Fantasy Premier League GW2: FPL tips, captain, transfers

After an exciting opening weekend of Premier League football which saw us settle into our FPL squads, we are now gearing up for another week of matches.

GW1 often makes you realize quickly who may have been good additions, while others should immediately be removed after a horrible performance or even not make the team.

As we once again look to make our XI as strong as possible ahead of a rather unpredictable week of play, we have our advice on who to lead and who gets transferred.

Picking your captain last season usually meant keeping Mohamed Salah able to earn maximum points week in and week out.

However, this season gives you a lot more options and most people will probably choose between Salah, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane or Heung-min Son.

While Tottenham are likely to beat Chelsea this weekend, picking the latter two is certainly riskier simply because they still come up against quality centre-backs such as Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly – although I’m pretty much sure Spurs will manage to break that defense anyway.

However, Haaland is certainly the safest opinion as Man City prepare to host Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s side probably won’t even have to get out of first gear against the newly promoted side and with Haaland already out of the picture, I can see him driving past that defence.

Salah is also still a reliable choice, but after Liverpool’s troubling performance against Fulham on Matchday 1, it’s hard to predict how they will line up this time around when they face Crystal Palace next Monday.

Gabriel Martinelli is one of three or four Arsenal players you could add to your squad, although I won’t mention Gabriel Jesus as a majority of the population already have him in mind.

Martinelli scored Arsenal’s first goal of the season against Crystal Palace last weekend and should improve on his breakthrough season.

The Brazilian will be eager to get going after scoring his first goal and against a Leicester side who may struggle this season I would expect Arsenal to score a few more.

Like Martinelli, Callum Wilson is another who will benefit massively from his first goal of the season early on.

Newcastle United already look really exciting and with Allan Saint-Maximin and Bruno Guimaraes around him, the striker should have plenty of scoring chances and he will certainly have the confidence to put them away.

The Magpies face a trip to Brighton this weekend and I can see their attack is too strong for a generally solid defense on the south coast.

Jesse Lingard and Nottingham Forest have not started the season well after losing to Newcastle United, but I expect this weekend’s game to play out very differently in front of the home crowd.

While West Ham will be an extremely tough test for Forest, the fans who have been waiting for it for 23 years will act like a twelfth man and at least help them secure a draw.

Although I’m not sure of the scoreline, it looks like it would be written in the stars for Jesse Lingard to score on his home debut against the team that wanted him so badly this summer.

The midfielder was fantastic during his loan spell in the capital and West Ham spent much of the following year trying to bring him in permanently – only to lose to Forest.

Just like he did for Manchester United last season, I can definitely see him scoring a goal against a group of rabid West Ham fans.

Kalidou Koulibaly has probably been in a few FPL squads following his thrilling transfer from Napoli in the summer and should be an extremely strong backline alongside Thiago Silva.

He also impressed massively on his debut as Chelsea narrowly beat Everton on opening day and you may have been tempted to stick him in your team.

However, with the Blues facing an in-form Tottenham side, I would stay away.

That’s not to say Koulibaly will have a terrible game, but I think it will take a lot of defenses this season to stop Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski from scoring.

James Maddison is another outstanding individual player who isn’t necessarily going to perform badly this weekend, but it’s Leicester that I’m worried about.

The midfielder is usually a safe bet for goals and assists, but I don’t see him having many opportunities with Arsenal’s appearance.

I expect the Gunners to dominate for most of the game and pick up a comfortable three points, with a number of their players – including Maddison – affected by continued transfer interest in them.