Captain selection is straightforward going into gameweek 3, but finding differentials is less so.

Liverpool and Manchester City are in excellent form and playing lesser teams this week, so we can again expect them to demolish their opponents. Chelsea visit a tricky Newcastle side, and Arsenal finally have a chance to showcase their offensive might. Manchester United are in trouble as is, and Tottenham will be happy to add more to the pile. A game between Bournemouth and Everton is worth mentioning as it will feature a battle between two gung-ho attacking sides.

Definite clean sheet

Top five teams with best clean sheet odds.

Liverpool - 1,71

Manchester City - 1,95

Chelsea - 2,43

Fulham - 2,43

Arsenal - 2,45

Huddersfield - 2,45

Liverpool is the only team in the league yet to concede. Only Wolverhampton (12) conceded fewer shots on goal than The Reds (13). Bear in mind, though, that the promoted Wolves were facing 10-man squads most of the time two weeks in a row. Last season there was only one team to scoreless on the road than Brighton, so Allison has every chance to claim his third clean sheet in a row.

Manchester City are experimenting with their attacking setup, spending so much time in the attacking third that their opponents hardly have a chance to attack themselves. They conceded their only goal from a set-piece, albeit conceding a lot of chances to Arsenal at the Emirates. Wolverhampton failed to impress against 10-man sides, leave alone the champions.

Mauricio Sarri’s Chelsea display more of an attacking mentality and do not worry about defense. Blues’ defensive stats look average at best, but they have Arsenal, who caused them tons of problems, to blame for that. In the first gameweek though, Chelsea conceded only 0,2xG away at Huddersfield. Newcastle are a tougher opponent than Huddersfield, but they have a chance for a clean sheet nonetheless.

It’s odd to see Fulham ranked so highly because they are in one of the 3 worst sides in chances conceded. They are hosting Burnley side who stopped being an ultra-defensive team averaging 1,0xG per match.

Huddersfield high chances for a clean sheet are based on their opponent’s attacking frailties. Cardiff are the only team in the league yet to score. The Welsh side is underperforming, mind you: 0 goals and 2,49xG (15 shots in box, 3 big chances created).

Arsenal had a difficult start against Manchester City and Chelsea conceding 41 shots on target - only Huddersfield had more (45). West Ham are good candidates to help Unai Emery’s side get their first clean sheet. Only Huddersfield (11) and Brighton (12) had fewer shots than West Ham (16), and Hammers are the worst when it comes to big chances created (1).

Goals galore

5 clubs with best bookies odds to score 3 or more goals.

Liverpool — 1,7

Manchester City — 1,99

Arsenal — 2,08

Chelsea — 3,46

Bournemouth — 5,0

Liverpool and Manchester City boast best attacks in the league by a mile. Reds have a fantasy advantage going into week 3 as they are playing at home, and their attack line-up is easier to predict than Pep’s rotation policy. Brighton are famous for their resilient defensive displays, but it might not be enough against Liverpool in such form. Match against City will be Wolverhampton’s first real test and anything can happen.

Unai Emery showed no intention to sit back no matter the opponent. Arsenal had 2,86xG (7th in the league) across their last two games against Manchester City and Chelsea and created 6 big chances. Only Huddersfield defends worse than West Ham, and Pellegrini's defensive rotations pave way for Arsenal’s attacking domination.

Chelsea are surprisingly good up front. They even cope without Hazard who is yet to start a game. Alonso is still as effective in Mauricio Sarri’s system as he was in Conte’s 3-4-3. Pedro is at his best, and Kante has turned into a box-to-box midfielder. Hazard might not start the next game, but even without him, this sparkling Chelsea side can score loads against Newcastle.

Eddies Howe stayed true to his inspiring attacking style over the summer. They are 4th in xG with 3,56 over the last two gameweeks. They create 3,5 big chances on average which may prove fatal to Everton. Marko Silva’s troops like to attack and remain without a clean sheet amidst favorable fixture period.

Statistical cheater

Players with unexpected statistical performances from 2 first game weeks.

  • Neil Etheridge (goalkeeper, Cardiff) saved 2 penalties. Other EPL goalies haven’t saved any penalties yet.
  • Fabri (goalkeeper, Fulham) makes 8 saves a match on average.
  • Benjamin Mendy (defender, Manchester City) has 4 assists. No one else has even three.
  • Ben Davies (defender, Tottenham) created 3 big chances - same as Ryan Fraser - but yet to claim an assist.
  • Callum Wilson (forward, Bournemouth) — league leader in opponent’s box touches (20) big chances (4).
  • Alexander Mitrovic (forward, Fulham) has 11 shots on target. Only Kun Aguero (forward, Manchester City) has more — 12.
  • Danny Ings (forward, Southampton) played only 124 minutes but leads the league in penalty area shots (8) and trails only 7 players in chances created (5).

Differentials

Unusual picks your fantasy-opponents might miss.

  • Hector Bellerin (defender, Arsenal) — is very active in front of opponent’s goal, but has zero fantasy returns. The game against a wobbly West Ham side is a perfect chance for attacking returns and a rare clean sheet.
  • Theo Walcott (midfielder, Everton) — mesmerized by Richarlison’s impressive displays, fantasy managers might forget about Theo. But statistically, he is as good as the Brazilian.
  • Alexander Mitrovic (forward, Fulham) — Burnley are not what they used to be last season, so go ahead and pick Fulham’s main man.
  • Danny Ings (forward, Southampton) — became Soton’s main attacking force, and if you read previous paragraphs attentively, his pick should come as no surprise.
  • Nabi Keita (midfielder, Liverpool) — based on his average position and industrious displays in front of opponent’s box he might score more points than Firminho this year. A game against a defensive Brighton side might be the perfect opportunity.
  • Troy Deeney (forward, Watford) — Watford are playing well at the moment, and even a solid Crystal Palace side won’t be able to intimidate them. Deeney returned as the team’s main attacking threat under Javi Gracia and won’t be quick to lose it.

Captains

Salah leads the league in xG+xA and is as dangerous as last season. His assists and goals are on the menu in their home encounter against Brighton. You will face an uphill battle catching up if you miss out on his goal frenzy, so captain him without any second thoughts.

Bournemouth are too good in attack at the moment, and Wilson impresses with his numbers, so he makes my Dreamy Captain selection. Everton’s defense is far from perfect so everything looks promising for Callum.

Captain selection for game week 3

  • Captain obvious — Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
  • Captain Dreamy — Callum Wilson (Bournemouth)

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