FANTASY FORECAST 2017/18: FPL Gameweek 1
Ahead of each Gameweek in the Fantasy Premier League the Hype Train invites a special guest onto its Fantasy Forecast, where the three members of the Hype Team and its Guests will duel for FPL supremacy in predicting Premier League scores, as well as going head to head in picking a Scout Picks squad for the relevant Gameweek. In addition, we give our insight into who are the players to watch and those to drop, both for traditional FPL leagues and the Draft mode, as well as providing insight into captaincy picks, differentials for the week, and more. Welcome to the Forecast. All aboard.
Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek Deadline
For the 2016/17 Premier League season, the FPL deadline will be one hour before the commencement of the week's first game. The Premier League website lists each FPL deadline, you can always ask on social media, and you can also view a real time countdown on our Weekly Hype page.
How does our Forecasting work?
We have taken to our Hype Team, and the FPL Community, to compete in a weekly head to head dual of wits. We are asking the questions that dominate each week in the Fantasy Premier League: who to pick, who to avoid, who to captain, and who may surprise. The 3 members of the Hype Team, and a Guest, will provide weekly insight for the Gameweek ahead. For the sake of respecting the rules of the Forecast, we have provided an example of what we're sending out to interested parties.
Premier League Fixture Prediction: As pundits, we are testing our football acumen with PL predictions and will be providing regular updated tables and stats in each edition of the FPL Forecast. A perfect score is worth 3 points whilst a correct result is worth 1 point.
FPL Gameweek Forecasting: Answering the regular questions that come up every single week in the Fantasy Premier League community that helps with identifying captaincy picks, transfers, attacking options, clean sheet potential, teams to look our for and avoid, players to consider for the Draft game, the wildcard differential players, as well as general analysis and comments.
Scout Picks: Picking a squad of 15 for a single Gameweek, without any budget, using the rules of the FPL - formations, captains and vice captains, and the player limits of 3 per club (chips will not be feature of these weekly picks)
Each team must pick a Captain, labelled as (c) and a Vice Captain listed as (vc).
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 1
Arsenal 2-1 Leicester
Watford 0-3 Liverpool
Chelsea 2-0 Burnley
Crystal Palace 2-2 Huddersfield
Everton 1-0 Stoke
Southampton 2-0 Swansea
West Brom 1-2 Bournemouth
Brighton 0-3 Man City
Newcastle 3-2 Spurs
Man United 3-0 West Ham
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 1
Best GW Attacking Options:
Newcastle (H) vs. Spurs
Liverpool (A) vs. Watford
Bournemouth (A) vs. West Brom
Man City (A) vs. Brighton
Man United (H) vs. West Ham
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential:
Chelsea (H) vs. Burnley
Southampton (H) vs. Swansea
Everton (H) vs. Stoke City
Man United (H) vs. West Ham
Man City (A) vs. Brighton
Who are your Gameweek 1 essential player picks?:
Romelu Lukaku, Josh King, Marcos Alonso, Maya Yoshida, Eric Bailly, Sadio Mane.
Who are the players that might make the difference this Gameweek in the Draft?:
Romelu Lukaku, Josh King, Marcos Alonso, Maya Yoshida, Eric Bailly.
Who are the teams to look out for?:
Liverpool: The Reds return from pre-season after going on some great form, scoring goals for fun. Even with Coutinho unlikely to feature I expect Watford to be overwhelmed by the pace and interlinking of Firmino, Salah, and Mane.
Man United: Armed with the West Ham decimating Romelu Lukaku the Red Devils are certain to pick up three points.
Newcastle: The record the Toon have versus Spurs is unbelievable, and I expect them to cause them plenty of problems on their return to the league.
Who are the teams to avoid?:
Spurs: The North London club would have hated seeing Newcastle get promoted, somehow the Toon always get the better of them. Also, until Kane starts scoring in the Premier League during the month of August I am not convinced.
Stoke: Uncertainty over the beginning of the season is nothing new for Stoke, and I expect nothing less than a drab game at Goodison Park with both teams looking to keep it solid.
GW Differential Picks:
I write The Hype Train’s weekly differentials, so head over there for my ten picks for this week. Just in case you have seconds to live and you’re reading this article my top picks are Steve Mounie and Josh King. Thank me in heaven.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C): Romelu Lukaku
(VC): Josh King
Other Gameweek Comments:
Enjoy the season, and don’t forget the opening day never makes sense. Last season was a bit of an odd one and I expect this time round teams will be adjusting being back in the league. I am just interested to see what random player becomes an FPL legend overnight. My money is on Crystal Palace winger Lokilo, promoted to the main team and facing Huddersfield in the opening fixture…watch this space.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 1
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Simon Mignolet
DEF: Marcos Alonso
DEF: Ryan Bertrand
DEF: Eric Bailly
MID: Sadio Mane
MID: Kevin De Bruyne
MID: Christian Eriksen
MID: Mohamed Salah
FOR: Romelu Lukaku
FOR: Joshua King
FOR: Sergio Aguero
Substitutes
GK: Jordan Pickford
MID: Matt Ritchie
DEF: Cesar Azpilicueta
DEF: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Gameweek 1 Fixture Prediction
Arsenal 2-1 Leicester Watford 1-3 Liverpool Chelsea 2-1 Burnley Crystal Palace 2-1 Huddersfield Everton 3-0 Stoke Southampton 1-0 Swansea West Brom 1-0 Bournemouth Brighton 1-4 Man City Newcastle 1-3 Spurs Man United 4-0 West Ham
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 1
Best GW Attacking Options: Man United (H) vs West Ham Liverpool (a) vs Watford Man City (a) vs Brighton
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential: Everton (H) vs Stoke Southampton (H) vs Swansea West Brom (H) vs Bournemouth Man United (H) vs West Ham
Who are your Gameweek 1 essential player picks?: 1. Romelu Lukaku 2. Harry Kane 3. Kevin De Bruyne 4. Sadio Mane 5. Willian
Who are the players that might make the difference this Gameweek in the Draft?: Ignoring the obvious top picks, these are the players that might be under the radar. 1. Dusan Tadic 2. Tammy Abraham 3. Dominic Calvert-Lewin 4. Alex Iwobi 5. Michy Batshuayi
Who are the teams to look out for?:
Man United: Lukaku destroys West Ham wherever he goes. Expect more of the same.
Man City: Making playing two striker relevant again. KDB assisting everywhere.
Who are the teams to avoid?:
Brighton: Facing the best front line in the League is a hard introduction.
West Ham: As previously mentioned, Lukaku is their nemesis. This team needs time to gel.
GW Differential Picks: 1. Michy Batshuayi (CHE) 2. Theo Walcott (ARS) 3. Andre Ayew (SWA) 4. Phil Jones (MUN) 5. Asmir Begovic (BOU)
FPL Captaincy Picks: (C): Romelu Lukaku - his record vs the hammers is FPL legend.
(VC): Harry Kane - if this was week 10 he would have the arm band, but Kane has been a slow starter in the past. Still bank on him to score in this one.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 1 Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Jordan Pickford
DEF: Ryan Bertrand DEF: Eric Bailly DEF: Marcos Alonso
MID: Mo Salah MID: Willian MID: Sadio Mane MID: Kevin De Bruyne
FOR: Romelu Lukaku (C) FOR: Harry Kane (VC) FOR: Sergio Aguero
Substitutes
GK: Ben Foster MID: Henrikh Mkhitaryan DEF: Kyle Walker DEF: Joel Matip
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 1
Arsenal 2-1 Leicester
Watford 0-2 Liverpool
Chelsea 3-0 Burnley
Crystal Palace 2-1 Huddersfield
Everton 1-1 Stoke
Southampton 2-0 Swansea
West Brom 1-1 Bournemouth
Brighton 0-3 Man City
Newcastle 1-3 Spurs
Man United 2-0 West Ham
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 1
Best GW Attacking Options:
Spurs (A) vs. Newcastle
Liverpool (A) vs. Watford
Chelsea (H) vs. Burnley
Man City (A) vs. Brighton
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential:
Chelsea (H) vs. Burnley
Southampton (H) vs. Swansea
Man United (H) vs. West Ham
Liverpool (A) vs. Watford
Who are your Gameweek 1 essential player picks?:
Romelu Lukaku
Harry Kane
Sadio Mane or Mo Salah (maybe both)
Kevin de Bruyne
Willian
Who are the players that might make the difference this Gameweek in the Draft?:
There are lots of premium defensive options to pick from that will go under the radar, like Ben Davies. Aaron Mooy is also being overlooked in a lot of draft teams I'm seeing.
Who are the teams to look out for?:
Liverpool: Goals, goals, goals, goals, goals, goals, goals, goals, goals, goals. Mane, Mane, Mane, Mane. Salah, Salah, Salah, Salah. Pace, pace, pace, pace, pace, pace. I fear for Watford's full backs and I want both in my squad, just in case a riot ensues.
Chelsea: For this fixture alone, Burnley at home, I want every Chelsea defender in my squad. Burnley look short of goals.
Bournemouth: Capable of crashing the party at home to West Brom, they've won on the road at the Baggies ground twice on the spin without conceding. Begovic being overlooked?
Southampton: They're looking defensively capable again, which is standard Southampton protocol. They should beat a Gylfi-less Swansea.
Who are the teams to avoid?:
Newcastle: My gut instinct as a Newcastle fan is to have faith in Rafa, but deep down I think it is going to be a very long weekend. Spurs know how to play on the road, and I think we'll get a rude awakening in the form of Spurs's attack.
Everton: Where are the goals coming from this season?
West Brom: There's just something about them that makes me think they might tank it this season. I am 50/50 on every FPL option, so I'm going to avoid them for a while, but may very well end up with Foster in goal just in case I am horrendously wrong.
GW Differential Picks:
Rob Holding (ARS): Overlooked and a good price, if you trust Arsenal defenders.
Steve Mounie (HUD): Big money signing could make an impact and give Huddersfield what they need, which is goals on the road.
Matt Ryan (BRI): He'll make a lot of saves against Man City. Must count for something, right? That's how Heaton got on last season.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C): Harry Kane - Newcastle are a club boiling on turmoil so early into the season. Harry Kane might make Tyneside a miserable place to be come Sunday evening.
(VC): Romelu Lukaku - The destroyer of West Ham is back, but United might not beat the Hammers by many.
Other Gameweek Comments:
There's not enough money, or room in my squad, for the players I want. I'd love to double down on Liverpool and Southampton assets (defensively for the Saints, offensively for Liverpool) but am a little scared of the plot foiling on me, forced to watch as Man City go to town on Brighton (which seems to be a near-certainty if you read the opinions of FPL pundits).
Kane/Lukaku are must haves, and the Willian/Zaha combination is well priced. I'm struggling to fit in a Chelsea defensive player, but I'll let it slide as they travel to Spurs for GW2.
I've opted for the time old 3-4-3 with every midfielder priced at 7m or more, with two premium forwards and a gamble in Steve Mounie. My only premium defensive asset as of writing is Ben Davies, though John Stones might make it as a shift my team at the last minute and ruin everything.
The only other consideration I am toying with is doubling down on Southampton defenders, or placing faith with Rob Holding, though I'm not a big fan of the Gunners in the early season, despite winning the Community Shield last Sunday.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 1 Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: David de Gea
DEF: Jack Stephens DEF: Ben Davies DEF: Marcos Alonso
MID: Wilfried Zaha MID: Willian MID: Sadio Mane MID: Kevin De Bruyne
FOR: Romelu Lukaku (VC) FOR: Harry Kane (C) FOR: Sergio Aguero
Substitutes
GK: Asmir Begovic MID: Mo Salah DEF: Kyle Walker DEF: Rob Holding
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 1 Arsenal 2-2 Leicester Watford 1-2 Liverpool Chelsea 2-0 Burnley Crystal Palace 1-1 Huddersfield Everton 3-1 Stoke Southampton 1-0 Swansea West Brom 2-3 Bournemouth Brighton 1-4 Man City Newcastle 0-3 Spurs Man United 2-1 West Ham
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 1
Best GW Attacking Options: Man City
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential: Southampton
Who are your Gameweek 1 essential player picks?: Gabriel Jesus, KDB, Kane, Alli
Who are the teams to look out for?: Man City, Man Utd, Spurs
Who are the teams to avoid?: Stoke, Watford, West Ham
GW Differential Picks: Steve Mounie, James Ward-Prowse, Jamie Vardy
FPL Captaincy Picks: (C): Harry Kane (VC): Romelu Lukaku
Other Gameweek Comments: Have a strong feeling that Lukaku won’t score more than 7 points and that City will run riot against Brighton - they’re in for a shock. Leicester also to upset the apple cart at the Emirates. United to scrape it against West Ham unconvincingly.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 1 Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: David de Gea
DEF: Marcos Alonso DEF: Antonio Valencia DEF: Ryan Bertrand
MID: Kevin de Bruyne MID: Dele Alli MID: Wilfried Zaha MID: Sadio Mane
FOR: Romelu Lukaku (VC) FOR: Harry Kane (C) FOR: Gabriel Jesus
Substitutes
GK: Wayne Hennessey MID: Davy Klaassen DEF: Gary Cahill DEF: Patrick van Aanholt
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in the Fantasy Premier League (#FPL), providing beautiful graphics and weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb ranking tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review movies, live sport, and professional wrestling.
The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog 2016' by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), with the final presentation held at Old Trafford in Manchester.
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All aboard.
