Fantasy football: Best players and tips for week two in the Premier League

New season, same old problems? With week one of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in the books, attention turns to this weekend’s fixtures, starting with Friday’s London derby between West Ham United and Chelsea.

Whether you are off to a flier or thinking about ripping up your team by using your wildcard chip, Telegraph Sport’s FPL expert has you covered with tips and advice before gameweek two begins.

Captaincy

Liverpool travel to Newcastle on Monday evening and many will be thinking about taking the armband off Mohamed Salah with St James’ Park a traditionally tough place to visit. However, with two goals and an assist there last season he remains the safest bet.

Chelsea’s trip to West Ham looks promising considering how Graham Potter’s side performed against Sunderland, so Cole Palmer could be an option, too.

Erling Haaland looked back to his best on the opening weekend but, with only four goals against Tottenham in his Manchester City career, there is a small risk in choosing him with Spurs more defensively solid under new manager Thomas Frank.

Players to sign

If you do not own them already, managers should be thinking about how to get Mohammed Kudus, Hugo Ekitike and Chris Wood into their squads. All three look set to play a key role for their respective teams this season after impressive outings last weekend.

Although Sunderland defender Daniel Ballard is unlikely to score every week, at £4.5m, he could be a good differential to have if the newly-promoted side can maintain the levels they reached on their top-flight return at home to West Ham.

Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo has increased in price to £7.1m after his two goals against Liverpool but he should be on your radar with Wolves the visitors to the Vitality Stadium this weekend.

Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins faces a Brentford side who look wide open so has the perfect opportunity to open his account after failing to score against Newcastle.

Players to drop

After his red card against Newcastle, Villa’s Ezri Konsa will serve a one-match suspension making him a sensible option to transfer out.

With Frank putting faith in Richarlison as his No 9, Dominic Solanke looks set to remain on the bench – as does Chelsea’s Liam Delap. Neither striker should be in your team.

Liverpool defenders face off against Newcastle and Arsenal in their next two games and, while they will score goals, the defeat to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield and their mini wobble at home to Bournemouth proved they are prone to leaking goals.

Teams to target

Aston Villa now have a favourable run of fixtures with Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Sunderland, Fulham and Burnley in their next six games. Stacking your team with Villa players early could prove profitable in the long run.

Sunderland also do not face a member of the traditional “big six” until October and, if their performance against West Ham is anything to go by, they have a few cheap differentials to ponder, including Simon Adingra (£5.5m) and Eliezer Mayenda (£5.5m).

Our experts’ picks

FPL Hints

Paolo Maldini once said: “If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake.” The same goes for Fantasy Premier League: plan ahead and avoid firefighting.

One bad gameweek does not define your season. Many seasoned managers had rocky starts. You are not going to win your mini-league after 10 games.

Spurs looked sharp in their opener, with Richarlison catching my eye – but be cautious, he could lose minutes once Solanke is back. As for the new signings, Viktor Gyokeres and Florian Wirtz still have a lot to prove.

Looking ahead to gameweek two, Salah and Haaland remain the standout captaincy picks. Safe, reliable, and unlikely to let you down.

And if you feel there’s no hope with your team then hit the wildcard button!

FPL Mate

The key to gameweek two is to not panic. Ask yourself, what made you select a player last weekend and have those reasons changed? If you picked a star striker and new information shows that his new role will be playing at left-back, that’s probably a good reason to sell. But if he simply failed to score in one paltry week, why not give him another chance?

Sadly, unless you have somehow managed to fill your squad with 15 Salah’s, not every player will score week-in, week-out.

Going into gameweek two last season, Josko Gvardiol and Alexander Isak were two of the most-sold players in FPL. and both ended the season as the top-scoring players in their positions.

Have more faith in the team you picked. Give yourself some credit. It is probably a lot stronger than you think it is, and your patience can pay big rewards.

That said, if I were to buy a new player for gameweek two, Semenyo would be right at the top of that list.

Team of gameweek one