FPL best forwards: Budget, differential and premium tips for Gameweek 2

If you want to be competitive in your FPL mini league, Erling Haaland is a default pick at this stage, but how you build your front line around him could be the difference maker.

Using our new FPL rating system — Squawka Score — we are providing you with our top recommendations for selection heading into Gameweek 2.

What is Squawka Score? You can learn more about how we devised our fantasy football ranking system here.

Best FPL forwards
Top forward pick for Gameweek 2
Best cheap forwards for Gameweek 2
Best forwards with easy fixtures

Best FPL Forwards

Here are the top 10 Premier League forwards based on their FPL Squawka Score from the 2023 calendar year.

For the FPL forwards Squawka Score, the per 90 output of each player is compared to all strikers across the past three top-five European league seasons.

Top forward pick for Gameweek 2

In our Differential Duel feature, we look for a player who scores well on our system but is not being selected by most FPL managers.

We will then pit that player against a comparable asset who is being widely selected and it’s on you to make the all-important final decision.

Ahead of Gameweek 2, we take a closer look at Brighton team-mates Danny Welbeck (2.3% ownership) and Joao Pedro (26.9%)

The latter, who is valued at £5.5million, marked his Seagulls debut with a goal in last week’s 4-1 rout of newly promoted Luton Town.

But for the cost of an extra £0.5m, it may be worth looking at his strike partner Welbeck, who was one of the best-performing pound-for-pound strikers in FPL last season.

Here’s how their per 90 stats compare on our Comparison Matrix. 

Best cheap forwards for Gameweek 2

We have run the numbers from 2023 through our Squawka Score super computer to find some budget forwards ahead of Gameweek 2.

Here are our recommendations.

The best 5.0 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Carlos Vinicius, Fulham (43%)
2. Kieffer Moore, Bournemouth (40%)
3. Jean-Philippe Mateta, Crystal Palace (26%)

The best 5.5 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Eddie Nketiah, Arsenal (62%)
2. Odsonne Edouard, Crystal Palace (37%)
3. Neal Maupay, Everton (35%)

The best 6.0 picks for 23/24 FPL

1. Danny Welbeck, Brighton (63%)
2. Evan Ferguson, Brighton (53%)
3. Yoane Wissa, Brentford (48%)

Best forwards with easy fixtures

You more than likely have a pretty good idea of who you want leading your line this weekend, but we have one more factor for you to take into consideration.

Combining the numbers on the FPL’s official Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR) with our Squawka Score system, we have determined below the best forwards to pick from each club with what is considered an ‘easy’ match this Gameweek.

*Does not qualify for a Squawka Score because he has not yet met the minimum Premier League minutes played threshold for 2023.