Fantasy Premier League 2026/2027 Round 2 Preview

FPL Gameweek 2 preview: best buys, captain picks and differentials

Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 2 is a Friday-to-Monday spread, and the shape of it is simple: the four best fixtures in the round belong to Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. Everyone knows that. The gameweek is not won by owning Haaland — 69% of managers already do. It is won in the six or seven squad slots after the obvious names, and by getting out of one 64%-owned forward whose next two fixtures fall apart.

Below: the fixtures that matter, the best buy at every position (premium and budget), the low-ownership picks the model likes, the captain order, and the sells. All numbers are this round's projected points (xP) from our model, with the six-round trajectory where it changes the decision. Prices and ownership are live from the FPL player picks page.

Gameweek 2 fixtures: where the points are

Man City open on Friday night at Selhurst Park, and the round closes with Arsenal at Villa Park on Monday. The four standouts, one row per team:

Manchester United - Ipswich Town is the fixture of the round on both sides of the ball: the highest win probability and the highest clean-sheet probability in the gameweek. Ipswich are projected for 0.86 goals, the joint-lowest in the round.

Two more worth knowing about. Coventry City - Hull City is a genuine promoted-side mismatch by the model's reckoning (51.1% home win, 33.2% clean sheet) and it is the cheapest route into a clean sheet all week. And Chelsea at home to Brighton (47.5%, 29.9% CS) is softer than the fixture list makes it look — Chelsea conceded 1.38 xG per game last season and kept only 9 clean sheets in 38. The full round-by-round picture is on the FPL schedule page, and the underlying win/goal odds are on market probabilities.

Goalkeepers: one clear premium, one clear value

David Raya (6.0m, ARS) is the best goalkeeper in the round at 4.1 xP, and the case is really about the next six weeks rather than Villa Park: 4.1 → 4.1 → 4.5 → 4.0 → 4.5 → 4.2, a weighted score of 15.1 and the highest of any keeper. Arsenal conceded just 0.75 xG per game last season and kept 19 clean sheets in 38 — no other defence in the league is close.

The value play is Senne Lammens (5.0m, MUN) at 4.0 xP for the round — a 0.80 points-per-million return, the joint-best of any keeper this week, on the single best clean-sheet fixture in the gameweek (42.4%). At 16.3% ownership he is not a differential, but a full million cheaper than Raya for essentially the same GW2 return.

If you want the genuinely cheap route, Carl Rushworth (4.5m, COV) is on 3.6 xP at home to Hull. Do not extend that one past this round: Coventry travel to Manchester City in GW3 and his projection falls to 2.2.

Defenders: the premium, the value, and a 0.3%-owned gem

Gabriel (8.0m, ARS) is the top-scoring defender for the round at 5.1 xP and the best defensive asset in the game over the horizon (weighted 18.5). He is expensive and 29.6% owned, so he protects rank rather than winning it.

Virgil van Dijk (6.5m, LIV) at 5.0 xP is the better-value premium: 5.0 → 4.7 → 4.7 over three rounds, Forest at Anfield first, and Liverpool conceded 1.25 xG per game last season. Nottingham Forest managed only 1.21 xG per game in the league last season, and 1.50 conceded.

Now the part that actually matters. Three defenders in the 5.0m bracket are projected within 0.3 xP of van Dijk:

• Daniel Ballard (5.0m, SUN) — 5.0 xP, home to Fulham, 29.5% clean sheet. A 1.00 points-per-million return, second only to Bobby Thomas among outfield players this round. 5.5% owned.
• Antonio Silva (5.0m, BOU) — 4.7 xP, home to Everton, and 0.3% owned. His weighted score of 14.9 is higher than Ballard's and higher than any other 5.0m defender. Everton posted 1.23 xG per game and a negative non-penalty xG difference (-0.28) last season, so this is a real clean-sheet shot, not a hope.
• Mats Wieffer (5.0m, BHA) — only 3.2 xP this week at Chelsea, but 4.2 and 4.7 in GW3 and GW4. A buy-next-week name rather than a buy-now one.

Budget defender of the round: Bobby Thomas (4.0m, COV) at 4.4 xP, a 1.10 points-per-million return — the best in the game this week at any price. Treat him as a strict one-week hold. Coventry are at Manchester City in GW3 with a 7.4% win probability, and his projection drops to 1.6.

Bournemouth are worth doubling up on if you want the clean sheet without paying for it: James Hill (5.5m, BOU) and Adrien Truffert (5.5m, BOU) are both on 4.3 xP, and neither is above 5% owned. Check the FPL predicted lineups before committing to any of the cheaper Bournemouth defenders — that back line is the one place in this list where rotation is a live risk.

Midfielders: Bruno is the pick, and there are three cheap ways to fund him

Bruno Fernandes (12.0m, MUN) tops the entire gameweek at 7.4 xP, on 89 projected minutes, a 0.99 penalty share, and the best fixture in the round. Over his last 10 club appearances he has produced 2.37 xG and 2.47 xA — 0.50 xGI per 90 from a midfielder who takes the spot-kicks. His trajectory barely dips: 7.4 → 7.0 → 6.5 → 6.9 → 7.4 → 6.5, weighted 25.3, second only to Haaland across the whole game.

Dominik Szoboszlai (7.0m, LIV) at 5.8 xP is the standout mid-price buy — 0.83 points per million, a weighted 19.3, and 3.22 xA over his last 10. At 42.0% owned he is close to template already.

The differentials are where GW2 is actually decided:

• Matheus Cunha (8.0m, MUN) — 5.5 xP, and only 10.0% owned despite playing in the best fixture of the round. 5 goals and 3.58 xG in his last 10 (0.61 xGI/90). The cheaper way into the Ipswich game than Bruno.
• Cody Gakpo (7.0m, LIV) — 5.4 xP at 3.9% ownership. Six goals and 4.56 xG in his last 10, 0.58 xGI/90. On this data he is mispriced relative to his 42%-owned team-mate.
• Marcus Tavernier (6.0m, BOU) — 4.9 xP, 1.7% owned, 0.82 points per million and a weighted 15.9 that beats every midfielder under 6.5m. 2.74 xG and 1.89 xA in his last 10.
• Christos Tzolis (6.5m, ARS) — 4.9 xP, and the best raw attacking form of anyone in this preview: 6 goals and 8 assists in his last 10 club games, 4.62 xG and 5.05 xA, a 1.00 xGI per 90. At 25.4% he is already popular, and deservedly.

Budget midfielder of the round: Caleb Yirenkyi (5.0m, COV) at 4.5 xP and 0.3% ownership — 0.90 points per million, home to Hull. Like Bobby Thomas, this is a one-week play, not an investment; GW3 takes him to the Etihad and his projection halves.

One to buy next week instead of this one: Enzo Fernández (7.0m, CHE). He is fine at 4.4 xP against Brighton, but the number that matters is 5.7 in GW4 when Chelsea host Hull at a 76.5% win probability.

Forwards: Haaland, then a gap

Erling Haaland (15.5m, MCI) is on 7.1 xP at Selhurst Park and 0.81 xGI per 90 across his last 10 (9 goals, 6.83 xG). His weighted six-round score of 27.0 is the highest of any player in the game, driven by 9.0 in GW3 at home to Coventry and 8.9 in GW7 at home to Ipswich. At 69% ownership he is not an edge, but he is not a decision either — hold him.

Alexander Isak (9.0m, LIV) at 5.7 xP is the best non-Haaland forward and, at 17.0% owned, still a genuine differential among the premiums. Home to Forest, an 0.83 penalty share, 3 goals and 3.25 xG in his last 10, and a flat 5.7 → 5.7 → 5.6 across the next three rounds.

The cheap forward pick is Richarlison (6.0m, TOT) at 4.8 xP and 3.1% ownership, with a 0.76 penalty share and 3.19 xG in his last 10. Tottenham host Newcastle, which is only a 44.0% win probability — this is a penalty-and-shots play, not a clean-sheet-adjacent one. Evanilson (6.0m, BOU) at 4.1 xP is the safer version of the same price point.

Captain picks for Gameweek 2

1. Bruno Fernandes (12.0m, MUN) — 7.4 xP. Highest projection in the round, highest win probability, highest clean-sheet probability behind him, and the penalties. There is no argument for anyone else if you own him.
2. Erling Haaland (15.5m, MCI) — 7.1 xP. Marginally behind on projection but with the higher ceiling, and City away at Palace is the tighter of the two games. If you plan to captain him in GW3 at home to Coventry (9.0 xP) anyway, taking Bruno this week costs you nothing.
3. Dominik Szoboszlai (5.8 xP) or Alexander Isak (5.7 xP) — the Liverpool route if you own neither of the top two.

Nobody outside those four has a realistic captaincy ceiling this round; the fifth-highest projection in the game is 5.5.

Who to sell before the Gameweek 2 deadline

• Joao Pedro (7.5m, CHE) — 64.0% owned. The single biggest template trap in the game right now. He is on 3.5 xP this week and 2.5 in GW3 away at Arsenal. Two-thirds of managers are holding a forward projected below six cheaper alternatives. His GW4 number recovers to 4.7, so this is a two-week sell, not a permanent one.
• Martin Ødegaard (6.5m, ARS) — 9.6% owned. 3.7 → 2.7 → 2.5 → 2.2. The worst trajectory of any mid-priced midfielder with meaningful ownership. Tzolis is the same price and 1.2 points better this week.
• Milan van Ewijk (4.0m, COV) — 13.6% owned. 3.9 this week, then 1.4 and 2.2. If you want the Coventry clean sheet, Bobby Thomas is the same price and 0.5 xP better.
• Trai Hume (4.5m, SUN) — 6.8% owned. 3.2 xP and falling to 2.3 and 2.0. Ballard is the Sunderland defender to own, at 5.0 versus 3.2.

Two holds that look like sells and are not: Bryan Mbeumo (8.0m, MUN) is on 5.3 xP this week — keep him for the Ipswich game, then reassess, because rounds 3 to 7 sit between 3.5 and 3.9. And Cole Palmer (9.5m, CHE) should not be bought now (3.8 this week, 2.5 at Arsenal in GW3) but is a clear GW4 target at 5.2.

Best Free Hit team for Gameweek 2

If you are playing your Free Hit this week, the highest-scoring legal squad the model can build on a 100.0m budget comes out at 67.3 projected points including the captaincy, in a 3-5-2:

That is 83.5m on the starting eleven, three players each from Manchester United and Liverpool (the maximum allowed), and 16.5m left for four bench fillers. Note that it does not include a single premium defender: the model's answer to Gameweek 2 is to spend nothing at the back and stack five attacking midfielders. For the exact live optimum, including bench selection and any price change since publication, use the FPL optimal teams solver — it re-solves this on demand against current prices.

Summary

Captain Bruno Fernandes. If you own the three obvious names — Haaland, Bruno, Szoboszlai — your gameweek is decided by the cheap slots, and the model's answer there is Antonio Silva (0.3% owned), Cody Gakpo (3.9%), Marcus Tavernier (1.7%) and Bobby Thomas as a one-week 4.0m punt. The one active mistake to fix is Joao Pedro at 64% ownership.

More rounds and more games in the FPL preview hub, the Gameweek 1 preview for context on how these projections moved, our Fantasy Premier League strategy guide for the fundamentals, and the full library in our guides section.

FAQ

Who should I captain in FPL Gameweek 2?

Bruno Fernandes. He is the highest-projected player in the round at 7.4 xP, on 89 projected minutes with a 0.99 penalty share, and Manchester United at home to Ipswich Town is both the highest win probability (66.8%) and the highest clean-sheet probability (42.4%) in the gameweek. Erling Haaland at 7.1 xP is the alternative if you want the bigger ceiling, and he is the clearer captain in Gameweek 3 at home to Coventry, where he projects 9.0.

Which budget players are best for Gameweek 2?

Bobby Thomas (4.0m, COV) at 4.4 xP is the best points-per-million return in the game this week at 1.10, home to Hull City. Caleb Yirenkyi (5.0m, COV) at 4.5 xP is the budget midfield equivalent at 0.90 per million. Both are strict one-week holds — Coventry travel to Manchester City in Gameweek 3 with a 7.4% win probability and both projections collapse. For a budget pick you can keep, Antonio Silva (5.0m, BOU) at 4.7 xP has the better six-round weighted score.

What are the best FPL differentials for Gameweek 2?

Antonio Silva (5.0m, BOU) at 0.3% ownership and 4.7 xP is the standout, with Everton away and a weighted score higher than any other 5.0m defender. Cody Gakpo (7.0m, LIV) is on 5.4 xP at just 3.9% ownership with six goals in his last 10 club games. Marcus Tavernier (6.0m, BOU, 1.7%) and Matheus Cunha (8.0m, MUN, 10.0%) round out the list — Cunha in particular is under-owned for a player in the best fixture of the round.

Should I sell Joao Pedro before Gameweek 2?

Yes. He is 64.0% owned and projected at just 3.5 xP this round, then 2.5 in Gameweek 3 when Chelsea travel to Arsenal. Six forwards priced at 6.0m or below project higher this week. His Gameweek 4 number recovers to 4.7 with Hull at home, so this is a two-week move rather than a permanent one — but holding him through Gameweek 3 costs points relative to almost any alternative.

Is it a good week to play the Free Hit chip in FPL?

Not especially. Gameweek 2 is a standard single gameweek with no blanks or doubles, so a Free Hit only buys you the difference between your current squad and the optimum, which the model puts at 67.3 projected points. Free Hits are worth far more in a blank or double gameweek. If you do play it, the squad above is the shape to aim for: no premium defenders, five attacking midfielders, and Bruno Fernandes with the armband.

This preview was written by TheFantasyTool AI - verified by Nicolai @ TheFantasyTool