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 Who are the best teams and players to target in Gameweek 2 based on market projections and opposition weaknesses?
Chris Tan takes a look at his top five picks and analyses the data following the opening matches of the 2026/27 season.
Chris’s verdict on the best Gameweek 2 captaincy options and punts will be available nearer the deadline in our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-ultimate-guide-fpl-tips">Ultimate Guide</a>.
<h3>🤖 Hub AI quick summary 🤖</h3>
A brief round-up of what you’ll find below, and listen to an audio summary too 👇
<ul data-spread="false">
<li>🎯 Liverpool and Manchester United lead the way for goalscoring odds</li>
<li>🛡️ Arsenal and Manchester United have the best clean-sheet projections</li>
<li>🎖️ Martin Odegaard could exploit Aston Villa’s weakness through central areas</li>
<li>👀 Antoine Semenyo has a particularly favourable positional matchup against Crystal Palace</li>
</ul>
<audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-82508-3" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ElevenLabs_2026-08-26T12_53_41_Jamie_pvc_sp99_s50_sb75_se10_b_m2.mp3?_=3" /><a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ElevenLabs_2026-08-26T12_53_41_Jamie_pvc_sp99_s50_sb75_se10_b_m2.mp3">https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ElevenLabs_2026-08-26T12_53_41_Jamie_pvc_sp99_s50_sb75_se10_b_m2.mp3</a></audio>

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<h2>FPL Gameweek 2: Teams and fixtures to target</h2>
Wow, what an opening gameweek!
How many players featured in draft after draft, only to miss the final cut and then frustratingly haul?
It felt like far too many for my liking, although thankfully I still held onto a few of the week’s top performers.
We now have our first competitive glimpse of the new managers, systems and player roles, which gives us a little more information to work with.
One gameweek is still a tiny sample, so the spread odd projections remain important, but we can start looking for early signs of where teams might be vulnerable.
Please note, projections often shift as information such as team news emerges.
&nbsp;
<h3>⚽ Target for goals: Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal</h3>
<ul data-spread="false">
<li>Liverpool: 2.17 v Nottingham Forest (H)</li>
<li>Manchester United: 2.16 v Ipswich (H)</li>
<li>Manchester City: 1.94 v Crystal Palace (A)</li>
<li>Arsenal: 1.90 v Aston Villa (A)</li>
</ul>
Liverpool never fully clicked away at Newcastle, but still racked up 27 shots, the most of any side in Gameweek 1.
The issue for the Reds was chance quality rather than volume.
Opponents Nottingham Forest meanwhile restricted Leeds to just 0.65 xG, in one of the lowest-quality attacking games of the opening weekend.
We should therefore expect Liverpool to dominate territory at Anfield, but Forest have already demonstrated that they can make themselves difficult to break down.
Manchester United suffered a shock defeat away to Hull, and although it’s only one match, a few more performances like that and the pressure on Michael Carrick will quickly build.
There were some positives underneath the result. United still produced 21 shots — including 15 from inside the box — but failed to convert any of them.
Ipswich more than held their own against Sunderland too, so the Gameweek 2 clash may not be as straightforward as projections suggest, although a return to Old Trafford gives United an immediate opportunity to respond.
Manchester City left it until the dying minutes to secure three points against Bournemouth, and Enzo Maresca made several interesting selection choices.
One player he may struggle to leave out for long is Rayan Cherki. City lacked some invention without him, and will need to replace the creativity lost from their squad over the summer.
Luckily for them, Crystal Palace already look vulnerable. They conceded 1.16 xG against Everton despite the Toffees failing to score and — as we’ll explore later — there was a clear weakness down one side of their defence.
Champions Arsenal are absolutely purring. The defensive solidity remains, but there is now an attacking fluidity that was often missing last season, backed up by serious strength in depth.
The Gunners' opponents Aston Villa could hardly have started worse. They conceded 3.67 xGC, six big chances and 21 shots against Brighton, with all four goals coming before they were reduced to 10 men.
I still trust Unai Emery to turn things around, but this is a difficult time to be facing the reigning champions.
<div id="attachment_82565" style="width: 1090px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82565" class="size-full wp-image-82565" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/tzolis-vs-cherki-1.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="810" />
Christos Tzolis v Ryan Cherki, Gameweek 1 stats
</div>
&nbsp;
<h3>💪 Target for clean sheets: Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City</h3>
<ul data-spread="false">
<li>Arsenal: 42% v Aston Villa (A)</li>
<li>Manchester United: 41% v Ipswich (H)</li>
<li>Liverpool: 38% v Nottingham Forest (H)</li>
<li>Manchester City: 35% v Crystal Palace (A)</li>
<li>Coventry: 34% v Hull (H)</li>
</ul>
Same old Arsenal.
This team is so well drilled that a few personnel changes barely seem to matter because they defend from front to back.
Coventry generated just 0.28 xG against them in Gameweek 1, while Aston Villa failed to register any xG at all against Brighton.
Those already doubled up on Arsenal defenders could be rewarded again.
Manchester United conceded 1.26 xG against Hull and now face an Ipswich side projected to score just 0.86 goals.
On paper, the case for a clean sheet is strong. In reality, United remain one of those teams you never quite feel comfortable trusting defensively.
Liverpool are similar. The Reds allowed Newcastle 1.35 xG and still look vulnerable when possession turns over, particularly as the intensity of Andoni Iraola’s system begins to take its toll.
Forest offered very little going forward in Gameweek 1 though, so Liverpool’s 38% clean-sheet probability still makes their defenders interesting.
Manchester City’s new structure already looks relatively clear and defensively solid. Bournemouth generated only 0.78 xG, despite City needing a late winner at the other end.
Opponents Palace meanewhile are projected to score just 1.02 goals, so City could quietly be one of the better defensive targets again.
Finally, those using a Gameweek 2 Bench Boost may find plenty resting on Coventry.
They host Hull with a 34% clean-sheet probability, but the visitors will arrive full of confidence after beating Manchester United.
Early momentum can be huge for a promoted side, so this clean sheet feels less secure than the fixture alone might suggest.
<div id="attachment_82563" style="width: 1090px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82563" class="wp-image-82563 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/van-ewijk-landscape.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="810" />
Milan van Ewijk's stats
</div>
&nbsp;
<h2>FPL Gameweek 2: Players to target</h2>
With only one gameweek of data available, we need to be careful not to overreact.
The aim here is not simply to select players from the teams with the highest goal projections.
Instead, we’re looking for situations where the early data reveals a specific weakness, and an opposition player appears particularly well placed to exploit it.
Here are my top five players to target with those matchups in mind.
&nbsp;
<h3>🥇 Martin Odegaard (v Aston Villa)</h3>
Target: Central zones and turnovers
Arsenal are projected to score 1.90 goals, while Aston Villa have just a 14% clean-sheet probability.
The opening-week data makes the matchup even more appealing. Villa conceded 3.67 xGC, six big chances and 15 shots in the box against Brighton.
The biggest weakness was through the middle, where 70% of the chances they conceded originated.
Brighton exploited that with Jack Hinshelwood operating in the hole and repeatedly arriving in dangerous central positions. He was rewarded with two goals.
That should interest owners of Martin Odegaard.
Arsenal’s positional maps against Coventry showed both Odegaard and Kai Havertz operating as their most central attacking players, with the Norwegian regularly pushing beyond midfield to support the number nine.
Villa were also vulnerable when Brighton regained possession and attacked before their shape could reset.
Arsenal are excellent at creating those moments through their press, which should give Odegaard opportunities both to create and to make the late box arrivals that made him such a dangerous goalscorer in previous seasons.
<div id="attachment_82571" style="width: 1090px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82571" class="wp-image-82571 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/degaard-landscape.png" alt="" width="1080" height="810" />
Martin Odegaard's stats
</div>
&nbsp;
<h3>🥈 Antoine Semenyo (v Crystal Palace)</h3>
Target: Right zone and box threat
Manchester City are projected to score 1.94 goals, while Crystal Palace have just a 13% clean-sheet probability.
More importantly, Palace showed a clear positional weakness in Gameweek 1, with 57% of the chances they conceded coming down their right side.
That lines up perfectly for Antoine Semenyo, who started on City’s left against Bournemouth.
Semenyo is not a winger who simply holds the touchline and looks to create.
His instinct is to attack goal, driving inside onto his stronger foot or making runs into the penalty area. That gives Palace a difficult problem.
If their right-back engages Semenyo wide, he can attack the space inside. If they narrow up to protect the central area, he has the power to attack on the outside.
With Erling Haaland occupying the centre-backs, Semenyo should also have opportunities to arrive around the striker rather than being asked to carry the entire attacking threat himself.
Rather than simply selecting a City midfielder because of the projections, this is a direct matchup between Palace’s weakest zone and the player City are positioning there.
<div id="attachment_82569" style="width: 1090px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-82569" class="wp-image-82569 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/semenyo-landscape.png" alt="" width="1080" height="810" />
Antoine Semenyo's stats
</div>

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FPL Gameweek 2: Top 5 players to target opposition weaknesses

FPL Gameweek 2: Top 5 players to target opposition weaknesses

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