Written by:Mitch Parris
Everything you need to know before the opening weekend

Gameweek 1 is here, and with it the first real decisions of the season.

Every manager faces the same questions before the opening deadline: who to back from the off, who takes the armband, and where to find the pick nobody else has spotted. Our Scout has been through the opening fixtures, pre-season minutes and summer arrivals across BWSL and BWSL2 to help you get it right first time.

Work through the four pieces below, or jump straight to the one you need.

  1. Ones To Watch: the players who should be on every shortlist, and the ones worth waiting on.
  2. Differentials: low-ownership picks with the fixtures and the minutes to make an early difference.
  3. Captaincy Picks: the safe option, the aggressive one, and how to decide between them.
  4. Scout Team of the Week: a full 15 to build from, with reasoning behind every selection.

Please note: squad changes are unlimited up to the Gameweek 1 deadline, Friday 4th September at 7pm, so nothing is locked in yet.