FPL Gameweek 2: The Players To Watch
Six for the Opening Run: Where the Hauls Are Hiding
Two Chelsea players, one kind run of fixtures, and only one of them is owned by everyone. That's the story of this week's shortlist.
João Pedro (CHE, FWD, £7.5m) is the safest route into that Chelsea attack — Fulham away, Brighton at home, then Hull, Brentford and Bournemouth after the Arsenal trip. Our projections have him just shy of forty points over the six, and with roughly 6.5 in 10 managers already on him, he's the template. You don't get bragging rights, you just get points. Buy him and move on.
The louder play is Rogers (CHE, MID, £7.5m). Same price, same gorgeous fixtures, and our model actually likes him for slightly *more* — around 42 points over the run — yet only about 2.5 in 10 managers own him. That's the mini-league winner right there. The honest caveat: a crowded Chelsea attack means minutes need watching, but the numbers say he's clearing that bar. If you can only fit one Chelsea player, I'm chasing the haul — Rogers.
Szoboszlai (LIV, MID, £7.0m) is solid — good for around 33 points across an average run — but with Newcastle away and City at home in there, he's the steady pick, not the explosive one. Mbeumo (MUN, MID, £8.0m) gets Hull, Ipswich and Everton early doors, and he's exactly the sort who goes massive on his day, though our numbers rate him a notch below the Chelsea pair right now.
At the back, De Cuyper (BHA, DEF, £4.5m) is the steal of the list. A £4.5m defender projected for over forty points, owned by fewer than 1 in 20 managers, with Leeds, Coventry and Sunderland in the run. That's near-premium clean-sheet potential at enabler money. Guéhi (MCI, DEF, £6.0m) is the classier version — City's fixtures are kind until Liverpool away in week six — but he costs £1.5m more for fewer projected points.
The calls: João Pedro if you want safety, Rogers if you want to win your league — I'm taking Rogers. And whatever you do elsewhere, find £4.5m for De Cuyper before his price does what his fixtures say it will. Buy both.