The agony and the joy of Fantasy football returned this past weekend.
Some managers enjoyed a fruitful game week, while other were left ruing their last-minute changes and their captain choices. The good news is that there are 37 more gameweeks atone for your errors of the opening weekend.
If you are looking your shuffle your team for the upcoming gameweek, we have suggestions that are safe, assured and likely to provide a plenty of points. Here are our top 5 picks for the second gameweek of the Premier League campaign:
Player: Bruno Fernandes
Team: Manchester United
Match: Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
Manchester United's January signing Bruno Fernandes has undoubtedly been the best player in the Premier League since the start of 2020. The Portuguese playmaker's sublime play guided Manchester United to an unlikely third place finish in the Premier League table and secured their place in this season's UEFA Champions League.
Fernandes is a point-scoring machine in fantasy football. In just 14 Premier League matches, the 26-year-old registered eight goals and seven assists, a contribution of over a goal a game. It’s a no-brainer to reinforce your midfield with Fernandes for the upcoming gameweek.
Player: Timothy Castagne
Team: Leicester City
Match: Leicester City vs Burnley
While Çağlar Söyüncü was the MVP and the must-have from Leicester City's defence last season, this year will mostly likely belong to summer signing Timothy Castagne.
The Belgian right-back, who joined from free-scoring Serie A side Atalanta, was on target on his debut against West Brom and will be Leicester's right-back for the foreseeable future in the absence of Ricardo Pereira, who is expected to be absent till 2021.
With the exception of Manchester City next week, Leicester have a rather kind fixture list in their upcoming three matches making Castagne a tantalising pick.
Player: James Rodriguez
Team: Everton
Match: Everton vs West Brom
After six years of being linked to a move to the Premier League, Colombian superstar James Rodriguez finally made the move to England and joined Everton to reunite with coach Carlo Ancelotti, who had previously managed him at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
✨ @jamesdrodriguez created five opportunities for his teammates against Spurs
— Premier League (@premierleague) September 13, 2020
That is the most by a player on their #PL debut since Alexis Sanchez back in August 2014 (5 vs Crystal Palace)#TOTEVE pic.twitter.com/byaxp0hBDl
The 29-year-old made his debut against Tottenham Hotspur and was one of the, if not the, best players on the field, providing diagonals and dictating play from the right wing. James couldn’t register a goal or an assist on debut but his impact on the game was stellar and it’s only a matter of time before he opens his account for the Toffies.
Everton's fixture list sees them take on West Brom next, who shipped three goals against Leicester on opening weekend, followed by Crystal Palace and Brighton and Hove Albion. At his price, James is great value for your midfield.
Player: Callum Wilson
Team: Newcastle United
Match: Brighton vs Newcastle
Looking for a budget striker? Look no further than Newcastle United's Callum Wilson.
3 points and a debut goal 🙌🏽💫 @NUFC pic.twitter.com/J9gP0QLN9k
— Callum Wilson (@CallumWilson) September 13, 2020
The Englishman, who joined the Magpies in the summer from Bournemouth was on target in their season opener against West Ham United and is an assured starter for Newcastle upfront.
With Brighton, Spurs and Burnley up next for Newcastle, Wilson could add great value to your starting XI.
Player: Stuart Dallas
Team: Leeds United
Match: Leeds United vs Fulham
Leeds United are perhaps the best newly-promoted side since Wolves and coach Marcelo Bielsa's men showcased that against reigning champions Liverpool, scoring three past them in a highly-entertaining game at Anfield on Saturday.
Leeds face Fulham next, who are the early favourites to be relegated, and if you've picked a Leeds player in your team, chances are they'll score a few points for you next weekend. If you haven’t, we suggest you pick fullback Stuart Dallas. The 29-year-old former winger usually plays pretty high up the field for Leeds and hence is likely to be among the points more often than not.
Dallas scored five goals and provided three assists in the Championship last season, illustrating his impact in the final third and with Leeds facing Fulham and Sheffield in their upcoming matches, chances are that the Irishman will provide a good number of points over the next two game weeks.
If you wish to raise the stakes further, Sportsbet.io has even more to offer!
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Tim Keeton
