Premier League 2020/21: FPL Gameweek 2 Fantasy Forecast
Ahead of each Gameweek in the Premier League, The Hype Train's team, Robert Austin, Sam Austin and Phil Jones, duel for FPL and league supremacy in predicting Premier League scores, as well as going head to head in picking a Scout Picks squad for each round of games. With the 2020/21 Premier League season starting tomorrow, we provide our Gameweek Forecast predictions, speculating how we think the first round of games will be played out. Welcome to the Forecast. All aboard.
Premier League 2020/21: Gameweek 2 Fixtures
After missing the opening Gameweek of the season, Aston Villa, Burnley, Man City and Man United are set to appear, whilst there is a first home game for Leeds United against another promoted outfit, Fulham.
Premier League 2020/21: FPL Gameweek 2 Forecast
Enjoy our FPL Forecast article, with each of our team forecasting how we think the Premier League will shape up this upcoming Gameweek. If you agree or want to challenge us on our point of view, get in touch with us on our main Twitter account, @RealHypeTrain.
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 2
Everton 2-0 West Brom
Leeds 2-1 Fulham
Man United 2-0 Crystal Palace
Arsenal 3-0 West Ham
Southampton 1-1 Spurs
Newcastle 1-0 Brighton
Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool
Leicester 2-0 Burnley
Aston Villa 1-1 Sheffield United
Wolves 2-0 Man City
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 2
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Arsenal (Watch): West Ham look doomed early on, and Aubameyang has started the season strong. The North London team also have Gabriel who has exploded onto the scene with a goal against Fulham and has another great chance at a clean sheet.
Man City (Avoid): Pep’s team haven’t signed any natural leaders, and that could still hurt them. They travel to a quick starting Wolves team, and this could be a banana peel fixture for team that finished second place last season.
Liverpool (Watch & Avoid): After watching the 4-3 win at Anfield, the Reds have a lot to be desired for in their defending. Chelsea have lots of attacking potential, and with the Champions defensive problems carrying over from the restart last season, I can see Timo Werner cause them problems, and even scoring to send a message to the club that were too cheap to sign him.
FPL Differential Picks - Gameweek 2:
EVE/WBA: Michael Keane (EVE, DEF, £5.0mil, 2.1% ownership)
LEE/FUL: Pablo Hernández (LEE, MID, £6.0mil, 1.8% ownership)
MUN/CRY: Marcus Rashford (MUN, MID, £9.5mil, 6.2% ownership)
ARS/WHU: Alexandre Lacazette (ARS, FWD, £8.5mil, 5.0% ownership)
SOU/TOT: Hugo Lloris (TOT, GK, £5.5mil, 5.0% ownership)
NEW/BHA: Jamal Lewis (NEW, DEF, £4.5mil, 3.3% ownership)
CHE/LIV: Roberto Firmino (LIV, FWD, £9.5mil, 3.7% ownership)
LEI/BUR: Timothy Castagne (LEI, DEF, £5.5mil, 4.1% ownership)
AVL/SHU: Ollie Watkins (AVL, FWD, £6.0mil, 1.4% ownership)
WOL/MCI: Pedro Neto (WOL, MID, £5.5mil, 0.4% ownership)
Differential Captain: Ollie Watkins (AVL)
The Villains have spent a lot of the summer transfer window brining in strikers to add some much-needed goals to their attack. Dean Smith has brought in former Brentford forward Ollie Watkins, who scored in a pre-season win over Manchester United when GW1 was taking place. Sheffield United had a worst start scenario, with the intensity of the Blades appearing to have dropped, allowing Wolves to comfortably beat them. Watkins has a chance to introduce himself to the Premier League against a team who are trying to avoid second season syndrome.
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 2
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Bernd Leno (ARS)
DEF: Kieran Tierney (ARS)
DEF: Timothy Castagne (LEI)
DEF: Michael Keane (EVE)
MID: Sadio Mane (LIV)
MID: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (ARS) - (C)
MID: Mohamad Salah (LIV) - (VC)
MID: Bruno Fernandes (MUN)
FOR: Jamie Vardy (LEI)
FOR: Anthony Martial (MUN)
FOR: Callum Wilson (NEW)
Substitutes
GK: David de Gea (MUN)
MID: Pedro Neto (WOL)
DEF: Jamal Lewis (NEW)
DEF: James Rodriguez (EVE)
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 2
Everton 4-0 West Brom
Leeds 2-1 Fulham
Man United 2-1 Crystal Palace
Arsenal 3-0 West Ham
Southampton 1-1 Spurs
Newcastle 2-0 Brighton
Chelsea 1-3 Liverpool
Leicester 2-0 Burnley
Aston Villa 1-1 Sheffield United
Wolves 1-3 Man City
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 2
Formation: 3-4-3
Starting 11
GK: Kasper Schmeichel
DEF: Kieran Tierney
DEF: Lucas Digne
DEF: Trent Alexander Arnold
MID: Mo Salah
MID: P.E. Aubameyang (C)
MID: Bruno Fernandes
MID: Riyad Mahrez
FOR: Timo Werner
FOR: Callum Wilson (VC)
FOR: Jamie Vardy
Substitutes
GK: Bernd Leno
MID: Mateusz Klich
DEF: Aymeric Laporte
DEF: Reece James
Fixture Predictions: Gameweek 2
Everton 2-0 West Brom
Leeds 1-1 Fulham
Man United 3-1 Crystal Palace
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
Southampton 1-0 Spurs
Newcastle 2-0 Brighton
Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool
Leicester 0-0 Burnley
Aston Villa 1-1 Sheffield United
Wolves 1-2 Man City
FPL Forecasting: Gameweek 2
Top FPL player targets to start the season:
Everton defenders (who would have thought!?): There is some good value in Pickford (£5.0m), Keane (£5.0m), Coleman (£5.0m) and Calvert-Lewin (£7.1m) higher up the pitch ahead of a home game against West Brom. Ancelotti, as many have predicted, look defensively sound and might be a feature in FPL teams and I’m quite liking the look of Pickford being one of the better-performing Goalkeeper’s this season if Gameweek 1 is anything to base the season on.
Anthony Martial (MUN): Midfielders are hard to change this week as Aubameyang and Salah still have an ownership monopoly over FPL players. Forward’s are easier to pick and choose from (Kane, Werner, etc), which opens the door for Anthony Martial (£9.0m) to come in.
Who are the teams to look out for and avoid?:
Spurs (Avoid): Spurs have not started the season well. Neither have Southampton. The fixture list for Tottenham is hectic and this singular focus for Southampton might work to the club’s favour as Jose Mourinho’s side look out of sorts.
Newcastle (Watch): The squad is buzzing right now and we should bring the game to a Brighton team who will find it difficult to manage and track the speed of Wilson and Saint-Maximin. Also, being a Newcastle fan means I have very few opportunities to put a Newcastle player (or two) in my FPL squad, so I’ll be cheerleading my attacking options this week.
Arsenal (Watch): Mikel Arteta, good. David Moyes, bad. Arsenal, very good. West Ham, very bad.
Leicester (Avoid): This only refers to their attacking options. Burnley have given Leicester good games in the past few years and I can see this being a low-scoring affair.
Leeds & Fulham (Avoid): I’d love to bank on a cheap Leeds defender but I’m not so sure a promoted team will offer FPL players the sweet relief they’re looking for. This Leeds team played their hearts out against Liverpool, most teams do, and with Fulham looking to get off the mark before Scott Parker starts sweating for his job, it wouldn’t surprise me if this one is a score draw.
Liverpool (Watch): I’m not optimistic that Klopp’s side will keep a clean sheet, but the Red’s look sharp in attack and this one should have a lot of goals in it – though Mo Salah doesn’t have the best record away at Stamford Bridge, so if you’re looking to captain the Egyptian, tread carefully.
Man City (Avoid): Rotation.
What is the strategy for bringing in City and United players?:
In my personal team, I have opted to put in Anthony Martial for Harry Kane for the sake of freeing some money to get in a 4th defender who plays. If you’re going to be making last minute changes on Saturday morning, I’d exclusively look at Man United options and wait for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s fixtures to toughen up after the West Ham game to bring in Kevin De Bruyne.
FPL Captaincy Picks - Gameweek 2:
Essential: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (ARS)
Alternative: Anthony Martial (MUN)
Differential: Ollie Watkins (AVL)
If there’s ever been a crystal clear main captaincy option this week, it’s Auba against the lowly Hammers. A team visiting The Emirates in disrepair that isn’t the home side, who have been transformed into a well-drilled unit by a young, dynamic Manager, is music to the ears of Gunners supporters.
Willian adds a new dimension to Arsenal’s attack from the right. Lacazette looks settled up top. Aubameyang has just signed a new contract – when a player tends to sign a new deal at a club, it’s usually followed by a big performance. Saka scored his first goal when he signed a new deal earlier in the year, now it’s Auba’s time to shine whilst Mo Salah has a tricky fixture to navigate in London against Chelsea.
The only real competition comes from Man United in their maiden game against Crystal Palace at home, with Bruno Fernandes and Anthony Martial obvious threats. Domini Calvert-Lewin is on the fringes of contention, but is worth a slight nod after a fine performance against Spurs. Callum Wilson for the same reason.
Other Gameweek Comments:
Don’t overthink. FPL players are known to rue making many changes to their Gameweek 1 team when they tinker and move on players before they hit their stride. I’ve done it. Most have. Just go with your gut and as I’m writing this late at night before the deadline, it’s really not worth getting the spreadsheets out – Gameweek 2 will likely frustrate and add even more questions.
In my personal team, I've actually dropped points - Kane and Saliba out for Martial and Keane - so don't be afraid to make early season changes.
Good luck for the weekend, everyone!
FPL Scout Picks: Gameweek 2
Formation: 4-3-3
Starting 11
GK: Jordan Pickford (EVE)
DEF: Gabriel (ARS)
DEF: Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV)
DEF: James Justin (LEI)
DEF: Jamal Lewis (NEW)
MID: Mohamed Salah (LIV)
MID: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (ARS) – (C)
MID: Allan Saint-Maximin (NEW)
FOR: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (EVE)
FOR: Callum Wilson (NEW)
FOR: Anthony Martial (MUN)
Substitutes
GK: Emi Martinez (AVL)
MID: James Rodriguez (EVE)
MID: Pedro Neto (WOL)
DEF: Jamal Lewis (NEW)
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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. We won both Goal of the Season Awards in the Berkshire and County FA regions, with Callum Parr-Jones winning the Berks & Bucks FA award, whilst Martin King won the PlaySport UK award.
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.
