The Premier League is under way and several intriguing stories have built across opening weekend.

Two promoted clubs opened with wins for the second straight season, while Everton secured their first opening win for five years over Crystal Palace.

All three Chelsea attackers played key roles in their thrilling West London derby win over Fulham. England star Cole Palmer is certainly one to watch for future games, especially if he can stay healthy.

Defenders

Jaka Bijol (Leeds United, £5 million, Brentford, Sunday)

Leeds defender Jaka Bijol is a solid differential pick for the coming weeks as the Yorkshire side have three of their next four league matches at home. They kept consecutive clean sheets against Nottingham Forest across League and Cup, with six of their eight shutouts last campaign coming at Elland Road.

Ezri Konsa (Arsenal, £4.5m, Aston Villa, Monday)

Arsenal cruised past Coventry and showed that Fantasy managers must have at least two of their defence among the squad. The signing of Konsa from Aston Villa brings a challenge to these choices. Injuries have forced Arteta to rotate, so Konsa will play a key role.

Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City, £6m, Crystal Palace, Friday)

Manchester City did not have it all their own way in their first league match without Pep Guardiola in more than a decade, but Gvardiol scored the clutch goal to clinch the victory over Bournemouth. The Croatian’s versatility holds him in good stead for upcoming games, which include Coventry and Ipswich at home before Week 6.

Midfielders

Rayan Cherki (Manchester City, £7.5m, Crystal Palace, Friday)

French maverick Rayan Cherki holds the perfect balance between eye test and output, and the City attacker will start after his two assists turned the result around last time out. Matches against Crystal Palace, along with two newcomers in Coventry and Ipswich, make it a tasty time to introduce the French wizard.

Cole Palmer (Chelsea, £9.5m, Brighton, Sunday)

Chelsea have not been exciting to watch in the past couple of seasons, especially the last one when they totally missed out on Europe. Enter coach Xabi Alonso, a former great midfielder but with an eye for entertaining . Palmer had a hand in most big chances in their season opener and finished his goal beautifully. The counter-attacking threat provides more willingness to own him, especially against next opponents Brighton and Arsenal. Following those, Hull City come to the Bridge, where Palmer will certainly be a factor.

Anton Stach (Leeds United, £6m, Brentford, Sunday)

Leeds have killed the “second-season syndrome” myth with consecutive shutouts at Nottingham Forest. German powerhouse Stach smashed in a late free kick to hand his side maximum points in the league fixture, finishing with 13 points and getting man of the match. Stach showed his full repertoire, ending with 16 defensive contributions to get the full two points allotted. The Whites have four favourable fixtures coming up and Stach is one of the best differential picks featuring in only 1.9 per cent of teams.

Forwards

Gonzalo Garcia (Fulham, £6m, Sunderland, Saturday)

Many FPL experts and Premier League pundits came down hard preseason on Fulham, and specifically new signing Garcia, who followed manager Alvaro Arbeloa from Real Madrid to West London. However, he hit the ground running immediately in the derby defeat to Chelsea, netting his first goal in English football. The Spaniard is not the most attractive forward at this price point, but could pack a punch against teams of a similar level.

Yoane Wissa (Newcastle, £6m, Tottenham, Saturday)

There were signs of optimism for the Geordies in their 2-2 home draw against Liverpool last week. One positive was the connection between their attack, where the Congolese got his first contribution. The Magpies have Hull and Coventry on the horizon, so Wissa should be a calculated risk.

Igor Thiago (Brentford, £8m, Leeds United, Sunday)

The Brazilian striker hit the post and missed a penalty against Spurs, but he will grow from that. Thiago, with so many lines of supply, has to find the net at some stage, which could be at Leeds on Sunday but he has never scored against the Yorkshire club or beaten Leeds in two PL attempts.

The Verdict

Premier League opening weekend has drawn up several challenges for Fantasy managers, none more so than the Arsenal defensive conundrum. Midfield premiums are not performing to their peak, apart from Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka. Up front, the budget forward seems the successful trend after Week 1.