FPL Gameweek 2 Transfer Tips: Players to Buy, Hold & Sell

After months of preparing and planning, GW1 came and before we realised is already behind us. It sprung quite a few surprises (Gabriel benching, Bruno/ Rashford blanking) but restored normal service too (Haaland scoring, Pep roulette resuming and Mbeumo-Wissa returning points in the absence of Toney). Before we realise the Gameweek 2 deadline is fast approaching with another Friday evening kick off. So, let’s start with our first BUY-HOLD-SELL article of the season, sponsored by …. Well, nobody. We are poor, but you can help here if you want 😊

Link to all our FPL GW2 blogs including fixtures to target, predicted 11, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer trends, and more. Completely free to access as well!

SELL/ HOLD is only for players greater than 15% ownership because to sell/ hold you need to own the player first

BUY is only for players less than 10% ownership

Note: All the players mentioned in this article as “Players to Buy/Hold/Sell ahead of FPL Gameweek 2” are the author’s opinion based on stats and analysis. Have a read and decide for yourselves.

FPL Gameweek 2 Transfer Tips: Two Players to BUY

Luis Díaz (£7.5m) – MID, Liverpool – 7.8% TSB

FPL Gameweek 2 Players to Buy- Luis Diaz

The juiciest fixture for this week is undoubtedly the Liverpool-Bournemouth clash at Anfield. Liverpool won this fixture last season 9-0. So, a Liverpool attacker for this fixture will be very popular. Luis Diaz fits the bill perfectly. He is cheap, back after an injury and led his Liverpool teammates post GW1 in terms of:

  • Shots
  • Shots on Target
  • Shots in the Box
  • Big Chances
  • xG
  • xGI
  • Goals
  • GI
  • xPts
  • BPS
  • Bonus
  • FPL Pts

Even last season, before getting injured, in the first 10 GWs, Diaz was 3rd amongst his Liv team-mates behind Firmino and Salah for Shots on Target, Goal Involvement, Bonus Points and FPL Points.

A downgrade from Bruno/ Rashford after a lacklustre game when they face Spurs (A) might be a shrewd short-term move.


Fantasy Football Hub is a high-quality FPL website offering a wide range of FPL content, tools, data, planners, and more. Memberships are available for the 24/25 season at a 50% discount along with a win-your-mini-league or get-your-money-back guarantee.
(Click on the image above to claim the offer).

Moussa Diaby (£6.5m) – MID, Aston Villa – 7.8% TSB

FPL Gameweek 2 Players to Buy- Diaby

In GW1, Diaby had 37 touches with 27 touches in the opponent’s half and 17 in the final third.

For context, Watkins who is supposed to be in an advanced role as the ST had 31 touches with 24 touches in the opponent’s half and 16 in the final third. Even in terms of xG, there was hardly any difference with Diaby scoring 0.28 and Watkins managing 0.32. Their heatmaps were very identical too.

All this implies the advanced positions Diaby had been taking up. He almost played like a second ST with Watkins.

This actually should not come as a surprise as his xGI numbers in Germany were also electric:

xGI/90:

21/22: 0.56

20/21: 0.44

19/20: 0.55

Everton defence has been wretched in 22/23. Although the perception is that Dyche improved the situation, the change, if any, is insignificant

Everton Rank22/23 SeasonPost Dyche (GW 22 onwards)
Clean Sheets (CS)15thJoint 6th
xCS16th12th
Goals Conceded (GC)13th14th
xGC16th15th
NPxGA17th12th
Big Shots Conceded14th13th
Shots on Target Conceded16th13th
Shots in Box Conceded19th14th
Shots Conceded19th13th

Buying Diaby early for a 2-week punt against Everton (H) & Burnley (A) might catapult you in your mini-leagues.

Further Read: FPL GW2 Transfer Targets & Watchlist Based on Eye Test & Stats

FPL Gameweek 2 Transfer Tips: Two Players to HOLD

Gabriel Magalhães (£5.0m) – DEF, Arsenal – 30.5% TSB

FPL Gameweek 2 Players to Hold- Gabriel

200,000 managers have already sold Gabriel, who started every single Premier League game last season. In fact, even beyond last season, he started 73 of Arsenal’s last 77 Premier League games. His next few fixtures look amazing – especially the GW 2 fixture when they face Crystal Palace (A).

Last season, Arsenal had kept 4 clean sheets at home, while they managed 10 in away fixtures. On the other hand, Crystal Palace were ranked 20th in terms of xG and 18th in terms of “shots from headers conceded” in home games.

With Timber injured, against Palace, Gabriel has a very high chance of starting (and hopefully scoring from a corner too). Give the Brazilian one more week – and hence for GW2 specifically, he is a HOLD. However, if he is benched against Palace too, then surely, he is a sell in GW3

Further Read: Best Defenders to Target ahead of GW2- Mings/Timber Replacements

Ollie Watkins (£8.0m) – FWD, Aston Villa – 25.4% TSB

FPL Gameweek 2 Players to Hold- Watkins

Watkins is the second most sold FWD although he faces Everton at home.

Watkins Rank in 22/23Amongst Currently Active FWDs
Mins1st
Shots3rd
Shots on Target2nd
Shots in the Box2nd
Big Chances2nd
Headed Attempts3rd
NPxG2nd
xG2nd
Goals3rd
Assists3rd
xGI2nd
Goal Involvement3rd
BPS2nd
Bonus Points2nd
xPts2nd
FPL Points2nd

Last season, when Aston Villa hosted Everton in GW2, Watkins provided 2 assists and scored 11 points.

In GW 25, when Villa visited Everton, Watkins scored a goal and bagged 6 points.

Hence, I would strongly suggest not selling Watkins. In fact, he is a good punt for a differential captain.

Further Read: Premier League Penalty & Set Piece Takers | 2023/24 PL Season

FPL Gameweek 2 Transfer Tips: Two Players to SELL

Alexander Isak (£7.6m) – FWD, Newcastle – 23.1% TSB

FPL Gameweek 2 Players to Sell- Isak

A few might be surprised by finding Isak’s name in the SELL list. However, I was equally surprised to see him being the first one to rise in price. Of course, he scored 13 points against a good AVL defence. But let’s have a look at Newcastle’s nightmarish fixtures from GW2

Even if we look at GW1, Isak’s underlying stats are not that impressive. He is ranked 18th in terms of xGI suggesting how massively he overperformed.

There are much better short-term replacements available in the form of Ollie Watkins, João Pedro and Yoane Wissa.

Further Read: FPL GW2 Ultimate Guide: Tips, Differentials, Captaincy & More

Eberechi Eze (£6.5m) – MID, Crystal Palace – 15.8% TSB

FPL Gameweek 2 Players to Sell- Eze

Let’s first understand why the sudden craze for Eze started. Last season, between GW 29-38, Eze was the 2nd highest-scoring MF in FPL after Salah. However, in those 10 GWs, his opponents were all in the Bottom 10 for Goals Conceded. For context, Palace were 14th in XG even during that dream run

GWOpponentRank – Goals Conceded
GW 29LEI17th
GW 30LEE20th
GW 31SOU19th
GW 32EVE13th
GW 33WOL14th
GW 34WHU12th
GW 35TOT15th
GW 36BOU18th
GW 37FUL10th
GW 38NFO16th

Crystal Palace face last year’s runners up Arsenal in GW2 at Selhurst Park. As already mentioned, Crystal Palace were ranked 20th in terms of xG in home games last season. Arsenal beat Palace 0-2 in this fixture in GW1 last season whereas in the reverse fixture in GW28, the Gunners won 4-1. Eze could manage 1 point across the 2 matches.

He wasn’t a good asset to start GW1 with. But if you’ve him, you might want to switch to Bryan Mbeumo or Moussa Diaby or upgrade to James Maddison if you have £1.0m in the bank.

If you like our content do consider supporting us by contributing to the website. ALLABOUTFPL is run by the community and for the community. All our content is and will always remain free.

Further reads from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL GW2

Premier League Penalty & Set Piece Takers | 2023/24 PL Season
FPL GW2 Tips & Preview – Breaking Down The Key Dilemmas
Top FPL Gameweek 2 Captain Picks Based on Analysis & Metrics
Top FPL GW2 Differential Picks((10% TSB) To Consider Ahead Of Deadline
FPL Gameweek 2 Transfer Tips: Two Players To Buy, Hold & Sell
Best Defenders to Target ahead of GW2- Mings/Timber Replacements
FPL GW2 Transfer Targets & Watchlist Based on Eye Test & Stats
FPL GW2 Ultimate Guide: Tips, Differentials, Captaincy & More

Link to all our FPL GW2 blogs including buy, hold, sell analysis, differentials, captaincy metrics, transfer targets, and more. Completely free to access as well!

Thanks for reading the ‘FPL Gameweek 2 Transfer Tips’ blog.
Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for regular blogs and updates. Also, follow our 150,000+ community on InstagramFacebook, and Twitter to stay updated on regular Posts and FPL updates.

What’s next from ALLABOUTFPL ahead of FPL Gameweek 2 of the 2023/24 FPL Season?

We’ll be covering player comparisons, differential picks, transfer trends, Buy, Hold, Sell analysis, eye test report, fixture analysis, captaincy metrics, FPL GW2 tips, and more. Keep checking allaboutfpl.com for all our blogs and subscribe to our free newsletter through the link below. We’ll also be posting regularly about the same on our social media accounts so follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook keep our notification ON.

Our content is always free and if you like our content do drop a comment, follow, subscribe, and support us. Your love is what keeps us going:)


AllAboutFPL is rated as the 2nd best Fantasy Football blog in the world by Football content awards, So make sure you don’t miss out on our content
; Link to all our FPL GW2 blogs in one place
The following two tabs change content below.
Back To Top