Teams to target: Manchester City, Arsenal & Brighton
Burnley vs. Manchester City
Burnley’s return to the Premier League couldn’t be a harder one when they welcome champions Manchester City to Turf Moor on Friday night.
After his record breaking debut campaign, Erling Haaland has been selected by 86.5% of managers going into the new season.
You are a braver manager than me if you don’t captain Haaland in GW1, let alone go without the Norwegian forward and he’s a lock in a GW1 dream team.
The unpredictability of Pep Guardiola’s team selection means I’d likely only want the one extra City asset, unless there is a team leak before the game.
Nathan Ake, John Stones, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden are all good options, although the latter is very much a rotation risk, having not started in the Community Shield.
Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest
The Gunners are perhaps the banker of the opening round of fixtures when they welcome a depleted Nottingham Forest side to the Emirates.
Arsenal hit Forest for five in the meeting last season and although I’m expecting a few less this time around, they should still record a comfortable win.
No side collected fewer points on the road last season than Forest and they go into the season having been humiliated in pre-season by Rennes.
From a GW1 Dream Team perspective, an Arsenal triple up appears the way to go, with at least two of their midfield options imperative.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are just preferred for me, although Martin Odegaard is not a bad selection by any means.
Defensively I just prefer Gabriel, with his set piece threat giving him the edge over William Saliba, whilst Ben White’s 5.5 price tag means he’s the least appealing defender.
Brighton vs. Luton Town
Brighton kicked on under Roberto de Zerbi last season, with a record Premier League finish and points total enough to secure a Europa League spot.
They have been given a favourable fixture list to start the 23-24 campaign off with and they welcome Premier League newboys Luton Town to the Amex on Saturday.
De Zerbi has an incredible amount of attacking options at his disposal this term and long term there is a real rotation risk across the board.
However it’s safe to assume they will line up in familiar fashion, meaning the likes of Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma will be deployed out wide.
Pascal Gross has featured as a full-back in pre-season and it appears probable he won’t be on penalties either, meaning he’s not a viable option.
Alongside either Mitoma or March, the defensive option of Pervis Estupinan appears the way to go.
Opposition to target: Sheffield United & Wolves
Sheffield United vs. Crystal Palace
Despite a return to the Premier League, Sheffield United’s squad appears to be weaker heading into the season and as a result, the atmosphere is negative.
Their two best players have either left or are on the verge of departing the club, having sold Iliman Ndiaye to Marseille, whilst Sande Berge is close to a move to Burnley.
So far they’ve made just three first team additions, the stand out being Aaron Trusty who had a decent campaign with Birmingham City last year.
Crystal Palace ended the 22-23 campaign in superb form and will fancy their chances of an opening day win here.
Sam Johnstone and Eberechi Eze are the two stand out picks, the latter appears a shoe-in for a GW1 dream team.
Manchester United vs. Wolves
Wolves have endured a nightmare pre-season, culminating in the departure of Julian Lopetegui on the eve of their opening fixture.
Frustrated with the lack of signings, Lopetegui left the club by mutual consent on Tuesday, just six days before they travel to face Manchester United.
Matt Doherty’s return is their only major addition, whilst the likes of Ruben Neves, Adama Troare, Raul Jimenez and Joao Moutinho have all left the club.
Manchester United have looked good without being superb in pre-season, but their favourable opening game means at least two of their assets are required.
A double up of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford is a real possibility, although just the latter may well be enough.
Defensively it appears to be either Luke Shaw or Andre Onana, with a slight preference for the Cameroon goalkeeper.
GW1 Dream Team: Onana; Estupinan, Ake, Gabriel; Saka, Martinelli, Rashford, Eze, Mitoma; Haaland (C), Pedro
