Steem Fantasy Premier League - Gameweek 3 Preview

After two gameweeks it feels like we are starting settle into the new season. 20 games have been played and fpl players have got a clearer view on which players they want or are willing to ship. From a fantasy point of view I can’t remember many season-startings with such high point scorings. The overall leader has got 248 points after two gameweeks. Though the player of team ”CF Robinson Machadorom” has used both “bench boost” and “triple captain” ships the score is crazy.

Three interesting facts so far this season:

The third-highest team of total chances created so far in the league this season is Southampton with 27 scoring-chances. Only Manchester City (31) and Chelsea (28) has managed to create more chances. With 3 upcoming fixtures against Leicester (H), Crystal Palace (A) and Brighton (H) for example Danny Ings ( £5.5m) could be a good punt.

Cardiff City have only managed 1 shot on goal in two games of Premier League football this season. If they are planning to play in the top flight next season this stat has to improve quickly, or then they just put so much faith in their goalkeeper (Etheridge) saving penalties and keeping clean-sheets? They do have the best of opportunities to at least double their shots on goal number this weekend when they play against Huddersfield who have conceded 45 shots (more than any other team) so far. I this an early relegation battle?

Another team who’s defensive record isn’t too good is the team fourth from the bottom, Arsenal. If you are about to invest in their defence (although the got great fixtures) you should think twice or just forget about it. Yes, they have played both City and Chelsea in their opening games but 41 conceded shots doesn’t sound like stats from a top four team.

Games in gameweek 2 are:

Match Previews

Arsenal - West Ham
A London derby at Emirates stadium between two teams that are both hunting for their first points of the season. Both teams have had a difficult start to the season under their new managers and a loss for either team here could well get them into some kind of panic situation. Arsenal haven’t lost three successive matches at start of the season since the 1954/55 campaign. Arsenal are though going into this home-battle as a favourite. Last season Arsenal managed 47 points at home and only the champions Manchester City (50 points at home) bettered them.

West Ham are still adapting to new styles of play and haven’t been able to get the best out of their new signings yet. After their 4-0 loss to Liverpool in the opening game they lost 2-1 to Bournemouth last weekend. For Mr. Arsenal himself,Jack Wilshere, it will be a special game. In the summer he was told by Emery that he wasn’t in the managers plans and that his game time would be limited if he stayed at Arsenal. As a result he moved across the capital to their london rivals and on Saturday Wilshere will for sure be desperate to show his worth to both team’s fans.

Possible starting lineups
Arsenal: Cech - Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal - Guendouzi, Torreira - Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Iwobi - Aubameyang.
West Ham: Fabianski - Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Balbuena, Masuaku - Noble, Sanchez, Wilshere - Yarmolenko, Arnautovic, Felipe Anderson.

Man Utd - Spurs

0-0? After their 3-2 defeat against Brighton Man Utd and Mourinho will be desperate to give some kind of statement here. Every day you can read rumours saying that Mourinho is unhappy, mourinho hates his player or the players hates Mourinho but one thing is for sure, Mourinho hates to lose. I can see them go for a boring and solid “parking the bus” game or then they just say “come on lads, letś show them”. I’m not sure Jose has been able to do miracles with his teams’ defensive play in one week and taking into consideration that it is Tottenham with Kane, Alli and Eriksen that they are hosting it won’t be easy. Historically Old Trafford has been a difficult place for Spurs. Man Utd have won 21 of their 26 Premier League home matches against Spurs and they have been victorious in each of the last four without conceding a goal. Heading into the game there are question marks about the fitness levels of Sanchez and Shaw. Matic and Valencia are back in training and could be in contention to at least be on the bench.

Tottenham is going to Old Trafford with two consecutive wins in their bag. They have had best start to a season in four years and Kane has finally scored in August. Heung-min Son is not available for Tottenham due to his participation in the Asian Games for South Korea while Victor Wanyama is sidelined with a knee injury. Pochettino is expected to line up a similar 3-5-2 formation as in their last game against Fulham. Lamela and Dembele are knocking on the door for a starting place. We have to wait until Monday evening before getting all the answers.
Possible starting lineups
Manchester United: De Gea, Young, Bailly, Lindelof, Shaw, Pereira, Pogba, Fred, Lingard, Lukaku, Sanchez
Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Trippier, Davies, Dembele, Dier, Eriksen, Alli, Kane

After my terrible steem picks I will this gameweek try to get some confidence back. So I have gone for the obvious one. A big hitter, maybe the biggest hitter of them all, the Egyptian king, the last season’s overall top scorer, the winner of the “Premier League Player of the year” award last season and the most expensive one. Mohamed Salah (£13.0m).

Salah has had the most goal attempts (10) of all players so far and he has also created 4 big chances ( twice as many as any other FPL midfielder). With a home game against Brighton on saturday evening I can see him double his total score (17p). The only reason for him not scoring above 10 point is the fact he is my steem pick. Maybe he will just end up scoring an own goal, taking a yellow card and end up with -2 points. (-4 as captain)

Please let us know your thoughts and steem-picks for gameweek 3!