FPL Gameweek 1 squad for a GW2 bench boost
The Gameweek 1 deadline is 6:30pm on Friday 21 August, eleven days away, and one squad now turns up in more drafts than any other. The four players on its bench are picked for Gameweek 2 rather than Gameweek 1.
Here it is, with ownership as of 10 August.
19%
Kinsky
13%
Gvardiol
15%
Mosquera
25%
Shaw
49%
B.Fernandes
22%
Mbeumo
45%
Szoboszlai
13%
Le Fée
10%
Groß
74%
Haaland
55%
João Pedro
17%
Verbruggen
16%
van Ewijk
9%
Thomas
24%
Calvert-Lewin
Two rotating £4.5m keepers, a Man City and an Arsenal defender either side of Luke Shaw, a United double-up in midfield, and Haaland with João Pedro up top. It costs exactly £100.0m with nothing left in the bank.
The bench is built for Gameweek 2
| Bench player | Gameweek 1 | Gameweek 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Verbruggen, BHA £4.5m | Aston Villa (H) | Chelsea (A) |
| van Ewijk, COV £4.0m | Arsenal (A) | Hull (H) |
| Thomas, COV £4.0m | Arsenal (A) | Hull (H) |
| Calvert-Lewin, LEE £6.0m | Forest (A) | Brentford (H) |
Both Coventry defenders are away at Arsenal in Gameweek 1 and at home to Hull in Gameweek 2. Calvert-Lewin’s fixture flips the same way, which is why a £6.0m forward is sitting on the bench. The trade is a slightly weaker Gameweek 1 for a much better bench a week later.
Gameweek 1 or Gameweek 2
The argument for Gameweek 1 is certainty. Nobody is injured, nobody is suspended, you have unlimited transfers right up to the deadline, and the chip is done, so every move after that is about improving your eleven rather than propping up a bench you are saving. A big rank after one week counts for nothing, and people enjoy it anyway.
Gameweek 1 is also the week you know least. New signings might not start. Players back late from the World Cup might be eased in. You commit before seeing a competitive minute and cannot change your mind afterwards. The cheap defenders are wrong for it too: the three sides facing promoted teams in Gameweek 1 are Arsenal, Man United and Sunderland, and none of them have a £4.0m starter.
One projection tool built both versions and had the Gameweek 1 bench at 14.8 predicted points against 15.5 for Gameweek 2. Small gap, and a prediction rather than a promise. I would still take the week two version, mostly because you get to see everyone play first.
About those two keepers
Kinsky and Verbruggen at £4.5m each is fine value, and the point of a pair is that you start whichever has the better week. In Gameweek 2 that is Kinsky, at home to Newcastle, while Brighton go to Stamford Bridge. So the keeper you boost is the one at Chelsea away. That is one weak slot out of four, and the cost of spending £9.0m on goalkeepers.
What follows the chip
If you boost in Gameweek 2, the wildcard follows in Gameweek 3 or 4. Gameweek 3 lets you load up on City at home to Coventry, at the cost of Arsenal playing Chelsea that week. Gameweek 4 lets you sell United down before they meet City. For the triple captain, Bruno at home to Ipswich in Gameweek 2 is the early option, Haaland at home to Coventry in Gameweek 3 is the other, and Haaland at home to Hull in Gameweek 16 is what most people keep in the back pocket.
Build it, then watch it
The AI workflows tab will run this build with you: pin the names you want, set the budget, and it works out the rest and tells you what it sacrificed to make the money fit. Quicker than doing the £100.0m arithmetic by hand again.
Once the deadline goes, look up any FPL manager and see who in your mini-league boosted early and who held on.