Our fantasy football picks, transfers, advice and more for Gameweek 3

Fantasy Football tips and advice: Gameweek 3 transfers, selections and captain choices

By Tom Carnduff

Football

Sun August 29, 2021 · 3y ago

Gameweek 2 wasn't as high scoring as Gameweek 1 and that can be explained by the fact that two very popular captaincy choices failed to deliver.

Mohamed Salah's three points return and Bruno Fernandes' single point made them nightmare selections for the armband - fantasy football players can take comfort in the fact that many were in the same position as they were.

Reece James caught the eye for Chelsea in their 2-0 win over Arsenal - delivering 18 points - while Tyrone Mings' two assists and clean sheet brought 15 points for the 8.6% of players who own him.

Michail Antonio caught the eye again with two goals and an assist in West Ham's convincing 4-1 win over Leicester - that moves him onto 29 FPL points for the campaign. At 33.8% selection rate, there is still plenty of potential for gains that others won't have.

Who has the best fixtures in Gameweek 3?

After hammering Norwich 5-0 in Gameweek 2, MANCHESTER CITY will be hopeful that Arsenal's worrying defensive showings continue as they travel to the Etihad.

The Gunners have conceded twice in both games so far and are yet to find the back of the net themselves. It's a huge concern for them and Mikel Arteta is already under pressure - that should be made worse by a trip to face Pep Guardiola's side.

LEICESTER will also be looking to capitalise against a Norwich side whose goal difference sits at -8 after their first two. The fixture list wasn't kind to the Canaries and that continues here.

Elsewhere, LEEDS are worth backing as they go to Burnley - particularly their attacking assets with two goals scored against Everton - while both NEWCASTLE and SOUTHAMPTON will fancy their chances as they face each other.

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What are the best transfers to make for Gameweek 3?

As we hit the Gameweek 3 mark of the season, we will start to see the beginning of transfer increases for certain players. Said Benrahma - highlighted in our Gameweek 2 tips - scored 12 points for the second consecutive game and his initial £6.0m price is already at £6.2m - that could easily push £7.0m by the end of the campaign.

It's worth bearing this in mind when it comes to future transfers - particularly for those players in-form. Those on Sky Sports Fantasy Football don't have to worry about this but it's something that needs to be considered when it comes to FPL.

It's also best to target players across the price range. Saving budget for a big-hitter can provide more 'guaranteed' points but bargain options will emerge as the season progresses.

Here, we pick out five players worth consideration for Gameweek 3.

Romelu Lukaku

Position: FWD
FPL price: £11.5m
Sky price: £11.3m

In the Gameweek 2 column, I did express some concern about bringing in Romelu Lukaku at this early stage due to Chelsea's fixture list. They have some tough games coming up and I would have been happy to leave him out for a couple more weeks until they hit a much nicer run.

After watching him bully Arsenal in a goal-scoring man of the match performance, he already sits in my FPL team ahead of Gameweek 3.

Yes they have Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City in their next three fixtures but that shouldn't be too much of an issue for a forward who managed to get eight shots away in the victory at the Emirates.

Chelsea have demonstrated that they are a side who look ready to compete for the title this season and that means beating the very best. In Lukaku, they have one of Europe's best strikers and he can enjoy a good scoring return - that includes against those who will be around them in the table.

His £11.5m price on FPL won't be around for long and we can expect him to break the £12.0m mark by the end of the season. The bonus for Sky players is that his price won't change at all - the forward is a must-have when Overhaul hits following the conclusion of Gameweek 3.

Shane Duffy

Position: DEF
FPL price: £4.1m
Sky price: £6.6m

Could Shane Duffy cement his position as a fantasy football legend? A cheap defender who earns points - his early season form is certainly hitting the correct criteria.

At a bargain £6.6m price on Sky, alongside £4.1m on FPL - he has already seen an increase there - he is a playing option that also frees up budget to be used elsewhere.

Duffy netted in Brighton's recent 2-0 win over Watford while also keeping a clean sheet. That led to a 14-point return on FPL with three bonus points included, while Sky players saw 16 earned with Passes Tier 2 hit.

I'll be honest and admit I wasn't expecting to be discussing Shane Duffy in this column at any point this season but how can we ignore what we have seen so far? The big factor is also the price - it's too good to turn down at this stage.

There's also a decent looking fixture list. Brighton face Brentford (A), Crystal Palace (A) and Norwich (A) in their next six games - those carry a '2' on the Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR).

Raphinha

Position: MID
FPL price: £6.5m
Sky price: £8.3m

A bargain option on both fantasy games and a player highlighted in pre-season - Raphinha rewarded owners with a goal in Leeds' 2-2 draw with Everton.

This week sees Leeds travel to Burnley - a venue where they won 4-0 last season - and Raphinha will be targeting yet more points this time around. He will remain a bargain option during the opening weeks of the campaign.

Raphinha saw eight shots across his opening two games and could have had an assist to go alongside his goal - his xA figure currently stands at 0.33.

Leeds have Liverpool in the first game following the international break but then five of their six games after that come against teams carrying a '2' rating on FPL's FDR metric.

Adama Traore

Position: MID
FPL price: £6.0m
Sky price: £7.9m

Don't let Adama Traore's quiet start to the fantasy football season put you off including him - we have to acknowledge that he should be sitting on far more points at this stage.

After two games, Traore is on an expected goals (xG) figure of 1.63 from ten shots in total. Add in the expected assists (xA) total of 0.28 and it's easy to see why he should have had more than the four FPL points on his tally.

That's clearly indicated in one of my favourite FPL metrics - Expected FPL Points (xFPL). Fantasy Football Fix take in statistics such as the above to create a figure of where a player should be at in terms of FPL points.

After two games, Traore's xFPL number is a huge 13.07. He should be sitting on around nine or ten points more than his actual. In fact, his xFPL figure is the eighth-highest on the game.

Wolves do face Manchester United this weekend - that will be a tough game - but after that it's Watford (A), Brentford (H), Southampton (A) and Newcastle (H). All four of those games carry a '2' on the FDR - think a bit more long-term with this selection too.

Mason Greenwood

Position: MID/FWD
FPL price: £7.6m
Sky price: £8.9m

This one is a selection that is probably only worth consideration for FPL players rather than Sky. Mason Greenwood is listed as a midfielder on that and his start to the season has been too good to ignore.

He has 18 points from his first two games and it's clear to see that Greenwood is a player that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer likes. We have to be careful not to get too carried away with his nine-point average but we can be confident that he should offer more than the standard two points in most gameweeks.

This United attack is a very strong one with Paul Pogba benefitting from a more advanced position and Bruno Fernandes delivering as ever. The concern will be Jadon Sancho eventually coming into the team but Greenwood is doing enough to warrant a spot in the starting XI.

There's also the potential for him to play through the middle as they look to solve the slight striker issues that they face. Whether it be rightly retaining the starting spot or an impact from the bench, Greenwood looks a solid FPL option.

Who is the best captain for Gameweek 3?

It feels like a rare occasion when both Salah and Fernandes disappoint as captaincy options. It was even worse for backers of the latter - his card meant a whopping two points as captain.

This week presents difficult fixtures with Liverpool taking on the dangerous looking Chelsea and Manchester United going to a Wolves side who are unlucky not to have something on their tally yet.

JACK GREALISH was flagged as a potential captain in last week's column and he delivered with a goal and clean sheet points in Manchester City's 5-0 hammering of Norwich. If Arsenal's defence repeats its early season performances, City should enjoy the afternoon.

After West Ham's wonderful attacking performance on Monday night, MICHAIL ANTONIO is hard to ignore with three goals and two assists on his tally already.

The striker would have delivered 32 points as captain against Leicester and 26 in the opener v Newcastle. With Crystal Palace next up, we can hope for another double-figure return.

The fact he is only in 22.5% of FPL teams suggests that he will be an overlooked captaincy option. In the fixtures elsewhere, RAPHINHA can deliver as Leeds travel to Burnley.

The Brazilian winger netted in the 2-2 draw with Everton last time out and the Whites won comfortably in last season's trip to Turf Moor. With an overall selection rate of 16.8%, he could provide extra points that others won't have should he find the net again.

And with Leicester travelling to Norwich, it's difficult to look past JAMIE VARDY getting a goal against a struggling defence.