This article is part of our Setting the Table series.
Whether you think we are "already" two weeks into the Premier League season or "only" two weeks in, fantasy owners who spent big money on upper-tier players are considering whether to cut bait with their stars for guys like Riyad Mahrez, Arouna Kone and Nathan Redmond.Seven players have already scored multiple times this season: Mahrez (3), Redmond (2), Andre Ayew (2), Bafetimbi Gomis (2), Ross Barkley (2), Romelu Lukaku (2) and Vincent Kompany (2).
We also have six players with multiple assists through two gameweeks: Marc Albrighton (3), David Silva (3), Wes Hoolahan (3), Yaya Toure (2), James McArthur (2) and Kone (2).
A lot of preseason chatter was about how well Memphis Depay would adjust to playing in the Premier League for Manchester United and how Raheem Sterling would fit in at Manchester City after transferring from Liverpool. The combined results so far: zero goals, zero assists and 14 shots (half of which came from Memphis this past weekend), with only three on goal. Unfortunately, they're not the only ones without a goal or an assist: Harry Kane, Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez and Diego Costa match their totals.
Wayne Rooney is still without a goal but he picked up an assist in the opener after being the last touch on an own goal, and he has only taken two shots so far (both in the opener), with neither on target.
Of the 26 most expensive players in Fantasy Premier League (all are at least £8.0), only seven have reached double-digit points through two matches while nine haven't even reached five points.
| Highest Priced FPL Players | |||||
| Player | Team | Position | % Selected | Price | Points |
| Sergio Aguero | MCI | FWD | 21.7 | £13.1 | 7 |
| Eden Hazard | CHE | MID | 48.9 | £11.5 | 3 |
| Alexis Sanchez | ARS | MID | 10.4 | £11.0 | 6 |
| Diego Costa | CHE | FWD | 9.7 | £11.0 | 4 |
| Wayne Rooney | MUN | FWD | 35.9 | £10.5 | 7 |
| David Silva | MCI | MID | 13.4 | £10.0 | 17 |
| Harry Kane | TOT | FWD | 33.1 | £9.5 | 4 |
| Olivier Giroud | ARS | FWD | 12.3 | £9.0 | 9 |
| Cesc Fabregas | CHE | MID | 15.1 | £9.0 | 4 |
| Raheem Sterling | MCI | MID | 16.6 | £9.0 | 6 |
| Theo Walcott | ARS | MID | 5.4 | £8.8 | 1 |
| Yaya Toure | MCI | MID | 16.3 | £8.6 | 21 |
| Santi Cazorla | ARS | MID | 16.6 | £8.5 | 4 |
| Mesut Ozil | ARS | MID | 10.4 | £8.5 | 9 |
| Aaron Ramsey | ARS | MID | 7.0 | £8.5 | 4 |
| Oscar | CHE | MID | 2.3 | £8.5 | 6 |
| Christian Benteke | LIV | FWD | 40.6 | £8.5 | 11 |
| Juan Mata | MUN | MID | 8.3 | £8.5 | 11 |
| Memphis Depay | MUN | MID | 20.8 | £8.5 | 6 |
| Christian Eriksen | TOT | MID | 8.3 | £8.5 | 10 |
| Roberto Firmino | LIV | MID | 2.1 | £8.4 | 2 |
| Wilfried Bony | MCI | FWD | 1.7 | £8.4 | 6 |
| Romelu Lukaku | EVE | FWD | 13.6 | £8.1 | 18 |
| Philippe Coutinho | LIV | MID | 19.7 | £8.1 | 13 |
| Graziano Pelle | SOU | FWD | 15.5 | £8.0 | 6 |
| Sadio Mane | SOU | MID | 6.3 | £8.0 | 4 |
When you start constructing your fantasy lineups, the goal is to get as many upper-tier players as possible. While this always requires a good understanding of which lower-priced options will play enough to justify selection, fantasy players always want the big guns. However, it's not as easy as just taking any upper-tier player, plugging them into your lineup and moving on. While that strategy certainly worked with Luis Suarez a few years ago when he was at Liverpool, almost all of the best players in the Prem are struggling early this season.
Just take a look at this week's FPL Dream Team, where you'll find just one player with a starting salary over £8.0 (Silva):
In fact, if you had selected this team at the beginning of the season, you would have had £34.5 left over from your £100.0 budget:
| Gameweek 2 Dream Team | ||||
| Player | Team | Position | Points | Opening Price |
| Boaz Myhill | WBA | GK | 10 | £4.5 |
| Seamus Coleman | EVE | DEF | 11 | £6.0 |
| Vincent Kompany | MCI | DEF | 11 | £6.0 |
| Joel Ward | CRY | DEF | 10 | £4.5 |
| Ashely Williams | SWA | DEF | 9 | £5.0 |
| Nathan Redmond | NOR | MID | 11 | £5.5 |
| Ross Barkley | EVE | MID | 11 | £6.5 |
| David Silva | MCI | MID | 11 | £10.0 |
| Wes Hoolahan | NOR | MID | 10 | £5.0 |
| Riyad Mahrez | LEI | MID | 10 | £5.5 |
| Romelu Lukaku | EVE | FWD | 13 | £8.0 |
| Total | 117 | £66.5 | ||
My belief is that we're only two weeks into the season, not already two, and so I try to convince myself to be patient this early on. Hazard and Rooney are not going to go the entire season without a goal (though Hazard's high clean sheet total from last season may be unreachable) and Mahrez probably won't score 57 times (his career-high in England is four). But if these top players don't start producing, we could see a number of wildcards being used early.
