It’s fair to say the first week of the Fantasy Premier League season went off with a bang. There were plenty of goals and some commanding performances from teams and players alike, but there were some concerns as well for certain players.
Whether or not you had a stellar performance in the opening Gameweek, here are the first three tips from The Sportsman this season to get your squad in shape for Gameweek Two.
Could Liverpool repeat history against Bournemouth?
Almost one year ago, Liverpool trounced Bournemouth 9-0 in the Premier League and the Reds had six different players on the scoresheet. Luis Diaz grabbed a brace as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk also got in on the action.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are facing a much different Cherries side now, with the business conducted by Bournemouth over the summer being most impressive. But this fixture is going to be Liverpool’s first at Anfield this term, and the crowd and players are going to be fired up. Diaz (£7.5m) scored their first goal of the season at Chelsea last weekend and we already know how much of a threat he can be to this side.
Then there is the likes of Mohamed Salah (£12.5m), who missed out on scoring in the opening league game of the season for the first time in a Liverpool shirt last time out. The Egyptian will be hungry to get off the mark this weekend.
No De Bruyne? No Problem
If you put all your assist hopes into Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne this season you’ll have been devastated to see that he’s been ruled out for up to four months through injury. Fear not, as there is an exciting alternative to turn to who is £3m cheaper than the £10.5m-valued Belgian, and that is James Maddison.
The Tottenham Hotspur star had an impressive debut in the club’s 2-2 stalemate with Brentford last weekend as he set up goals for Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal. Spurs host Manchester United on Saturday and Maddison could be in line to cause the Red Devils some problems, just as Wolverhampton Wanderers did on Monday night despite their 1-0 defeat.
Mbeumo Already Off The Mark
Questions were always going to be asked of Brentford with star striker Ivan Toney suspended until January, but his strike partner is already doing his part to keep the Bees flying. Bryan Mbeumo netted his first goal of the season against Spurs on Sunday and, being registered as a midfielder in FPL, that extra point for a goal is worth its weight in gold.
Try to snap him up while his price remains fixed at £6.5m. And with a west London derby on the horizon against Fulham this weekend, Mbeumo will fancy his chances to get on the scoresheet for the second successive game.
