Fantasy Premier League: Four Differentials to Target in Gameweek 2

The deadline is set for 18:30 BST on Friday. Gameweek 1 is gone, the overreactions are in full swing, and there’s still time to join Fantasy Premier League and start right now from Gameweek 2. For managers hunting early gains in their mini-leagues, four names stand out.

Cole Palmer (£9.5m, Chelsea): Alonso’s Main Conduit

Cole Palmer didn’t just ease into the new season. He ripped into it.

In Chelsea’s 3-2 win at Fulham on Monday, the England international produced his first double-digit Fantasy haul in over six months, powered by a goal, an assist and a performance that looked like a statement.

The numbers behind it were just as sharp as the eye test. Palmer fired four shots in the box – more than in any single league match last season – and completed eight take-ons, the highest total of his Premier League career. He demanded the ball, drove at defenders and dictated Chelsea’s attacking tempo.

Early signs suggest Xabi Alonso is building his attack around Palmer, with echoes of the 2023/24 campaign when the midfielder racked up 244 Fantasy points and became a must-own asset.

There was a brief scare when he was substituted in Gameweek 1 and flagged in the game, but Alonso moved quickly this week to insist Palmer is “absolutely fine”. That clears the path for another start against Brighton & Hove Albion.

And Brighton at Stamford Bridge will stir good memories. Palmer scored four times the last time he faced the Seagulls on home turf. Managers don’t need much more encouragement than that.

Bukayo Saka (£9.5m, Arsenal): Doubts Gone, Points Incoming

Many managers swerved Bukayo Saka in Gameweek 1. On paper, it made sense.

He had just 30 minutes of pre-season under his belt after returning late from England duty at the FIFA World Cup. Concerns over match sharpness and minutes loomed large.

Mikel Arteta ignored all of that. Saka went straight into the Arsenal XI against Coventry City and immediately resumed his role as the Gunners’ attacking heartbeat, scoring in a 3-0 win and playing 67 minutes – enough to blow away the cobwebs and, crucially, to calm Fantasy fears about his game time.

Last season he averaged 5.7 points per start. That’s elite, title-challenger-level consistency.

The fixture list doesn’t scream “buy” at first glance. Aston Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland all carry an FDR rating of at least three in the next three Gameweeks. But the opening weekend told a different story. Those three sides shipped a combined eight goals in Gameweek 1, hinting at soft centres and defensive issues waiting to be targeted.

Villa look particularly fragile right now. They were beaten 4-0 and have lost midfield shield Joao Gomes (£5.5m) to suspension, stripping protection from their back line just as Saka and Arsenal arrive.

He’s fit, he’s firing, and the fixtures might be kinder than they look.

Yoane Wissa (£6.0m, Newcastle): The Reborn No 10 (Or No 9)

Yoane Wissa’s 2025/26 campaign never really got going. An early injury stopped him before he could build rhythm, and he spent most of the year stuck on the fringes.

Eddie Howe kept insisting that the real Wissa would appear this season. So far, he’s keeping that promise.

The DR Congo international rode into the new campaign on the back of three World Cup goals and a pre-season brace against Valencia. He then opened his Premier League account for 2026/27 with an assist in a frantic 2-2 draw with Liverpool in Gameweek 1.

His role was intriguing. Wissa started in a slightly deeper No 10 position, linking play and drifting into pockets, before being pushed up front in the second half. In both roles, he looked dangerous and involved.

With William Osula (£6.0m) a possible fitness concern for Gameweek 2, that centre-forward spot could be there for Wissa to claim outright. If he nails that role in a Newcastle side with a soft-looking schedule, his £6.0m price tag will not stay under the radar for long.

The fixtures line up beautifully. None of Newcastle’s next nine matches rates above three in the FDR:

• GW2: Tottenham (A) – 3
• GW3: Bournemouth (H) – 3
• GW4: Leeds (A) – 3
• GW5: Hull (H) – 2
• GW6: Coventry (A) – 2
• GW7: Aston Villa (H) – 3
• GW8: Crystal Palace (A) – 3
• GW9: Everton (H) – 3
• GW10: Fulham (A) – 3

There’s another layer. Penalty duties are up for grabs after the departures of Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes (£7.0m). Wissa has converted 13 of his 15 career spot-kicks. If he ends up on 12-yard duties, his upside explodes.

Timothy Castagne (£4.5m, Fulham): Licence to Attack

Fulham’s fixture run is quietly turning heads.

Gameweeks 6-8 bring all three promoted sides in succession. Before that, they travel to Sunderland in Gameweek 2 and host Crystal Palace in Gameweek 3 – both fixtures that offer room for defensive returns and attacking raids from the back.

Timothy Castagne has already planted a flag. Against Chelsea on Monday, he produced two assists in a game that, on paper, looked far from ideal for a budget defender.

Anyone tracking Fulham in pre-season might have seen this coming. Under new head coach Alvaro Arbeloa, the full-backs were unleashed. Castagne, Ryan Sessegnon (£4.5m) and Antonee Robinson (£4.5m) combined for six attacking returns in Fulham’s final five warm-up matches, a clear sign of how Arbeloa wants his wide defenders to play.

Castagne spelt it out himself in pre-season: the full-backs have “licence to kill”, with both allowed to attack the box at the same time when the moment is right. Sessegnon’s goal from a Castagne cross in one of those friendlies summed up the approach.

That kind of freedom is gold at £4.5m. Clean sheets will come and go, but a defender with genuine attacking licence and a strong run of fixtures can transform a Fantasy back line.

Palmer, Saka, Wissa, Castagne: four players at different price points, all with form, roles and fixtures tilting in their favour. Gameweek 2 is often where early-season templates start to harden. The question is simple: will your squad move with the crowd, or jump ahead of it?