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Gameweek 2 was a high-scoring one for FPL managers, with an average score of 56 points. Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes, the most-captained FPL players in Gameweek 2, blanked. But the highly-owned defensive duo of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Tsimikas, Danny Ings, and Romelu Lukaku, all had successful outings.
West Ham United's attacking FPL assets delivered late in the Gameweek, with Michail Antonio's brace taking him to a 16-point FPL haul, and Said Benrahma grabbing a goal and an assist to record a 12-point FPL haul.
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I had a disappointing FPL Gameweek, recording a total of 60 points. It was all the more painful after I made a last-minute decision to bench Tsimikas for Ilkay Gundogan, who blanked. Nevertheless, with Dele Alli and Sergio Reguilon getting some returns and Callum Wilson posting good numbers, I'm confident of making a comeback in Gameweek 3.
Gameweek 3 will be the last FPL Gameweek before the international break. This season's international break could prove to be pivotal over the next few Gameweeks due to quarantine restrictions potentially preventing players from featuring for their sides. While it remains to be seen whether the Premier League will come to an agreement on that, this is a situation that deserves monitoring.
That, combined with the emergence of some new FPL bandwagons, mean FPL managers will have their hands full ahead of the Gameweek 3 deadline. Whatever changes they choose to make, they should do so ahead of the Gameweek 3 deadline by Saturday morning UK time, ahead of the 12:30 PM BST kickoff between Manchester City and Arsenal.
Gameweek 3 Deadline: Saturday, 28th August, at 11:00 AM (British Summer Time) and 03:30 PM (Indian Standard Time).
FPL Gameweek 3 Fixtures
Gameweek 3 begins with an early kickoff on Saturday between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium. Leicester travel to Carrow Road later in the day to take on Norwich City. Finally, Liverpool will clash with Chelsea at Anfield on Saturday evening in the marquee fixture of the Gameweek.
Spurs take on Watford at home, with Burnley hosting Leeds United at the same time on Sunday afternoon. The Gameweek concludes with a Sunday evening meeting between Wolves and Manchester United at the Molineux Stadium.
Click here to view the full fixtures for FPL Gameweek 3.
FPL Team suggested for the previous Gameweek
Here is the suggested team for FPL Gameweek 2:
Goalkeepers: Robert Sanchez (BHA) (£4.5 million) and Daniel Bachmann (WAT) (£4.5 million).
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) (£7.5 million), Konstantinos Tsimikas (LIV) (£4.1 million), Luke Shaw (MUN) (£5.5 million), Sergio Reguilon (TOT) (£5 million) and Calum Chambers (ARS) (£4.5 million).
Midfielders: Mohamed Salah (LIV) (£12.5 million), Bruno Fernandes (MUN) (£12.6 million), Ilkay Gundogan (MCI) (£7.4 million), Emiliano Buendia (AVL) (£6.4 million) and Dele Alli (TOT) (£6.5 million).
Forwards: Callum Wilson (NEW) (£7.5 million), Michail Antonio (WHU) (£7.6 million) and Michael Obafemi (SOU) (£4.5 million).
Captain/Vice-Captain: Mohamed Salah/ Bruno Fernandes.
GW 2 Average score: 56.
Points Scored (- hits): 60 (-0): 60.
Overall Rank: 1,270, 650.
Free Transfers available: 2.
Money Remaining: £0 million
Note: Prices of players reflect their current saleable values (at the time of writing) and not their market values.
FPL Talking Points
# The International Break and Quarantine Restrictions
The international break and subsequent quarantine restrictions for certain players could have a say in FPL managers' plans and transfers. Players who'll play in or against countries in the Red List of the UK will have to undergo a mandatory quarantine that effectively rules them out of Gameweeks 4 and 5.
There is, however, a lot going on over this dilemma, with Liverpool refusing to release Fabinho, Alisson, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah for international duties.
The Premier League released a statement that the clubs won't be releasing players for international fixtures played in red-list countries. However, with FIFA against this decision, FPL assets featuring during the international break is still in doubt.
Therefore, with lots of unknowns over players taking part in international fixtures in Red-List countries, FPL managers should hold off on immediately signing such players. It would also be wise to have two free transfers going into the international break, when it would become clearer about who'll be available and who will not.
FPL Transfers
#1 Calum Chambers (ARS) (DEF) (£4.5 m) - OUT.
Conor Coady (WOL) (DEF) (£4.5 million) - IN.
I'll use just one of the two free transfers in GW 3 and roll the other transfer over to GW 4. While I'm doing this to have an extra transfer to deal with any developments during the international break, I also don't have any holes to plug in my team.
However, I have some minor changes to make, and have decided to go ahead with one and not waste a free transfer. I'll be transferring Calum Chambers out of my team and bring in Wolves defender Conor Coady.
Calum Chambers was a player I took a punt on in GW 1. However, with Arsenal having three options at right-back, Chambers isn't guaranteed to start every game. Despite their tempting run of fixtures post-GW 3, it doesn't make sense to hold a £4.5 million FPL defender when I'm not sure he'll play.
The choice of his replacement was between Luke Ayling and Conor Coady for me. Both Wolves and Leeds have a good run of fixtures till GW 10, so there's not much to separate the two options. I've opted for Coady because I might require my replacement to play in Gameweek 4, and with Leeds facing Liverpool, Ayling won't be a viable pick.
While Ayling arguably offers a better attacking threat, I'm more interested in clean sheets from a £4.5 million defender. Wolves have the potential to keep more clean sheets, and hopefully, Bruno Lage gets his team tighter at the back in the coming Gameweeks.
Best FPL Team for Gameweek 3
Gameweek 3 Bench: Daniel Bachmann (GK) vs TOT (A), Conor Coady (DEF) vs MUN (H), Konstantinos Tsimikas (DEF) vs CHE (H), and Michael Obafemi (FWD) vs NEW (A).
After benching plenty of FPL points last Gameweek, I'm putting out what I feel is the best playing XI for this Gameweek. It's easy to bench Conor Coady, considering that Wolves go up against Manchester United in GW 3. The same can be said about Robert Sanchez over Daniel Bachmann, too, as the latter faces Spurs.
Luke Shaw and Sergio Reguilon have promising GW 3 fixtures that can get them clean sheets and attacking returns. Both were unlucky not to get an assist in their previous games. Trent Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, faces a tough test as Liverpool take on Chelsea. He does have a good record against the Blues, though.
Dele Alli looks to have cemented his place in the side, and should take on a more attacking role against Watford. His FPL ownership is under 5%, and he looks like a good differential for Spurs' upcoming fixture run.
I'm not expecting a whole lot of points from Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes this Gameweek. While Fernandes arguably has a better chance of getting an FPL haul, Wolves could be a tricky opponent to negotiate.
I'm hoping that Ilkay Gundogan and Emi Buendia will provide some FPL returns in GW 3. Neither of the two was very involved in their team's attacking plays, and I'd like them to get me some FPL points before the international break.
Buendia has almost been invisible in the opening two fixtures, registering just one shot on goal with a combined xGI of 0.09. I'll be taking him out regardless of what happens this Gameweek, with Villa's fixtures turning for the worse from Gameweek 4.
My two strikers are the ones I'm considering for Gameweek 3 FPL captaincy. While Antonio has been in red-hot form, Wilson has been getting some quality chances, and he could cash in when Newcastle take on a leaky Southampton defence.
That concludes my relatively simple team selection for Gameweek 3. I aim to break into at least the top 750K before the international break, and I'm confident that my FPL team is good enough to make that happen.
Gameweek 3 - FPL Captaincy
Bruno Fernandes isn't in my FPL captaincy plans for Gameweek 3. That's because the Wolves fixture looks tricky for Manchester United. Fernandes was hardly involved in United's attacks against Southampton, and we could see a similar story in Gameweek 3 as well.
In contrast, both Michail Antonio and Callum Wilson have good fixtures and great underlying numbers ahead of GW 3. While Antonio is the in-form player, I'm leaning towards Callum Wilson for GW 3 captaincy.
Crystal Palace have been decent defensively, and they could end up frustrating the Hammers. Southampton, meanwhile, have defended poorly in the first two Gameweeks. With both teams in not much good defensive shape, we could see some goals in this fixture.
Callum Wilson is a fast starter, so I'm expecting a good FPL haul in Gameweek 3.
Best FPL XI for Gameweek 3 - Summary
Starting XI:
GK - Robert Sanchez (BHA) vs EVE (H).
DEF - Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) vs CHE (H), Luke Shaw (MUN) vs WOL (A), and Sergio Reguilon (TOT) vs WAT (H).
MID - Mohamed Salah (LIV) vs CHE (H), Bruno Fernandes (MUN) vs WOL (A), Emiliano Buendia (AVL) vs BRE (H), Ilkay Gundogan (MID) vs ARS (H) and Dele Alli (TOT) vs WAT (H).
FWD - Callum Wilson (NEW) vs SOU (H) and Michail Antonio (WHU) vs CRY (H).
Formation: 3-5-2.
Bench: GK - Daniel Bachmann (GK) vs TOT (A). 1st Sub: Conor Coady (DEF) vs MUN (H), 2nd Sub: Konstantinos Tsimikas (DEF) vs CHE (H). 3rd Sub: Michael Obafemi (FWD) vs NEW (A).
Chips activated: None.
Transfers made: 1
Points Hits taken (if any): None.
Captain: Callum Wilson | VC: Bruno Fernandes.
You may also like: FPL 2021-22: Best Fantasy Team for Gameweek 2 | FPL Tips.
