We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) takeaways from two more of Saturday’s Gameweek 2 fixtures.
Fulham v Brentford and Manchester City v Newcastle United are the games under the spotligt.
The numbers and graphics you see in this article are taken from our Premium Members Area, where you can access Opta player and team data from every single Premier League fixture.
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CITY STILL A CUT ABOVE
Saturday’s late match at the Etihad underlined two truths: Manchester City and Newcastle United are probably still the two best defensive sides in the Premier League, while Pep Guardiola’s troops remain a level or two above the upstarts around them.
Newcastle dug in and restricted City to relatively few clear-cut openings. In fact, the hosts’ expected goals (xG) tally of 1.01 was lower than they managed in any 2022/23 home fixture.
Erling Haaland (£14.0m) was reduced to half-chances, even if those half-chances were the type of low-xG opportunities he has made a habit of scoring. Here, his radar was misaligned by only a foot or two.
But City were still deserved winners. Both of these teams are capable of thrashing lesser teams on their day but in these fine-margin, top-of-the-table fixtures, the type of goal scored by Julian Alvarez (£6.5m) in Saturday’s game tends to elude Newcastle. The Magpies won only one of their eight meetings against the sides in the top five last season.
“There were moments for us because I thought fitness-wise we looked good, but technically we were off and that’s probably where we lost the game. I have to compliment our back four because they defended their transition well during the game and there were many of them.” – Eddie Howe
Much more favourable fixtures await both teams, either immediately in City’s case or after the international break in Newcastle’s.
CREATIVE FODEN
Putting in a convincing audition for City’s upcoming run was Phil Foden (£7.5m).
The teamsheet may have said ‘right-winger’ but with Kyle Walker (£5.0m) tasked with motoring up and down that flank, Foden was again allowed to drift into central areas, where he’s capable of doing most of his best work.
Foden was electric against Newcastle. It doesn’t always/often happen that maximum bonus points go to the best player on the field but that was the case at the Etihad on Saturday.
“Phil can play all the positions in the forward areas. He has incredible ability between the lines, the way he turns and attacks the last line.
“It’s one of the best I have ever seen. Every control, he knows exactly how to attack the goal. He doesn’t need two or three touches to be in the right position to attack the goal.
“Phil, I know how good he can play in that position, as a striker, right winger, left winger. I am happy because I have the feeling he is coming back.” – Pep Guardiola on Phil Foden
Foden created seven chances against Newcastle, his best-ever total from open play in one game. Three of Haaland’s four opportunities were supplied by Foden, who also claimed the assist for Alvarez’s strike.
We FPL managers know that City midfielders aren’t often season-keepers. But they can be explosive picks over a shorter period, when the stars align. As for those stars in Foden’s case, the short-term fixtures are great and the competition is depleted, thanks to Kevin De Bruyne‘s (£10.3m) injury. Just be wary that Bernardo Silva (£6.5m) will return from illness next week, while there may be up to two new acquisitions in the transfer market.
Álvarez, meanwhile, has now scored or assisted 20 goals in his 26 starts across all competitions for Manchester City.
IVAN WHO?
The absence of Ivan Toney (£8.0m) isn’t being too keenly felt at Brentford, who have scored 16 goals in the seven matches that the striker has missed this season and last.
Bryan Mbeumo (£6.6m) and Yoane Wissa (£6.1m) ended 2022/23 in fine form without Toney and they’ve carried on where they left off this time.
They sit second and third respectively among FPL assets for points after Gameweek 2, following hauls against Fulham.
Two of Mbeumo’s three goals this season have been from the penalty spot but Wissa is on the coat-tails of his team-mate with a trio of attacking returns.
The DR Congo international not only scored but racked up more than twice as many shots as Mbeumo or anyone else on show at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Above: Players involved in Brentford v Fulham, sorted by goal attempts
“He’s always been a goalscorer, that’s why we looked at him in France, and that’s why we like him here. We just know that he can score goals, and I actually think he’s better as a nine than a winger.” – Thomas Frank on Yoane Wissa
Frank’s comments above are backed up by the numbers. In Wissa’s two previous Premier League campaigns, he’s exceeded his xG figure and registered a shot-to-goal average of 20%+. Both of those stats hint at a quality finisher, while both are way up on Mbeumo’s own numbers.
Crystal Palace’s defence should offer more resistance than Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham did but Bournemouth, Everton and Nottingham Forest are all still to come before Gameweek 8, so the Bees still have favourable short-term fixtures to tap into.
FULHAM IN DISARRAY
Fulham were extremely fortunate to win at Everton in Gameweek 1, and their luck ran out against Brentford.
Adrift of all other teams for expected goals conceded (xGC) in 2023/24 so far, they allowed the Bees 15 shots in the box on Saturday. Even the miracle-producing Bernd Leno (£4.5m) has his limits.
In fairness to the Cottagers, they’ve been affected by problems down the spine of their team.
First-choice centre-half Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.5m) hasn’t featured all summer as speculation surrounds his future, key defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha (£5.0m) has been missing through injury, playmaker Andreas Pereira (£5.5m) is still building up his match fitness and Aleksandar Mitrovic (£7.5m) is off to Saudi Arabia.
Mark Flekken (£4.5m) had it easy when it came to saves on Saturday, although also relied on the woodwork to bail him out.
The hope for Fulham fans is that Palhinha’s return to fitness offers a beacon of hope at the back, while Tim Ream‘s (£4.5m) dismissal means that Calvin Bassey (£4.5m) will start in Gameweek 3 – something that a section of the Fulham support had been calling for anyway.
It’s Arsenal and Manchester City, both away, for Marco Silva’s side next.
