FPL Gameweek 2 tips: who gets the shots, who risks a booking and where the defensive points are
Nine games still to play in Gameweek 2 and nine calls on individual players: who is expected to shoot, who is living on the edge of a yellow card and how the new defensive contribution points change the way you read a team sheet.
Gameweek 2 of the Premier League started on Friday night with Manchester City winning 4-1 at Crystal Palace, Haaland and Cherki scoring twice each. Nine games are left, from this afternoon to Monday night, and if you are still tinkering with your team this is the hour that counts. We went through all nine with a fantasy manager's eyes: nine calls, split between the players who can earn you points and the ones who can cost you some.
How the scoring reads in 2026/27
Fantasy Premier League, the official free game of the league since 2002 and now past thirteen million managers, pays 4 points for a forward's goal, 5 for a midfielder's, 6 for a defender's and 3 for any assist, while a yellow card costs 1 point and a red 3. The rule that changed how you read a defender, though, is the one the Premier League confirmed again for this season: defensive contributions. A defender who reaches 10 combined clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles in a single match banks 2 points; midfielders and forwards need 12, with ball recoveries included in their count. It is capped at 2 points per match, but it means the dirty work finally scores, and it is why we track tackles alongside shots.
The points candidates: who gets a shot away
Seven of this week's nine calls are on players expected to have a go at goal. It is not a promise of a goal: it is the precondition for one, because without shots the points never arrive.
Player | Team | What the data says | Confidence | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1+ shot | 5/10 | |||
1+ shot | 7/10 | |||
1+ shot | 6/10 | |||
1+ shot | 6/10 | |||
2+ shots | 7/10 | |||
2+ shots | 7/10 | |||
2+ shots | 6/10 |
The two highest calls, both at 7 out of 10, come from opposite situations. João Pedro faces a Brighton side arriving at Stamford Bridge without half their forward line, with Mitoma, Ferguson, Minteh and Hinshelwood all out: an open game, and the Brazilian is the designated finisher. Matheus Cunha plays the reaction game instead, after United were beaten 2-0 at Hull on the opening day: when this side has ground to make up, he is the one who takes the shots on.
Watch Ndiaye too, our most solid call of the afternoon at 7 out of 10: Everton opened with a 2-0 win and travel to Bournemouth with their attack intact. And Saka, who on Monday night meets an Aston Villa side bottom of the table on nought points, thrashed 4-0 at Brighton and thinned out by the transfer window, though Arsenal go there without Saliba.
Who risks the deduction
Only one name in this column, and it is a former Villa man. Morgan Rogers, who joined Chelsea in the summer, is expected to commit at least one foul against Brighton. It does not mean he will be booked, it means he will spend the afternoon on the edge, and a yellow card is a straight point off your total.
Player | Team | What the data says | Confidence | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1+ foul committed | 5/10 | |||
1+ foul suffered | 6/10 |
The Julio Enciso call reads in reverse, and it is the most useful line on the list: a playmaker who gets fouled at Old Trafford is a playmaker dragging opposition midfielders into the referee's book. That deduction lands on somebody else's team.
Two games still uncovered
There are no individual calls yet on Sunderland-Fulham and Leeds-Brentford, both on Sunday afternoon: those names usually go live in the final 48 hours, alongside the team news. Worth checking both pages tonight.
Where to find every name
These nine are the Premier League individual calls, but our Player Predictions section collects them for every competition we cover, updated match by match: shots, shots on target, fouls committed and suffered, tackles. It is the page to keep open next to your team sheet, and the tackle column is the one to watch now that defensive contributions score.
One last warning that outweighs any statistic: wait for the confirmed line-ups. Every number here assumes the player starts, and the English window shuts on Tuesday night: until then, a name on today's team sheet can be somewhere else by the weekend after.
