| Rank | Player | Res | Cls | Exa | Slm | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 6 |  | 4 | 18 | 12 | 4 | 38.0 |
2 1 |  | 6 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 34.0 |
3 - |  | 6 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 33.0 |
4 2 |  | 5 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 33.0 |
5 3 |  | 5 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 32.0 |
My fantasy captain just about paid off last week with Erling Haaland scoring, but his penalty miss was costly. He will be my captain again this week with a home game against Fulham, but James Maddison and Raheem Sterling could be good options too and Mohamed Salah is nearly always worth considering.
My team gained a little ground overall last week, but I need to start climbing up the rankings a lot quicker if it’s going to be a good season. Besides Haaland the other players who performed well for me were Bruno Fernandes, Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins and Phil Foden, but my defence is in a mess and needs sorting out. There is still plenty of value to be had with players like Alphonse Areola, Malo Gusto, Matty Cash, Joachim Andersen, Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie, James Ward-Prowse, Pape Matar Sarr, Yoanne Wisse, Eddie Nketiah and Taiwo Awoniyi all doing very well at a very good price.
Friday September 1
Luton Town v West Ham United
8pm BST, Kenilworth Road, Luton
Luton lost 3-0 away to Chelsea last week and they’re only off the foot of the table because they have managed to score a goal and Everton haven’t. Due to the renovations at Kenilworth Road this is their first home game and they will need to do well at home if their start away from home is anything to go by. They have conceded seven goals in their first two games with no other team conceding more despite them playing a game less.
I’m not sure there are any Luton players to recommend to fantasy managers at the moment, but Carlton Morris is worth watching.
West Ham won 3-1 away to Brighton last week and that win moved them up to second place in the table. They have taken four points and scored four goals in their first two away games which is a good start considering how poorly they did on the road last season. Their fixtures get a lot tougher after this one with four of last season’s top six in their next five games.
Jarrod Bowen, James Ward-Prowse, Michail Antonio and Alphonse Areola are all looking like very good options for fantasy manages.
I think West Ham’s impressive start to the season will continue with another three points in this game.
Prediction: 0-2
Saturday September 2
Sheffield United v Everton
12.30pm BST, Bramall Lane, Sheffield
United lost 2-1 at home to City last week and they’re one of four teams without a point so far. They have lost their first two home games by a single goal, but this game might give them an idea of how they will fare against the other teams who will be fighting relegation. They have a very difficult run of games after this one, but then again no games are easy when you’re at the wrong end of the table.
I can’t see any United players to recommend to fantasy managers just now.
Everton lost 1-0 at home to Wolves last week and that defeat left them at the foot of the table without a point or a goal so far. They have lost their first two away games without scoring, but this game has to be their best opportunity so far to get some points on the board. They’re the only team who haven’t scored so far with only Luton conceding more goals.
I’m not sure if there are any Everton players who can make a difference for fantasy managers, but that could change when their new players bed in.
I think this will be a very close game and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it end in a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
Brenrford v Bournemouth
3pm BST, Gtech Community Stadium, London
Brentford drew 1-1 at home to Palace last week to make it five points from their first three games. They have drawn their first two home games and no other team drew more games on their own patch last season. Three of their next four games are against teams who are expected to struggle starting with this game.
Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa are the Brentford players to have for fantasy managers.
Bournemouth lost 2-0 at home to Spurs last week and they have only managed one point from their opening three games. They conceded an awful lot of goals on their travels last season and that’s something they need to correct. Only Luton have conceded more goals so far and this is the first of four tough games in a row.
Dominic Solanke is probably the Bournemouth player most likely to perform for fantasy managers with Antoine Semenyo a possibility too.
I think Brentford should be good enough to win this game with a couple of goals to spare.
Prediction: 3-1
Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur
3pm BST, Turf Moor, Burnley
Burnley lost 3-1 at home to Villa last week and they’re only off the bottom of the table on goal difference after losing their opening two games. They have lost their first two home games and they conceded six goals in those games with no other team conceding more goals on their own ground. They’re expected to do the best of the three promoted teams, but they haven’t started well and their upcoming fixtures are not easy.
Lyle Foster is probably the Burnley for fantasy managers to keep an eye on.
Spurs won 2-0 away to Bournemouth last week to move up to third place with seven points from their first three games. They conceded a lot of goals away from home last season, but they have taken four points from their two away games so far. They have started well and five of their next seven games are against teams who will be expected to finish in the bottom half of the table starting with this one.
James Maddison is the must have Spurs player for fantasy managers with Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Pape Matar Sarr looking like well priced options too.
I think this will be a close game with Spurs more than likely taking all three points.
Prediction: 1-2
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
3pm BST, Stamford Bridge, London
Chelsea won 3-0 at home to Luton last week to get their first win of the season and they have a great opportunity to build on that result in this game. If they’re going to be among the title contenders again they need to win an awful lot more than the six home games they won last season. They’re in the middle of a very good run of games and they need to make them count to build some confidence.
Raheem Sterling might just be the Chelsea player to have for fantasy managers with Ben Chilwell, Nicolas Jackson and Malo Gusto worth considering too.
Forest led 2-0 away to United last week, but they ended up losing 3-2 to make it two defeats in their first three games. They had the worst away record in the top flight last season and they have lost their first two away games this season, but the performances in those games suggest they could do better on the road this season. They have had a difficult run of games to start the season and they travel to City in a couple of weeks before things get any easier.
Taiwo Awoniyi and Morgan Gibbs-White are the Forest players who can really impress for fantasy managers.
I think Forest will make Chelsea work hard, but the home team should take all the points.
Prediction: 3-1
Manchester City v Fulham
3pm BST, Etihad Stadium, Manchester
City got a late goal to win 2-1 away to Sheffield United last week to move them to the top of the table and they’re the only team left with a 100% record. Their home results won them the title last season and they don’t have to face any of the other big six teams at home until the end of November. They have won all of their games so far and it’s difficult to see any team stopping them in their next five games either.
Erling Haaland is an absolute must have for fantasy managers with Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and all of their defenders and keeper good options too.
Fulham got a late goal to draw 2-2 away to Arsenal last week after leading early on to leave them on four points from their first three games. They have taken four points from their first two away games, but this game will be even tougher than their game at Arsenal last week where they managed a very good point. I’m still not sure they will be good enough to match their top half finish of last season.
If he’s fit to play Andreas Pereira is the Fulham player who can do well for fantasy managers while Bernd Leno is doing pretty well at the moment too
I can’t see anything other than a comprehensive City victory in this game.
Prediction: 4-0
Brighton And Hove Albion v Newcastle United
5.30pm BST, AMEX Stadium, Brighton
Brighton lost 3-1 at home to West Ham last week and that defeat saw them drop from the top of the table to sixth place. There has been plenty of goals from both sides in their opening two home games and it should be no different in this game. Despite losing last week no other team has scored more goals, but five of their next six games are very tough.
Kaoru Mitoma, Pervis Estupinan and Solly March are the Brighton players most likely to perform for fantasy managers.
Newcastle led at home to 10 man Liverpool last week, but somehow they ended up losing 2-1 to make it two defeats in their first three games. No other team lost less games away from home last season and their next six away games are all ones they will hope to win after this game. Those two early defeats have left them playing catch up, but they don’t play any of the big six in their next seven games.
As Newcastle’s difficult fixtures continue it’s not easy to know which of their players will perform well for fantasy managers, but that will change after this week.
This is a tough game to call and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the spoils shared.
Prediction: 2-2
Sunday September 3
Crystal Palace v Wolverhampton Wanderers
2pm BST, Selhurst Park, London
Palace came from behind to draw 1-1 away to Brentford last week and they have four points from their opening three games. They struggled for goals at home last season and they have only managed one in their first two home games so far. They won’t do any better than last season if they can’t score more goals even if they’re doing pretty well at keeping them out at the other end.
Joachim Andersen and Sam Johnstone are probably the Palace players to have for fantasy managers with Eberechi Eze bound to find form soon too.
Wolves got their first points of the season when they won 1-0 away to Everton last week. Their away performances have been fairly good so far and they have only conceded one goal in those two games. They were the lowest scorers last season and they have only managed one goal in their first three games this season.
I can’t see any Wolves players who might make a difference for fantasy managers at the moment.
I think Palace should be good enough at home to narrowly win this game.
Prediction: 1-0
Liverpool v Aston Villa
2pm BST, Anfield, Liverpool
Liverpool came from behind with only 10 men to win 2-1 away to Newcastle last week and that win moved them into the top four. They only lost one home game last season with only City and Arsenal scoring more goals on their own patch. They have a really good run of games coming up and they could be in a very strong position in 10 weeks time if they can take advantage of that opportunity.
Mohamed Salah is still the go to Liverpool player for fantasy managers while Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz should be considered too, but it’s difficult to recommend Darwin Nunez as he could be on the bench again despite his late brace against Newcastle.
Villa won 3-1 away to Burnley last week to make it six points and seven goals in their last two games. They conceded five goals in their first away game, but they bounced back last week and this game will be a real test of their abilities on their travels. Only Brighton have scored more goals, but only Luton have conceded more which is mostly down to the five goals they conceded in their first game.
Marty Cash, Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins are all doing very well for fantasy managers at the moment with Lucas Digne an option too.
I think Villa will put up a real fight, but Liverpool should win the game.
Prediction: 2-1
Arsenal v Manchester United
4.30pm BST, Emirates Stadium, London
Arsenal came from behind before losing the lead as they drew 2-2 at home to Fulham last week to put an end to their perfect start to the season. Only City scored more home goals last season, but they are conceding too many goals on their own ground for their own good. Only City scored more goals last season, but they play four of the other big six in their next six games.
Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are the in form Arsenal players for fantasy managers while Eddie Nketiah is an option too, but his place is at risk with the return of Gabriel Jesus.
United came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at home to Forest last week and they’re only a point behind Arsenal going into this game. They lost eight away games last season and they conceded an awful lot of goals on their travels too. They have won two of their first three games, but only just and this will be a huge test of how well they will do this season.
Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford are the United players who can make a difference for fantasy managers.
This will probably be a very close game with Arsenal emerging with all three points.
Prediction: 3-2
That’s it for this week.
See you next week.
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