With the new Premier League season only a round old and still very much in its infancy, rotation shouldn’t be much of a concern at this point. However, there are still a few players fielded from the start in Gameweek 1 for their respective clubs, who could drop to the bench this weekend.
We single out those potentially key FPL assets that we think are most at risk of rotation come Gameweek 2.
Man City were the only Premier League side in action over the course of the week, contesting the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, which Pep Guardiola’s side won on penalties. Julian Alvarez (£6.5m), who started in Gameweek 1 vs Burnley was left on the bench and this puts a big question mark as to whether the Argentinian will play from the start in Gameweek 2, especially as his replacement Cole Palmer (£5.0m) scored Man City’s equalising goal. Defence is also a rotational hazard when it comes to Man City assets, with Josko Gvardiol (£5.0m) expected to make his first Premier League start and Ruben Dias (£5.5m) likely to be back available. Starting centre-backs Nathan Ake (£5.0m) and Manuel Akanji (£5.0m) must be at risk of dropping out, as is Rico Lewis (£4.5m) with Gvardiol able to play at left-back.
Of Arsenal’s attacking riches, Leandro Trossard (£7.0m) was the unlucky man to be left on the bench with Eddie Nketiah (£5.5m) given the nod from the start by Mikel Arteta in Gameweek 1. Nketiah rewarded his manager with a goal, which may be enough to keep his place in the starting XI, but Trossard could still find a way into the team at the expense of Kai Havertz (£7.5m), who didn’t make as much of an impact.
Brighton contain plenty of popular FPL assets among their squad, but head coach Roberto De Zerbi is prone to rotation and could cause some frustration in Gameweek 2. Striker Evan Ferguson (£6.0m) came off the bench to score late on in the Seagulls’ 4-1 win over Luton and it feels like a matter of time before a player of his quality is playing from the start. This means a nervous wait for those fantasy bosses who have Joao Pedro (£5.5m), although the significantly lesser-owned Danny Welbeck (£6.0m) is more likely at risk of dropping out.
