Here’s part 1 of Joseph Crilley’s fantasy premier league GW1 analysis. Here he looks at some indepth stats from 5 games and analyses the key players performance from each team
FANTASY PREMIER LEAGUE GW1 ANALYSIS – PART 1
After each gameweek, I am going to be writing an article reviewing all the Premier League games from a fantasy perspective. I will be providing some stats and a brief summary on the performances and prospects of a few of the players. FFG has written similar articles to this in prior seasons but I am going to be reworking the format slightly. As such I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions within the comment section.
For each game, I will be providing a stats table containing the following: Goals (G), Assists (A), Shots (S), On Target (OT), Key Passes (KP), Bonus points (BP) and fantasy points (FP). Any statistic highlighted in yellow signifies that the player leads that category for his team. Blue highlight shows the players that registered a fantasy return (goal, assist or clean sheet) and green shows any player that scored 10+ points. Hopefully, that all makes sense so let’s move onto the games! All underlying stats are from whoscored.com
ARSENAL 4-3 LEICESTER
As expected, Arsenal lined up with 3 at the back where the only real FPL disappointment was 5.5mil cheapie Iwobi being relegated to the bench.
Post Community Shield bandwagon Kolasanic lined up in the LCB position but was still able to get forward well and register an assist. He also showcased some strong bonus point potential. However, judging by Friday night, £6.0mil is a lot to pay for an Arsenal defence that doesn’t look particularly convincing so I would hold off from buying until Koscielny returns.
Xhaka bossed the midfield and provided 2 assists, meaning a small bandwagon has caused his price to increase to 5.6mil. That price is tempting, but given his poor FPL record last year and his disciplinary history, I prefer to wait and see how he develops. Ozil remains the creator in chief with 6 key passes but he still looks too expensive for the main FPL game. Chamberlain registered an impressive 6 shots but just one of these was in the box and he is playing reverse OOP currently.
Lacazette looked dangerous, netting after just 85 second and could have easily had a second. Whether he can compete against the likes of Lukaku and Aguero remains to be seen but if he continues this form, he will be a strong captaincy option in GW4.
Leicester were starting a season for the first time since the departure of title-winning manager Ranieri and certainly showed a bundle of fighting spirit. They set up with a very similar set up to how we’ve come to expect with Okazaki preferred to Iheanacho.
New signing Maguire started at the heart of defence and settled in reasonably well and managing to record an assist on debut. However, Leicester’s upcoming fixtures are rather unappetising and one of their defenders is certainly not on the watchlist.
They did struggle to create many chances instead relying on clinical finishing to keep them in the game. Mahrez and Albrighton also provided assists though Mahrez was kept reasonably quiet throughout the match.
This was a classic Jamie Vardy FPL performance; 2 shots = 2 goals and showing his ability to score against any team. He has been significantly transferred in since Friday night and looks a decent captain option for next week with Brighton rocking up to the King Power. £25mil man Iheanacho was left on the bench and his owners will be a bit worried about his starting prospects especially after the goal from Okazaki.
WATFORD 3-3 LIVERPOOL
Watford fought hard to battle back and snatch a point late on from a strong Liverpool team in Marco Silva’s first game at the helm.
Britos scored for the home side and (former?) bad boy Holebas delivered an assist from a corner. It seems that he will have his fair portion of set-piece responsibility again this year but 5.0mil looks a bit pricey for a Watford defender. Though they conceded 3 goals, it remains to be seen if Silva can turn their defensive fortunes around as most defences will struggle against this Liverpool attack.
In midfield, 4.5mil cheapie Chalaboh started, put in a decent performance and looks like his position in the team is secure. It was good to see Pereyra back fit again and I think that he and Richarlison could be decent options at some point during the season.
Okaka started up top in Deeney’s absence and scored from the Holebas corner but I’d surprised to see him continue starting once Deeney returns and Gray gets up and running
It seems not much has changed for Liverpool in the new season; brilliant going forward but terrible at the back especially from set-pieces.
Alexander-Arnold started in place of the injured Clyne and actually took a number of corners for the Merseyside team. 4.5mil and set-piece responsibility is tempting but Clyne should be back soon and this defence looks like it will struggle to keep clean sheets. Milner was benched for another 4.5mil man, Moreno, and he looks like he will be used as a utility man this year which suggests a lack of starts.
Another new boy got off the mark quickly on his debut. Salah scored a goal and won the Liverpool penalty to keep his owners happy though it was interesting to note that he did not register highly in the bonus point system. He looked a threat throughout as did Mané and it’s clear that there will be a bundle of points from this midfield again this season.
One of the questions from pre-season was whether Firmino would be able to keep up with his teammates and he certainly got off to a good start. Similar to Salah, he had a goal and an assist, and his owners would have been pleased to see him on spot-kick duties though Milner was on the bench at the time. Due to his re-classification, he registered a high bonus point score so I think that we can expect bonus points whenever he gets on the scoresheet.
Both Merseyside clubs have European games this week so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on their players in those games.
CHELSEA 2-3 BURNLEY
Chelsea (3-4-2-1) Fantasy returns Underlying Stats Fantasy Points
Well this was certainly a turn up for the books and seeing the defending champions 3-0 down at home on the opening day season was certainly a shock to the system.
Cahill getting sent off after 13 minutes was the start of a dreadful day for Chelsea and is banned for the next 3 games. Their defence was a shambles but it is worth noting that Alonso still managed an impressive 5 shots, displaying the same attacking outlay as last year and could be worth the expensive price.
The second man to get sent off was Fabregas for two bookings and he will miss the Spurs game next week. Willian picked up an assist and looked reasonably dangerous; certainly worth holding for now.
Batshuayi was poor and understandably replaced before the hour mark. Morata came on and made an instant impact with a goal and an assist in an attempt to claw Chelsea back in to the game. I imagine that we will see him start at Wembley next week and he’s one that I’ll be monitoring over the next few weeks.
We were all familiar with Burnley’s poor away record last year so this was a massive result for Sean Dyche’s men.
We’ve learnt to not expect clean sheets away from home for Heaton and co which was the case at Stamford Bridge. Tarkowksi started at centre defence in favour of 4.0mil Long which was a shame to see. Burnley did fairly well in defence but it’s hard to judge against 10 or 9 men.
Brady was the real standout in midfield, having the most shots and key passes in the team. He has decent set-piece responsibility and could be a decent punt at 5.5mil.
All pre-season I’ve been bemoaning about the lack of cheap forwards then Vokes comes along and scores two away at Chelsea. He was a handful for their defence and now Gray has been sold, his place looks more secure in the team. Perhaps, he could be a great budget option this year, but with Burnley’s upcoming away fixtures, I’m still happy to wait and assess.
CRYSTAL PALACE 0-3 HUDDERSFIELD
This was a very disappointing display from a Palace side with a new manager and a formation in place, but it certainly didn’t help.
It’s a shame that the Palace defence performed poorly as some potential options surfaced. Fosu-Mensah joined on loan from Man Utd and slotted straight in at RCB; at 4.5mil he has some potential. Van Aanholt had the most key passes in the game, helped by the fact he took 7 of Palace’s 12 corners, and with his natural goal instinct, there is the potential for big points in there.
Despite the blank, Zaha was dangerous with all his shots coming inside the box and missing one big chance. He did leave the stadium in a leg brace, but apparently it was just a precaution. Provided he is fit, I would be looking to hold on to him, with a fixture against that porous Liverpool defence up next. Loftus-Cheek played further forward than expected and by all accounts had a decent game. Something to note is that he scored very well in the bonus system which can always come in handy.
Benteke had his chances, missing one glorious opportunity but I still prefer Zaha as the Palace attacking option due to him coming at 1.0mil cheaper.
What a start for the Premier League new boys; I don’t think their fans could ask for much more than 3 goals and a clean sheet away from home.
Those who splashed the extra cash on Smith would’ve been disappointed at him being taken off before the 60 minute mark after being given the run around by Zaha a bit. I think that he’ll be starting the next game so owners don’t need to worry too much.
Mooy has returned to the club this year on a permanent deal and has assumed set-piece duty. He recorded an assist, but is playing a little deep for me to consider him in my team. Ince was kept reasonably quiet but he could come good over the next few games with Huddersfield’s nice schedule.
Normally it’s advised to allow time for new transfers to settle before considering them in your FPL team. However, Mounie adds to the list of players to score on their debut this weekend, and then added a second. He’s one that’s gone straight on my watchlist, but just keep in mind that Negredo also made a great start last year before fading away.
EVERTON 1-0 STOKE
Everton (3-4-2-1) Fantasy returns Underlying Stats Fantasy Points
Everton rolled out the 3-4-2-1 formation and gave 4 players their debuts for the club. A solid opening day for them with a win and clean sheet.
Last year’s bargain favourite Pickford started in goal with fellow new signing Keane positioned at the heart of the defence. A solid defensive performance by the hosts but the next few games don’t exactly scream clean sheets.
Another new signing, Klaassen, started and in a fairly advanced position. Considering his stats for Ajax last year, he is one to monitor for later in the season.
Rooney got his dream second debut as he scored the winner on his return. He played in a role just behind Ramirez and it looks unlikely that we will see him leading the line. Calvert-Lewin started at LWB but still laid on the goal for Rooney and was the biggest threat to the opposition. At 5.0mil, he could be an option for managers looking to play 3-5-2.
Both Merseyside clubs have European games this week so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on their players in those games.
Stoke fought well in a tough away game and there wasn’t too much between the sides on the day.
One of the many Chelsea players on loan, Zouma, started as part of a back 3. The defence didn’t give up too many chances but like their opposition, they have poor short-term fixtures.
Allen was playing a little deeper than we would’ve hoped. Shaqiri had one good chance at the end but the Stoke midfield still doesn’t seem the place to invest.
Berahino failed to score again under Mark Hughes and it looks like Jesé will be signed from PSG which may seem him drop out the team.
That concludes the first part of the GW1 review and Part 2 should be uploaded tomorrow. Normally I will endeavour to have these uploaded a little earlier in the week but sorting the new format has taken a bit of time. As I said earlier, any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
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