FANTASY FORECAST 2017/18: FPL Gameweek 2
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: 2017/18 Points Table
In our predictions a perfect score is 3 points, and predicting the right outcome is worth 1 point (aka if a team wins but, you predict it, but don't get the perfect score). Below is the Gameweek and overall rundown of our Premier League predictions series for the season.
Sam Austin (@HypeTrainSam): 6 (1)
Phil Jones (@HypeTrainPhil): 10 (1)
Robert Austin (@HypeTrainRob): 4 (1)
Special Guests: 4 (1)
Special Guests
GW1 - @FPLConnect: 4 points (0 perfect, 4 correct, 6 wrong)
Individual Gameweek Predictions
GW1: Sam (6), Phil (10), Rob (4), @FPL_Connect (4)
FPL Scout Picks: 2017/18 Points Table
Picking a squad of 15 for a single Gameweek, 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). Below is the Gameweek and overall rundown of our Premier League predictions series for the season.
Sam Austin (@HypeTrainSam): 82 (1)
Phil Jones (@HypeTrainPhil): 81 (1)
Robert Austin (@HypeTrainRob): 67 (1)
Special Guests: 54 (1)
Special Guests
GW1 - @FPL_Connect: 54 points (Captain Kane, 2pts)
Individual Gameweek Scout Picks
GW1: Sam (82), Phil (81), Rob (67), @FPL_Connect (54)
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 2
Swansea 0-2 Man United
Bournemouth 2-1 Watford
Burnley 0-0 West Brom
Leicester 3-0 Brighton
Liverpool 3-1 Crystal Palace
Southampton 1-0 West Ham
Stoke 1-2 Arsenal
Huddersfield 1-1 Newcastle
Spurs 3-2 Chelsea
Man City 1-0 Everton
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 2
Best GW Attacking Options:
Liverpool (H) vs. Crystal Palace
Man United (A) vs. Swansea
Spurs (H) vs. Chelsea
Leicester (H) vs. Brighton
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential:
Southampton (H) vs. West Ham
Man United (A) vs. Swansea
Leicester (H) vs. Brighton
Burnley (H) vs. West Brom
West Brom (A) vs. Burnley
Who would you Transfer In and Out for the Gameweek and beyond?:
IN: Steve Mounie, Mo Salah, Maya Yoshida, Jonas Lossl
OUT: Dwight Gayle, Wilfried Zaha, Hector Bellerin, Simon Mignolet
Who are the players that might make the difference this Gameweek in the Draft?:
Tom Heaton, Maya Yoshida, Eric Bailly, Dele Alli, Josh King, and Romelu Lukaku,
Who are the teams to look out for?:
Liverpool: Goals, goals, goals!
Leicester: Made a good account of themselves against Arsenal in GW1.
Southampton: Clean sheets are inbound.
Spurs: At Wembley for first time this season, and expecting revenge on Chelsea after the last time at Wembley when Chelsea mauled them.
Burnley: The Clarets could be in the top four after this gameweek ends if luck goes their way and they beat West Brom.
Who are the teams to avoid?:
Liverpool: Terrible, terrible defence!
Newcastle: Injury ravaged defence, and up against powerhouse Steve Mounie.
Everton: An early boost to the season most likely ends against the Citizens.
Chelsea: Signs of rot aren’t good for Conte, or FPL managers with Chelsea assets.
GW Differential Picks:
Steve Mounie: Unplayable last week, and now up against struggling Newcastle for Huddersfield’s first home game of the season. Fireworks expected.
Jack Butland: Might make over ten saves in this game against Arsenal, or will see Stoke’s good run against the Gunners continue, either way it could be a good game for Butland.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C): Romelu Lukaku – the Belgian is on fire, and Swansea look vulnerable all over.
(VC): Sadio Mane – the Liverpool forward showed he was up for the new season with a well taken goal against Watford, and now the focus is on Anfield where Liverpool always start strong.
Other Gameweek Comments:
Plenty of FPL managers are looking to play their wildcard this early, my advice is to keep it simple and hold off until the international break ends to play it.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 2
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Tom Heaton
DEF: Maya Yoshida
DEF: Eric Bailly
DEF: Christian Fuchs
MID: Sadio Mane (VC)
MID: Dele Alli
MID: Christian Eriksen
MID: Mo Salah
FOR: Romelu Lukaku (C)
FOR: Roberto Firmino
FOR: Steve Mounie
Substitutes
GK: Jack Butland
MID: Aaron Mooy
DEF: John Stones
DEF: Ryan Bertrand
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 2
Swansea 1-3 Man United Bournemouth 2-0 Watford Burnley 0-0 West Brom Leicester 4-1 Brighton Liverpool 3-2 Crystal Palace Southampton 1-0 West Ham Stoke 1-2 Arsenal Huddersfield 3-1 Newcastle Spurs 2-2 Chelsea Man City 3-1 Everton
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 2
Best GW Attacking Options: Man United (a) vs Swansea Leicester (H) vs Brighton Liverpool (H) vs Crystal Palace Huddersfield (H) vs Newcastle
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential: Burnley (H) vs West Brom Bournemouth (H) vs Watford Southampton (H) vs West Ham Man United (a) Swansea
Who would you Transfer In and Out for the Gameweek and beyond?: IN: Mounie, Mooy, Salah, Mane, Morata, Hegazi, Yoshida. OUT: Fabregas, Cahill, Iwobi, Sterling, Sane.
Who are the players that might make the difference this Gameweek in the Draft?: Draft star pick: Steve Mounie: ownership in the main league is growing and I imagine he is becoming a popular candidate from the waiver wire. A favourable tie against Newcastle is up next.
Other waiver wire players to look at include: Gylfi Sigurdsson: probably already picked up but uncertainty with his future heading into week 1 may have put people off selecting him. Make sure you check in your league!!
Trent Alexander-Arnold: No points in week 1 but it’s his midweek performance in Champions league action that attracts attention. It’s very rare to fine a 4.5mill defender starting for a top 6 club...and taking direct free kicks.
Kyle Walker-Peters: another cheap full back starting in a top 6 club. Worth looking at for the short term until Trippier returns.
Who are the teams to look out for?: Huddersfield, Liverpool, Man United, Man City.
Who are the teams to avoid?: Newcastle, Watford, Brighton, Chelsea (for now)
GW Differential Picks:
Steve Mounie: I think I’ve said enough already...
FPL Captaincy Picks: (C): Romelu Lukaku: by far the most popular captain choice and last week proved why. Yet to see how the ‘New’ United perform away but I expect more of the same.
(VC): Sergio Aguero: a tougher test in Everton this week but with the options City have in attack they will be difficult to shut out. Aguero is preferred over Jesus simply due to consistency of performance over several years.
Other Gameweek Comments:
Don’t make drastic changes this early on. Nobody has the data to decide who to pick so go with your gut.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 2 Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Ben Foster
DEF: John Stones DEF: Maya Yoshida DEF: Phil Jones
MID: Riyad Mahrez MID: Mo Salah MID: Kevin De Bruyne MID: Sadio Mane
FOR: Steve Mounie FOR: Sergio Aguero (VC) FOR: Romelu Lukaku (C)
Substitutes
GK: Tom Heaton MID: Aaron Mooy DEF: Nathan Ake DEF: Marcos Alonso
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 2
Swansea 0-3 Man United
Bournemouth 2-1 Watford
Burnley 0-0 West Brom
Leicester 1-0 Brighton
Liverpool 4-1 Crystal Palace
Southampton 2-0 West Ham
Stoke 1-3 Arsenal
Huddersfield 2-0 Newcastle
Spurs 3-1 Chelsea
Man City 2-0 Everton
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 2
Best GW Attacking Options:
Man Utd (A) vs. Swansea
Man City (H) vs. Everton
Huddersfield (H) vs. Newcastle
Liverpool (H) vs. Crystal Palace
Burnley (H) vs. West Brom
West Brom (A) vs. Burnley
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential:
Man Utd (A) vs. Swansea
Leicester (H) vs. Brighton
Southampton (H) vs. West Ham
Man City (H) vs. Everton
Who would you Transfer In and Out for the Gameweek and beyond?:
IN: Mounie, Mooy, Zanka, Lossl, Mkhitaryan, Phil Jones, Yoshida, Firmino and Liverpool midfielder assets
OUT: Zaha, Chelsea players except for Willian, Benteke, and Bournemouth defenders (they have it hard after Watford at home)
Who are the players that might make the difference this Gameweek in the Draft?:
A few players that weren't taken in our personal draft are the likes of Robbie Brady and Huddersfield midfielders. With a lot of midfield injuries to Zaha, and suspensions to Fabregas, value options like Kachunga/Mooy/Brady/Ince might make the difference this week.
Who are the teams to look out for?:
Huddersfield - A team brimming with FPL talent, the Terriers look great going into a home fixture against a fragile Newcastle side who suffered some injury setbacks against Spurs.
Man City - Pep's team look comfortable and Everton look like they might lack goals. I think it might be another 2-0 victory for City.
Burnley and WestBrom - If a game ever had 0-0 written all over it, then it is West Brom visiting Burnley. Foster and Heaton should both score points again for FPL players.
Spurs - Looked comfortable against Newcastle, and Chelsea looked laughable against Burnley. Kane, Alli and company look good value for a big win at Wembley.
Who are the teams to avoid?:
Chelsea - See above about my thoughts on Chelsea. It isn't going well so far this season for Conte, a manager who is already under intense pressure to deliver. May I remind everyone that the last 3 Premier League winning manager's didn't make it to the end of the following season.
West Ham - Laughable and poor, the Hammers lack organisation, something they will rue when facing Southampton, a side that are all about organisation.
Swansea - No Gylfi, no point. They conceded 29 shots away at Southampton last week. It's going to be a long season for the Swans, especially with Lukaku coming to town.
GW Differential Picks:
Zanka (HUD) - The Big Dane is a towering presence, a goal-threat in the box, and a defensive organiser.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) - Liverpool don't keep clean sheets, but in Trent they have a set-piece taker who has already scored a sublime free-kick this season.
Maya Yoshida (SOU) - Yoshida's a danger in the box, on set-pieces, and is still the club's captain, and a lock for FPL teams.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C): Romelu Lukaku – I'm scared of captaining anyone else. Lukaku appears to be the safest and most reliable option right now.
(VC): Steve Mounie – When a Newcastle fan thinks it will be a long afternoon, and favours Mounie for points, you get the gist of how the atmosphere is with Toon fans. Mounie impressed in his debut, and he can do it again with a defence already riddled with injuries.
Other Gameweek Comments:
After years in the game, it is best to leave your Gameweek 1 squad perfectly alone, unless there is an injury. Otherwise you end up screwing up, even if you had a good first week. The stage hasn't settled, and won't for quite some weeks.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 2
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: David de Gea
DEF: Maya Yoshida
DEF: Zanka
DEF: Kyle Walker
MID: Kevin De Bruyne
MID: Dele Alli
MID: Sadio Mane
MID: Mohamed Salah
FOR: Steve Mounie (VC)
FOR: Romelu Lukaku (C)
FOR: Harry Kane
Substitutes
GK: Tom Heaton
MID: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
DEF: Trent Alexander-Arnold
DEF: Ahmed Hegazi
Fixture Prediction: Gameweek 2
Swansea 0-3 Man United
Bournemouth 1-1 Watford
Burnley 1-1 West Brom
Leicester 3-1 Brighton
Liverpool 2-0 Crystal Palace
Southampton 1-1 West Ham
Stoke 1-2 Arsenal
Huddersfield 3-2 Newcastle
Spurs 2-1 Chelsea
Man City 3-1 Everton
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 2
Best GW Attacking Options:
Man Utd (A) vs Swansea
Man City (H) vs Everton
Leicester (H) vs Brighton
Huddersfield (H) vs Newcastle
Best GW Defensive / Clean Sheet Potential:
Man Utd (A) vs Swansea
Liverpool (H) vs Crystal Palace
Leicester (H) vs Brighton
Southampton (H) vs West Ham
Who would you Transfer In and Out for the Gameweek and beyond?:
IN: Mkhitaryan, Loftus-Cheek, Jones
OUT: Zaha, Cahill, Iwobi
Who are the players that might make the difference this Gameweek in the Draft?:
I can see Mkhitaryan really stepping into the spotlight this season and a trip to Wales is another great opportunity to show his true value.
Vardy looked like he was back to his old self against Arsenal, so I think he’s going to be in the mood for another party this weekend against Brighton.
Who are the teams to look out for?:
Huddersfield – It’s a game they’ll see as one they can certainly win. I expect them to fight tooth and nail for this one.
Man City – They have a plethora of attacking options that makes it impossible for the opposition to prepare for.
Liverpool – Predictable attacking line up in comparison but it makes no difference when you’ve got the pace and trickery of Salah and Mane!
Who are the teams to avoid?:
Everton – Not sure whether they’ve worked out the season’s started yet and they’ve lost their focal point. Siggy is a cracking signing but City will be too soon for him I expect.
Newcastle – It’s impossible to guess how well they are likely to perform in the league this season. Ritchie is appealing and Atsu looked good at the weekend, but apart from that they’re all questionable.
West Ham – Some fantastic signings over the summer but they don’t seem to have gelled yet. Hopefully some gems reveal themselves soon with a few interesting fixtures in the near future.
GW Differential Picks:
Steve Mounie (HUD) – Opened his account for the season with a brace. And with a weakened Newcastle in the crosshairs I think he’s going to be after a couple more.
James Ward-Prowse (SOU) – Only Eriksen has a delivery that could match JWP.
FPL Captaincy Picks:
(C): Lukaku – With ~99% of the FPL community giving him the armband, you’d be incredibly brave this early to look elsewhere.
(VC): Firmino – He’ll be involved one way or another in Liverpool goals.
Other Gameweek Comments:
Having a bad first Gameweek is nothing to panic over – there are 37 more gameweek's to nail and a wildcard to give your team that all-important early overhaul. Looking at gameweek 4 to use mine, depending on the state of my team.
FPL Hype Picks: Gameweek 2
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Fraser Forster
DEF: Phil Jones
DEF: Ryan Bertrand
DEF: Saed Kolasinac
MID: Kevin De Bruyne
MID: Tom Ince
MID: Henrikh Mkhitaryan
MID: Mohamed Salah
FOR: Jamie Vardy
FOR: Romelu Lukaku (C)
FOR: Roberto Firmino (VC)
Substitutes
GK: Kasper Schmeichel
MID: James Ward-Prowse
DEF: Patrick van Aanholt
DEF: Harry Maguire
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.
