sport news FPL PREVIEW: Kane drops in price as managers rush to Haaland... how FPL shapes ... trends now

The Premier League's long-awaited opening weekend brought about excitement, drama and entertainment as it often does - but plenty also went according to the script as far as FPL was concerned.

While few predicted Fulham's fearless display at Craven Cottage, holding Liverpool to a 2-2 draw, heavily-captained Mohamed Salah (£13.0m) delivered a goal and assist to repay the managers who trusted in him despite his hefty price tag. 

A sensational two-goal performance at West Ham from Erling Haaland (£11.6m) proved just how lethal he can be leading the line at Manchester City, having already linked up with star playmaker Kevin de Bruyne (£12.0m) for the second goal. 

Son Heung-min (£12.0m) and Harry Kane (£11.4m) owners can count themselves unlucky, with neither premium asset scoring in Spurs' 4-1 thrashing of Southampton in north London.

Meanwhile, routine wins and clean sheets for Chelsea and Arsenal against Everton and Crystal Palace respectively reinforced the value of defensive assets such as Reece James (£6.0m), Ben Chilwell (£6.0m), Oleksandr Zinchenko (£5.1m) and Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.0m).

With over 8.5million FPL managers readying their squads for GW2, Sportsmail has analysed key performances from GW1 and identified the best transfers and captaincy picks ahead of Saturday's deadline.

Haaland is the real deal

One of the major talking points ahead of GW1 was whether FPL managers should opt for Kane's reliability and proven Premier League quality against Southampton or gamble on the shiny and exciting new prospect of Haaland against West Ham.

The reality is - there was no wrong answer. One of the key aspects of FPL is reacting to the decision-making process rather than the outcome. As many predicted, Spurs thrashed Southampton 4-1 and on another day Kane would have walked away with a double-digit haul. Instead, he bagged just two points.

Meanwhile, despite Haaland's lack of Premier League experience, it was fairly obvious from his movement and hunger in the Community Shield that the new signing would prosper at Man City. 

Choosing the ex-Dortmund star over Kane - particularly if it was with the view of captaining him in GW2 against Bournemouth - was a shrewd decision. The foresight behind selecting Haaland has put those who backed him ahead of the curve, as most Kane owners scramble to get him in ahead of the weekend.

We had the feeling that we could find him more. Now we have him and when the defence is high with open space, these guys have to find him. When you have this open space and Kevin (de Bruyne), it’s difficult to stop him.

For what it is worth, there is certainly an argument to keep Kane, especially if swapping him for Haaland would require a four-point hit due this week's price change. After Chelsea in GW2, Kane faces Wolves, Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Fulham - and Salah could easily match Haaland in a one-week shootout against Crystal Palace as far as captaincy is concerned.

That being said, Haaland's performance against West Ham was nothing short of devastating. It is no surprise that the Norwegian is the most transferred-in player ahead of GW2.

Having learned from their mistakes in the Community Shield, Man City aimed to feed Haaland at every opportunity against West Ham. Even Pep Guardiola confirmed this plan after the match, feeling his side even missed opportunities to supply him. 

The Spaniard said: 'We had the feeling that we could find him more. Now we have him and when the defence is high with open space, these guys have to find him. When you have this open space and Kevin (de Bruyne), it’s difficult to stop him.'

Despite Bournemouth's 2-0 win over Aston Villa, the prospect of Man City playing a promoted team in GW2 is extremely attractive - and Haaland has every chance of matching or bettering his GW1 return against the Cherries.

Nunez set for a goal explosion

Jurgen Klopp lauded the 'impact' Darwin Nunez made in the Community Shield against Man City, and the Uruguayan delivered off the bench once again at Craven Cottage.

Although there is no guarantee he starts against Crystal Palace, Nunez is quickly riveting the gaze of numerous FPL managers, with over 200,000 teams having already recruited his services this week.

The 23-year-old has demonstrated a knack of hogging all the opportunities created by Liverpool in both the Community Shield and the 2-2 draw at Fulham.

Nunez registered three big chances after his introduction in the 51st minute and had four shots on Marek Rodak's goal.

The very small sample size of data assembled on Liverpool's new striker suggests that he will score bucket loads of goals under Klopp.

However, whilst he is firmly on Sportsmail's watchlist, Nunez has yet to start a match for the Reds and remains a risk at this stage.

He could well explode against Crystal Palace in GW2, but the wisest move may be to wait and see if he continues to impact the Liverpool attack in this way.

Man United flatter to deceive

Different manager, same results.

Last campaign, Manchester United faded into the abyss as far as FPL was concerned, and Erik ten Hag's first match in charge of Brighton on Saturday did not inspire confidence.

After their torrid 2021-22 season, FPL slashed the price of United assets to tempt managers, offering Bruno Fernandes up at £10m, Jadon Sancho at £7.5m and Marcus Rashford at £6.5m.

But Saturday's lacklustre performance at Old Trafford showed just how monumental the task is for Ten Hag to turn the tide - and FPL managers should be put off by his players until the dark clouds begin to clear.

With Brentford up next, there is certainly

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