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Premiership Fantasy Football Preview

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Fantasy Football

Premier League Fantasy Football Preview

 

Premiership Fantasy Football Season Preview

Every year Fantasy Football grows in popularity. This year, to help you select your squad for the upcoming season we’ve put together a Fantasy Football season preview. We’re using the Premier League’s official Fantasy Football competition, so if you’re unfamiliar with how to play fantasy football, check out their website for a full set of rules and how to get started.

Each squad consists of 2 Goalkeepers, 5 Defenders, 5 Midfielders and 3 Forwards. Some managers like to spend the majority of their money on more expensive attacking players and have a more budget defence. Will you spend big on a stronger starting XI and have a weak bench, or will you opt for a more balanced squad of more equally priced players? Are you going to buy one premium goalkeeper and buy a budget back up who never plays? £100 million doesn’t allow you to fill a team with 15 superstars, so you will need to consider how you want to play the game.

We’re going to take a look at some players that you should consider in each  of the four positions. We’ll also be giving you some budget options and a couple of possible hidden gems. Every season there are a couple of surprise players, last season it was Leeds United’s Stuart Dallas and the year before it was Sheffield United’s John Lundstram. Hopefully you can use our advice and make a strong start to next season’s competition.

Goalkeepers

Last season, Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez (£5.5m) was the highest scoring goalie, with Manchester City’s Ederson (£6m) close behind. Edouard Mendy (£6m) of Chelsea also had a strong showing, especially as he only played half of a season. A few cheaper options who performed well were, Southampton’s Alex McCarthy (£4.5m) and Crystal Palace’s Vicente Guaita (£4.5m). If you want to consider some solid mid-priced ‘keepers then Kasper Schmeichel (£5m) of Leicester City or Leeds United’s Illan Meslier (£5m) would be sound investments.

 

Defenders

Despite Liverpool underperforming last season, both Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) and Andy Robertson (£7m) were at the top of the point scoring charts. After returning from a season shortened by a knee injury, will Virgil van Dijk (£6.5m) be worth a punt? Chelsea’s defence was full of notable performers, with Cesar Azpilicueta (£6m), Ben Chilwell (£6m) and Reece James (£5.5m) all scoring heavily by combining clean sheets with goal assists. West Ham United’s Aaron Cresswell (£5.5m) was a surprising performer, as were the majority of Aston Villa’s defenders, all representing good value for money. Ruben Dias (£6m) and Joao Cancelo (£6m) were Manchester City’s top scoring defenders. Choosing any of Pep Guardiola’s players can prove frustrating, as he makes unpredictable selections, Fantasy managers call it playing “Pep-Roulette.”

More budget-friendly options at the back could be Wolves’ Conor Coady (£4.5m), Tariq Lamptey (Brighton’s – £4.5m), Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace – £4.5m) or Luke Ayling (Leeds United – £4.5m). Investing in defenders from the newly promoted teams could be treacherous, as we don’t know how well they will adjust to life in the top flight. Brentford’s Rico Henry (£4.5m) has potential, as do Norwich City’s Max Aarons (£4.5m) and Watford’s Francisco Sierralta (£4.5m).

 

Midfielders

Choosing a high scoring set of midfielders is vital if you plan on having a successful season. Big-name midfielders are going to cost big-time money, but they don’t always live up to their price tag! No Fantasy Football season preview would be complete without mentioning the likes of Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United – £12m), Mo Salah (Liverpool – £12.5m) or Heung Min Son (Tottenham – £10m), who were outstanding last season. Liverpool’s Sadio Mane (£12m) and Marcus Rashford (Manchester United – £9.5m) round out last season’s top 5 highest-scoring midfielders.

Higher priced midfield assets to consider are Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne (£12m) and Raheem Sterling (£11m), Chelsea’s Kai Havertz (£8.5m) and Mason Mount (Manchester City – £7.5m) , Jack Grealish (Aston Villa – £8m). A special mention should go to Diogo Jota (Liverpool – £7.5m) who made an eye-catching start to his Anfield-career after joining from Wolves in January. He could be score a substantial number of goals, as well as making valuable assists, should Jurgen Klopp decide to make Jota a regular starter.

Some mid-priced selections that could provide good points returns can be found in the Leeds United midfield, with Raphinha (£6.5m), Jack Harrison (£6m) and Stuart Dallas (£5.5m). Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka (£6.5m) and Emile Smith Rowe (£5.5m) look to build on breakout seasons last year. James Maddison (Leicester City – £7m), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton – £6.5m) and Emi Buendia (Aston Villa – £6.5m) are all players that can both create and score goals from midfield, with them all being integral parts of their respective teams.

If you are looking for a potential bargain or two, then maybe look at Brentford’s Matias Jenson (£5m), Declan Rice (West Ham United – £5m), Yves Bissouma (Brighton – £4.5m), along with the Norwich City duo of Onel Hernandez (£5m) or Billy Gilmour (£4.5m).

 

Forwards

Unlike choosing your defenders and midfielders, you can only select three forwards, so you should choose wisely. Multiple Golden Boot winner, Harry Kane (Tottenham – £12.5m), is rightfully the most expensive forward available and will be chosen by the majority of managers. Last season, Kane scored almost 50 more points than second-place Patrick Bamford (Leeds United – £8m) . Even though Jamie Vardy (Leicester City – £10.5m) endured one of his more inconsistent seasons, he still managed to score the third highest amount of points. Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) had an amazing first season in the Premier League, that no one could have predicted. He narrowly outscored Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton – £8m) who completes last season’s top 5 scoring forwards.

Other high-priced forwards worth considering are Roberto Firmino (Liverpool – £9m), Danny Ings (Southampton – £8m), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City – £8.5m) and Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City – £7.5m). You might want to gamble on either of Arsenal forwards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (£10m) or Alexandre Lacazette (£8.5m) to have more successful seasons. Perhaps Wolves’ Raul Jimenez (£7.5m) might make a goal-scoring return to action, after missing the majority of last season with a fractured skull.

Some cheaper strikers that could represent some good value are; Brentford’s Ivan Toney (£6.5m), Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United – £6.5m), Teemu Pukki (Norwich City – £6m), Troy Deeney (Watford – £5.5m) or maybe Marcus Forss (Brentford – £5.5m).

 

General Hints & Tips

In order to have a successful season you need to:

  • Monitor your team each week and keep tabs on which players are in form.
  • If players in your squad aren’t being selected for their team then they need to be replaced.
  • Be aware of the deadline for each Game Week – don’t miss out on making changes or transfers
  • Don’t rely on star names at big teams – sometimes lesser known players at smaller clubs can score you more points!
  • Look at the fixtures each week for the players in your squad and select the ones that have more favourable match-ups.
  • When transferring in players, use the Fixture Difficulty Rating Chart and pick a player who has easier upcoming games.
  • Choose your Captain each week, based on their opponents and their form.
  • Use your “Free-Hit“/ “Wildcard” & “Triple Captain” Chips wisely!
  • Later in the season some teams will have two fixtures in a week, these are called “Double Game Weeks” and occur when their fixtures have been rearranged.

 

If you want to join The Sporting Ferret Fantasy League just go to the Fantasy Football website and enter “The Sporting Ferret Fantasy League” by using the code: qsztre

 

We hope you enjoyed the article ‘Premiership Fantasy Football Season Preview.’ Did we miss any hidden gems? Who are you going to select in your team? Let us know your thoughts!

 

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Drew is a lifelong sports fan from Bristol who currently lives and works in Hong Kong. He has a keen interest in football, rugby, cricket, F1 and NFL.

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