Fantasy Challenge Gameweek 2 is here, and this week’s twist is “The Promoted”, where players from Sunderland, Leeds and Burnley earn double points. Who are the best FPL picks from those sides? Let’s dig into Opta’s Premier League data to find out.
Gameweek 2 of FPL Challenge is here and it’s time to weigh up the options from Sunderland, Leeds United and Burnley. That’s because in ruleset for GW2, players from the promoted clubs will score double points.
Gameweek 1 was a strong start for Opta Analyst. Our captain pick of Hugo Ekitiké delivered in style, scoring and assisting on his Premier League debut. Thanks to the Instant Impact rule and the captain’s armband, he basically scored quadruple points and got us off to a flying start with 44 from him alone.
Elsewhere, Mohammed Kudus (two assists) and Rayan Cherki (a goal) also hauled nicely, and goalkeeper Lucas Perri bagged us a clean sheet. But there were blanks from El Hadji Malick Diouf (in a very poor West Ham display) and João Pedro (Chelsea weren’t much better).
Still, it was a strong start. The team scored 94 points and we sit within the top 1% of players worldwide with a global rank of 2,168.
Now onto Gameweek 2. With Leeds away to Arsenal and Burnley hosting Sunderland, we’ve got quite a tricky set of fixtures to navigate. But as always, we’ll lean on Opta data to analyse the best picks.
We’ll also be making use of our new Player Match Predictions, which model a player’s projected statistical output for their next game.
Sunderland
The Black Cats’ Premier League return began in style, and of the three promoted sides, they look the most appealing to target.
Both their meetings with Burnley in the Championship last season were cagey – a 1-0 home win and a 0-0 draw at Turf Moor.
In fact, there’s been just one goal scored between the teams in their last three clashes. Given goals may be scarce, defensive options come into play. And where better to start that with the highest-scoring player in the entire game from Gameweek 1?
DEF – Dan Ballard
One of the players responsible for Sunderland getting to the Premier League in the first place, Dan Ballard is no stranger to a headed goal. He headed in a dramatic 122nd-minute equaliser against Coventry City in the play-off semi-final at the end of last season to send them to Wembley, and he was again on the scoresheet for the Black Cats at the weekend.
He scored Sunderland’s crucial second goal, rising highest in the box to head in a cross from Simon Adingra (another one of our Gameweek 1 recommendations). Ballard is a genuine aerial threat in the attacking box: he scored three headers in the Championship last season (only Bobby Thomas managed more among defenders) and had four shots – all headers – against West Ham, at least twice as many as any teammate.
Defensively, Sunderland were excellent too. Yes, West Ham were poor, but Régis Le Bris’ side conceded just 0.56 expected goals, the second-lowest total of the weekend after Newcastle (0.20).
At the heart of that defence, Ballard racked up 13 defensive contributions, mainly through clearances (9). That confirmed a dominance in the air that he displayed last season, winning 73% of his aerial duels in the Championship. Those numbers are on par with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and James Tarkowski.
Dan Ballard Aerials Won - Championship 2024-25
Granted, Sunderland will expect to see more of the ball against Burnley than against West Ham and will hope to defend less, but we like Ballard a lot as a presence in both boxes.
MID – Simon Adingra
Adingra’s creativity helped set up Ballard’s opener last weekend, and his profile is interesting here. Spurs’ Mohammed Kudus tore Burnley apart down their left in Gameweek 1. After the opening matchday, no player can better the Ghanaian’s five chances created, two assists and three successful crosses, as he ran riot in behind Burnley’s left wing-back Quilindschy Hartman.
Adingra has a similar dribbling skillset and could find joy in the same areas.
FWD – Eliezer Mayenda
Another goalscorer from Sunderland’s opening-day win, Eliezer Mayenda is another option as a potential double-points scorer. The Spaniard opened the scoring against West Ham with a really difficult header, outleaping the much taller Nayef Aguerd to steer the ball home.
The 20-year-old ended last season strongly, totalling 10 goals and five assists, including two in the play-offs. Those 15 goal involvements were tied with fellow forward Wilson Isidor for the most for Sunderland.
Eliezer Maydneda goal involvements - Sunderland Championship 2024-25
Statistically speaking, there’s not a whole lot different in the underlying shooting numbers of Mayenda and Isidor, but Mayenda has greater positional versatility, given he is able to drift across the front line. It looks like he is the first-choice striker for now.
Mayenda is an intriguing option, though perhaps less of an inviting one than Ballard when you weigh him up against forwards with the scoring potential like Erling Haaland.
Burnley
From an FPL Challenge perspective, Burnley are a trickier prospect to navigate. In the traditional FPL game, their cheaper options like goalkeeper Martin Dubravka or defender Maxime Estève (both £4.0) are excellent enablers, but with no budget restrictions here, they lose their appeal. Still, there are some intriguing picks.
MID – Josh Cullen
Josh Cullen was one of the few bright sparks from Burnley’s opening-day 3-0 loss to Spurs. The captain created five chances, matching Kudus for the most in the game and the entire matchday (along with Bruno Fernandes), and he had more touches of the ball than any other teammate. He also added 12 defensive contributions, which gave him two bonus points despite the scoreline.
MID – Jaidon Anthony
Jaidon Anthony was Burnley’s biggest attacking threat against Tottenham, leading the team with four shots in total. Opta’s Player Match Predictions model expects more of the same from his next weekend – he’s projected to attempt the most shots of anyone on the pitch in Gameweek 2 (2.55), and also ranks top for projected assists (0.22). He’s classified as a midfielder in the game, which gives him an extra edge, and his link-up with Lyle Foster showed promise.
If you’re looking for a Burnley option, Anthony feels like the standout.
Leeds United
And then there’s Leeds. The Whites face the toughest task of all this weekend – a trip to Arsenal. With double points on offer, it’s tempting to force a Leeds player into our team, but the data suggests caution.
Arsenal’s defensive record remains superb, and their gutsy 1-0 win at Old Trafford proved that once again. They conceded just 0.8 expected goals per game in home league matches last season, and in the six fixtures they played against the three promoted clubs, they conceded 2.1 expected goals altogether (0.35 xG against per game).
Leeds may struggle to get joy at either end of the pitch, and you could argue that even with the double-points bonus, they aren’t worth the risk.
Opta Analyst’s Gameweek 2 FPL Challenge Picks
Our favourite two plays this week from the promoted sides are Sunderland’s Dan Ballard and Burnley’s Jaidon Anthony. But, awkwardly, they face each other and that limits our upside.
Given the historically low-scoring nature the Burnley vs Sunderland fixture, we’re going to opt with Ballard in defence.
We’re going to oppose Leeds United and go with David Raya in goal, with the Gunners a strong bet for a clean sheet. In midfield, Cole Palmer is too involved and too talented not to explode on any given day.
Erling Haaland picks himself at centre-forward, and while we were tempted to roll with Hugo Ekitiké once more, the fact his teammate Mohamed Salah is on penalties sways our decision.
Lastly, fresh off an impressive brace at Liverpool, we have opted for Antoine Semenyo as a slight differential pick facing a Wolves side who look likely to struggle this season.
Opta Analyst FPL Challenge Gameweek 2 Selections
Premier League Stats Opta
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