WEEKLY DIFFERENTIALS 2019/20: FPL Gameweek 2
Ahead of each round of Premier League games The Hype Train analyses the best left-field player options for your Fantasy Premier League teams. Historically, weekly FPL Dream Team’s comprise of mostly differential players whose selection falls with a low selection percentage of overall players, to which there is no doubt that their influence cannot be ignored. With such an abundance of points coming from the FPL’s hidden gems The Hype Train selects one player from each Premier League match in the upcoming Gameweek to decide who could be the differential that sets your team apart. All aboard.
Fantasy Premier League: Gameweek 2 Deadline
For the 2019/20 Premier League season, the FPL deadline will be one hour before the commencement of the week's first game. Our website provides a real-world countdown timer for the the upcoming Gameweek, whilst you can read our latest Fantasy articles from the season on our 2019/20 FPL weekly hype sub-section.
Weekly Differentials (GW2)
The first Gameweek of the season was interesting, mostly because not everything went to plan. Watford fell to Graham Potter’s resilient Brighton, Spurs nearly got bumped by Aston Villa, Liverpool failed to keep a clean sheet, Bournemouth were held to a draw against Sheffield United, and there were two drab 0-0 draws in fixtures with lots of heavily owned midfielders (Leicester, Everton, Wolves, and Palace). Statistics and trends can’t predict eye-test variables, and managers must adapt to this over the season. Fantasy is half trusting the stats, and half trusting your eye-test gut.
As usual, we provide ten recommended differentials free of charge, to give you something to think about for the upcoming gameweek. Here are the ten names that make the list this week.
Gameweeek 2: Differentials
ARS/BUR: Ainsley Maitland-Niles (ARS, DEF, £5.0mil, 3.8% ownership)
AVL/BOU: John McGinn (AVL, MID, £5.5mil, 4.8% ownership)
BHA/WHU: Martin Montoya (BHA, DEF, £4.5mil, 0.7% ownership)
EVE/WAT: Seamus Coleman (EVE, DEF, £5.5mil, 3.5% ownership)
NOR/NEW: Teemu Pukki (NOR, FWD, £6.5mil, 5.3% ownership)
SOU/LIV: Adrián (LIV, GK, £4.5mil, 2.8% ownership)
MCI/TOT: Riyad Mahrez (MCI, MID, £8.5mil, 3.8% ownership)
SHU/CRY: Enda Stevens (SHU, DEF, £5.0mil, 0.4% ownership)
CHE/LEI: Pedro (CHE, MID, £7.0mil, 3.5% ownership)
WOL/MUN: Matt Doherty (WOL, DEF, £6.0mil, 6.9% ownership)
GW2: Differential Highlights
Adrián (LIV): The Spaniard has had a whirlwind week. First, he had to sub in for an injured Alisson only a few days after signing for Liverpool on the opening day. Then a few days later he was the starting goalkeeper in Liverpool’s clash with Chelsea for the UEFA Super Cup. Adrián ended up being the difference maker and sending the title back to Merseyside to add to their recently won Champions League. The next step of a whirlwind story is his first league start against Southampton, a fixture that the Reds are expecting to win comfortably. Confidence must be running high, and Adrián has the chance to carry the European momentum into the Premier League.
*Adrian suffered a freak ankle injury during Liverpool's UEFA Super Cup win during the celebrations, but we're optimistic that the Spaniard will be fit for the clash at Southampton.
Enda Stevens (SHU): Bournemouth were a team that most managers looked at and said ‘Yeah, this is going to be a walkover. Avoid the Blades at all cost.’ Well, it didn’t turn out that way as Sheffield United held their own against Bournemouth, and they didn’t sit back and defend as they recorded eight shots and had 47% possession. Next up for the Blades is Crystal Palace who laboured to a drab 0-0 against Everton, and there is a huge chance for Sheffield United to make a statement by defeating an Eagles side who are having to reintegrate Zaha after his failed move to Everton. Which, I can’t believe has been said all things considered. Enda Stevens was a huge part of the draw against Bournemouth and we can see him being a big player in this fixture.
Other Considerations:
Emerson (CHE, DEF, £5.5mil, 1.4% ownership) vs. Leicester (H)
Tammy Abraham (CHE, FWD, £7.0mil, 2.4% ownership) vs. Leicester (H)
Diogo Jota (WOL, FWD, £6.5mil, 12.3% ownership) vs. Man United (H)
Joelinton (NEW, FWD, £6.0mil, 2.6% ownership) vs. Norwich (A)
Martin Dubravka (NEW, GK, £5.0mil, 1.0% ownership) vs. Norwich (A)
Shane Duffy (BHA, DEF, £5.0mil, 2.9% ownership) vs. West Ham (H)
Dean Henderson (SHU, GK, £4.5mil, 1.5% ownership) vs. Crystal Palace (H)
Callum Robinson (SHU, MID, £5.5MIL, 1.0% ownership) vs. Crystal Palace (H)
Key Differential: Teemu Pukki (NORWICH vs. Newcastle)
All three promoted teams performed admirably on the opening Gameweek. Sheffield United held Bournemouth away from home, Villa startled Spurs who needed a late comeback to overcome the Midlands team, and Norwich went to Anfield with the intent of attacking the Red’s defence. When FPL managers look at options from promoted teams, they look for goal scorers first and foremost, and because most people interested in the FPL don’t watch Championship football you tend to lean on statistics to give you the tale of the tape.
You can never assume what a promoted team will look like against Premier League teams, but the eye test for Norwich was overwhelmingly positive. Their own fans will look at their performance with optimism, mostly because the Championships’ top scorer from last season made an instant impact by defying the logic by silencing fantasy managers who owned Virgil, Robertson, and Alexander-Arnold.
Pukki has one of the most incredible stats we at The Hype Train have ever witnessed. The Fin has scored in every opening day in the last eight seasons with his first shot. Why did nobody share this with the rest of us? That is an omen to be very wary of. Norwich supporters would have a glimmer of hope that Pukki could provide a huge difference in fixtures against other bottom ten teams. That leads us to discussing the Canaries opponents this weekend…Newcastle United.
Last season the Toon struggled to pick up points at the beginning of the season, and once against face a promoted team away from home in GW2. Last season it was the 0-0 draw with Cardiff. Whoever does the fixtures for Newcastle must have a vendetta against them, because they always face at least five of the top six in the first ten games. Last year it took until GW11 for Newcastle to pick up their first win of the season, and it gives Norwich a chance to pick up points at home when Newcastle are feeling the early season pressure. If you had to bank on anyone to rub salt in the wounds of Newcastle, your money would be on Teemu Pukki to continue his fast start to the new Premier League season.
Want to know more about The Hype Train?
The Hype Train is an entertainment website founded in 2015, specialising in Fantasy sports reporting, starting with Fantasy Premier League (FPL), before expanding to MLS Fantasy coverage in 2018.
We pride ourselves in providing beautiful graphics, statistics, in-depth analytical reporting and free weekly insight for hopeful players attempting to climb rankings tables. We are also occasional media reviewers, with a keen interest to review games, live sport, and professional wrestling.
In 2019, Hype Train Football Club was formed, becoming the first Fantasy Football website to take to the field. HTFC is a socially active team across social and web channels, providing regular match highlights, match reports, comprehensive player statistics and unique player profiles.
The Hype Train were nominated and shortlisted for the 'Best Football Blog' in 2016 by the Football Bloggers Association at their annual Football Blogging Awards (The FBA's), and were again shortlisted as a finalist in 2019 in the 'Best Fantasy Football Blog' category.
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All aboard.
