Fantasy Premier League tips: 30 players you should pick this season

Struggling to pick a squad? Here are our tips for each position...

Mark Critchley
Saturday 10 August 2019 18:44 BST
Comments

The new Fantasy Premier League season is fast approaching, with the deadline to register your details, pick your team name and draft your squad coming this Friday.

As usual, The Independent will be writing a weekly tips column, picking out a handful of players worthy of your attention for that particular round of fixtures.

We have already scanned through the first few weeks of the fixture list, identifying which teams should be targeted for their favourable starts and which are best avoided.

We’ve also looked at which players may be under-valued by the pre-season price-setters, while also picking others that you should stay well clear of.

But finally, we pick our annual 30-man shortlist of the best premium, mid-range and budget options for your squad this forthcoming season.

Goalkeepers

With goalkeepers, you generally have two choices: either pick one expensive ‘keeper and another to fill the substitutes’ bench or pick two mid-price options and rotate. There is more effort and risk involved in the latter but it allows money to be spent further up the pitch.

Ederson – Manchester City, £6.0m

The best goalkeeper in the league? It’s him or Alisson, but either one is a sound ‘set and forget’ pick as long as you can afford the £6.0m outlay. Think of it as an extra £0.5m spent on making one fewer decision each week.

Hugo Lloris – Tottenham, £5.5m

Slightly cheaper than Ederson and Alisson, Lloris could prove to be an excellent value pick, especially if Tottenham’s defence can improve slightly. Usually falls around the 140-150 points mark, which is fair for £5.5m.

Nick Pope – Burnley, £4.5m

The £4.5m choice-du-jour, Pope appears to have won the race to be Burnley’s number one. He was a superb pick when he emerged out of nowhere to score 152 points two years ago. Sean Dyche’s men have not been as solid without him.

David Button – Brighton, £4.0m

Not likely to play ahead of Mat Ryan, but for those selecting a premium goalkeeper, Button is the best of the minimum-price options. Leave him on your bench and hope you never need to use him.

Defenders

Defence is where the value lies. Cheaper than those further forward, they can still score a comparable number of points if part of a tight backline. The team is more important than the individual here, but find a defender who earns attacking points and you’re laughing.

Andy Robertson – Liverpool, £7.0m

Robertson and fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold clock in at £7.0m and with good reason, with 23 assists between them last year. Both are still relative bargains but Alexander-Arnold’s slight risk of rotation sees us prefer Robertson.

Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool, £6.5m

After 208 points last year, a £7.0m price would not have been unreasonable. Even then, Van Dijk would have been a relative steal, given how many points he scores compared to your average £7.0m midfielder. At £0.5m less, he is a no-brainer.

Aymeric Laporte – Manchester City, £6.5m

One of the worst things about picking City is the fear that Pep Guardiola will suddenly drop and rotate them. Not so with Laporte, who was a near ever-present last season, contributing with three goals and three assists along the way. A word of caution: he’s currently carrying a knock.

Lucas Digne – Everton, £6.0m

Another wing-back, this time for a side less defensively convincing than Liverpool or City. Digne makes up for Everton’s occasional looseness at the back by taking set-pieces, with free-kicks and corners both in his locker.

Oleksandr Zinchenko – Manchester City, £5.5m

For those unwilling to stump up the cash for Ederson or Laporte but who still want to cover the City defence, consider Zinchenko. The left-back slot is his for the time being after thrilling Guardiola there last year. Beware Benjamin Mendy’s return from injury, is all.

Kurt Zouma – Chelsea, £5.0m

Chelsea have not looked particularly solid at the back in pre-season and Frank Lampard remains an unknown quantity, but with Antonio Rudiger out and following problems with David Luiz, the modestly-priced Zouma could be a reliable route into a top-six defence.

Kyle Walker-Peters – Tottenham, £5.0m

Kieran Trippier has left for Atletico Madrid, Juan Foyth is out until September and Serge Aurier may be returning to France. Kyle Walker-Peters is therefore likely to line up as Tottenham’s starting right-back and is a tempting short-term option.

Frederic Guilbert – Aston Villa, £4.5m

One of many new additions at Villa this summer but perhaps the one who has most impressed his new supporters during pre-season. Potentially a route into their defence with an attacking upside. Expect marauding runs down the right.

Caglar Soyuncu – Leicester, £4.5m

Leicester could yet reinvest the £80m received for Harry Maguire in a new centre-back but if they are priced out during this window, expect Soyuncu to be given an opportunity to stake his claim alongside Jonny Evans in the heart of defence.

John Lundstram – Sheffield United, £4.0m

A midfielder misclassified as a defender, Lundstram played in all of Sheffield United’s pre-season friendlies despite only featuring on 10 occasions last season. Chris Wilder has suggested he has a part to play in their bid for top-flight survival.

Midfielders

Midfielders tend to have the biggest range of points: clean sheets are counted towards their tally and they have a greater likelihood of getting goals and assists than defenders. Many of them are not even midfielders anymore but wide forwards, who earn more points for goals than traditional strikers.

Mohamed Salah – Liverpool, £12.5m

Too obvious? Sometimes, you can overthink these things. Salah’s points dropped from 303 in 2017-18 to 259 last year, but he was still the top-scoring player in both seasons. He’s £0.5m cheaper than this time last year too.

Raheem Sterling – Manchester City, £12.0m

Salah’s main rival to score the individual honour of scoring the most points this season. If you can afford to have both, do. The City winger is more than capable of matching his Liverpool counterpart toe-for-toe.

Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City, £9.5m

If you are choosing to go without Sterling, De Bruyne is an excellent City alternative and a snip at £9.5m provided he can stay fit this year. His 209 points during the 2017-18 campaign were overlooked by many.

Anthony Martial – Manchester United, £7.5m

A frustrating player to own at times but Martial should benefit from consistent starts and minutes under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He may even start centrally up front, with Marcus Rashford wide left. At a cost of £7.5m, that is tempting.

Ryan Fraser – Bournemouth, £7.5m

As one of the stand-out fantasy assets of last year, he was always likely to receive a £2.0m hike. Capable of living up to the new price tag, but needs to maintain his understanding with Wilson and keep putting lesser sides to the sword.

Ayoze Perez – Leicester, £6.5m

In the three-way battle for our affections with Youri Tielemans and James Maddison, Perez edges ahead. Returned well with Newcastle last year, largely as a No 10. Reclassified as a midfielder but may start up front alongside Jamie Vardy at times.

Ross Barkley – Chelsea, £6.0m

Produced fantasy points in fits and starts last year, though should benefit from Lampard’s appointment and is a potential steal at £6.0m. It is not too long since he could be relied upon to lay chances on a plate at Everton.

Callum Robinson – Sheffield United, £5.5m

A new signing from Preston North End, Robinson was one of the Championship’s best wide forwards and has played up top in pre-season, scoring four goals. Potentially a budget must-have if he can adapt to the top-flight.

Leander Dendoncker – Wolves, £4.5m

A starting player in a top-half team, priced within the cheapest bracket of midfielders. Do not expect a ton of points but Dendoncker is given license to get forward by Nuno every now and again. What’s not to like?

Forwards

Traditionally the home of your main point-scorers, the consensus now seems to be that the attack has become less important as a source of returns. If you want a strong midfield above all else, spend lightly here rather than in defence.

Harry Kane – Tottenham, £11.0m

Is he still the same explosive player of old? Injuries limited Kane’s effectiveness last season, earning him a sharp drop in starting price, but he is the most rotation-proof of all the premium strikers and desperate to return to his very best.

Jamie Vardy – Leicester, £9.0m

Leicester’s opening set of fixtures are among the toughest around this year but one of their party thrives against big clubs who leave space in behind. Vardy has hit double figures in his last four seasons and 20 or more twice.

Callum Wilson – Bournemouth, £8.0m

Some will plump for £6.5m penalty-taking strike partner Josh King, but Wilson is the main focal point of the team that scored the most outside the so-called top six last term. Opening games against newly-promoted Sheffield United and Villa are enticing.

Sebastian Haller – West Ham, £7.5m

Perhaps not a player to jump on straight away, given City’s visit to east London on the opening weekend, but Haller’s reputation precedes him. A goal every other game – his record last season at Frankfurt – would be well worth £7.5m.

Diogo Jota – Wolves, £6.5m

Raul Jimenez deservedly earned a lot of headlines for his Wolves displays last year but Jota was equally important once he finally hit his stride. A cool £1.0m cheaper than his strike partner, the only worry is Europa League fatigue and his propensity to pick up yellow cards.

Neal Maupay – Brighton, £6.0m

Brighton are an unknown quantity. We cannot yet be sure how effective Graham Potter’s ideas will be. Thankfully, in Maupay, they have signed a talented striker who should make the step up from the second-tier and offer cheap points along the way.

Mason Greenwood – Manchester United, £4.5m

Need a budget striker? With Romelu Lukaku on his way out, it appears as though Mason Greenwood will be given opportunities to impress at Old Trafford this year. Keep your expectations in check but who knows what the odd substitute appearance could bring?

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in