Thread by @FPL_Calle

My observations from the first 2 gameweeks 🔍 (Thread)

Looking forward towards gameweek 3, I wanted to share my thoughts and opinions on things that I have noticed during these first 2 GWs of the season

Despite the small sample size, there are already conclusion to be made ⤵️

1⃣ One of the teams that has impressed the most so far is Brighton. After a performance against Chelsea where they could be considered unlucky not to get more from that game, they beat Newcastle comfortably in GW2.

Brighton has always had one of the worst defences in the...

defences in the league in recent times but it seems like Potter has found the system that he wants to play and the inclusion of Ben White could also play a part in how only Liverpool and Everton are the only 2 teams (that have played 2 games) that has a lower xGA (expected...

goals against) than Brighton so far.

The 2 players that have stood out from an FPL perspective have been Trossard but especially Lamptey. Tariq Lamptey has already shown that his attacking potential as a defender in FPL is immaculate with him having the most big chances...

created and the highest xA (expected assists) per 90 mins looking at every defender that has played 2 games so far outperforming both Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

2⃣ Talking about Robertson and TAA, I know a lot of wildcarders out there (including myself) are debating who they should select?

Wanting a larger sample size, I looked back at how their stats compare ever since TAA had that 24 point haul against Leicester in GW19.

Here is how their stats compare:

Robertson vs TAA

Goals: 1 - 2
Assists: 7 - 5
xG: 0.93 - 0.92
Shots in the box: 8 - 3
Shots: 12 - 25
Touches in the box: 49 - 29
Crosses: 131 - 197
Key passes: 33 - 35
Big chances created: 7 - 8
xA: 4.14 - 4.51
Corners taken: 50 - 95

Looking at only the first 2 GWs, there are some signs that show that the margin between Robertson and TAA in FPL is potentially getting closer. As you could tell by the stats, TAA was superior when it came to crosses, corners taken and shots last season.

Over these first 2...

however, Robertson has taken more corners and has made more crosses than TAA and has made 59 final 3rd passes compared to TAAs 40.

The fact that Robertson almost took half of the amount of corners as TAA did last season while at the same time matching him when it comes to...

stats like key passes and big chances created is really interesting. Combining that with his cheaper price-tag, his lower ownership and that he is on corners for this season, despite the fact that I had TAA in my team for the entire last season, I would actually go for Robertson.

3⃣ Last season the fixture that we all targeted was Norwich. A player that had them as their upcoming fixture had a great chance of scoring/keeping a clean sheet. So far this season it looks like the same thing is happening again but in the form of West Brom.

They have the...

lowest amount of shots, shots in the box and have recorded 0 big chances so far with the 2nd lowest xG. The thing that makes these stats even worse is the fact that it includes all the teams that have only played 1 game too.

Looking at their defensive stats they have...

conceded the most shots in the box, shots on target, shots from set pieces and has the highest xGA (expected goals against). With Chelsea and Southampton coming up next, I don’t see why this wouldn’t continue. Therefore players like Reece James, Werner, Che Adams, Ings and

potentially even Southampton defenders should be players that you should consider holding just simply because of this fixture.

4⃣ Leeds have been one of the, if not the most fun team to watch so far with their unorthodox playstyle and energy. However when it comes to Leeds attack I don’t think I have ever seen a team overperform as much as they have so far. Why?

Going back to their Championship...

season last year, they had extreme struggles with being efficient in front of goal. They created 124 big chances but only managed to score 77 goals. Compare that to a team like Brentford that created 86 big chances and scored 80 goals.

So we can see that Leeds were a very...

inefficient team last season but moving into this season where they haven’t changed much at all when it comes to how they play or brought in new signings, the tables have completely turned. Leeds have scored 7 goals while having an xG of 1.72 and Bamford who could be classed...

as the worst finisher in the entire Championship last season, missing 33 big chances as, has got 2 goals and 2 assists from an xG and xA of 0.35 and 0.14. These are stats that are in no way sustainable and I would be wary of this while looking at Leeds attacking assets.

5⃣ The FWD that had the most shot attempts in the league last season, Raul Jimenez is now back in full force with 2 goals in his first 2 games. With no Jota, Podence has been the player to come in and has already shown that his creativity and assisting potential might even be...

better than Jota’s so that could potentially improve the appeal of Jimenez even more.

With whu, FUL, lee, NEW, CRY as his upcoming 5 fixtures that ranks 13th, 16th, 19th, 12th and 10th when it comes to xGA (expected goals against) so far this season while being the talisman...

his team and being on penalties, Jimenez is a complete lock in my team and I prefer him ahead of any other FWD in FPL right now. Very surprised that he is only the 17th so far when it comes to transfers in ahead of GW3.

An opportunity to pounce on?

6⃣ Harry Kane comes up against NEW (H) in GW3 where I have seen people talking about captaining him. While I don’t think it’s that bad of an idea it should be noted that Kane has only scored 1 goal and 0 assists in his last 5 games against Newcastle while Spurs as a team in...

also seems to struggle in this fixture in recent times.

Kane’s performance vs Southampton was really a special occasion and that’s easy to see when you look at the fact that last time Kane even got over 4 assists over an entire season was back in the 2016/17 season where he...

got 7. I think it might be too early to judge but we might see a different role from Kane and Son this season with Son getting in behind and playing in a more central role while Kane drops deeper and acts like a playmaker instead of the main front man as we know him as...

However, I still think that is too early to judge and it could just be because of the extremely high defensive line Southampton decided to play with.

7⃣ Last but not least I have to talk about Harvey Barnes. He just seems to be involved in everything Leicester does going forward which is surprising when they have a player like Vardy that is supposed to be the focal point of their offense. Comparing him to the other...

midfielders in the league Barnes is 2nd for shot attempts, 1st for shots on target and shots in the box and 2nd for NpxG (non-penalty xG) behind Son...

When Leicester plays in this 4-1-4-1 formation, Harvey Barnes really excel as you can see by my earlier tweet:

https://twitter.com/FPL_Swe/status/1308791212003000320

However, coming up against MCI (A) in GW3, it’s a fixture that obviously doesn’t look great on paper but after that he has back-to-back home

games against West Ham and Aston Villa. With only 3.8% ownership still, this feels like a player that if he scores and against Man City in GW3 could very easily become the next bandwagon so if you want a differential in midfield, Harvey Barnes would be my recommendation.

Thanks for taking your time to read my thread about my observations from the first 2 gameweeks.

Thank you for your continuous support which is extremely appreciated as always!

Good luck all FPL managers for GW3! 🍀