FPL: 5 Players To Consider For Gameweek 3

Despite joining the club back in 2018, goalkeeper Jason Steele only found himself given a regular berth in the Brighton starting XI a little over halfway into last season, with the 33-year-old playing in every game bar one of Brighton’s last 16 matches.

But, despite the Seagulls securing the signing of the highly-rated Bart Verbruggen for 16m from Anderlecht earlier this summer, it seems Steele’s place as the Seagulls’ No.1 is safe, with the Englishman starting both of Brighton’s two opening Premier League fixtures so far and seemingly having the full backing of Roberto De Zerbi.

Steele, with a price of just £4.5m on FPL and 5 points already to his name following Brighton’s two wins, is a fantastic choice for anyone looking for a cheap yet solid goalkeeper. Just 5.4% of FPL players currently have the goalkeeper in their teams, and with Brighton likely to have yet another very impressive season in tandem with their next few fixtures all being very winnable, putting a player like Jason Steele in your side could be invaluable in getting you those additional points.

Following on from their nervy win over Crystal Palace on Monday night to make it two wins from their opening two fixtures, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side will now turn their attention to their upcoming clash with Fulham this Saturday afternoon, and in what should be a simple win for the Gunners, expect Martin Odegaard to have a big impact on proceedings.

The Norwegian had a scintillating 2022/23 campaign in which he scored 15 Premier League goals, and Odegaard scored his first of this season against Crystal Palace on Monday. Now considering the fact that Fulham will be downhearted after being comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Brentford last weekend alongside the fact that Odegaard scored against the Cottagers in both home and away league games last season, the Norwegian is almost certainly going to end up with a huge points haul when Arsenal take on Fulham.

At £8.5m, the 24-year-old is on the pricier end of the spectrum, but he is a surefire points-getter and will almost certainly add to the 13 he has already accumulated this Saturday.

Brentford have started off their last two seasons in the Premier League with both a win and a draw from their opening two fixtures, and they would go on to secure respective 13th-place and 9th-place finishes in those two seasons.

The Bees have started this new season in the exact same form (drawing 2-2 with Tottenham on the opening day before securing a 3-0 win against Fulham last weekend), which bodes well for them as they look to secure another solid mid-table finish or higher. And key to these aspirations will be forward Yoane Wissa, who, alongside Bryan Mbeumo, will have to shoulder the goalscoring burden left in the wake of the absence of Ivan Toney.

Despite not being a starter for most of last season, shown by the fact he made more appearances in the league from the bench than in the starting XI, Wissa still bagged a somewhat respectable 7 goals, and he has already scored two in two matches this season, showing manager Thomas Frank he can be relied upon when needed.

Coming up against a Crystal Palace side who will be frustrated after suffering a narrow defeat to Arsenal on Monday night, Wissa will surely be able to carry on his hot run of form and bag a third goal in as many games – while still somewhat pricey at £6.1m, the DR Congo international is a smart, under-the-radar pick for FPL players.

Aston Villa’s new record signing is French winger Moussa Diaby, who joined the club from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for a fee reported to be in the region of £52m.

Villa have paid such a large fee, not only because they needed a new outlet on the flanks following the disappointments that have been both Leon Bailey and Bertrand Traore, but also because they feel that Diaby is a very underrated player who can truly flourish in the Premier League and achieve more with them career-wise than he could have at Leverkusen. Diaby’s output has been increasing incrementally ever since the 2019/20 campaign, when he scored 8 and assisted 8, with the following season seeing him bag 10 goals and 15 assists in all competitions.

2021/22 saw Diaby have the best season of his career so far with 17 goals and 14 assists in all competitions, before dropping slightly last season with 14 goals and 11 assists. The possibility of Diaby repeating his exploits of 2021/22 is a part of why Villa signed Diaby, and he would be considered well worth the huge outlay on him if he can do so.

At £6.6m on FPL, the Frenchman is certainly not cheap, currently more expensive than players like Bernardo Silva, Brennan Johnson and Michael Olise, but there is a reason why he has been given that price. Diaby already has 10 points to his name from two games having gotten off the mark on his debut against Newcastle, and with Villa travelling to Turf Moor to take on lowly Burnley this weekend, it is likely we could see Diaby add to that points total with further goal involvements.

Sasa Kalajdzic joined Wolves this time last year, the striker making the move from Stuttgart in the Bundesliga to Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Premier League. But the Austrian striker has only played two matches for the club since joining, his appearances totalling up to just 47 minutes of action since his £15m move.

But, it was through no fault of his own, with the striker suffering a devastating ACL injury on his debut against Southampton in September 2022 meaning that he missed essentially all of the 2022/23 campaign.

The Austrian has now recovered and made his return to action during Wolves’ first league fixture of the season, coming on as a very late substitute against Manchester United and was hard done by in not receiving a penalty after being clattered into by United goalkeeper Andre Onana. Now following defeat to Brighton last Saturday, Wolves’ next match is against struggling Everton, and this is a great opportunity for the West Midlands side to get their first win and set of points on the board this season.

Potentially key to that will be Kalajdzic, who will be looking to get his first start of this season and also his first goal for Wolves when they come up against a poor Everton side who are already looking like they will be in yet another relegation battle this season. At just £5.0m, Kalajdzic is a very cheap option who could be partnered up front with a much more expensive FPL striker such as an Erling Haaland or Callum Wilson.

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