FPL Gameweek 1 Tips: Captain, Best Picks & Team

We are almost there.

Our favorite competition Fantasy Premier League starts with Gameweek 1 in just a days. After a well-deserved rest, more than 6 million FPL managers are heading towards the 9-month-long marathon for a good finish in the global ranking and for victory in their mini-leagues.

Are you as excited as we are? We hope so.

We prepared for you a few (but important) pieces of advice before the start of the season, and as usual, our FPL GW1 Tips, where we also look at best picks, captain and our team selection.

If you are new to FPL and you are not completely familiar with this competition, we highly recommend you read our beginner’s guide: how to play Fantasy Premier League first. Then get back to this article.

Feel free to JOIN our Fantasy Football Reports mini-league by clicking this link or using our league code mbnplo.

Anyway, for our regular readers who are familiar with our content, let’s start with FPL GW1 Tips.

1. Fantasy Premier League 2024/25 Tips for Gameweek 1

1. Do not leave the selection of your squad for the last minute. If you want to take this season seriously, you should be 80-90% sure about your squad 2-3 days before the first kickoff. Decisions made just a few minutes before the deadline are usually bad, influenced by fear and emotions.
2. Speaking about emotions, you should eliminate them when selecting your GW1 team. You should build your squad on logic and data.
3. Use information from the previous seasons when picking your team. Look at players’ points from last season and seasons before. Are there any players that are able to repeat their strong performance year after year? If so, these are strong contenders for your GW1. They are safe options and could be the core of your FPL team throughout the whole season. Take a look at our article about the most reliable FPL players from previous seasons, you will find who these players are.
4. Look at the best FPL team from last season in our article: The best FPL team 2023/24. It is an analysis ex-post, and it shows which players we should have picked at the beginning of the last season and which was the best formation we should have used.
5. Do not take unnecessary risks with your GW1 squad. We have very little information about the upcoming season. We recommend you to play it safe, with low risk in the first gameweek. Go for reliable players and try to avoid players that we know nothing about. If you do want to take some risk, make sure you have it under control and that you select a maximum of 1 or 2 “risky” players.
6. Do not forget to consider players that are on set pieces and penalties. They could offer a great source of fantasy points.
7. Think long-term. Look at fixtures in GW2, GW3… How does your GW1 squad look for post-GW1 fixtures? Do you have good captaincy options for the following gameweeks?
8. If you think you found the team you like, your optimal GW1 squad, go through all positions in your squad and challenge every player in your team. Is this player the best option for this position? Do I really need (want) him in my team? Why did I pick him? And if you find yourself doubtful about some players, then maybe it is time to start tinkering again.
9. Do not forget to ask yourself one very important question: What did I overlook? We are human beings, and we always overlook something when making decision complex like this (selecting our GW1 team). Make sure you analyzed all data, that you went through all players, and that you made your decision best as you could.
10. FPL GW1 is always in complete chaos. Try to not chase points after it. Take a deep breath after the gameweek is over, and try to save a transfer for the next gameweek (unless some of your players get injured). You will have more information and data to make the right decision then.

Alright, so much for the FPL GW1 Tips. If you are interested in reading more about practical Fantasy Football Tips, go right to our article: 7 key tips for Fantasy Premier League Success.

Notes for the new season:

• Clean sheets are on a decline. In the last season (2023/24), there were 157 clean sheets, which is a big decline in comparison to the 2022/23 season when we saw 207 clean sheets. There were seasons (like 2020/21, 2021/22) where going big at the back was a good strategy, but now, it seems you should mainly focus on midfield and attack. 3-5-2 formations seem like the way to go. 
• You can carry up to 5 free transfers (and saved transfers are maintained even after playing Free Hit or Wildcard)
• There is a new “mystery chip” that will be revealed in January 2025

2. Way to improve your Fantasy Premier League skills

Perhaps this is your first FPL season and you are really excited about it. Or you are familiar with FPL but you could not crack that top 10k in previous seasons or beat your mini-league rivals.

Although FPL is a game where luck plays a certain role, it is also a game of skill. So, if you would like to improve your FPL game, you can only do it by making better decisions about your team.

These 11 recommendations will help you improve your game:

1. improve your game by getting quality information – if you do not have the best information, you cannot make the best decision, so you need to sacrifice some time to obtain/read them
2. learn from points distributions in previous seasons
3. make your own decisions and do not copy others
4. always think about the long-term big picture
5. never let emotions to make decisions instead of you
6. follow stats like shots or xG
7. think about moves before you make them
8. optimize your formation and ask yourself questions like – is this 7.5 million forward going to score more goals than this 6.0 million defender?
9. Listen to QUALITY podcasts
10. follow the right people on the FPL Twitter
11. Read good books about FPL.

Our further reading about improving FPL skills:

• 6 Books that will help you improve your FPL skills
• 13 Tips How to Get Better at Fantasy Football
• The Law of Large Numbers and its Role in FPL
• 7 Similarities Between FPL and Stock Market and How to Use Them

3. Key players to own in FPL 2024/25

Key players

• Haaland or Salah (hard to fit them both into your team without sacrificing balance) – your captains in almost any gameweek
• Saka – stable output over the last few years, on pens, great fixtures for Arsenal
• Gabriel/Saliba – Arsenal had the best defense in the last season, they can keep clean sheets in any game
• Gvardiol – an amazing source of fantasy points at the end of last season, however, in the new season his points output could be smaller depending on the position he plays
• Isak – key man for Newcastle, on penalties, good fixtures

Other great picks to consider

• Alexander Arnold – offers an attacking threat, registered 8 or more attacking returns on each of the last 6 seasons
• Eze – a key man for Crystal Palace, carries good form from the finish of the previous season, on penalties and set pieces
• Odegaard/Haverz – if you are looking for an Arsenal triple-up which could be a good strategy as their players were an amazing source of points in the last season, and they are similarly priced this season. (Saka and Gabriel are our preferred ARS players)
• Son – We know he can do it. Very low ownership, but he beat 200 points in 3 of last 4 seasons.
• Mitoma – Brighton is strong in the attack, you will likely need their attacking coverage over their good fixture run
• Mbeumo – if he did not get injured last season, he could easily have been among top scoring midfielders in the last season
• Bruno Fernandes – key player for United with stable points output over the last few years
• Watkins – the main man for Villa, only a small price increase from the last season, but still could offer exceptional value
• Nkunku – very good preseason form, cheap price

Differentials to consider

• Minteh – new Brighton player with good preseason form, but could be rotated
• Ward-Prowse – stable FPL output – could get to around 150 points even in this season
• Wood – good fixture run for Nottingham
• Jacob Murphy – really amazing preseason form for Newcastle, very good opening 2 fixtures.

Read more:

• Best FPL Goalkeepers to pick in 2024/25
• Goalkeepers with the most saves over the last 3 seasons
• Best FPL Defenders to pick in 2024/25
• Best FPL Midfielders to pick in 2024/25
• Best FPL Forwards to pick in 2024/25
• FPL Differentials to consider for 2024/25

4. Fixtures to target in Gameweek 1

In which fixtures we could expect a lot of fantasy points? Fixtures to target in GW1 according to bookies odds:

• Arsenal vs. Wolves: The Gunners 82 % to win, 50 % to score 2.5+ goals
• Newcastle vs. Southampton: Newcastle 72 % to win, 48 % to score 2.5+ goals
• Ipswich vs. Liverpool: Liverpool 71 % to win, 45 % to score 2.5+ goals
• Manchester United vs. Fulham: The Red Devils 63 % to win, 39 % to score 2.5+ goals

Find 2.5+ goals odds for all teams in our article: Premier League Over 2.5 Goals Odds.

Teams to target over the next few gameweeks

• Nottingham Forrest – very good 3 opening fixtures, you could consider one of Gibbs-White/Wood/Elanga/Hodson-Odoi (this is our preferred order)
• Arsenal – The fixtures does not matter with them. Despite that, GW1 – GW3 run is pretty good. However, we think you should not really think about fixtures when considering Arsenal assets. Arsenal could be the strongest team of this season, and they can score and keep a clean sheet against anyone. We think you should pick at least two of their players. Saka (key man, penalties) + Gabriel (superior goal threat to Saliba) are our preferred duo. Arsenal triple-up is also on the cards and could work very well.
• Liverpool – amazing fixture run GW1 – GW7. There could be a lot of fantasy points for the Reds in this run. Salah could be your captain in almost any of these 7 matches – that would allow you to save 2.5m against Haaland, then after GW6 or GW7 (City have Fulham), you could switch your heavy hitters from Salah to Haaland on wildcard
• Man. City – tricky fixture against (leaky) Chelsea defense in the GW1 but after that, nice 3 fixtures
• Newcastle – you want their attacking players mainly for GW1 and GW2. Newcastle was third for xG last season, their attacking strength is undeniable
• Everton – their toughest matches will come between GW15 – GW18. So you can easily start the season with Pickford in goal and forget about him until GW14

5. Best captain pick in Gameweek 1

Do not overcomplicate the captaincy pick in the Gameweek 1. Just pick the best player in the game or the player you think will score the most points.

We are currently on Salah captain – the fixture is great, and so far, he always delivered fantasy points in GW1 since playing for Liverpool.

If you want to learn more about picking a captain in the Fantasy Premier League, go to our article: How to pick a captain in FPL.

Differential captain: Saka – Arsenal are top for over 2.5 goals odds in GW1. Fitness should not be an issue as Saka collected some minutes in the last 2 preseason friendlies.

Our captaincy index agrees. According to our captaincy index, Salah is the best captain in FPL Gameweek 1 with a captaincy index score of 1.55. Saka (captaincy index score 1.44) is the number 2 captaincy pick and Son (1.35) is number 3.

6. What bookies odds say about GW1

At Fantasy Football Reports, we often use bookmakers odds to help us with our fantasy decisions.

We convert them into probabilities with our Odds to probability calculator, to get an overview of: who is most likely to score each GW, and which teams are most likely to keep a clean sheet.

Clean Sheet Odds for GW1

You can check the GW1 clean sheet odds here. Bookies favor mainly  Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle to perform well defensively in the first gameweek of the season.

They also expect only 4.47 clean sheets in the GW1, which is more than 4.13 clean sheets per gameweek that we witnessed last season.

That suggests that there could be more clean sheets in the GW1 than we are used to in an average gameweek of the last season. However, it is still a big decline in comparison to 2022/23 season when we saw 5.45 clean sheets per gameweek.

Speaking about clean sheets, we found out that there are teams that are able to keep almost the same amount of clean sheets every season. They could be greate source of defensive points in FPL. Check which teams we talk about in the article: Most stable defensive teams.

Goalscoring odds for GW1

Check who leads any time goalscoring odds for GW1 here: Premier League Goalsocring Odds.

7. Bench fodders for your FPL team

Which cheap players will likely start for their teams? These players could be cheap options for your bench if you plan to maximize the budget of your starting XI (and we recommend you do that).

• Goalkeepers: There is no starting 4.0m goalkeeper currently. So, avoid highly owned 4m goalkeepers (Turner, Fabianski), as they will likely drop to 3.9m early due to high ownership
• Defenders: Robinson, Konsa, Andersen, Burn are great 4.5m option. In the 4.0m price bracket: Faes, Harwood-Bellisare expected to be regular starters for their teams. Barco should start GW1 but will likely be a rotation risk after that.
• Midfielders: Harry Winks and Sangaré should be starting 4.5m midfielders, Winks is more nailed of the two. Rogers and Bobb (both 5m) – excellent form in the preseason, could potential start few games at the beginning of the season, but likely will not be regular starters in long run, so we are avoiding them. Semenyo and Brereton Diaz (classified as 5.5m midfielders, should play OOP as forwards for their teams)
• Forwards: No starting 4.5m forward, but we think Jebbison could get some game time after Solanke transfer. If you are looking for a budget forward, 5.5m Joao Pedro could be your pick.

8. Scout team selection for FPL GW1

Here is our current selection for the start of the season (for GW1 and beyond). We decided to spread Haaland funds around the team. Plan is likely to get Haaland in GW7 for Salah during fixture swing.

9. Fantasy Premier League Tips

Find more tips, strategies and picks for Fantasy Premier League in these articles:

• Beginner? Read our guide: How to play Fantasy Premier League
• Confused about the rules? Read the Official rules of the game or check our FAQs
• Want to beat your mini-league rivals? This article is for you: 7 Key Tips for Fantasy Premier League Success
• Interested in improving your decision-making process when picking players to your fantasy team? Check out Books that will help you to improve your FPL skills

Hopefully, our FPL GW1 Tips helped to get you in the picture before the first kick-off. However, at the end of the day, it is all about you and your decision-making process. We want to inspire you, show you things to focus on and what to not overlook.

Now it is up to you to make your own research to complete your GW1 squad and make the right decisions about your FPL team.

Good luck in Gameweek 1!