FPL Gameweek 2 is over &#8211; and it was a record-breaking occasion for Triple Captain usage in a single gameweek.
In this weekly review piece, we&#8217;ll take a look at some of the main highlights from a fantasy perspective before concluding with a round-up of the leaders in all key Opta <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> metrics.
If you want details of every goalscorer and assist, plus bonus points and more, see our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-match-centre">Match Centre</a>, which updates live during matches.

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<h2>1. Haaland was a good Triple Captain option after all</h2>
Erling Haaland (£15.1m) dominated discussion ahead of the Gameweek 2 deadline, particularly over whether it was worth using the Triple Captain on him.
And in the end, more 475,000 managers played the chip &#8211; a record for a single gameweek according to FPL.
Their faith in the Norwegian was rewarded as he scored a hat-trick against Ipswich and maximum bonus for a 17 point haul.
Haaland also holds the record for most Triple Captain backers in a gameweek, with around 1.3m backing him in Double Gameweek 25 last season.
For those who didn&#8217;t use the chip in Gameweek 2, targeting another Manchester City game against a promoted club could be the way forward.
FPL noted that in eight games against promoted clubs, Haaland has averaged 10.25 FPL points per game, with five double-digit returns.
Despite Haaland fever, Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) was the most popular captain among the top 250,000 managers.
This may be heavily influenced by the fact Salah top scored in Gameweek 1 &#8211; and with many owning just one of the premium pair, there were more managers in the top 250,000 who had the Egyptian ahead of the weekend.
Salah couldn&#8217;t match Haaland this week but still managed 10 points in Liverpool&#8217;s 2-0 win over Brentford.
<div id="attachment_66427" style="width: 910px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66427" class="size-full wp-image-66427" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Captains-GW2.jpg" alt="Top 250,000 managers' captains in Gameweek 2" width="900" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Captains-GW2.jpg 900w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Captains-GW2-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Captains-GW2-768x624.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Captains-GW2-610x495.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" />Top 250,000 managers&#8217; captains in Gameweek 2</div>
<h2>2. Budget defenders are warming the bench &#8211; at least for now</h2>
Jarell Quansah (£4.4m) was on the bench for Liverpool&#8217;s win over Brentford, with Ibrahima Konate (£5.0m) taking his place.
Arne Slot had spoken of a minor injury issue for Quansah in his pre-match press conference, which may have been a deciding factor in dropping him.
We will therefore not know whether Konate has displaced Quansah as first choice for another week at least &#8211; but the signs are not great for the 21-year-old centre-back&#8217;s owners.
He is on his way to another price drop, according to the Hub&#8217;s <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-price-rises">prediction tool</a>, and is set to be £4.3m by the time Gameweek 3 rolls around.
Lewis Hall (£4.5m) owners have not been so hasty to sell him as yet, however the Newcastle left-back was benched for the Magpies&#8217; 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on Sunday.
Hall came on for Lloyd Kelly (£4.5m) in the 69th minute &#8211; and FPL managers don&#8217;t seem too concerned just yet, with the defender only around 10% of his way towards a price drop.
<div id="attachment_66429" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66429" class="size-full wp-image-66429" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Quansah-2.jpg" alt="Jarell Quansah" width="897" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Quansah-2.jpg 897w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Quansah-2-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Quansah-2-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Quansah-2-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" />Jarell Quansah</div>
<h2>3. Fernandes is a dilemma for FPL managers</h2>
Bruno Fernandes (£8.4m) is a real conundrum for those who own him.
The Manchester United midfielder came away empty handed from Gameweek 1, despite an expected goal involvements (xGI) tally of 1.1.
And he dodged more points against Brighton on Saturday, with an xGI of 0.8.
Some will argue his encouraging underlying <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> make Fernandes an easy hold. He has the fourth best expected points in the game &#8211; 13.73 &#8211; despite scoring only five.
The counter-argument is two of the three above him in the expected points charts are cheaper midfielders.
Diogo Jota (£7.6m) has expected points of 14.15 and Luis Diaz (£7.5m) 14.81 &#8211; but in contrast to Fernandes, they have scored 14 and 17 points respectively.
United host Liverpool in Gameweek 3 and the home fixture may give Fernandes owners an added incentive to keep hold of him &#8211; but another similar under-performance will only add to those looking elsewhere.
As well as Fernandes&#8217;s failings, our Gameweek 1 review also mentioned Eberechi Eze&#8217;s misfortune.
The Crystal Palace midfielder is another who has under-performed and lacks points &#8211; but he has had the joint-most shots (12) in the league alongside Antoine Semenyo (£5.5m).
He hit the bar against West Ham &#8211; and surely a return is just around the corner?
<div id="attachment_66430" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66430" class="size-large wp-image-66430" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Under-performers-1024x601.jpg" alt="Bruno Fernandes is the second biggest under-performer of his expected points" width="1024" height="601" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Under-performers-1024x601.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Under-performers-300x176.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Under-performers-768x451.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Under-performers-610x358.jpg 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Under-performers-1080x634.jpg 1080w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Under-performers-1280x753.jpg 1280w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Under-performers.jpg 1282w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Bruno Fernandes is the second biggest under-performer of his expected points</div>
<h2>4. Smith Rowe was the scorer &#8211; but Pereira is the chief creator</h2>
Emile Smith Rowe (£5.6m) bagged his first competitive goal for Fulham at the weekend, scoring in the 2-1 win against Leicester.
But keep an eye on Andreas Pereira (£5.5m), whose <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> look eye-catching despite him not returning so far.
No player has created more chances, with the Brazilian leading the league for key passes (13), six more than his nearest rivals.
Set-pieces have been his domain, taking all of Fulham&#8217;s corners and free-kicks.
The target has often been Rodrigo Muniz (£6.0m), with the striker having the joint-most shots in Gameweek 2 (seven).
Muniz could only get two of these efforts on target though, and is another player yet to reward his FPL fans.
<div id="attachment_66431" style="width: 910px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66431" class="size-full wp-image-66431" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pereira-v-Smith-Rowe.jpg" alt="Emile Smith Rowe and Andreas Pereira's stats" width="900" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pereira-v-Smith-Rowe.jpg 900w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pereira-v-Smith-Rowe-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pereira-v-Smith-Rowe-768x624.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Pereira-v-Smith-Rowe-610x495.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px" />Emile Smith Rowe and Andreas Pereira&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></div>
<h2>5. Gvardiol is not currently the most attacking City defender</h2>
Josko Gvardiol&#8217;s bumper point-scoring run at the end of last season persuaded around a third of the game to invest in the City defender ahead of Gameweek 1.
But Gvardiol has not hit the same heights this season, with the Croatian tasked with a more defensive role.
Instead, it&#8217;s been Rico Lewis (£4.5m) on the opposite side who has pushed forward more often &#8211; and he missed a big chance in the box against Ipswich, rattling the bar.
According to the <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-player-comparison-tool">Hub player comparison tool</a>, Lewis has had 15 touches in the opposition box in the first two games, with two for Gvardiol.
Gvardiol still has the best baseline bonus among City defenders and is the only one to earn a bonus point.
And although Gvardiol sent in a cross against the Tractor Boys and one shot in the box in Gameweek 1, he&#8217;s not been playing quite the same advanced attacking role.
Selling him might be a touch hasty though, as Pep Guardiola could easily flip things round, particularly if Kyle Walker (£5.4m) comes in for Lewis. The England international has been an unused substitute in the first two games however.
It&#8217;s certainly one for FPL managers to monitor in the next game or two.
<div id="attachment_66432" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66432" class="size-full wp-image-66432" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Gvardiol-v-Lewis.jpg" alt="Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis's heatmaps" width="897" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Gvardiol-v-Lewis.jpg 897w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Gvardiol-v-Lewis-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Gvardiol-v-Lewis-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Gvardiol-v-Lewis-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" />Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis&#8217;s heatmaps</div>
<h2>6. Morgan Rogers could be more nailed than expected</h2>
Morgan Rogers (£5.0m) has now completed 90 minutes in each of Aston Villa&#8217;s two league games.
The midfielder has impressed too, playing centrally, and was denied an assist in Gameweek 2 by a shock miss by Ollie Watkins (£9.0m).
Watkins really should have got on the scoresheet against Arsenal and was denied by a superb David Raya (£5.5m) save later on.
But both him and Rogers could be great options for Villa&#8217;s upcoming fixture run. They rank top of the <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fixture-ticker">Hub fixture ticker</a> up to Gameweek 9.
<div id="attachment_66433" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66433" class="size-full wp-image-66433" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rogers-heatmap.jpg" alt="Morgan Rogers' heatmap" width="897" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rogers-heatmap.jpg 897w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rogers-heatmap-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rogers-heatmap-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Rogers-heatmap-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" />Morgan Rogers&#8217; heatmap</div>
<h2>7. Villa also have a budget defensive option</h2>
As well as a cheap attacking option in Rogers, an injury to Matty Cash (£4.5m) could present an opportunity for another £4.0m defender to enter the game.
Kosta Nedeljkovic (£4.0m) looks to be Cash&#8217;s deputy, coming on for the full-back after he went off with a hamstring injury.
There are reports Cash could miss a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5723632/2024/08/26/matty-cash-injury-aston-villa/">month</a>, providing the 18-year-old Nedeljkovic with a golden opportunity to nail himself in the first team.
Unai Emery has said he now prefers Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) at centre-back after <a href="https://x.com/J_Tanswell/status/1827431431414464808">tweaking parts of his system</a>, so the teenager could have a free run at the spot.
The transfer window remains open though, with Villa previously linked with full-backs. A signing in this area could make the Nedeljkovic dream short-lived and all eyes will now be on deadline day on Friday.
<div id="attachment_66434" style="width: 907px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-66434" class="size-full wp-image-66434" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Matty-Cash-6.jpg" alt="Matty Cash's stats" width="897" height="731" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Matty-Cash-6.jpg 897w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Matty-Cash-6-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Matty-Cash-6-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Matty-Cash-6-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px" />Matty Cash is set for a spell on the sidelines</div>
<h2>Opta stats leaders for FPL Gameweek 2: Players</h2>
Here are the Gameweek 1 <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> leaders in full:
<ul>
<li>Shots &#8211; Rodrigo Muniz, Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo &#8211; 7</li>
<li>Shots on target &#8211; Noni Madueke &#8211; 5</li>
<li>Shots in the box &#8211; Rodrigo Muniz &#8211; 7</li>
<li>Big chances &#8211; Erling Haaland &#8211; 3</li>
<li>Goals &#8211; Erling Haaland, Noni Madueke &#8211; 3</li>
<li>xG &#8211; Erling Haaland &#8211; 1.79</li>
<li>Non-penalty xG (NpxG) &#8211; Danny Welbeck &#8211; 1.15</li>
<li>Key passes &#8211; Andreas Pereira &#8211; 7</li>
<li>Big chances created &#8211; Harvey Barnes, Kevin De Bruyne, James Maddison, Antoine Semenyo, Cole Palmer, Diogo Jota &#8211; 2</li>
<li>Assists &#8211; Cole Palmer &#8211; 3</li>
<li>Expected assists (xA) &#8211; Antoine Semenyo &#8211; 1.23</li>
<li>FPL points &#8211; Noni Madueke &#8211; 20</li>
<li>Expected points (xPts) &#8211; Nikola Milenkovic &#8211; 11.52</li>
</ul>
<h3 class="mceTemp">Opta stats leaders for FPL Gameweek 2: Teams</h3>
<ul>
<li>Most shots &#8211; Nottingham Forest &#8211; 23</li>
<li>Highest xG &#8211; Manchester City &#8211; 3.34</li>
<li>Lowest xG &#8211; Southampton &#8211; 0.2</li>
</ul>
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