GW2 Selection: Looking through results
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Football certainly didn’t disappoint for the opening gameweek last weekend, which saw Fantasy EFL make its debut. It was extremely interesting seeing the amount of variety between the teams, which stands us in good stead as the season progresses. For me, I had a decent week to start off with me. Not outstanding, but was rewarded for my assessment of fixtures to target.
Of my attacking players, three of my four choices returned. Luke Molyneux was the outstanding pick, scoring twice and assisting another against Accrington Stanley, whilst Emmanuel Latte Lath scored a winning penalty for Middlesbrough and Georginio Rutter (my captain) assisting Gnonto for Leeds’ second in the thriller at Elland Road. Clearly not the best return for my captain pick, but the thought process wasn’t wrong, with Leeds generating 3.39xG and scoring three times against Portsmouth.
Defensively, I was extremely unfortunate to not get two out of three clean sheets. Ibou Touray grabbed the only return with Stockport winning at home to nil. Teddy Sharman-Lowe was extremely unlucky to not keep his first EFL clean sheet, with Accrington scoring despite only registered 0.08xG. The Leeds defense was the slight surprise of the weekend, albeit Portsmouth scored three times from 0.94xG (only 0.12xG from open play!), with Junior Firpo, also picked for his attacking impact, failing to return this week.
Out of my two teams of the week, Doncaster Rovers grabbed the win and bonus for scoring 2+ goals and, as mentioned above, were unlucky to not grab nine points out of the maximum 11. Blackpool on the other hand disappointed, losing away at Crawley Town in a game I was hoping to gain an away win bonus for.
GW 1 Summary
Points: 58
GW1 Rank: 14,255
Overall Rank: 14,255
GW2 TEAM SELECTION
Fixtures to Target
Championship
Coventry vs Oxford, Derby vs Middlesbrough, Burnley vs Cardiff, Portsmouth vs Luton, and Plymouth vs Hull.
League One
Charlton vs Leyton Orient, Huddersfield vs Stevenage.
7 Player Selection
Formation: 1-2-2-2
Goalkeeper
Lee Nicholls — Huddersfield have started the season of strongly with two clean sheets, one away at fellow promotion rivals Peterborough, and host a Stevenage side that - although does have goals in them - should find it difficult away at such a strong Terriers outfit. Don’t be fooled by Norwich shipping three to them in midweek as they were both heavily rotated, and was only from two set pieces and an own-goal. I expect Huddersfield to be a much sterner test.
Defenders
Vitinho (captain) — Burnley started the season tremendously with a huge 4-1 win at Kenilworth Road. Vitinho played a much more advanced role on the right wing, so has incredible upside scoring potential. I also expect Burnley to keep a clean sheet based on the solid foundation that Scott Parker has built them off. Hoping for a haul from the Brazilian man! *crosses fingers*
Josh Edwards — Nathan Jones teams are set up extremely well from a defensive standpoint and this Charlton side are expected to be no different. The Addicks have already started the season with a clean sheet at Wigan, and conceded limited chances in the Carabao Cup against Birmingham, so they have a strong chance of keeping Leyton Orient out at the Valley this weekend. Josh Edwards got a lot of plaudits for his performance last weekend and plays in an advance left wingback, giving me upside potential with his attacking output.
Midfielders
Tahith Chong — whilst Monday was not the start that any Hatter wanted, Chong managed to get on the scoresheet with an excellent run into the box to latch onto Doughty’s header across goal. The Curacaoan is the firm favourite to be selected in the attack alongside Morris and Adebayo, and go to a Portsmouth side that showed their defensive frailties at Elland Road last weekend.
Luton’s Tahith Chong during Monday night’s game against Burnley, where he scored his first goal of the season. Credit: Action Images.
Mickel Miller — as well as defensively Huddersfield looked a threat going forwards at last weekend, and Mickel Miller was a big part of that, playing in an advanced left position showing positive signs of driving into the box from wide. An outside pick, but one I hope can have some joy for the Terriers against Stevenage.
Forwards
Ellis Simms — it was a disappointing start for Coventry away at Stoke last weekend, but they bounced back on their trip to Bristol City for their midweek cup clash. Simms had an excellent second half of the season last season and is also likely on penalties for Coventry, who host newly promoted Oxford. This is a pick that really looks through the results of last weekend, as I expect Coventry to show their quality against a weaker side at home this weekend.
Emmanuel Latte Lath — returning from my team selection last week, Latte Lath is in red hot form for Boro. The Teessiders travel to Derby who showed their own defensive frailties at Ewood Park last weekend and - with Latte Lath also on penalties - I expect him to add to his tally this weekend.
2 Team Selection
My initial thinking for this game is to try and choose one home winner and one away winner, so to maximise upside of an away but also hedge and try and get a strong home win under your belt. If both sides you choose lose, this could immediately puts you between five and nine points behind most other players that week, so could be where the game is won and lost throughout the season. To that end, I’ve doubled down on Coventry City to register their first points of the season. For the away win, I just can’t look past how bad Plymouth were last weekend, so selecting a strong Hull City side to win at Home Park seems like a good choice. These two teams have only been selected (at the time of writing) by 4.8% and 3.3% of players, so could be huge differentials.
GW2 Team Selection Pictured
Nicholls; Vitinho, J. Edwards; Chong, M. Miller; E. Simms, Latte Lath. Coventry City & Hull City to win.
What do you think of my team selection? Share your thoughts on social media or in the comments section down below.
Disclaimer: there’s a chance I may make changes to my selection ahead of the deadline, with any changes likely due to early team news or eleventh hour injury information. To stay updated on my final draft, go and follow my locked team selections over on Twitter/X at @jamie_castle96.
