Southampton 3 – West Ham 2

This was a surprisingly dangerous display from the West Ham attack, and also a surprisingly incompetent display from Southampton’s defense. After the south coast side’s solid defensive performance in the 0-0 draw in game week 1, I would have put a hefty bet on the Saints to keep out 10 man West Ham after going 2-0 up. Instead their defensive frailties without cornerstone Van Dijk were exploited by the lethal Javier Hernandez, who scored a brace to get his first goals in a Hammers shirt. On the other end of the pitch Southampton looked menacing, although helped by two unnecessary fouls in the area. Gabbiadini looked capable of returning to the scoring form he had before injury last season and I’m sure it was a welcome sight for you draft fantasy managers to see Charlie Austin return with a goal. For West Ham though, there appears to be limited good draft options with the ex Manchester City defense featuring Zabaleta and Joe Hart unsurprisingly looking fragile. The little pea looked very bright though and he’s most certainly one to watch out for.

Stoke 1 – Arsenal 0

#Wengerout, was the reaction from the notoriously fickle Arsenal fans. Arsenal were run ragged by the pace and trickery of new Stoke signing Jese. A brilliant performance from the Spanish ex-wonderkid won Stoke the 3 points as he bagged a goal and perhaps should have had an assist or two as well. It’s not all doom and gloom for Arsenal fans though, and the Gunners were unlucky not to have two penalties not given, as well as a Lacazette goal being ruled out for having his big toe offside. I expect better things to come for Arsenal this season though, with Sanchez due to come back this week and Koscielny eligible to play as well, having seen out his suspension.

Tottenham 1 – 2 Chelsea

Champions in crisis. What crisis?! Chelsea struck back brilliantly from their 3-2 loss against Burnley in gameweek 1 and proved they should not have what Antonio Conte would describe as a “Mourinho season”. Despite suspensions to Cahill and Fabregas as well as Hazard remaining on the sidelines, the Italian mastermind tactically outplayed Mauricio Pochettino. Everyone’s favourite draft fantasy defender, Marcos Alonso, scored both goals, again proving his ability from a dead ball situation. Ominously for Chelsea supporters though, Tottenham managed to dominate long periods of the game, in a way nobody managed to do to the reigning champions last season. They were unlucky not to score more, with Harry Kane notably hitting the post. It would have been a goal it weren’t August, I’ve been told. Eriksen was the dangerman for spurs, making it three assists in his first two outings this season. The Wembley club (that sounds strange) looked like they struggled to get to grips with the occasion early on in the game, and losing their first home game of the season won’t do their confidence any good. Chelsea meanwhile will be relieved that they’ve staved off the wolves that are the media for the time being.

Huddersfield 1 – 0 Newcastle

The fairytale story of this campaign so far continues. Huddersfield were written off as title contenders by many (including myself) prior to the start of the season. They have come absolutely flying out of the blocks though with 2 wins, 4 goals, and none conceded. Aaron Mooy scored a fabulous curling effort, following his contribution of an assist in gameweek 1. I wouldn’t be too quick to pick him up though, given the fact he scored just 4 goals last season despite being Huddersfield’s player of the season. This game wasn’t a classic by any means though, and neither team created a whole lot of chances. Ultimately it came down to one moment of brilliance to decide the allocation of the 3 points. I was extremely impressed by Huddersfield’s attack in gameweek 1 though so its not easy to make a call on how many goals this Huddersfield team will score. Wagner is clearly a true football fan and does not appear to want to set up his team to grind out results (yes, we’re looking at you Tony Pulis). He wants his team to attack and score goals, so there could definitely be some players worth picking up off the waivers. On the other end of the field, Newcastle again struggled to click and did not cause too many problems for Jonas Lossl. I’m sure they’ll get a goal this season eventually. I hope so at least… I drafted Dwight Gayle.

Manchester City 1 – Everton 1

This season is quickly becoming notable for the number of red cards. Kyle Walker was the latest to be sent down the tunnel, walking the well trodden route of Cahill, Fabregas, Robson-Kanu, Shelvey, and Arnautovic. Everton were at this point already 1-0 up courtesy of Rooney, scoring his second of the season. The Mancunian title favourites were extremely impressive in the way they reacted to the harsh red card to Walker, and incredibly managed to dominate and actually ended up with 65% possession. The Everton defense held up strong, as we would so expect nowadays given the quality of their new signings. It only takes one error in the cut throat world that is the Premier League, however, and Sterling took advantage of the loose ball in the box that came about due to a poor defensive header. Morgan Schneiderlin then became the latest victim of the referee late on in the game and as it turned out, Everton had to hold on for the point. What was perhaps most interesting (and perhaps worrying) in this game for us draft fantasy managers was the way in which Pep rotated his squad. Pep had no qualms about hooking Gabriel Jesus at half time, which is clearly inconsiderate given his 73.6% ownership. Yaya Toure and Danilo were other notable players rotated out of the starting lineup. If Pep insists upon rotating his attacking players as he often did last season it could prove damaging for draft managers all over the country.