As FPL bosses prepare their teams for the weekend, we take a look at the standout strikers from Gameweek 1.
Erling Haaland (£14.0m) has now passed the 90% mark in terms of ownership – the highest ever seen in FPL – and he began the Premier League campaign in typical fashion with a brace as Man City ran out winners against Burnley. The vast majority of the Norwegian’s fantasy owners captained him, giving those managers 26 points to kick off the season. The reigning champions face a tougher test against Newcastle in Gameweek 2, but it would be no surprise to see last season’s top scorer finding the net again.
Facing off against Haaland in Gameweek 2 will be Alexander Isak (£7.6m), who likewise returned 13 points for his owners last weekend. The Swede found the net twice in Newcastle’s 5-1 win over Aston Villa and collected maximum bonus points in the process. As was the case last season, Eddie Howe has a tough decision on his hands when it comes to team selection, as Callum Wilson (£8.0m) also found the net after coming off the bench.
An increasingly popular pick among FPL managers is that of Joao Pedro (£5.5m), who marked his competitive debut for Brighton by scoring from the spot against promoted side Luton on Saturday. Having scored a couple of penalties in pre-season action, fantasy bosses were rewarded for their research and will be hoping for more returns when the Seagulls take on Wolves in Gameweek 2. Teammate Evan Ferguson (£6.0m) will also be one to watch this season though, with the Irish striker netting himself mere minutes after coming off the bench in Brighton’s handsome victory.
Despite the fact Nottingham Forest fell to a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in Gameweek 1, Taiwo Awoniyi (£6.5m) picked up from where he left off last season by scoring in his fifth consecutive Premier League game (seven goals in that time). Forest host newly-promoted Sheffield Utd on Friday evening, in what will be their first home match of the season.
While he didn’t score in Gameweek 1, Ollie Watkins (£8.0m) did manage an assist in Aston Villa’s defeat to Newcastle. The England international features in over a quarter of all FPL teams and his significant ownership will be expecting him to get off the mark against Everton at Villa Park in Gameweek 2.
