FPL Gameweek 2 Guide 2026/27 – FPL GW2 Tips For Fantasy Premier League Managers

The second round of Premier League fixtures is already upon us, and Fantasy Premier League managers only have a few hours left to refine their teams ahead of FPL GW2.

This article aims to help you stay up to date as we look at the most popular transfer ahead of the new gameweek, compare two excellent midfield performers from GW1, and finally assess the players who have already received a price increase during the first week.

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FPL Gameweek 2 Deadline

The Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 2 deadline is Friday, 28 August 2026 at 18:30 BST

FPL Gameweek 2 Fixtures

Crystal Palace will be hosting Manchester City.

Nottingham Forest will face Liverpool at Anfield.

Bournemouth will welcome Everton.

Hull are on the road to Coventry.

Spurs are at home to Newcastle.

Brighton face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Leeds have a home fixture against Brentford.

Fulham are away to Sunderland.

Manchester United welcomes Ipswich.

Arsenal will travel to Aston Villa.

FPL Assets Leading On Form For Gameweek 2

Let’s start by looking at the current form amongst the best FPL players for Matchweek 2 before getting into our free fantasy football tips.

(Form is a metric that’s issued on the official FPL platform, which uses a player's average score per match, calculated from all matches played by his club in the last 30 days.)

Goalkeepers: 

1. Konstantinos Tzolak is first with 10.0 points
2. James Trafford is second with 9.0 points 
3. Caoimhín Kelleher is third with 7.0 points

Defenders:

1. Maxim De Cuyper is ahead with 17 points
2. Nobel Mendy second with 15 points
3. Semi Ajayi is third with 14 points

Midfielders:

1. Jack Hinshelwood is on top with 16 points
2. Mamadou Sangaré is second with 14 points 
3. Cole Palmer is third with 13 points

Forwards:

1. João Pedro is first with 11 points
2. Emersonn is second with 9 points
3. Thierno Barry is third with 8 points

FPL Managers Move Early for Maxim De Cuyper

The highest-scoring FPL player from GW1 came from a very surprising source, as Brighton’s Maxim De Cuyper scored a goal, provided an assist and kept a clean sheet against Aston Villa.

This gave De Cuyper a total of 17 FPL points after playing 77 minutes.

During that time, he registered three touches inside the opposition box and attempted four crosses into the area.

After showing that he is capable of providing attacking returns in his first appearance, FPL managers are looking at his £4.6m price tag as a potential bargain.

Brighton face Chelsea, Leeds and Coventry in their next three fixtures, and FPL managers are already willing to back De Cuyper.

He is currently the most transferred-in player ahead of Gameweek 2.

Anthony Elanga Vs Iliman Ndiaye 

Two midfield options who could provide excellent value at £6.0m apiece this season are Newcastle’s Anthony Elanga and Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye.

Both made an impact in Gameweek 1 and ended the weekend with nine FPL points.

However, based on the extremely limited information we gained from the opening round of fixtures, which of these two options might be the better pick in the coming weeks, based on their performances on the pitch?

Elanga played a total of 76 minutes and scored against Liverpool, while Ndiaye completed the full 90 minutes against Crystal Palace and provided an assist.

Despite not scoring, Ndiaye actually recorded a slightly higher xG (expected goals) than Elanga, with 0.24 compared to 0.22.

This was largely due to Ndiaye registering nine touches and two shots inside the opposition box, compared to three touches and no shots from inside the box for Elanga.

When it comes to creating chances, Ndiaye also recorded the higher xA (expected assists), with 0.32 compared to 0.01 for Elanga.

While it is impossible to say with any certainty who the better option is at this stage of the season, it will be interesting to see which of these two players finishes the campaign with more FPL points.

FPL Players With Early Price Increases

Let’s take a look at the 6 players who have already seen a price increase of + £0.1m this campaign: 

Riccardo Calafiori

Updated Price: £5.6m

Ownership: 41.6%

FPL Points: 9

Martin Ødegaard

Updated Price: £6.6m

Ownership: 11.4%

FPL Points: 11

Michael Kayode 

Updated Price: £4.6m

Ownership: 7.3%

FPL Points: 13

Mamadou Sangaré

Updated Price: £5.6m

Ownership: 8.1%

FPL Points: 14

Maxim De Cuyper

Updated Price: £4.6m

Ownership: 7.6%

FPL Points: 17

João Pedro 

Updated Price: £7.6m

Ownership: 67.7%

FPL Points: 11

Top 3 FPL Gameweek 2 Captain Picks:

1. Bruno Fernandes vs Ipswich
2. Erling Haaland vs Crystal Palace
3. Gabriel Magalhães vs Aston Villa

Differential Captain Pick Of The Week

Alexander Isak

After completing a full 90 minutes for Liverpool in the Premier League for the first time against Newcastle in GW1, Alexander Isak will be looking to make more of an impact following his underwhelming performance last weekend.

Not many FPL managers will be trusting him with the captaincy this weekend, but those who do could be rewarded if Isak returns to form in front of the Anfield crowd.

Playing Your Free Hit? 

Not many FPL managers will be using their Free Hit this early, but those who do might find some value below in our FPL Tips for GW2:

GK: Alisson Becker (£5.5m)

DEF: Tarik Muharemović (£5.0m)

DEF: Nico O’Reilly (£6.5m)

DEF: Harry Maguire (£5.0m)

MID: Enzo le Fée (£6.0m)

MID: Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m)

MID: Iliman Ndiaye (£6.0m)

MID: Kevin Schade (£6.0m)

FWD: Alexander Isak (£9.0m)

FWD: Erling Haaland (£15.5m)

FWD: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m)

BENCH: Jason Steele (£4.0m)

BENCH: Keane Lewis-Potter (£5.5m)

BENCH: Milan van Ewijk (£4.0m)

BENCH: Bobby Thomas (£4.0m)

Final Thoughts

With the opening round of Premier League fixtures now behind us, FPL managers finally have some competitive data to work with ahead of Gameweek 2.

However, one week of football is still a very small sample size, and it is important not to overreact to a single goal, assist or blank.

Early transfers and price changes can quickly influence decisions, but performances, underlying numbers, expected minutes and upcoming fixtures should all be considered before making changes.

Gameweek 1 has already highlighted a few potentially valuable options, while also raising questions around some of the more popular picks from pre-season.

The challenge now is deciding which early performances are worth trusting and which are simply the result of one good or bad weekend.

With the GW2 deadline approaching, make sure any transfers improve your team beyond just the next fixture, consider your captaincy options carefully and avoid making unnecessary changes based purely on one gameweek of information.