After a decent Gameweek 1, I was certain that whatever happens, my team should score more than 60 points, which in turn should result in a green arrow. However, from the very beginning, it felt like this was going to be just another one of those gameweeks. Steven Gerrard decided to start Leon Bailey from the bench, then in a matter of seconds, Luca Digne wiped out a clean sheet, erased his bonus points potential and added an own goal against his name. It went from 6 points to Zero in less than 45 seconds. 

Erling Haaland could and should have had a goal and an assist against his name, along with one or two bonus points, in the end, we had to settle for an assist only. Other than that, both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohammad Salah were unlucky not to register any attacking returns despite Liverpool going a man down with Darwin Núñez’s straight red. All in all, it was a pretty average Gameweek for me, scoring just 59 points and getting a red arrow to cap off a frustrating weekend. 

Besides, I was already thinking about switching to a front three before Gameweek 2, and if anything, my hunch has been backed by the underlying stats and the general overall play of most teams. Thus, I feel this is the right time for me to use my wildcard. I could have used transfers to get this same template, however, it would’ve taken me 8 transfers to get here, and getting a -24 this early means your season is all but over. 

Gameweek 3 Deadline: Saturday 20 August at 11 am (British Summer Time ) and 3:30 pm (Indian Standard Time). 

Best FPL team suggested for Gameweek 2

Gameweek 2 Score: 59 points 
Gameweek 2 Rank: 4,090,673
Overall Rank: 2,366,564 (?) 

Chips Activated: None 

Gameweek 3 Fixtures

The Gameweek 3 action kicks off with Tottenham Hotspur hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a lunch-hour kickoff on Saturday, followed by four games as 3 pm kickoffs (BST) and then Bournemouth hosting Arsenal at the Vitality Stadium to round off the action on Saturday in Gameweek 3. 

Sunday sees David Moyes’ West Ham United host Graham Potter’s resolute Brighton & Hove Albion side as Moyes looks to avoid a third successive defeat in a very tough GW3 fixture. Last but not the least, as our second Monday night kickoff of the season, we have two heavyweights in Liverpool and Manchester United locking horns in the Theatre of Dreams with both teams looking to register their first win of the league campaign. It is a MUST win for both, and thus expect fireworks come Monday night. 

Saturday 20 August 

Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers (5:00 pm)
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa (7:30 pm) 
Everton v Nottingham Forest (7:30 pm) 
Fulham v Brentford (7:30 pm) 
Leicester City v Southampton (7:30 pm) 
AFC Bournemouth v Arsenal (10:00 pm) 

Sunday 21 August 

Leeds United v Chelsea (6:30 pm) 
West Ham United v Brighton & Hove Albion (6:30 pm) 
Newcastle United v Manchester City (9:00 pm) 

Tuesday 23 August 

Manchester United v Liverpool (00:30 am) 

Best FPL team for Gameweek 3

Budget Remaining: £0.8m 
Free Transfers Available: None
Transfers Made: None
Point Hits (If any): None
Captain: Mohammed Salah 
Vice-captain: Gabriel Jesus
Chips Activated: Wildcard

The most captained player in Gameweek 2 (Erling Haaland) failed to deliver against AFC Bournemouth, although his assist saved some of our blushes. However, things could have been different had Phil Foden played him in with an open goal, possibly the reason why Pep Guardiola yanked him off (Foden) at half-time. But these are the sort of variances you’d have to live with every single season, and this time too, it’s no different. 

For Gameweek 3, Mohammed Salah is still the stand-out shout for captaincy against a terrible Manchester United side, despite his team’s sluggish start. Erling Haaland away at St. James’ Park is not a good pick in my opinion given Newcastle’s recent home form since Eddie Howe’s arrival. Gabriel Jesus against AFC Bournemouth and Harry Kane & Heung-min Son against Wolves are better options than a Haaland or a Kevin De Bruyne against Newcastle. In terms of differential picks, both Reece James and James Maddison are decent bets with fixtures against Leeds United and Southampton respectively. 

Thus, after a subpar start and activating the Wildcard in Gameweek 3, I’m going with the safer option. I believe Liverpool will bounce back and only compound Manchester United’s miseries come Monday with both Mohammed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring their long-due big hauls. As my vice-captain, I’m backing the Gunners’ main man, Gabriel Jesus to come good and register a double-digit points haul for the second week running. 

Goalkeepers

While there’s nothing wrong with Aaron Ramsdale or the Arsenal defence, Brighton & Hove Albion have cleared all my doubts regarding their defensive structure, and with their upcoming run of fixtures till Gameweek 8-10, having Robert Sánchez as your no. 1 GK is a no brainer. This also saves me £0.5m which can be used elsewhere to strengthen certain positions. Danny Ward at £4.0m is still my 2nd choice keeper. He’s a starter and provided Sánchez misses a game or two in the near future, Ward can easily slot in, saving me an important free transfer. 

Defenders

Despite pushing more funds further up the pitch, I haven’t deviated from my proposed plan of going big at the back. I still hold Trent Alexander-Arnold and João Cancelo but I’ve brought in more points potential in the form of Reece James and Marc Cucurella, while William Saliba at £4.5m assures more potential for returns than either a Rico Henry or Lewis Dunk in my opinion. Doubling up on the Chelsea defence looks like the more viable option to me given despite the woeful showing from their forwards, their defence remains as resolute as ever. Besides, with teams like Leeds United, Leicester City and Southampton as their next three opponents, doubling down on that Chelsea defence is a must for me. Whereas on weekends, where some of my midfielders or forwards lack the point-scoring potential I can easily switch to a back 5 with an assured asset like Saliba. 

Midfielders

With the track record that he has against his name, Mohammed Salah won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, moreover, with Liverpool visiting a demoralised and toothless Manchester United, I expect Salah to register a double digits haul against their arch nemesis. Gabriel Martinelli just keeps rising in price with more and more people jumping on the bandwagon. I said this before the season starts, if Martinelli can stay fit for even 30 Premier League games, he’ll be a game changer. Gameweek 3 hasn’t even started, and the Brazilian is already on course for his fourth price rise. The other three budget options in my midfield are Pascal Groß, Keirnan Dewsbury-Hall & Josh Dasilva. Groß has been the standout attacking outlet in Graham Potter’s Brighton side, while both Dewsbury-Hall and Dasilva are quality rotation options given their respective team’s great fixture run-ins. 

Forwards

This is where the biggest change is, in my opinion. Before anyone starts calling me names or alleges that I’ve thrown them down the rabbit hole with Erling Haaland, hear me out! The point I’d like to make is, in these first two Gameweeks, Erling Haaland registered 18 points, while Harry Kane, on the other hand, rewarded his owners with just 10 points, that’s an 8-point swing right there. Now, with Manchester City playing Newcastle United and Crystal Palace next, there’s a strong possibility that Harry Kane outscores Haaland from GW3-6. Moreover, with this trend emerging where Pep is taking off Haaland around the 70 minutes mark, going with Haaland in these supposedly low-scoring games can really hurt you big time. Besides, if you’re a Haaland owner you can always jump back on him in the near future provided you’re saving the fund left from making Haaland ‹—› Kane transfer in Gameweek 3 (I don’t believe Haaland’s price will rise anytime soon given City’s upcoming fixtures). 

The funds taken out from the defence and midfield have been utilised to bring in Ivan Toney of Brentford. The English forward has a great set of fixtures coming up from GW3-8, and given the recent improvements witnessed in their recent 4-0 triumph against Manchester United, you won’t want to miss out on Brentford’s talisman. However, Danny Welbeck of Brighton is also on my watchlist and a strong candidate for that third forward role come deadline day. Gabriel Jesus – the most owned player in the game – completes my forward line. The Brazilian hitman has hit the ground running with 4 Goal Involvement (Gi) and a 19-point haul against Leicester City, putting him against a weak Bournemouth side, you’d expect he produces at least one Goal Involvement. Arsenal are clear favourites and should get their job done, however, nothing is a given in this game, and everybody has to earn it on the day. 

How did our other teams line up ahead of Gameweek 3?

Ali’s Team (Devilsowntheater)

Captain: Gabriel Jesus
Vice-captain: Harry Kane 
Chips Activated: Wildcard
Budget Remaining: £0.0m 
Gameweek 2 Score: 56 points 
Overall Rank: 6,715,560

Anshuman’s Team (Aesterfell)

Captain: Gabriel Jesus
Vice-captain: Mohammed Salah
Chips Activated: None 
Budget Remaining: £3.3m 
Gameweek 2 Score: 38 points
Overall Rank: 5,640,506

Rahul Naresh’s Team (Haha Sucker)

Captain: Gabriel Jesus 
Vice-captain: Mohammed Salah 
Chips Activated: None
Budget Remaining: £0.0m 
Gameweek 2 Score: 73 points
Overall Rank: 3,458,339

Shwetaabh’s Team (DevilisintheDetails)

Captain: Harry Kane
Vice-captain: Gabriel Jesus
Chips Activated: None
Budget Remaining: £0.0m 
Gameweek 2 Score: 78 points
Overall Rank: 4,537,489

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