With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) live for 2023/24, we’re welcoming back our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers for the new campaign. And new to our list of contributors is Ali Jahangirov, the reigning FPL champion! Here, Ali talks through his Gameweek 1 team.

Ali and our other writers will be providing regular articles and team reveals throughout the new season, with only Premium Members able to access every single one.

You can sign up here for the new campaign – once you’re aboard, you’ve locked in the price of your Premium Membership for good, so long as you don’t cancel.

The Gameweek 1 deadline is only hours away now and FPL managers are getting ready to lock in their teams.

Based on the latest injury updates to a few popular picks like Gabriel Jesus (£8.0m) and Christopher Nkunku (£7.5m) and some takeaways from the pre-season friendlies, my draft has changed a lot since the game launched.

Both were my favorite options for the second forward spot but now that they are not available, a budget-friendly Joao Pedro (£5.5m) being on penalty-taking duties for Brighton and Hove Albion has caught my attention.

SALAH THE DIFFERENTIAL

Choosing Pedro also enables a great opportunity to bring in another heavy hitter like Mohamed Salah (£12.5m), who has impressed in Liverpool’s pre-season friendlies. The Egyptian is the most nailed Liverpool attacker out of the lot and a 24.7% ownership is something we rarely see for the most consistent FPL player of recent years. It is hard to ignore.

The Gameweek 2 fixture against Bournemouth is calling for Liverpool cover. I think the Reds are about to have a great season, with high goalscoring potential for several of their assets.

Trent Alexander Arnold (£8.0m) is in the conversation as well but seeing new arrival Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m) on some of the set pieces over the summer reduces the English full-back’s avenues to points.

Another argument for having Salah locked in my team is the flexibility to move away from him by downgrading to other options, rather than trying to fit him in after a few Gameweeks.

Although it’s safe to have a fairly template team at the start of the new campaign, it is also important to have a few differentials to have a chance to gain ground.

TROSSARD PUNT

Leandro Trossard (£7.0m), who has had a fantastic pre-season and scored in the Community Shield for Arsenal, looks pretty good for early-season game-time. His minutes could be slightly affected by new arrival Kai Havertz (£7.5m) but the absence of Jesus creates a potential spot for the Belgium international.

Even if benched, he could offer attacking returns by coming on late in the game against tired opposition legs. The new added time rule means that we could expect up to 10 minutes of injury time instead of the regular 3-4 from previous seasons, which brings us to an interesting conversation of picking between starters who could play 60-70 minutes or impact subs who will come on for 30-40 minute cameos. Bear in mind, it’s the start of the season and most players are not 100% fit and ready to play 90 minutes week in, week out.

At least for 3-4 Gameweeks, we will see even nailed assets hooked off after 60-70 minutes as their fitness levels are steadily worked on. Only time will tell how the new rule affects the dynamics of FPL in the longer term but it’s worth keeping the extra pitch-time in mind for the first few weeks.

After a long wait, Premier League football is finally back and along with its most exciting part of fantasy football. The opening day saw a total of 34 goals with an average of 3.4 goals per game. From the 2nd day of FPL Gameweek 1, FPL managers recorded some insane point hauls thanks to Bruno Fernandes and Mohamed Salah’s outstanding points. In this blog we’re going to analyze all the games closely by keeping a close eye on our FPL assets, and future assets.

Brentford’s win against the Gunners:

Let’s take a look at the average positions of players of both the teams closely.

Matchdata:
xG: 1.38 | 1.20
Attempts: 8 | 22
Shots in box: 7 | 13
On target: 3 | 4
Mins per chance: 12 | 4.4

FPL assets involved in the game:

• Ivan Toney – He was basically marked by Ben White but still he dropped in and released Mbeumo often. According to Squawka football, Ivan Toney won more duels (12), won more aerial duels (6) and won more fouls (4) than any other player on the pitch. Off the ball he pressed high, won balls higher up the pitch, looked very lively throughout the game, he’ll not have to wait too long to get his 1st goal of the season, Toney owners should not get look for alternatives as of now.
• Nicolas Pépé – He missed some big chances in the game, his numbers are not bad, he had 4 shots out of which 1 was on target, he got chances to be very fair but couldn’t count them into proceedings. He had only 2 touches inside the penalty area with an xG of 0.23, there are also so many options available around his price tag at the moment. On his day he can be a real differential king but there are also chances that you might lose points and lag behind waiting for his day of lucrative return.
• Ben White – Specially for his price tag and his quality he’s a great one to have in your side, I still think he will encourage his owners with some good returns, this is very early to the game, yes he was poor defensively, he didn’t close up the opponent strikers couple of time, I will still suggest you to stick to him, nothing to panic at all.
• Kieran Tierney – He had created most chances(6) in the gameweek, he looked very lively and can be very influential going into the campaign. He had 2 touches inside the penalty area and had an xA of 0.29, he mostly stayed higher up the pitch creating chances and causing trouble to Canos and Ajer.

New FPL assets that might have a good season ahead:

• Sergi Canos – Canos as a winger looked very promising, his movements, runs through the right side had caused problems for Tierney who had to track him back, the £5.5m midfielder had 2 touches inside the penalty box with an xG of 0.32 and xA of 0.48 which leads to the fact that he’ll be a very optimistic pick for managers, he’s definitely a value for money pick with respect to his abilities.
• Bryan Mbeumo – His movements were very sharp and the link up play with Toney was excellent, the partnership was very similar to Ings and Adams, with his value of £5.5m he’s definitely a good pick and a nice alternative to Toney, you could save £1m from this transfer which you can invest on the midfield or in some other worthy striker.

The Man United Show:

Let’s took at the average position of the players during the game.

Matchdata :
xG: 1.42 | 0.60
Attempts: 16 | 10
Shots in box: 12 | 3
On target: 8 | 3
Mins per chance: 5.9 | 9.4

FPL assets involved in this game:

• Bruno Fernandes – He was spot on in the game, he could do nothing wrong really, what a fantastic hattrick, he recorded an xG of 1.06, he had 4 shots and 3 on target, 4 touches inside the penalty box, he also recorded the highest fantasy point of 20 points, must have in your team, now if you don’t have him, don’t panic, you just need 2 free transfers to bring him back, if you’re not making any transfer for this gameweek, and then bringing in Bruno in GW3 can result in a better move in my opinion as this game is all about patience, you panic and you’re in trouble.
• Mason Greenwood – The £7.5 priced midfielder has a fairly good game in the new Cavani role, he is a descent player to have in your side, mid-priced midfielder who can help you support marquee players in your team. He had a xG of 0.31 and a xA of 0.47 which is descent.
• Luke Shaw – Shaw had a good game, he made good runs through the left, he created many runs and he made the right side of Leeds looked perplexed with his burst of pace, Rafinha had to keep a check on him, his deliveries were good as well, just that his points doesn’t justify this gameweek but Shaw owners shouldn’t loose their patience coz we all know what he can do.
• Paul Pogba – Again, what a game he had, he player as a left winger but he was often found in the attacking midfield position, he drifted inside which helped Shaw to manage the left flank, he had an xG of o.44 and xA of 0.57, he made a quadruple of assists which was mind-blowing. He and Bruno purely dominated the midfield and United midfield was so fluid with all the four changing position so often.
• Patrick Bamford – He lacked deliveries, had descent couple of chances but just couldn’t pull it off, I still think he is a good striker to have in your side, I personally still own him and I think he’ll have a great season ahead, he leads the attack of Leeds and this is the only think for why I prefer him to Raphinha, he’ll have more goal sights and he’ll have more big chances than other members in the team. Leeds clearly missed Phillips in the middle of the park which have made an impact to the team’s performance, he was on the bench and he’ll start the gameweek 2 against Everton for sure.
• Raphinha – He had couple of good chances as well, towards the end of the game, he missed a sitter, he had an xG of 0.32 and a xA of 0.44, him at £6.5 is a steal and is one of the midfielder capable of running the game wild, he takes the set pieces as well. He can also take your midfield spot to bring some marquee names into your midfield setup.

Here is my tactical analysis of the game:

Foxes win againsts Wolves:

The average position of the players in the game:

Matchdata:

xG: 0.53 | 1.57
Attempts: 9 | 17
Shots in box: 6 | 12
On target: 5 | 3
Mins per chance: 10.4 | 5.5

Wolves set up under Bruno Lage: Trincao and Traore looked very threatening in the game.

FPL assets involved in the game:

• Jamie Vardy – He had a good game, running in behind the Wolves high line, he had 6 shots out of which 1 was on target, he had an xG of 0.5 and really looked sharp throughout the game, looked clinical as well.
• Harvey Barnes – He looked a bit unsettled and and was subbed off at the 71th minute mark, he’s also a player in the £7.0 price mark who can be an alternative to Jota, Grealish, Greenwood and can create major impact into the game.
• Raul Jimenez – He had a good game, returning after a long term injury isn’t easy but has certainly caught eyes of the fpl managers, he dropped in a bit to release Traore throught he middle which is a new role under Bruno Lage. Wolves is an attacking team and he’ll flourish in the coming games.
• Ricardo Pereira – He played as an attacking right back and created good impact, had composure, he assisted Vardy’s goal, he can be a good differential with only 4.6% TSB.

New FPL assets that might have a good season ahead:

• Trincao – Looked very lively, had clear goal sights, if he continue to start down the right he will be a good player to have and a gameweek differential, Wolves is an attacking team this season under Lage so it will be interesting to see how he performs in the coming gameweeks.
• Adama Traore – He missed a sitter in the game, had a xG of 0.59, looks very threatening and will cause problems for the opponents defense, foxes were luck to not concede the goal.
• Max Kilman – Great header of the ball, he went higher up the pitch towards the end of the game and had 2nd best xG for Wolves in the game of 0.24, at £4.5 he’s a good option as well.

Toffees comeback against The Saints

The average position of players in the game:

Matchdata :
xG: 1.14 | 0.33
Attempts: 13 | 4
Shots in box: 5 | 4
On target: 6 | 1
Mins per chance: 7.2 | 23.3

FPL assets involved in the game:

• Dominic Calvert-Lewin – With an xG of 0.71 and bagging a goal, he’s off to a flying start, had a major goal threat, looked very lively, very sharp with his movements, if you have him you’re really bossing it at the moment with an excellent run of fixtures ahead.
• Richarlison – The £7.6 striker who created most chances for Everton with an xA of 0.89 is a good option to DCL, if I had to choose, I would have choose him than DCL to be honest, he sees more of the ball than DCL. At the moment he has more owners than DCL due to the reason I explained above.
• Digne – It was very harsh that he didn’t get any points but he looked equally good with his deliveries from the left, with the upcoming fixtures against Leeds, Brighton, Burnley, he’s a descent defensive option to have in your team. Everton were sloppy defensively due to which they leaked the goal otherwise he looked promising.

New FPL assets that might have a good season ahead:

• Adam Armstrong – He got his debut goal and had a xG of 0.62 throughout the game which is descent, he has a price tag of £6.0 with only 1.9% TSB can be a real gameweek differential, he very looked confident in front of the goal, can be a very good low budget pick.

Liverpool kicking off the season with a win at Carrow Road

The average player position in the game :

Matchdata:

xG: 1.58 | 1.42
Attempts: 14 | 19
Shots in box: 9 | 13
On target: 3 | 6
Mins per chance: 6.6 | 4.8

Virgil van Dijk’s long balls went unnoticed but caused problems for the opponents, he had a great ball-playing display.

FPL assets involved in the game:

• Mohamed Salah – Opening day and no Mo Salah show is a rarity, he once again impressed his suitors, dominating the ring wing position, cutting back in to accomodate Trent, looked very lively in front of the goal, not only scoring but assisting the other two in Liverpool’s 3-0 win against Norwich, in terms of creating chances he had an xA of 1.0 and xG of 0.40, how often you see that Mo Salah creating but he has included that part of his into the game as well, was very sharp throughout the game. He was captain and certainly didn’t disappoint by opening his account for the season with 17 points.
• Diogo Jota – Looked very settled, looked clinical in his touch, he had an xG of 0.89, at £7.5 price he is a good option to have specially with these World Cup qualifiers coming up and Firmino going in and out of the team will certainly book his place in the first 11.
• Sadio Mane – Sadio was very impactful in the team, he does his job very well, looked threatning, he’ll certainly get his name in the scoresheet in the coming weeks when Liverpool face Burnley and Chelsea. He had 2 shots inside the penalty box, if you’re owning him there is nothing to worry, he’s only own by 4% and can be a real gameweek differential.
• Trent Alexander-Arnold – His movements down the right was very sharp, often played in a higher position, how often we see him not getting an assist, he’s a must have in your team going into the campaign, he’s a defender but has an impact as much as a winger to the team.
• Virgil van Dijk – It was Virgil’s comeback game and he was calm and composed, was good in the air, there were some ocassions of concers when Pukki dodged the offside trap and went beyond but Alisson certainly calmed him down in the end.

The Hammers show

The average player position in the game:

Matchdata:
xG: 1.79 | 2.99
Attempts: 17 | 18
Shots in box: 9 | 12
On target: 3 | 8
Mins per chance: 5.6 | 5.3

FPL assets involved in the game:

• Michail Antonio – Antonio started with season on a high registering 2 assists and 1 goal, first half he wasn’t looked very threatning but in the second half he started dropping deep and created space for his fellow teammates to run into it, he looked sharp in front of the goal and at his price tag £7.6 he’s a good option in your team, he had an xG of 1.51(including the penalty) and xA of 0.53, they have a good run of fixture ahead as well.
• Callum Wilson – Wilson had a great game, rather a great first 45 minutes, looked very threatning, created worries for Hammer’s defense, with a price of £7.5 and TSB 7.3% he can be a differential pick, he had an xG of 0.64 in the game, looked sharp, Newcastle too have a good fixture ahead where you can fancy him into your team.
• Aaron Cresswell – Down the left he had a descent game to begin his campaign, he put in some good deliveries into the box, specially on set pieces he’s a real threat, he also enters into the race of £5.5 defenders list and definitely worth taking him due to his descent attacking returns.
• Vladimir Coufal – Coufal had an xA of 0.45 making 2 key passes in the game, looked very good, a descent £5.0 defender option available among the rest, he definitely makes his place in my team sheet and has 13.0% TSB, going into the campaign he can be a very good fpl asset.

New FPL assets that might have a good season ahead:

• Said Benrahma – What an outstanding game he had, operating in that Lingard zone, he certainly made an impact to the team, looked very lively with the ball, creating chances with an xA of 0.54 and xG of 0.53 scoring a goal and assist a goal, with his £6.0 price tag he certainly becomes a great fpl asset to have in your team.

Shocking Spurs win against City

The average player position in the game:

Matchdata:
xG: 0.98 | 1.84
Attempts: 13 | 18
Shots in box: 5 | 11
On target: 2 | 4
Mins per chance: 7.4 | 5.3

Lucas Moura had an outstanding game, had excellent ball control, and was great picking up Son.

Here’s why Manchester City should buy a no. 9:

FPL assets involved in the game:

• Son Heung-min – What a great game he had against all the odds playing through the middle, no Harry Kane to support him but these didn’t affect his performance, he had the pace, he had his finishing skills. He had an xG of 0.21 and xA of 0.12, spurs were sitting back and played on the counter, he’s is taking a place in my team and he never disappoints his managers, Son has a TSB of 23%, definitely worth keeping him in the side and he’ll perform against any opposition.
• Riyad Mahrez – Mahrez had some clear goal sight occasions but just then he pulled it wide, facing Norwich at home in GW 2 certainly drives his owners crazy and a descent captain option as well, he’ll have a good game for sure, against Spurs he had an xG of 0.32 and it will definitely improve against Norwich.
• Jack Grealish – Grealish is on of the player who certainly has a competition against Greenwood and Jota, he had a good debut and will certainly fall under the criteria of decent gw picks, he had an xG of 0.26 and xA of 0.21 with 2 key passes in the game.
• Sergio Reguilón – Under Nuno the wing backs becomes very important, had a very good game, kept Mahrez silent in some ocassions but in some instants he often lost his footings, a good £5.0 pick who can come handy in the coming weeks. He certainly features my team as well.
• Ruben Dias – The very reliable Dias who got the maximum premier league games as Man City player under Pep’s rotation is a good defensive option to keep in your side, had a descent game but Son’s pace got the better of him often, against Norwich he is a very stable and reliable option who will give you clean sheet points.

Here is my tactical analysis of the game:

Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur Analysis 📊

🔎 Looking at both Pep and Nuno's tactics which might help us to choose City and Spurs'

FPL assets with more clarity.

(Thread)

Likes/RT are appreciated ❤🙏

FPL

FPLCommunity

— FPL Mukherjee (@fpl_mukherjjeee) August 16, 2021

And the rest….

Chelsea had a good game against Palace, Mount and Alonso looked really sharp and Chalobah getting his first goal on his premier league debut for Chelsea, Alonso owner worry Chilwell’s entry to the team sheet, he’s often preferred by Tuchel over Alonso, Pulisic looked sharp as well, Lukaku’s entry might disturb the line-up a bit, Chelsea are back with a clean sheet and keeping a Chelsea defender in your side can keep your score running, with Andreas Christensen at £5.0 certainly tops the list. Tuchel also rotates his backline heavily and the least preferred option is Zouma and the most preferred option is Antonio Rüdiger at £5.5 price tag.

Good connections all around, 3+2 at the back, wing-backs provide width, two tens behind the striker.

Watford had a decent start to their campaign as well, Aston Villa’s defense looked a bit worried and clueless, they were sloppy at times as well, some good Watford pick includes Sarr (£6.0m), Cleverley (£5.0m), Dennis (£5.0m), Cucho (£5.0m), they looked really in good touch, worked the ball really well, Ings, on the other hand, is a good forward pick as well but after Grealish’s departure Villa looked to create fewer chances also Watkins was unavailable who really presses high and has an impact to the Villa side.

Burnley possed some early thread into the game, they also had aerial threats, Tarkowski header certainly gave them the lead in the 2nd minute, Gudmundsson and Westwood had some threat as well, on the other hand, Brighton after the half time completely took the game away from Burnley, they looked clueless in their defensive setup from crosses into the box. Burnley faces Liverpool next and Brighton is up against Watford in GW 2.

My thread on possible FPL assets who might have a good campaign ahead:

A thread on possible FPL assets from these winning teams ⬇️

Brentford (3-5-2)

Defenders : – Henry (£4.5m) pos. Left Wing Back – Pinnock (£4.5m) pos. Left CB

Midfielders : – Canos (£5.5m) pos. Right Wing Back

Forwards : – Toney (£6.5m) pos. CF – Mbuemo (£5.5m) pos. SS/CF

— FPL Mukherjee (@fpl_mukherjjeee) August 15, 2021

That’s all for our survey of Gameweek 1. The Premier League season is back in progress, the deadline for Gameweek 2 is Saturday, August 21st at 11am UK time.

Further Reads from ALLABOUTFPL Ahead of the 2021/22 Season:

FPL Gameweek 2 Analysis- Players to Buy | Hold | Sell Ahead of FPL GW2 FPL GW2 Transfer Trends Analysis | Popular Transfer Combinations FPL GW1 Scout Notes: Southampton, Barnes, Norwich Under the Lens FPL Gameweek 2: Three Fixtures to target for FPL Points

Also check out our Rules and Basics Guide, FPL Chip Strategy, FPL Chips, FPL Team reveals, FPL History, team reveals, FPL Tools here.

Thanks for reading the FPL Gameweek 1 analysis. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for regular blogs. Also, follow our 22000+community on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay updated on regular Posts and FPL updates. Link to all our FPL Gameweek 2 blogs.

What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL Gameweek 2?

We’ll be covering Gameweek one eye test analysis and review, fixture analysis, players to watch out for in FPL Gameweek 2, differential picks, captaincy metrics, transfer trend analysis, expected line up, press conference summaries, Buy, hold, sell analysis for FPL gameweek two, our expert panel team reveals and more. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for all our blogs and subscribe to our free newsletter through the link below. We’ll also be posting regularly about the same on our social media accounts so follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook keep our notification ON.

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