We have put together our early Scout Picks for Gameweek 2 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
Plenty can change between now and Friday’s deadline, of course.
The upcoming Scout Squad nominations, as well as the pre-match press conferences, will help shape our final Scout Picks.
But this early selection, at the very least, provides a glimpse into the players and teams who will be under consideration.
ABOUT THE SCOUT PICKS ‘BUS TEAM’
The ‘bus team’ selection is essentially a first draft of what we will finalise on Thursday.
There are, as ever, certain restrictions for our squad:
- An £83.0m budget for our starting XI
- An overall squad limit of £100.0m
- No more than three players per team
GAMEWEEK 2 FIXTURES
Above: The Gameweek 2 fixtures sorted by difficulty on our Season Ticker.
THE LIKELY LADS
There will undoubtedly be representation from Arsenal in Gameweek 2.
Two names currently feature in our ‘bus team’, Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.0m) and Bukayo Saka (£10.0m), but more/others could follow.
David Raya (£5.5m) and Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) represent solid alternatives, so those selections could easily change come Thursday.
Gyokeres failed to register a shot or create a chance for his team-mates at Old Trafford, but he’ll hope to get off the mark in front of his own fans in Gameweek 2, particularly against promoted opposition.
One of Antoine Semenyo (£7.1m) and Evanilson (£7.0m) will surely be included, too, with the smart money on the former given his performance at Anfield.
The Ghanaian netted a superb brace in Bournemouth’s opener and, in home matches last season, produced 75 shots, the most of any player except Cole Palmer (£10.5m).
At this juncture, can we confidently say anyone else is assured of their place in the Scout Picks? Probably not – although there are a lot of other names in the mix.
IN CONTENTION
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur is hard to call, given that Spurs will surely shift to a back five out of possession, which could limit the space in and around their penalty box.
Nonetheless, Tijjani Reijnders (£5.6m) and Erling Haaland (£14.0m) will surely be pushing hard for inclusion. At Molineux on Saturday, only Haaland (six) had more shots than Reijnders (three).
Morgan Rogers (£7.0m) and Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) are both potential inclusions in the Aston Villa attack, meanwhile. The pair racked up nine and 10 attacking returns respectively in away matches last season.
No team conceded more big chances (four) than opponents Brentford in Gameweek 1, either:
Teams sorted by big chances (BC) conceded in Gameweek 1
Mikkel Damsgaard (£6.0m) will be back this weekend, and so too should Kevin Schade (£7.0m), which should give Keith Andrews’ side a bit more potency in attack. It boosts the appeal of penalty taker Igor Thiago (£6.0m), especially as Villa will be without the suspended Ezri Konsa (£4.5m).
Brentford’s opponents on Sunday, Nottingham Forest, visit Selhurst Park in Gameweek 1.
The Tricky Trees demonstrated an attacking threat against Brentford, something they had lacked in pre-season, but over the whole of 2024/25, they were ranked a lowly 15th for StatsBomb expected goals (xG).
Furthermore, only eight goals have been recorded in this matchup across six games over the last three seasons, suggesting that it may once again be a low-scoring affair:
Image from 11v11
Defenders like Daniel Munoz (£5.5m), Maxence Lacroix (£5.0m), Chris Richards (£4.5m), Murillo (£5.5m) and Nikola Milenkovic (£5.5m) merit mentions as a result. Munoz would have got defensive contribution (DC) points both home and away against Forest last season.
Defensive representation from Chelsea, Bournemouth, possibly even Burnley or Sunderland, also seems likely. G-Whizz will bring us the clean sheet odds later in the week, but it’d be a surprise not to find Chelsea and Bournemouth featured prominently on that list.
Palmer might be a harder sell against West Ham United, mind, particularly given the appeal of Saka and other midfielders in Gameweek 2. The same applies to Joao Pedro (£7.5m) further forward.
Elsewhere, Manchester United caused Arsenal considerable problems on Sunday.
Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) and Matheus Cunha (£8.0m) carried a threat and fired a combined nine shots on goal. Additionally, the former could find himself up against Fulham’s makeshift left-back Calvin Bassey (£4.5m) if Ryan Sessegnon (£5.5m) isn’t fit to start. Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) is another option in the middle of the park.
As for Sunderland, their players will undoubtedly enter the chat after impressing against West Ham. Simon Adingra (£5.5m) claimed an assist, but Habib Diarra (£5.5m) was equally effective. Pushing forward from midfield (see below), he produced a couple of shots and was unlucky not to give the Black Cats an early lead.
Newcastle United v Liverpool is a tricky matchup to call. Mohamed Salah (£14.5m), Florian Wirtz (£8.5m), Cody Gakpo (£7.5m) or Hugo Ekitike (£8.6m) could certainly slip into our final selection, but there might be more ‘upside’ to chase elsewhere.
THE LONGER SHOTS
It’ll be a tough ask for Anthony Gordon (£7.5m) or any of Tottenham’s attackers to force their way past others in Gameweek 2, given the opposition.
Gordon did, however, rack up more shots than any other player on the opening weekend (seven). In the absence of Alexander Isak (£10.5m), he lined up centrally at Villa Park, and considering how vulnerable Liverpool looked on Friday, there is potential for him to do well.
Players sorted by shots in Gameweek 1
If we need further midfield enablers, which is admittedly unlikely, Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m), Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m) and Georginio Rutter (£6.0m) could be considered.
Cheap defenders such as Joachim Andersen (£4.5m), Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m) and Maxim De Cuyper (£4.5m) are probably ‘long shots’, too.
GAMEWEEK 2 EARLY SCOUT PICKS
