Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 1 Tips: Forwards

We’re now coming to the business end of the squad selection process as the transfer deadline for Fantasy Premier League gamweek 1 looms. The transfer deadline is 11:30am BST on 18th August which luckily gives all fantasy football managers enough chance to do some last minute tinkering, head scratching, and worrying. It also gives you all enough time to read our gameweek tips for gameweek 1. You can find our previous articles on goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders at the bottom of this post.

It’s now time to look at the strikers that we feel you should include in your gameweek 1 lineup. Our gameweek 1 tips cover Manchester City forwards, Chelsea Forwards as well as other differentials which could help you bag a decent return in the opening gameweek of the FPL 2012/13 season.

Our tip here is to look at 1, or 2 expensive, proven forwards, while also selecting a cheaper alternative you can can look at rotating depending on upcoming fixtures. Remember, it’s a double gameweek for Chelsea and Reading which somewhat influences the list below. Again remember you can only select 3 players from the same Premier League club; that’s why we’ve given you plenty of choices in our previous articles so that you can pick and choose between all the players we’ve suggested.

So here’s the list – our Fantasy Premier League gameweek 1 forward tips are as follows:

Fantasy Premier League Gameweek 1 Tips: Forward Tips

Fernando Torres – Chelsea – £10.0m (A) vs Wigan and (H) vs Reading

Torres is more than likely going to be Chelsea’s first choice forward this season. Rejuvinated after a summer where he scored in the final of Euro 2012, Torres also bagged a goal in the Community shield. With Drogba leaving for China, Torres finally has the chance to recapture his form, and will expect a lot more game time than last season.

Carlos Tevez or Sergio Aguero – Man City – £9.0m & £11.5m (H) vs Southampton

It’s a coin toss as to who you pick between Tevez and Aguero at the moment. Aguero perhaps just edges it, but Tevez was the architect that helped defeat Chelsea in last weekends curtain raiser, the Community Shield at Villa Park. And Tevez is also relatively cheap given the points he’s likely to earn fantasy managers this season – unless he swans off to Argentina again for several months!!!

Pavel Pogrebnyak – Reading – £5.0m – (H) vs Stoke City and (A) vs Chelsea

Pog did it last season with 6 goals in 12 for Fulham and he comes at a fantastic price if you want to start gameweek 1 with a budget striker alongside the likes of Torres, Tevez or Aguero. Pogrebnyak also plays twice so is definitely worth a punt.

Lukas Podolski – Arsenal – £8.5m (H) vs Sunderland

RVP’s replacement? It’s definitely worth a gamble given the £8.5m price tag. Podolski’s scoring record for both club and country in previous seasons speaks for itself.

Mladen Petric - Fulham – £6.0m (H) vs Norwich City

The former Hamburg ace joins Fulham under his previous boss Martin Jol. Petric had a record of 1 goal every 3 games for Hamburg, bagging 38 in 98 – not bad at £6million. Like other forwards, Petric is one to consider for gameweek 1, and can always be swapped for other similar priced forwards like Swansea’s Graham depending on fixtures.

One final note – We’ve not ruling out a goal from either Wayne Rooney or Robin van Persie on Monday night, it’s just that the fixture list lends itself slightly more to the above names in gameweek 1. Both Rooney and RVP are certain to feature in our tips as early as next gameweek.

Check back soon for captain tips ahead of gameweek 1, and a final suggested lineup. Good luck everyone.