Premier League Team of the Week: Gameweek 2 — Bruno Fernandes Hits a Hat-Trick

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Last weekend’s ten-match programme delivered goals, upsets and one truly dominant individual performance. Bruno Fernandes earned the highest tips.gg Rating of the round — a 9.22 — after a hat-trick and an assist in Manchester United’s 5-2 demolition of Ipswich Town, and his display anchors our Premier League Team of The Week for Gameweek 2. Seven clubs are represented across the XI, which lines up in a 3-5-2 this week.

Premier League Team of the Week — Gameweek 2 Ratings

Premier League Team of the Week, Gameweek 2 — 3-5-2, average tips.gg Rating 8.37

Player	Club	Pos	tips.gg Rating	Standout number
Djordje Petrović	Bournemouth AFC	GK	7.82	Saves: 5
Amar Dedić	Newcastle United	DEF	8.03	Assists: 1
James Tarkowski	Everton	DEF	7.97	Goals: 1
Riccardo Calafiori	Arsenal	DEF	7.91	Assists: 1
Bruno Fernandes	Manchester United	MID	9.22	Goals: 3
Rayan Cherki	Manchester City	MID	9.17	Goals: 2
Phil Foden	Manchester City	MID	8.52	Assists: 2
Bukayo Saka	Arsenal	MID	8.20	Goals: 1
Anthony Elanga	Newcastle United	MID	8.20	Duels won: 4/5 (80%)
Erling Haaland	Manchester City	ATT	9.00	Goals: 2
Alexander Isak	Liverpool	ATT	8.01	Goals: 1

Eight of the eleven picks came from winning sides, with the remaining three drawn from drawn games — no player from a losing side made the cut. Manchester City are the most represented club, contributing three players to the XI, and the average tips.gg Rating across the eleven stands at 8.37, reflecting a gameweek in which attacking output was unusually high: the XI accounts for 11 goals and five assists between them.

Goalkeeper

Djordje Petrović, Bournemouth AFC — 7.82

Busy throughout a tight draw at home to Everton, Petrović kept Bournemouth in contention with five saves — only one goalkeeper in the gameweek recorded more. He also delivered two punches to deal with aerial threats, a mark reached by only five goalkeepers across the entire round.

Stats: 5 saves, 2 punches, 1/1 runs out won (100%), 24/35 accurate passes (69%), 3 clearances, 90 minutes

Defence

Amar Dedić, Newcastle United — 8.03

Productive at both ends in Newcastle United’s clean-sheet win at Tottenham Hotspur, Dedić contributed an assist — one of only four defenders to reach that mark last weekend. He won six of his eight duels, with only two players on the pitch recording more, and completed both of his crosses, a mark matched by only six defenders across the gameweek.

Stats: 1 assist, 2 key passes, 25/27 accurate passes (93%), 2/2 crosses (100%), 6/8 duels won (75%), 4 clearances, 90 minutes

James Tarkowski, Everton — 7.97

A goal from defence gave Everton a share of the spoils against Bournemouth, and Tarkowski’s contribution went well beyond the scoresheet. He won nine of his eleven duels — only one defender in the gameweek recorded more — and his aerial record was equally impressive: only one defender with four or more aerial duels bettered his 83 per cent success rate across the round.

Stats: 1 goal, 1 shot on target, 9/11 duels won (82%), 5/6 aerial duels won (83%), 3 interceptions, 5 clearances, 34/40 accurate passes (85%), 90 minutes

Riccardo Calafiori, Arsenal — 7.91

Arsenal’s narrow win at Aston Villa owed something to Calafiori’s creativity from defence. He registered an assist — one of only four defenders to do so in the gameweek — and created one big chance, with only one defender in the round producing more. He also won all three of his aerial duels, a mark no other player on the pitch bettered.

Stats: 1 assist, 1 big chance created, 1 key pass, 19/21 accurate passes (90%), 5/7 duels won (71%), 3/3 aerial duels won (100%), 90 minutes

Midfield

Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United — 9.22

Three goals in a single Premier League match is the kind of return that defines a gameweek, and Fernandes delivered more than that: he also added an assist as United ran out 5-2 winners over Ipswich Town. His three goals were more than any other midfielder managed in the round, and his eight shots likewise surpassed every other midfielder in the gameweek.

Stats: 3 goals, 1 assist, 8 shots, 3 shots on target, 1 big chance created, 3 key passes, 56/65 accurate passes (86%), 90 minutes

Rayan Cherki, Manchester City — 9.17

Two goals and a constant threat in Manchester City’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace, Cherki registered only one fewer goal than any midfielder in the gameweek. All three of his shots found the target — as many shots on target as any midfielder in the round, level with one other — and he added three key passes alongside his goals.

Stats: 2 goals, 3 shots on target, 1 big chance created, 3 key passes, 62/67 accurate passes (93%), 3/5 successful dribbles (60%), 82 minutes

Phil Foden, Manchester City — 8.52

Two assists in City’s victory over Crystal Palace made Foden the most productive provider in midfield last weekend — more assists than any other midfielder in the gameweek. He also created two big chances, a mark reached by only four midfielders across the round, and registered three shots, with only one player on the pitch recording more.

Stats: 2 assists, 2 big chances created, 3 shots, 3 key passes, 44/48 accurate passes (92%), 5/12 duels won (42%), 90 minutes

Bukayo Saka, Arsenal — 8.20

The decisive contribution in a 1-0 win, Saka’s goal was the only one scored by any player on the pitch. He was equally relentless without the ball, winning 12 of his 18 duels — only one midfielder in the gameweek recorded more — and two of his six dribble attempts came off, with only two players in the match bettering that tally.

Stats: 1 goal, 2 shots, 1 shot on target, 12/18 duels won (67%), 2/2 tackles won (100%), 2 interceptions, 38/47 accurate passes (81%), 90 minutes

Anthony Elanga, Newcastle United — 8.20

A goal in Newcastle United’s clean-sheet win at Tottenham Hotspur underlines Elanga’s impact, but his defensive contribution was just as telling. He won four of his five duels, and only two midfielders with five or more duels bettered his 80 per cent success rate across the gameweek. He also registered two shots in a controlled performance.

Stats: 1 goal, 2 shots, 1 shot on target, 4/5 duels won (80%), 1/1 successful dribbles (100%), 1 key pass, 8/14 accurate passes (57%), 82 minutes

Attack

Erling Haaland, Manchester City — 9.00

Two goals against Crystal Palace continued Haaland’s relentless scoring record, and the numbers behind them were equally commanding: more goals than any other forward in the gameweek, and more shots on target than any other forward in the round. He also won two of his three aerial duels in a physically demanding display.

Stats: 2 goals, 5 shots, 3 shots on target, 5 shots inside box, 2/3 aerial duels won (67%), 3/8 duels won (38%), 90 minutes

Alexander Isak, Liverpool — 8.01

Liverpool’s point at home to Nottingham Forest owed much to Isak’s industry. He scored, kept his side in the game with three shots across the 90 minutes, and contributed a key pass in a match that finished 2-2. All three of his shots came from inside the box, reflecting a willingness to get into the right areas throughout.

Stats: 1 goal, 3 shots, 1 shot on target, 3 shots inside box, 1 key pass, 2/5 duels won (40%), 90 minutes

On the bench

Lukáš Horníček (Newcastle United, 7.66) keeps his place on the bench after four saves and two punches in the clean-sheet win over Tottenham Hotspur. In defence, Lewis Hall (Newcastle United, 7.74) produced more accurate crosses than any other defender in the gameweek — three from four attempts — while Dan Ballard (Sunderland, 7.59) led his match for aerial duels won with five from eight in a 1-0 win over Fulham. In midfield, Bryan Mbeumo (Manchester United, 7.97) scored and registered five shots — only one midfielder managed more in the round — and Pascal Groß (Brighton Hove Albion, 7.96) contributed a goal and a big chance created in a 4-3 defeat to Chelsea. Up front, Yoane Wissa (Newcastle United, 7.96) scored and won more duels than any other player in his match, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United, 7.78) headed home and won more aerial duels than any other forward in the gameweek.

Unlucky to miss out

Several players came close but were next in line on the ratings and could not displace the XI. Alex Scott (Bournemouth AFC, 7.80) scored and won eight duels in the draw with Everton; Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City, 7.70) contributed an assist and three key passes in the win over Crystal Palace; Malick Yalcouyé (Brighton Hove Albion, 7.63) completed four of his five dribbles — as many as any midfielder in the gameweek, level with one other — in a 4-3 defeat; Antonio Silva (Bournemouth AFC, 7.58) matched any defender in the round for accurate long balls with eight from nine; and Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest, 7.57) scored and created a big chance in the draw at Liverpool. Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Ipswich Town, 6.99) created two big chances — one of only four midfielders to reach that mark — but his side’s three-goal defeat ruled him out under our selection criteria.

Flop XI of the gameweek

The lowest-rated eleven of Gameweek 2 is dominated by players who struggled by the numbers on the losing side of heavy defeats. Jacob Greaves (Ipswich Town, 4.53) and Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town, 5.67) were the two lowest-rated defenders in the round as Ipswich conceded five, while Antonin Kinsky (Tottenham Hotspur, 5.80) and Eddie Nketiah (Crystal Palace, 5.73) also feature after their sides were beaten without reply. Lewis Dunk (Brighton Hove Albion, 5.63) and Levi Colwill (Chelsea, 5.81) appear from the same match on opposite sides of a seven-goal thriller.

Lowest tips.gg Ratings of Gameweek 2 (5-4-1)

Player	Club	Pos	tips.gg Rating
Antonin Kinsky	Tottenham Hotspur	GK	5.80
Jacob Greaves	Ipswich Town	DEF	4.53
Lewis Dunk	Brighton Hove Albion	DEF	5.63
Dara O’Shea	Ipswich Town	DEF	5.67
Takehiro Tomiyasu	Crystal Palace	DEF	5.72
Levi Colwill	Chelsea	DEF	5.81
Eddie Nketiah	Crystal Palace	MID	5.73
Diego Gomez	Brighton Hove Albion	MID	5.79
Yeremy Pino	Crystal Palace	MID	5.80
John McGinn	Aston Villa	MID	5.88
Jörgen Strand Larsen	Crystal Palace	ATT	5.90

How we pick our Premier League Team of the Week

Our Team of the Week is a proprietary tips.gg system. Both the tips.gg Rating and the selection rule set out below are built and maintained in-house, and they are applied to every gameweek in exactly the same way. There is no vote, no fan poll and no third-party team of the week behind these picks.

The tips.gg Rating

The tips.gg Rating scores an individual performance in a single match on a 1–10 scale, where about 6.0 is an average afternoon. It is calculated from that player’s own recorded match statistics — what he did on the ball, in duels, in front of goal and in his own box — so a rating always describes one player in one match, never a season and never a reputation.

Who is eligible

• Minutes. An outfield player must complete at least 60 minutes of the match; a goalkeeper at least 85. Cameos are not judged against full performances.
• Discipline. Anyone sent off, by straight red card or second yellow, is excluded, and so is any player credited with an own goal.
• Heavy defeats. Outfield players whose side lost by three goals or more are excluded from the eleven. Goalkeepers are exempt, because a busy goalkeeper in a one-sided defeat is a legitimate pick rather than an accident of the scoreline.

How the eleven is built

• Every eligible player is ranked inside his position group — Goalkeeper, Defence, Midfield, Attack — strictly by the tips.gg Rating. No bonus for the result, the opponent or the venue: the rating already reflects what happened in the match.
• Exact ties are broken in a fixed order: minutes played, clean sheet (goalkeepers and defenders), goals and assists excluding penalties, duel success rate, accurate passes, defensive actions, possession lost, then surname. The chain is published so that the same gameweek always produces the same eleven.
• The shape follows the players, not the other way round. We take the best goalkeeper and the best ten outfield players inside set limits — three to five defenders, three to five midfielders, one to three forwards — testing every legal shape and keeping the eleven with the highest combined tips.gg Rating. That is why the formation changes from gameweek to gameweek.
• No more than three players from one club and no more than four from any single match, goalkeeper included, so one result cannot take over the team.
• The bench is the next seven in line — one goalkeeper, two defenders, two midfielders, two forwards — and the club and match limits do not apply to it.
• The Flop XI is the same machine run in reverse: lowest ratings first, same minutes requirement, and here red cards and own goals are left in, because in that context they are the story.

Selection rule TOTW from tips.gg, applied to 10 of 10 Premier League matches in Gameweek 2.