NUFC FPL Watch: GW1 - Big Joe Delivers; Tripps Backers Suffer

A few weeks ago, we discussed our top NUFC players to Pick, Risk and Avoid in FPL for the new 24-25 season... and it's fair to say our recommendations enjoyed mixed results on Gameweek One.

The big news, was of course, Fabian Schar's red card. Fab was our key pick for Defence, but if you followed our advice with the hotheaded Swiss; you'll have banked a penalty of -2 points for your team, and a three-game ban for the expensive defender* (*it remains to be seen whether Newcastle will appeal the decision).

But how did our other player tips fare? Read on to find out!

Mixed Results for Newcastle's Backline

While Schar's red card made him the big disappointment for NUFC-focused FPL punters, there was also bad news for another expensive, highly-owned Newcastle defender...

Kieran Trippier spent most of the summer at the Euros with England, meaning he had a delayed holiday and only featured in Newcastle's final friendly of the pre-season; the 1-0 victory over Brest on August 10th.

The emergence of Tino Livramento has also thrown a spanner in the works for those who spent £6M on the usually dependable Tripps, and with the 33-year old's future still in doubt, we've been proved absolutely right in our analysis that he was one to avoid. As a result of all the above, he got zero minutes, which means 0 points.

Delight for Backers of Bargain Defenders

Another correct call was to look towards the likes of Lewis Hall as a budget 4.5M option. We earmarked Hall for his impressive displays in pre-season and for his willingness to bomb forward; something he didn't manage to do v Southampton due to the early red card. He was booked for a naive pull on a Saints shirt early on, costing him a one-point deduction, but still rewarded backers with 5 points.

Backers of Trippier's Right Back alternative got even further rewards, with Tino Livramento (also 4.5M) avoiding a caution and also gaining a bonus point to finish on 7 points.

The Midfield Mystery... Persevere with Murphy? Hold Back on Big Joe?

Again, the repercussions of Ben Brereton-Diaz's histrionics were felt in two of our key picks in midfield for Newcastle. Anthony Gordon remained on the pitch and managed to avoid a booking that seemed likely given the winger's previous love of touchline handbags. The popular FPL-owned winger collected a clean sheet point for his troubles (3 points).

His fellow winger (and our risky pre-season recommendation) Jacob Murphy wasn't so lucky; sacrificed for Emil Krafth after the red card to shore up the defence. 1 point for the unfortunate cameo appearance.

And as for the two stars of the show on Saturday; Bruno Guimaraes showed why he is one to consider carefully in FPL; with a dogged and determined display that won many plaudits but didn't garner any bonus points. Like Gordon; he avoided his usual play-fighting to claim 3 points. If you've got him in, we think he'll have opportunities to show his attacking prowess when we have eleven men and the return of Sandro Tonali.

Joelinton is a bit of a conundrum. He bagged a goal from midfield and the three bonus points for crucial work at both ends of the pitch; epitomising his importance to the team. He was NUFC's star FPL performer with 11 points, however, in more end-to-end games, we feel others will steal the bounties of FPL's (at times) bottle-necked bonus point distribution system, and the midfield powerhouse is still one to err on the side of caution with. £6M isn't pocket change for a midfielder who typically doesn't chip in with big goal returns.

Alexander Isak - proving his clinical edge with one chance... one assist

I'm sure I wasn't alone in opting to captain Alexander Isak in Gameweek 1. Fresh off an impressive 21-goal Premier League campaign; a home tie against promoted opposition looked like the perfect opportunity to pick up where he left off.

Again, sadly, the antics of a certain Southampton forward robbed the Swede of the opportunity to regularly test Southampton's defence; save one mistake from the opposition goalkeeper which he seized gleefully; barely taking a moment to weigh up his options before picking out Joelinton for the winner. An assist left Isak on 5 points; not the mega-haul we were hoping for, but there'll be plenty more to come.

Bonus Points: Nick Pope proving us wrong?

1. Joelinton - 3 Bonus Points
2. Nick Pope - 2 Bonus Points
3. Tino Livramento - 1 Bonus Point

We earmarked Popey as one to avoid due to the eye-catching prices of other goalkeepers, and after Newcastle were down to 10 men half an hour in, Nick had a long afternoon ahead of him.

But he stood up to the challenge; with a crucial save from Adam Armstrong (three saves in total for 1 Bonus Saves point) and confidently collecting hopeful crosses into the box.

Price Changes: Drop Trippier like a Hot Potato

In the latest ownership figures published by the FPL app; Kieran Trippier ranks 4th in the 'Most Transfers Out' metric; with over 113,000 FPL managers looking to atone for their costly £6M mistake. Don't hang about; his selling price is likely to plummet soon too!

NUFC Players to target for Gameweek 2?

Newcastle play away at Bournemouth next, and with the departure of Dominic Solanke; we'd be more confident than usual leaving a Newcastle player in defence. If you've already got Tino or Lewis Hall; it's worth sticking with them; but if you were on the fence about Dan Burn (4.5M), he's pretty much guaranteed to start now in Schar's absence.

Jacob Murphy (5.5M) looks set to continue on the right wing if you want budget attacking options.

Possible New Signings: Worth the punt?

In our preview FPL article, we mentioned the possibilities of signing Marc Guehi (4.5M) and Noni Madueke (6.5M) in anticipation of their mooted moves to Newcastle. Both seem no further along from last time though; so for now, best avoid.

So how did my team get on?

It wouldn't be worth me giving advice on FPL if I didn't put said advice into practice, would it? I elected for Hall, Gordon and Isak as my NUFC representation; and they all offered returns (if you count Gordon's clean sheet bonus point). Hall is owned by just 5% of managers, making him an interesting differential if he starts popping up with attacking returns too.

Overall, I finished on 69 points; 12 above the average score across the game week. In a largely low-scoring round of fixtures, differential returns from Newcastle lost prospect Yankuba Minteh (1.3% ownership), Andrew Robertson (4.8% ownership) and a surprisingly low ownership for Bukayo Saka (33.1%) worked in my favour. Captaining Isak over Mo Salah proved to be my biggest disappointment.

Who is leading the way in the NUFCFEED FPL League?

As pleased as I was with my opening day returns, it wasn't enough to snag top spot after Match-day One!

Percy MacDonald's 'YoroVisionSonContest' has pipped me by 1 point - thanks to a mega haul from captaining Salah. Are my black-and-white tinted spectacled already hindering me?

Looking to Join Our League? It's not too late!

Now that the dust has settled on Match Week One; latecomers can pick a squad with the hindsight of new transfers; notable exclusions, sendings off and so much more!

If you want to see how you fare against myself and the rest of the NUFCFEED FPL community, join using the link below!

https://fantasy.premierleague....