Review of Game Week 1

GW Points: 86
Overall Points: 86
Overall Rank: 21,525

Overall, it was a decent start to the season, I’ve got no real complaints and everything has largely gone to plan. The two potential mistakes I made was picking the wrong captain, which was very hard to predict. I strongly considered Salah but opted for Isak instead. This cost me quite a few points. Also, the punt on Kulusevski didn’t pay off, he started on the bench and only managed 1 point. Ironically, I’d have probably started with Smith-Rowe instead of Kulusevski anyway so I’m only a point down. It remains to be seen if McCarthy can generate enough points for his 1.5m value but I’m happy to see this out with Southampton having better fixtures coming up. There also weren’t any other big point scorers from players that I considered but didn’t put in my team, possibly barring Gvardiol.

Here is my breakdown of each player:

McCarthy – didn’t score well and made a mistake but I knew it would be a tricky fixture for Southampton. Going to give him some more time with better fixtures coming up. 

Robinson – luckily we got to see line ups before Fulham kicked off at the weekend so I bought Robinson in for Castagne. Despite losing the clean sheet late on Robinson still picked up a decent 6 points.

Porro – perfect start despite losing the clean sheet. Can’t ask for much more than a goal from a defender. Could potentially be injured though and I was tempted to swap him for Gvardiol this week anyway.

Burn – kept a clean sheet but still only matched Robinson for points. Hold for now but one I’ll move on at some point.

Guimaraes – slightly disappointed with only 6 points for Guimaraes but it was still an OK start considering the early red card. He kind of did what I predicted and delivered on points despite Newcastle not performing overly well. 

Saka – can’t ask for more than 15 points in game week 1, very happy with that return.

Eze – quiet start with 5 points but was unfortunate not to get a goal from his free kick – which shouldn’t have been ruled out. Very fine margins but will probably hold onto him with EFL Cup fixtures this week 

Kulusevski – will definitely be one of my transfers out after starting on the bench. Considering Smith-Rowe due to Fulham’s next 3 fixtures. It’s a shame he didn’t get off to a better start though as I don’t see him going up in value.

Haaland – got his goal, happy with his returns. Stays in my team with Ipswich up next.

Isak – the sending off reduced Isak’s chance of a big score. With potential EFL Cup involvement and an OK fixture at the weekend, I’ll hold for now.

Salah – great start with a goal and assist, never really doubted it. Stays in my team.

Player watchlist

Gvardiol – wanted him from the off but opted for Porro instead due to fixtures. Nice fixture against Ipswich coming up so may have to go for him.

Smith-Rowe – decent enabler with good short term fixtures. Not massively convinced after a low scoring game week 1.

Palmer – tough opening fixture but scored OK, will definitely be keeping an eye on him.

Foden – won’t be bringing him in this week but will be monitoring when he’s likely to be starting games.

Alexander-Arnold – scored well but is expensive. Favour Gvardiol this week due to fixtures but worth monitoring. 

Mainoo – had him in my team initially but took him out due to him being more defensive, however, he still scored well against Fulham. Need to keep an eye on him continuing to pick up bonus points. 

Szoboszlai – put in a decent performance at the weekend and could be a cheap way into the Liverpool team. 

Jota – if he stays fit and starts for Liverpool, he could hit a big score this season. 

Plan for game week 2

My original plan was to swap Porro and Kulusevski for Gvardiol and Smith-Rowe, after seeing how game week 1 has panned out I’m not sure I need to change from this plan. My only reservation is that Gvardiol might be rotated but given his ownership, it’s a bit of a no brainer to bring him in anyway. Kulusevski has to go with a single game week and Smith-Rowe seems like a decent option considering Fulham’s fixtures. I could look at Murphy but I’m not sure he’s certain for game time longer term. If I wanted to hold Porro, I could take out Eze, Guimaraes or Isak to bring in Gvardiol but I’d rather keep hold of my attacking players who could potentially get game time in the EFL Cup. I’ll ponder this further until later in the week and keep an eye on any injury news for Porro. As always, I’ll publish my final decision in the WhatsApp group later in the week.