Fantasy Premier League Targets for Gameweek 2: Palmer, Saka, Wissa, Castagne
Four names, one deadline. With the Gameweek 2 cut-off looming at 18:30 BST on Friday, Fantasy Premier League managers looking to make an early statement have a clear set of targets emerging from the pack.
Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Yoane Wissa and Timothy Castagne all arrive with form, opportunity and – crucially – the kind of underlying numbers that win mini-leagues before autumn has even settled in.
Palmer back in full colour
Cole Palmer didn’t just return. He exploded.
Chelsea’s 3-2 win at Fulham on Monday was his first double-digit haul in over six months, but the headline goal and assist only told part of the story. Palmer’s four shots in the box were more than he managed in any single match last season. His eight successful take-ons were the highest of his Premier League career.
That’s not a player easing into a new campaign. That’s a player being handed the keys.
Early signs suggest Xabi Alonso might be the manager to drag Palmer back to the heights of 2023/24, when the midfielder racked up a huge 244 Fantasy points. Any lingering concern over his Gameweek 1 substitution was brushed aside by Alonso on Wednesday, the Chelsea head coach insisting Palmer is “absolutely fine” after a brief injury flag in the game.
Brighton & Hove Albion now head to Stamford Bridge, a fixture Palmer will relish. The last time he faced the Seagulls at home, he scored four times. Managers don’t need much more encouragement than that.
Saka’s minutes fear? Gone in 67
Plenty of managers swerved Bukayo Saka in Gameweek 1. On paper, it made sense. Just 30 minutes of pre-season, a late return from England duty at the FIFA World Cup, and whispers about reduced minutes.
Mikel Arteta ignored all of it.
Saka went straight into Arsenal’s starting XI against Coventry City and marked his return with a goal in a 3-0 victory. He lasted 67 minutes – enough to build fitness, enough to silence doubts over his immediate game-time.
Last season he averaged 5.7 points per start. Those who gambled against him might not get another cheap route back in.
The fixtures don’t scream “easy”. Aston Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland are all rated at three or higher on the Fixture Difficulty Ratings. On paper, that usually cools interest. On the pitch, though, those three sides shipped eight goals between them in Gameweek 1.
Villa look particularly fragile. They were hammered 4-0 and lost their midfield protector Joao Gomes to suspension. That’s exactly the kind of soft centre Saka has feasted on before.
Wissa’s second act in Newcastle colours
Yoane Wissa’s 2025/26 campaign barely got going. An early injury wrecked his rhythm and left Eddie Howe repeatedly insisting that the real version of the DR Congo international would only appear in 2026/27.
That prediction is starting to land.
Wissa carried his World Cup form – three goals on the global stage – straight into pre-season, scoring twice against Valencia. He then opened his Premier League campaign with an assist in Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool, shining in an entertaining four-goal contest.
He started in a tweaked No 10 role, drifting between the lines, before being pushed into a central striker position in the second half. That positional flexibility could now become a Fantasy goldmine, especially with William Osula a possible fitness concern for Gameweek 2. If the striker spot opens up, Wissa is right in line to claim it.
The schedule only sweetens the appeal. None of Newcastle’s next nine fixtures rates above three on 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 to this. With Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes both gone, penalty duties at Newcastle are up for grabs. Wissa has converted 13 of his 15 career spot-kicks. If he steps up from 12 yards, his £6.0m price tag starts to look like a mistake.
Castagne and Fulham’s licence to attack
Timothy Castagne is not the obvious name most managers rush to after a 3-2 home defeat. That’s exactly why he might be the right one.
Fulham’s fixtures turn kindly. Gameweeks 6-8 bring all three promoted clubs in succession. Before that, Sunderland away and Crystal Palace at home offer two more matches that can be attacked, especially from the flanks.
Castagne has already shown what this new Fulham side can offer from full-back. He produced two assists against Chelsea, thriving in Alvaro Arbeloa’s aggressive set-up.
Anyone paying attention in pre-season will have spotted the pattern. Fulham’s full-backs were heavily involved: Castagne, Ryan Sessegnon and Antonee Robinson combined for six attacking returns across the club’s final five warm-up matches.
Castagne explained the mindset himself before the campaign began: pick the right moments, then “we have licence to kill”. Both full-backs are encouraged to attack at the same time, to flood the box, to overload. Sessegnon’s goal from a Castagne cross in pre-season was no accident. It was a template.
At £4.5m, with that level of attacking licence and a soft run of fixtures approaching, Castagne offers exactly what Fantasy managers crave from a budget defender: clean-sheet potential wrapped in real attacking threat.
Gameweek 2 may still feel early in the season. But these are the weeks when bold calls separate those chasing from those being chased.
