This article is part of our Fantrax Waiver Wire series.
The biggest thing that happened in Gameweek 1 didn't appear on the scoreboard. Sure, Liverpool, Man City and Man United combined for 13 goals, but that wasn't a major surprise, and the players who scored were expected to. More importantly, Alisson Becker injured his calf on an attempted goal kick. Jurgen Klopp said Monday that he is expected to be sidelined "the next few weeks," which means at least a month. He was on more than 30 percent of teams at the official Fantasy Premier League game so a lot of correlating moves have to be made. You can grab backup Adrian for cheaper, though that means you're wasting a transfer on a keeper who may only start a few matches.
The better move may be to grab Ederson at the same price and ride with him the rest of the way since he's about as likely to secure clean sheets. The other move is to hold onto Alisson and bank on your second goalkeeper. If you think Ederson is too popular, Jordan Pickford is another reasonable route and has a great early schedule with Watford, Aston Villa and Wolves up next. As for those at Fantrax or in a draft league, it's a little more difficult. If Adrian isn't available, you may be stuck with the likes of Angus Gunn, Tim Krul or Aaron Ramsdale, all of whom are on fewer than 10 percent of teams. Unfortunately, none of them have great schedules, so it
The biggest thing that happened in Gameweek 1 didn't appear on the scoreboard. Sure, Liverpool, Man City and Man United combined for 13 goals, but that wasn't a major surprise, and the players who scored were expected to. More importantly, Alisson Becker injured his calf on an attempted goal kick. Jurgen Klopp said Monday that he is expected to be sidelined "the next few weeks," which means at least a month. He was on more than 30 percent of teams at the official Fantasy Premier League game so a lot of correlating moves have to be made. You can grab backup Adrian for cheaper, though that means you're wasting a transfer on a keeper who may only start a few matches.
The better move may be to grab Ederson at the same price and ride with him the rest of the way since he's about as likely to secure clean sheets. The other move is to hold onto Alisson and bank on your second goalkeeper. If you think Ederson is too popular, Jordan Pickford is another reasonable route and has a great early schedule with Watford, Aston Villa and Wolves up next. As for those at Fantrax or in a draft league, it's a little more difficult. If Adrian isn't available, you may be stuck with the likes of Angus Gunn, Tim Krul or Aaron Ramsdale, all of whom are on fewer than 10 percent of teams. Unfortunately, none of them have great schedules, so it may be best to pick at random.
If you want to focus on certain teams in the short term, Villa, Brighton and Sheffield are home for each of their next two. Brighton are the easiest to trust of those three, though bigger clubs like Chelsea (v. Leicester, at Norwich, v. Sheffield) and Everton (v. Watford, at Villa, v. Wolves) also have decent upcoming fixtures. Neither Chelsea nor Everton scored in their opening matches, but both have a good chance to turn things around soon.
FPL DIFFERENTIALS
As for the field players, this is the best time to scout the waiver wire with hopes of finding a gem who got a surprise start or played better than expected in the opener. Owners will flock to the cheaper players with value defenders Erik Pieters, Lewis Dunk and Chris Mepham. My first pick would probably be Dunk because you know he's going to start, and Brighton have a decent upcoming schedule with three of their next four at home. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is the more interesting play if he can stay in Arsenal's starting XI, especially at right-back. It's also worth noting the Gunners secured an away clean sheet at Newcastle after having only one last season.
Riyad Mahrez will surely get more attention after assisting three times in the opener, but playing time will again be inconsistent in the Man City attack. In fact, Bernardo Silva could take his spot in the starting XI as soon as the next match against Tottenham. I'd rather look at the cheaper Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who looks set for a return to form after battling injuries last season when he started 19 matches. He won't get shots on target every match, but he takes corners and created almost two chances per 90 minutes last season. John McGinn has received similar attention, and while Aston Villa have a favorable schedule, I'd be wary about his prospects. He scored in the opener but had six goals in 41 Championship matches last season, including two in the same game. I'm slightly more interested in Andros Townsend and Joao Moutinho, who are as likely to make the scoresheet and play for better teams.
The question is how many owners will swoop up Ashley Barnes after his brace against Southampton. He had 12 goals last season despite not being a regular starter until December. That's a good reason to use him as a second or third forward, though an upcoming schedule that features trips to Arsenal and Wolves, as well as a home match against Liverpool, isn't great. Because of that, it may be more useful to grab him in a few weeks ahead of the Brighton and Norwich fixtures. Teemu Pukki also stood out, producing one goal from three shots and two chances created at Liverpool. He had 29 goals in 43 Championship matches last season, so you know he can score. Norwich don't have an overwhelmingly favorable upcoming fixture list, but home matches against Newcastle and Chelsea could lead to a goal or two.
FANTRAX FINDS
In draft leagues, it doesn't matter as much about the schedule because if a guy looked good in the opener, it's now or never to add him to your squad. Ahmed Elmohamady is still a defender I have in my sights because even though he didn't get forward against Tottenham, he showed he could rack up defensive stats with three tackles and five clearances. Plus, Villa's schedule could produce a clean sheet or two in the next month. Caglar Soyuncu is in the opposite mold in that Leicester have matches against Chelsea, Man United and Tottenham in three of their next five, yet he was great replacing Harry Maguire in the opener . Either way, there's a slew of full-backs who are available in most leagues, Aaron Cresswell, Kiko Femenia, Erik Pieters and Diego Rico all getting starts in the first week. Those guys maybe didn't get consistent playing time last season, but they're healthy and started the opener, which is a good sign.
It's a little more difficult to find gems at midfield and forward, but there are at least guys who played full 90s like Davy Propper and Matteo Guendouzi, as well as newly promoted players Ben Godfrey and John Fleck. Unfortunately, you're likely out of luck at forward unless an injury occurs; David McGoldrick, Jordan Ayew and Jurgen Locadia all started but were subbed off before the 70th minute.
