Fantasy Premier League: When is FPL deadline and this who you’ll want to usher in

Afer a week of Fantasy Premier League ups and downs, the Daily Star expert is feeling pretty smug about his Sangare and Ajer tips, although his Man U double up recomendation did not exactly go to plan.

With the dust settled on the first week of FPL, managers all over the world will no doubt be looking at their teams and wondering what to change.

Despite being something of an opening day rollercoaster with a couple of huge upsets and some big names blanking, GW1 of the Premier League was still a success for a number of players this column tipped to succeed. Our £4.5 million tip in Brentford CB Ajer proved to be a winner, with our £5m options in Vuskovic and Muharemovic also grabbing returns.

In the midfield, Gomez (£5m), Ndiaye (£6m), Tavernier (£6m) and KDH (£6.5m) all picked up decent returns, while Sangare (£5.5m) exceeded our expectations that he would be a reliable Defcon option by grabbing a pair of assists too (more on him later). Elliot Anderson (£6.5m) on the other disappointed, and with the signing of Bouaddi (not yet priced) and the links to Enzo Fernandez (£7m), as well as a slight injury, his status as a 90-minute man in City’s midfield could be under threat.

On the more expensive end, our advice to double up on Manchester United midfielders Fernandes (£12m) and Mbeumo (£8m) could not have gone much worse, with the Red Devils being comfortably beaten by new boys Hull City.

As for the forwards, our description of Joao Pedro (£7.5m) as “essential” proved to be a good piece of advice, with the Chelsea man scoring after just a minute and picking up all three bonus points.

So with that being said, let’s look at the rest of the lessons learned from the week, and who if anyone you should look to bring in for GW2.

Misfiring Man U

It was a more than disappointing opening day for the Red Devils, with Michael Carrick’s men being handed a mauling by new boys Hull City.

United were really poor, and if you own any United defenders you were probably hiding behind your sofa as the Tigers continuously exploited the likes of Maguire (£5m) and Heaven (£4.5m) from set pieces. While not exactly stellar, there were some green shoots in the attack though, with Man U taking 21 shots across the 90 minutes, leading to an Expected Goals of 1.83.

Our recommendation would be to hold onto your Manchester United boys until at least after their home game against newly promoted Ipswich, although if Carrick’s side fail to find the net in that game too it will be time to look elsewhere.

Hairless Haaland

At £15.5m, Erling Haaland is likely eating up a decent chunk of your budget, and so fair enough if you’re second-guessing your decision to invest.

However, our advice would be to hold on to the newly trimmed Norwegian. One swallow does not make a summer, and one Haaland blank does not mean he won’t bag a hat-trick next week.

The main reason we definitely wouldn’t sell is that there isn’t an obvious one-for-one replacement, and you don’t want to be taking -4 hits to rebalance your budget.

Different Class-enal

Along with Brentford and Brighton, Arsenal were one of the opening week’s top performers, strolling to a 3-0 win versus Coventry.

Christos Tzolis (£6.5m) and Martin Odegaard (£6.5m) were two players we tipped last week, and the pair both picked up points, and looked promising for the remainder of the season.

From an FPL point of view, however, the standout performer was Riccardo Calafiori (£5.5m), who at points appeared to be Arsenal’s most aggressive attacking player despite playing at full-back. The Italian grabbed a quality assist to set up Kai Havertz (£7.5m) for Arsenal’s opener, having already scored in the Gunners’ Community Shield win against Manchester City.

The other Arsenal man we would consider would be Ezri Konsa, who at £4.5m looks a bargain way of getting into the best defence in the league. While it seems highly likely the new signing will slot straight into Arteta’s backline from GW2, it may be best to wait a week or so just to make sure he is nailed at the back.

Alon-so good:

With the exception of error-prone Robert Sanchez (£5m), Chelsea looked on fire against Fulham, with the Blues’ front three of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer (£9.5m) and Morgan Rogers (£7.5m) all getting in on the goals.

If you don’t already have Joao Pedro, we reckon he is almost essential, while if Chelsea continue to score freely one of the other pair may soon join them, with Palmer’s £9.5m price tag looking less and less by the day.

As for the rest of Chelsea’s team, full-back Marco Palestra (£5.5m) is one to watch, although we still think that reliable Defcon options are better than attacking full-backs, with the exception of Calafiori.

Brilliant Brentford and Brighton

Moneyball specialists Brentford and Brighton were both excellent, comfortably dismantling Spurs and Aston Villa respectively.

As mentioned in our pre-season reviews, Mamadou Sangare of Brentford and Diego Gomez of Brighton both represented excellent value, and will likely continue to score points as the season goes on, although Gomez’s position in the side may come under threat when Minteh (£6m) returns from injury in a few months.

Jack Hinshelwood (£6m) was especially impressive, grabbing two goals in quick succession and looking like a real threat all game. That being said, Brighton don’t have the easiest of fixtures, with Arsenal and Chelsea on the horizon, and if the goals dry up the lack of set pieces or Defcon potential could see his point-scoring wane.

So who should I transfer?

If you have an injury or a key player who is likely to leave the Premier League, definetly get rid before their price falls. If not, we think it’s worth saving your transfer for next week, when you will likely have more information.

If you do want to bring someone in, our previous tip of Leeds man Muharemovic (£5m) looks a greay pickup, with Daniel Farke’s side looking really solid in both their league and league cup games against Nottingham Forest. James Justin at (£4.5m) is still a slightly less likely source of DefCon, but after reaching the threshold last week he may be the more savvy choice at 0.5m cheaper.

In the midfield, we still really like Bournemouth’s Tavenier (£6m) as an option, having already bagged a goal in the Cherries’ opening game. Ipswich’s Enciso looked lively all game against Sunderland, and at just (£5.5m) could be a really good differential.

In terms of the forwards, a number of clubs still seem to be in the hunt for a new leading man, while several others boast multiple options up front. The likes of Calvert Lewin, Thiago and Joao Pedro, who are absolutely nailed in their sides, seem like better picks than anyone fighting for minutes.

Should I use a chip?

If you have 14 players (including both goalkeepers) who are likely to start next week, GW2 is as good a time as ever to use your first Bench Boost, especially if you have a couple of Coventry or Hull players as they play each other.

As for Triple Captain and Wildcard, we would definitely save these for later down the line, as there are better fixtures to target for the former and you’ll want more information for the latter.

When is the deadline?

The deadline this week falls at 6:30pm on Friday, ahead of Man City’s 8:00pm clash with Crystal Palace.