds say that Michael Carrick’s side have the best chance of a clean sheet in Gameweek 2 – but nothing is ever that straightforward with United:

The Tractor Boys beat Sunderland on Saturday, and Regis Le Bris’ side will enter their home clash with Fulham hoping to quickly get points on the board before European football starts tiring them out. Brian Brobbey (£6.0m) and Enzo Le Fee (£6.0m) both factor in our early thoughts after the Cottagers’ leaky – but plucky – display on Monday.

Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) and Nico O’Reilly (£6.5m) are in the premium defender mix, if money allows.

Of Sunday’s out-of-positioners, O’Reilly is probably the likeliest to remain in midfield. FPL managers still fondly remember how the 21-year-old ended last season: 10 matches, four goals, 20 box shots and 73 points.

Despite Sunday’s clean sheet loss, van Dijk exhibited his two other routes to points at Newcastle: DefCons (he hit the threshold) and set-piece threat (two shots). The clean sheet odds are in his favour this week, too.

THE LONGER SHOTS

As well as two of the promoted teams facing each other, quite a few other Gameweek 2 matches are tough to call.

Bournemouth v Everton, Leeds United v Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United and maybe even Chelsea v Brighton and Hove Albion fall into the tricky-to-read pile.

Then again, does fixture difficulty matter to someone like Mamadou Sangare (£5.5m), given his predilection for DefCons?

It might also be tough to resist a Chelsea attacker after Monday. Joao Pedro (£7.5m) and Morgan Rogers (£7.5m) are initial considerations, with Cole Palmer (£9.5m) flagged. It won’t be easy by any means, but the Seagulls need to pick a strong XI in Thursday’s Conference League playoff, which comes less than 72 hours before the trip to Stamford Bridge.

A seemingly rejuvenated Yoane Wissa (£6.0m) is a maverick shout for a forward spot, too, against a Spurs side that just shipped three goals.

GAMEWEEK 2: EARLY SCOUT PICKS

*Note: As we’ve maxed out our £83m starting budget, we’re left with minimal funds for the four substitutes. The three outfielders at least stand a good chance of minutes in Gameweek 2, although there’s a conflict of interest with Bobby Thomas (£4.0m) and Regan Slater (£4.5m), plus a likelihood of more substitute duty for Sindre Walle Egeli (£4.5m). Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) is a non-playing goalkeeper, in the absence of any other £4.0m options with starting credentials.