FPL Fantasy Forecast 2025/26 Season: Gameweek 2

The 2025/26 Premier League season is less than 48 hours from kick-off, with Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players finalising their squad selections ahead of the season. We have covered our top players selections, tips, differentials, and provided a scout picks squad of picks for a standalone Gameweek 2. All aboard.

Are there any lessons and takeaways to consider from Gameweek 1?:

The average points by each of the 10+ million players who were involved in FPL Gameweek was 55. After a summer of debate and predictions, as well as the changes to the Bonus Points System, and addition of Defensive Contributions, the new FPL season started with more curiosity than usual.

Here are some musings that we have found from the opening weekend of the season:

• Man City's return to form: Pep Guardiola's team cruised in a 3-0 win at Wolves, with their high spend in January and prior to the Club World Cup settling in time for the start of the new season. James Trafford (£5.0m) was sharp and seems a shrewd addition, whilst Tijjani Reijnders (£5.6m) ran the show in midfield and is a steal in the game. We expect the template of most FPL squads to revolve around Man City in no time as even though it is early days, City look back to a high level of competition, and should compete for the title come May.

  
  

• The GW1 winning Draft was both Haaland (£14.0m) & Salah (£14.5m): They may cost a combined £28.5 million, but the duo of Erling Haaland (MCI) and Mohamed Salah (LIV) was the correct path. This is in part due to Elliott Anderson (£5.5m, NFO) and Reijnders being cheap enablers in midfield alongside Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m, TOT), 9 clean sheets across predictable teams (Chelsea, City, Spurs, and Arsenal, among others) during GW1, and favourable fixtures for both City and Liverpool. Salah and Haaland's excellent scoring spree's to start the season highlight their dependency and their high price point - and the prevailing trend for FPL players will likely be a move to the double-up as the season progresses.

  
  

• Brentford's player losses are telling, immediately: Christian Nørgaard (£5.5m) and Bryan Mbuemo (£8.0m) are both telling losses. Yoan Wissa's (£7.5m) impending exit was telling in their 3-1 loss at Forest. Bullied across the pitch at The Forest Ground in a 3-1 loss, their only telling contribution in GW1 was to deny FPL players a clean sheet after a controversial penalty late in the second-half, but having watched the game, this is going to be a struggling outfit that will be relying on home form. Yes, Forest are a quality team, but in reality Brentford did not lay a glove on them and seem to have a soft core of the team.

  
  

• Penalties were in short supply, but controversial: A total of 3 penalty kicks were awarded during GW1, and in our opinion we believe only 1 of the 3 were worthy spot kick awards. James Tarkowski's (£5.5m, EVE) award against the defender for leaning towards the ball, when no illegal part of his body touching the ball against Leeds, was not a penalty. Nottingham Forest's dubious handball call against Brentford was a weak call. Brighton were keeping tight lipped about their penalty taker, with Matt O'Riley (£5.5m) scoring from the spot against Fulham to unravel a potential FPL bargain playing in the Number 10 position... what FPL players were expecting was more penalties from sides that weren't Brighton, Brentford, and Leeds, which did somewhat limit the impact of set-piece takers on opening weekend.

  
  

• Defensive Contribution (DC) points had a clear trend: DC points were heavily in show on Friday nights game, with Virgil van Dijk (21 DC points) and Marcus Tavernier (20 points) earning the most contributions - peaking the weekly contributions in the first game. 25 players in total earned DC points (15 defenders, 10 midfielders) with central defenders being 11 of the 15 defenders to earn points, whilst virtually all 10 midfielders were central or defensive minded players. The only real outlet is at left back, with Rayan Aït-Nouri (£5.5m, MCI), Ola Aina (£5.0m, NFO), and Tyrick Mitchell (£5.0m, CRY) earning the extra DC points, whilst the sole right back was Matty Cash (£4.5m, AVL). We think these point distributions will change week-to-week naturally, and though it is too early to take stock of regular point earners, the pre-season expectation of central players dominating these points has come to reality fairly quickly.

What should we expect during FPL Gameweek 2's fixtures?:

Gameweek 1 offered FPL players a clear route to some certain points, but looking at what GW2 has on offer this weekend, the waters are slightly more murky or uncertain.

If you're going purely based on opening day form, the triple up of Brentford, Wolves, and West Ham are potentially the teams to back against. Brentford host Aston Villa, which isn't a certain result, though based on opening day, the Villa should be good value for a first win of the season. Elsewhere, Wolves were pummelled by Man City, and travel to a Bournemouth squad that there more than capable away at Liverpool, though again the result isn't locked for many viewers, even if Semenyo (BOU) was in flying form at Anfield. Perhaps saving the worst for last, West Ham were completely hapless away at Sunderland on opening day and now face a Chelsea outfit in a London derby, who drew on opening day at Crystal Palace, but have Tosin and Fofana back in contention to help The Blues.

Key transfer drama involving Alexsander Isak (NEW) over the summer involving Liverpool and Newcastle has reared its head early doors with Newcastle hosting the Champions, who not only signed their top transfer target, Hugo Ekitike (£8.6m), but now also are chasing Isak in what would be a record Premier League transfer. Last season the duo drew 3-3 at St James' Park in the league, and this is a difficult fixture to predict, particularly as Liverpool's defensive line has been in question and Newcastle's pace on the counter attack may be a key weapon in unlocking the champions.

Similarly, Man City hosting Spurs in theory SHOULD be a tough opening day tie for both teams after wins on opening day, and from an FPL perspective this game is a lose-lose for FPL players, with Spurs and City options duelling for points.

In our opinions, Burnley's home tie against Sunderland is the perfect opportunity to unleash some £4.0m defensive options get a chance to shine, though this fixture has uncertainties over the result. The same applies for Palace and Forest, as well as Man United away at Fulham, and Everton hosting Brighton - this is a Gameweek that could swing any way, though if in doubt, just trust the form of the club's starting well.

Last up, the one fixture that is wetting FPL lips is Arsenal hosting Leeds in Saturday's evening kick-off. Both clubs won on opening day and kept clean sheets in 1-0 wins. Arsenal's form against Leeds is impressive, winning each of their last 6 encounters, and are 14 games unbeaten against the newly promoted outfit. It's an appealing FPL week for The Gunners, with Raya, Saliba, Gabriel, Saka, and Gyökeres all options this week for players, but be aware - Arsenal face Liverpool (A), Forest (H), Man City (H), and Newcastle (A) directly after - so if you're playing your Free Hit, this may be the best time to utilise Arsenal players in your squads for a singular week, before their acid test to start the season continues.

Gameweek 1 Score Predictions:

GW2 Score Predictions: Sam Austin

West Ham 0-2 Chelsea

Man City 2-1 Spurs

Bournemouth 2-0 Wolves

Brentford 1-3 Aston Villa

Burnley 0-0 Sunderland

Arsenal 3-0 Leeds

Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Everton 1-2 Brighton

Fulham 2-1 Man United

Newcastle 0-1 Liverpool

GW2 Score Predictions: Phil Jones

West Ham 0-2 Chelsea

Man City 2-1 Spurs

Bournemouth 2-0 Wolves

Brentford 1-3 Aston Villa

Burnley 0-0 Sunderland

Arsenal 2-1 Leeds

Crystal Palace 0-3 Nottingham Forest

Everton 1-2 Brighton

Fulham 0-2 Man United

Newcastle 1-2 Liverpool

GW2 Score Predictions: Robert Austin

West Ham 0-3 Chelsea

Man City 3-1 Spurs

Bournemouth 2-2 Wolves

Brentford 1-2 Aston Villa

Burnley 1-0 Sunderland

Arsenal 2-0 Leeds

Crystal Palace 1-2 Nottingham Forest

Everton 0-0 Brighton

Fulham 1-2 Man United

Newcastle 2-3 Liverpool

FPL considerations and musings ahead of Gameweek 2:

Jeremie Frimpong (LIV) is injured. Who are the alternatives?:

Arne Slot has confirmed that the most selected defender in FPL (currently sitting with 27.9% ownership and falling), who has 363,490+ transfers out so far, is ruled out until after the first international break with a hamstring injury. So ahead of the deadline, if like me (Rob) you have Frimpong, who should you transfer in? Fortunately, Frimpong's £6.0m price means that quite literally all defenders are in play, and there's a few options to really go for.

• Short Term Play: William Saliba (£6.0m, ARS) hosts Leeds, and for GW2 Arsenal offer the best easy route to potential points. Any of Arsenal's defensive line will do the job, but Saliba has high Defensive Contribution chance, whilst Ricardo Calafiori (£5.5m) is more advancing at left back and could offer the attacking threat, and with 3.2% ownership comes in as a good differential, and cheaper to allow for money in the bank and flexibility for future transfers

• Sideways Move: Virgil van Dijk (£6.0m, LIV) was the top DC earner (21 defensive contributions vs. Bournemouth) during Gameweek 1, and is a solid shout for a like-for-like move. Virgil is as dependable as they come, though you have to rely on Liverpool's strengths as a club as a few tough tests lie ahead with Newcastle and Arsenal, and would be a set-and-forget move

• Premium Left Backs: The alternative premium picks would be enabling Rayan Aït-Nouri (£6.0m, MCI) or Marc Cucurella (£6.0m, MCI). City have started the season strong, whilst Chelsea have good fixtures to rely upon - both options are dependable in FPL and we have personally transferred in Aït-Nouri

• Forest's Central Defenders: Nikola Milenković (£5.5m) or Murillo (£5.5m) were the victims of a late clean sheet wipeout against Brentford due to a controversial penalty award, and even though the game at Palace is a tough game to call for a clean sheet, but like Virgil this is a set-and-forget option and with good fixtures for Nuno's team, either option is reliable.

• Cheaper Options: A rogue option, but you could use utilise one of the £4.0m defenders in the game. Gabriel Gudmundsson (LEE) kept a clean sheet against Everton, whilst Reinaldo (SUN) has a favourable fixture against Burnley. Maxime Estève (BUR) had a tough opening day, but could redeem himself in Burnley's home opener against Sunderland

Who are the best captaincy options for Gameweek 2?:

We believe FPL players will ultimately pick between Mo Salah and Erling Haaland for the captaincy selection due to their ownership, general reliability, and club, though we have provided a list of 7 potentials to consider. Leading the pack of contenders, Salah has 18 goal contributions in 17 games against Newcastle and even though it is a potential risk as Salah has been slightly off kilter in recent games, the points are still on offer for The Egyptian as the leading, and templated pick for the week.

Alternatively, the Man City machine is back in force (for now) and Haaland's brace on opening day has opened the door for the armband, though like Salah, the Norway international hosts a good outfit in Spurs, who typically have tight games against Man City. Arsenal's home outing against Leeds is one to take advantage of also, whilst Brentford have never kept a clean sheet against Aston Villa, and are winless in 6 (D2, L4) against the Villains - with Ollie Watkins scoring away at Brentford in the past two seasons, and provides a wildcard pick for the armband against a Brentford team lacking at both ends of the pitch

Our top GW2 captaincy selections:

1. Mohamed Salah (LIV) vs. Newcastle (A)

2. Erling Haaland (MCI) vs. Spurs (H)

3. Ollie Watkins (AVL) vs. Brentford (A)

4. Bukayo Saka (ARS) vs. Leeds (H)

5. Antoine Semenyo (BOU) vs. Wolves (H)

6. Cole Palmer (CHE) vs. West Ham (A)

7. Viktor Gyökeres (ARS) vs. Leeds (H)

Should my FPL squad Free Hit this week if my GW1 was bad?:

It's key to remember that making too many changes to your squad early on usually comes back to bite FPL players. It's just a reality to playing the game. So, our most pertinent piece of advice right now is to hold tight, and only move to replace an injured player, or put in a player in incredible, undeniable form. It's still early in the season, and Gameweek 2 has a lot of banana peel fixtures.

A Free Hit would utilise largely players we have considered below in our Scout Picks, but the core of any team will be Arsenal assets vs. Leeds, Semenyo (BOU) at home to Wolves, and entrusting City and Chelsea assets. Personally, it might be too soon to activate the Free Hit, and there may be darker days ahead, as well as an upcoming international break that takes place at the close of the transfer windows - those upcoming Gameweek's are the ones to hold out for when considering widespread change to your team.

Hype Train's Scout Picks for Gameweek 2:

Our Gameweek 2 squad picks utilise a £100.0m budget, and we have used this just for a squad of players for GW2's fixtures. Click the link here or below to see our picks on social media.

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