Fantasy Premier League: Are the No. 1 picks for each Gameweek cursed?

Gameweek 6 of the Premier League further proved the curse surrounding the Fantasy Premier League’s (FPL) most transferred-in player of the week with Julian Alvarez blanking this past weekend.

After being signed by 1.38 million managers this past week, Alvarez failed to live up to the FPL community’s expectations. He did, however, live up to the curse on the most transferred-in player of the week.

A mid-week game against Serbia’s FK Crvena zvezda saw Alvarez find the back of the net twice in the second half, leading Manchester City to a 3-1 win in their opening Champion’s League match. This opened the eyes of many FPL managers, transferring Alvarez into their team in hopes to get similar fixtures against Nottingham Forest.

Continuing the curse, the FIFA World Cup winner and Argentine attacker received only a single point for Manchester City’s 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest.

The supposed curse has been proving itself since the beginning of this season, starting with Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell in Gameweek 2, who was transferred in by 690,937 managers. 

Chilwell went on to only receive a single point from Chelsea’s 3-1 loss against West Ham.

Since then, the curse has persisted, afflicting subsequent players like Bryan Mbeumo, the midfielder for Brentford in Gameweek 3, Raheem Sterling, the midfielder for Chelsea in Gameweek 4, Son Heung-min, the forward for Tottenham Hotspur in Gameweek 5, and most recently Alvarez in Gameweek 6. Collectively, these players managed to accumulate a mere eight points in their subsequent games, despite initially being touted as the top choice.

But how long does the curse last? 

Even after underperforming, it doesn’t seem to take too long before making up for it.

In Gameweek 3, Chilwell had a strong game, receiving 6 points for Chelsea’s 3-0 clean sheet against Luton. While that may have seemed like a predictable score, it’s worth noting that this season is Chelesea’s worst start to a season in 45 years, making each game unpredictable.

Similarly, Mbuemo crushed the hopes of many managers after Gameweek 3 by securing only two points in a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace. However, he earned their trust back with eight the following week by finding the back of the net and earning himself bonus points.

While you’d think people learnt by now not to consider Chelsea players this season, Sterling has yet to receive more than two points for a game after his 19 point game against Luton.

Son, who had an astonishing 20-point week with a hattrick against Burnley, fell short of his expectations, getting only two points against Sheffield United in Gameweek 5. The much anticipated North London Derby this past weekend saw two goals from Son, earning him 14 points and making the 921,945 manager who transferred him in the previous week, ecstatic. 

With each player failing to perform in their following games, they seem to bounce back quite quickly with the exception of Sterling – but what else do you expect from a Chelsea player?

The curse causes much anxiety over who the next victim will be as the season progresses. 

Closely following the end of the weekend, Newcastle’s Sven Botman stands as the number one pick for many, but that could all change after the upcoming Champion League’s matches. 

Will the curse continue? Will Botman remain as the most transferred-in player and fail to deliver in their next Premier League match against Burnely?