The first gameweek saw some surprise high earners. But, Raheem Sterling was the pick of the lot. In 38.3% of the Fantasy Premier League squads, the Manchester City forward racked up 3 goals and in total, 20 points for the users. Over to the red side, David De Gea, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba reigned supreme for the ones that picked them.
De Gea made 7 saves and gave 10 points to his users, Rashford 13 thanks to his brace and Paul Pogba came away with 9 points and 2 assists. Matchday 2 is upon us and while the teams may be set, users will be looking to use their 1 free transfer on to optimise their squad.
Note: Since, we talk about Free Transfer here, we must assume that the players named are not already in majority of the squads. Hence, we have used a blanket policy in the fact that we will only be naming options that have been picked by less than 15% of the users and nearer to the 10% mark.
Jordan Pickford (Everton) – Goalkeeper – £5.5
Picked by 10.8% of the users, Pickford seems to have recovered from a bit of a dicey 2018-19 campaign by his own lofty standards. The Everton goalkeeper made just 2 saves to keep the Crystal Palace attackers at bay, albeit once again showing his prowess in 1-on-1 situations.
Everton are up against Watford and in general, have an easier run-in in the coming weeks. As far as the game against Watford is concerned, the Hornets had a poor end to the 2018-19 Premier League campaign and have started in similar fashion in 2019-20, with a 3-0 defeat to Brighton. A good option to use your free transfer on, if you are not among the 10.8%.
Daniel James (Manchester United) – Midfielder – £6.0
Currently in only 2.8% of the teams, there are calls for Daniel James to be included in the starting eleven in the coming matches. The Welsh speedster made an instant impact coming on against Chelsea and is being eased into the eleven. But, expect Solskjaer to start him soon enough, with his pace a real thorn for opposition sides, especially with Wolves playing wing-backs rather than natural full-backs.
An option whose cost is likely to increase as the season goes on.
Manuel Lanzini (West Ham) – Midfielder – £6.5
Selected by just 1.2% of the users, Manuel Lanzini could bring you a heavy differential in points over others. Lanzini was the only creative player to complete ninety minutes for West Ham against Manchester City and will be a key player for the Hammers. The Argentine also has some good matches coming in compared to the difficult opening fixture and is likely to be the one running things for West Ham.
Jamie Vardy (Leicester) – Forward – £9.0
Vardy finished the season in ominous form and although, he did not score in the opening fixture against Wolves, the 32-year-old, who was the highest scoring Englishman in the Premier League last season, should get off the mark and score for Leicester. Brendan Rodgers has strengthened the creative options within the squad, which means more service for Vardy.
The 32-year-old is currently in 9.1% of the teams but expect that number to increase very soon.
Teemu Pukki (Norwich) – Forward – £6.6
Norwich’s expansive football gives us hope that Teemu Pukki can replicate his scoring form from last season. Norwich might have been trounced by Liverpool but the newly promoted side could have had a much closer game had they converted their shots into goals.
Now, Norwich also have a comfortable run-in and with Norwich seemingly adamant of playing their brand of football, Pukki will receive chances. We believe he could be a shrewd buy, especially with 6.2% users currently owning the Finnish forward.
