LEICESTER
Season Preview
This season could go either way for the Foxes. Leicester could be brilliant or they could be mediocre and uninspiring. Looking at the squad, there is ability all over – a reliable goalkeeper, solid defenders and attacking wing-backs, creative midfielders along with tough defensive mids, and Jamie Vardy up front. James Maddison and Youri Tielemans can be a massive driving force in Leicester scoring goals. The handy pick-up of Ayoze Pérez in midfield from Newcastle will give some relief to Vardy’s output as Perez grabbed 12 goals for Newcastle last season. Pérez has been improving his goal output every season, and put in a stronger squad environment he can thrive.
Key Player: James Maddison
Top Goal Scorer: Jamie Vardy
Predicted Finish: 10th
2019 Squad
Goalkeepers
Kasper Schmeichel, Eldin Jakupovic, Danny Ward
Defenders
Ricardo Pereira, Ben Chilwell, Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans, Wes Morgan, Çaglar Söyüncü, Christian Fuchs, James Justin
Midfielders
Ayoze Pérez, James Maddison, Wilfred Ndidi, Demarai Gray, Marc Albrighton, Nampalys Mendy, Harvey Barnes, Rachid Ghezzal, Hamza Choudhury, Daniel Amartey, Matty James, Andy King
Forwards
Jamie Vardy, Kelechi Iheanacho
Predicted GW1 Line Up
GK – K. Schmeichel
RB – R. Pereira, CB – J. Evans, CB – W. Morgan, LB – B, Chilwell
RM – D. Gray, CM – W. Ndidi, CM – Y. Tielemans, LM – A. Pérez
CAM – J. Maddison
ST – J. Vardy
Set Piece Takers
Penalties – J. Vardy, J. Maddison, K. Iheanacho
Free Kicks – J. Maddison, D. Gray, A. Pérez
Corners – J. Maddison, D. Gray, M. Albrighton
Top Target
James Maddison | MID | £7.0 | 12.9%
Maddison’s first season in the Premier League was a fruitful one. Making 36 appearances, he finished the season with 7 goals and 7 assists. However, these tallies could have been higher. No player created more chances than Maddison’s 101 last season. Moreover, he hit the woodwork once and missed 5 big chances. He is also a free kick specialist, scoring 3 direct free kicks in the 2018/19 season.
Punts/Differentials
Jamie Vardy | FWD | £9.0 | TSB 10.3%
It’s pretty hard to find a more consistent performer than Jamie Vardy. Over the past 4 seasons, Vardy has averaged 182 FPL points per season, never finishing below 161 points. His 18 goals placed him 3rd in the Premier League Golden Boot race last season, and he was the league’s 2nd overall FPL bonus point scorer with 31 BPs. Looking at Vardy’s underlying stats, he averaged 1 shot every 34.5 minutes, hit the woodwork 3 times, and missed a massive 17 clear cut opportunities. With a reasonably favourable opening draw, Vardy could be a sneaky differential to start the season.
Be Wary Of
Ricardo Pereira | DEF | £6.0 | TSB 7.5%
Pereira was outstanding in attack last season, scoring 2 goals and providing 8 assists. However, it remains to be seen whether he can keep up this attacking output. Last season he was £5.0 so he was worth that price, but due to budget constraints this season, £6.0 is a lot for someone who should only keep around 10 clean sheets.
Cheapie Watch
D. Gray | MID | £5.5 | TSB 0.7%
Gray didn’t live up to his potential last season, only scoring 4 goals and not having much influence on matches. As Gray said, he was no more than “ok.” He has come out and said that he needs to improve his numbers this season, and he has made an immediate statement playing for England’s U21 side. In the group stage of the U21 Euros, Gray started all three matches, scoring 1 goal, averaging 1 shot every 20 minutes, and sitting very high up field.
Cheapie Rating: B
Additional Notes
- Harry Maguire (£5.5) is expected to leave Leicester, which will open up a starting spot for Wes Morgan (£4.5). However, the Foxes may go shopping for another centre back.
- Youri Tielemans (£6.5) returned in 62% of his games. Yes, he only played 13 games, but still, this was a higher return percentage than Salah, Sterling and Mané.
- Ayoze Pérez (£6.5) has looked sharp in pre-season, and appears to be central to Leicester’s attacking play. He was inconsistent last season (returned in only 29% of games), but he has a huge upside.
LIVERPOOL
Season Preview
Liverpool’s hearts were broken last season, coming so close to winning their first Premier League title. This season however, the Reds will look to go one further by bolstering the squad and hoping all players from last campaign can maintain their excellent output. Liverpool are easily the best pressing team in the league and this ability will again need to be top notch. The 2nd placed finish last season came down to a few games where they drew winnable games. Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino under-performed last season comparatively to the season prior but if they once again lift to sky-high levels, it is likely Liverpool will win the league. Unfortunately, Manchester City are also rising in quality and it is a coin-flip on who wins the league. City’s depth may again be the decider.
Key Player: Virgil Van Dijk
Top Goal Scorer: Mohamed Salah
Predicted Finish: 2nd
2019 Squad
Goalkeepers
Alisson, Simon Mignolet
Defenders
Virgil Van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren
Midfielders
Mo Salah, Sadio Mané, Gini Wijnaldum, Fabinho, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson, Xherdan Shaqiri, Adam Lallana, Rafael Camacho
Forwards
Roberto Firmino, Divock Origi, Rhian Brewster
Predicted GW1 Line Up
GK – Alisson
RB – T. Alexander-Arnold, CB – J. Matip, CB – V. Van Dijk, LB – A. Robertson
CM – J. Henderson, CM – Fabinho, CM – G. Wijnaldum
RW – M. Salah, ST – R. Firmino, LW – D. Origi
Set Piece Takers
Penalties – J. Milner, M. Salah, R. Firmino
Free Kicks – T. Alexander-Arnold, X. Shaqiri, M. Salah
Corners – T. Alexander-Arnold, J. Milner, X. Shaqiri
Top Target
Mo Salah | MID | £12.5 | 36.0%
He’s been the FPL leading point scorer for 2 seasons in a row, averaging 281 points per season. His ownership is so high that if he bangs early in the season over his favourable opening fixtures, you’ll be playing catch up for the entire season. It’s safer to start with Salah than without him.
Punts/Differentials
Roberto Firmino | FWD | £9.0 | TSB 9.2%
Firmino had a quiet 2018/19 season, blanking in 52% of his matches and averaging higher against top 6 sides than bottom 6 sides. However, we’re tipping Firmino to have a bounce back season and be a major differential at under 10% ownership.
Be Wary Of
Xherdan Shaqiri | MID | £6.5 | TSB 0.3%
Shaqiri was one fire last season, but he fell out of favour in back half of the season. From GWs 20-38, he only started 2 league games, being an unused substitute in 9 out of Liverpool’s last 13 league games. With Oxlade-Chamberlain now fit again, there’s even more competition for Shaqiri.
Cheapie Watch
Gini Wijnaldum | MID | £5.5 | TSB 2.4%
Wijnaldum isn’t the same player that he was back in his Newcastle days. Now, his average position is around the halfway line, and he doesn’t make as many runs into the box. Under Klopp’s style, Wijnaldum isn’t really needed a great deal in the attacking third, evidenced by the fact that Wijnaldum averaged less than 1 shot and 1 shot assist per game last season.
Cheapie Rating: C
James Milner | MID | £5.5 | TSB 1.2%
If Milner was a guarantee to start every game, he’d be an A rated cheapie. However, only played 1778 minutes last season, and there’s too much competition for midfield spots at Liverpool. Steer clear.
Cheapie Rating: D
Divock Origi | FWD | £5.5 | TSB 2.6%
Didn’t Origi come up with some big plays in the back half of last season! Similar to Milner, Origi would be rated A as a cheapie if he was a regular starter. This won’t be the case this season though. With Salah, Mané and Firmino all returning late to pre-season after playing in the African Cup of Nations and Copa America respectively, Origi will probably start a few matches to open the season, but then revert back to a bench option and only start when Klopp wants to rest members of his front 3. He is probably worth the risk as an early season cheapie, but save a trade to take him out.
Cheapie Rating: B
Additional Notes
- Sadio Mané (£11.0) is returning to pre-season training very late, and may have to settle for a spot on the bench come GW1
- Virgil van Dijk (£6.5), Andrew Robertson (£7.0) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0) are all fantastic options, and owning one of them seems necessary. Our first choice would be TAA. Click HERE to read why
MANCHESTER CITY
Season Preview
The Blue side of Manchester comes off the back of another dominant season. If it wasn’t for Liverpool’s pressure, City would have finished streaks ahead of the rest. Retaining most players from last campaign, City will again be the team to beat. Adding Rodri to the team already has been a massive inclusion as he is undoubtedly one of the best all round defensive midfielders in world football. He can relieve the reliance on Fernandinho to be the rock in the middle, giving Guardiola another option for rotation purposes. The deepest squad quality wise possibly in the existence of football looks set to hoist another league title.
Key Player: Kevin De Bruyne
Top Goal Scorer: Sergio Agüero
Predicted Finish: 1st
2019 Squad
Goalkeepers
Ederson, Claudio Bravo
Defenders
Aymeric Laporte, Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy, Oleksandr Zinchenko, John Stones, Nicolás Otamendi, Danilo, Angeliño
Midfielders
Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gündogan, Leroy Sané, Fernandinho, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Rodri
Forwards
Sergio Agüero, Gabriel Jesus
Predicted GW1 Line Up
GK – Ederson
RB – K. Walker, CB – J. Stones, CB – A. Laporte, LB – O. Zinchenko
CM – Rodri
CM – K. De Bruyne, CM – D. Silva
RW – R. Sterling, ST – S. Agüero, LW – B. Silva
Set Piece Takers
Penalties – S. Agüero, G. Jesus, R. Mahrez
Free Kicks – K. De Bruyne, D. Silva, S. Agüero
Corners – K. De Bruyne, L. Sané, I. Gündogan
Top Target
Raheem Sterling | MID | £12.0 | 28.0%
This could have easily gone to Sergio Agüero. However, we’d go for Sterling over Agüero, because, in terms of games per double digit score last season, the Englishman returned a double digit haul every 3.8 games last season, while the Argentine only managed a double digit haul every 6.7 games.
Punts/Differentials
Kevin De Bruyne | MID | £9.5 | TSB 15.3%
In his last 2 seasons where he played 2500+ minutes, KdB scored 199 and 209 points, amassing 14 goals and 39 assists. For someone of this level, £9.5 is probably the cheapest he’ll start a season for a long time.
Be Wary Of
Benjamin Mendy | DEF | £6.0 | TSB 1.9%
Mendy started the 2018/19 season superbly, but from GW13 until the end of the season, he only started 1 game due to a combination of injury, discipline and form. He was left out of City’s pre-season squad due to another injury, and with the signing of Angeliño as well as the emergence of Zinchenko, the left-back position at City has become a rotation nightmare.
Cheapie Watch
Rodri | MID | £5.5 | TSB 1.0%
Manchester City’s record signing is a class player, but not an FPL option. In 34 appearances for Atlético last season, Rodri only had 25 shots and created 17 chances. Additionally, he ranked 2nd for tackles (103), and made 926 accurate passes in his own half, almost triple the amount of passes he made in the final third. These stats speak volumes of his FPL potential.
Cheapie Rating: D
Additional Notes
- Bernardo Silva (£8.0) is a solid option, but try to fork out the extra £1.5 and get KdB. Last season, the Belgian took 1 shot every 31.2 minutes, compared to the Portuguese’s 1 shot every 45.9 minutes. Moreover, De Bruyne created 1 chance every 26.9 minutes last season, and in his 968 minutes of Premier League action, he created 11 big chances. In contrast, Bernardo created 1 chance every 39.6 minutes, and in 2849 minutes, created 10 big chances
- Aymeric Laporte (£6.5) returned a haul of 6+ points in 62% of his games last season. He offers better potential than most £6.5 midfielders
MANCHESTER UNITED
Season Preview
What can be said about Manchester United? Everything they do turns into a bad situation. The appointment of Solskjaer was a short lived revival. Arguably their best player in Pogba wants to and looks set to leave. They are looking to sell Romelu Lukaku. David De Gea’s form has hit a wall and dropped off a cliff and to cap that off poor business management oversees everything. Putting Alexis Sánchez on the contract he has and looking to bring in Gareth Bale to have a similar contract is just idiotic business. Despite all this, United still have some quality on the field that can win games they don’t deserve to win. If a defensive structure can be adhered to this coming season with the inclusion of defensively solid right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and if Marcus Rashford playing in the central striker role can grab 20+ goals, there is something in for United to finish in a Europa League spot.
Key Player: David De Gea
Top Goal Scorer: Marcus Rashford
Predicted Finish: 5th
2019 Squad
Goalkeepers
David de Gea, Sergio Romero, Lee Grant
Defenders
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelöf, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young, Diego Dalot, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Matteo Darmian, Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe
Midfielders
Paul Pogba, Alexis Sánchez, Daniel James, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Scott McTominay, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Tahith Chong, Fred, Andreas Pereira, Angel Gomes, James Garner
Forwards
Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku, Mason Greenwood
Predicted GW1 Line Up
GK – D. De Gea
RB – A. Wan-Bissaka, CB – A. Tuanzebe, CB – V. Lindelöf, LB – L. Shaw
CDM – S. McTominay, CDM – P. Pogba
RW – D. James, CAM – J. Lingard, LW – A. Martial
ST – M. Rashford
Set Piece Takers
Penalties – P. Pogba, A. Martial, J. Lingard
Free Kicks – M. Rashford, P. Pogba, J. Mata
Corners – A. Young, M. Rashford, J. Mata
Top Target
Paul Pogba | MID | £8.5 | 9.9%
To be honest, nobody at Manchester United looks like a great FPL option to start the season. However, if Pogba remains at the club, he is the best of a pretty average bunch. Pogba had a career best FPL year in 2018/19, scoring 13 goals and providing 10 assists. Importantly, Pogba had the 2nd most shots on target (50) in the league last season, and made 588 final third passes (5th in the league).
Punts/Differentials
Anthony Martial | MID | £7.5 | TSB 3.9%
Martial’s form has been patchy over the last 2 seasons, but he has begun each of these seasons in fine form. In 2017-18, Martial scored 6 goals and provided 3 assists in his first 14 games. Then, in 2018-19, the Frenchman netted 8 goals and provided 2 assists in his first 11 starts. Although he only took a mediocre 30 shots in all of last season, 23 of these were on target and he scored 10 goals, meaning that he scored with every 3rd shot. With a favourable early season draw, Martial is worth the punt.
Be Wary Of
Aaron Wan-Bissaka | DEF | £5.5 | TSB 35.5%
Last season, AWB turned out to be one of the greatest cheapies in FPL history. As a result, he starts this season at £5.5. Coming into the new season, there are serious question marks over the United defence, who only kept 7 clean sheets last season. If these wobbles continue at the back, Wan-Bissaka will turn out to be not the best option. It must be noted that he only created 14 chances last season, and had 0 shots on target.
Cheapie Watch
Scott McTominay | MID | £5.0 | TSB 0.6%
Scott McTominay should not be overlooked by FPL managers. Yes, he only scored 38 points last year, but once you look a little bit closer, his potential is evident. McTominay spent the majority of his time last season at either centre back or defensive midfield. From these positions, his attacking output was non-existent. However, towards the end of the season, Solskjær afforded McTominay more freedom, fielding him on the right side of a central midfield trio. McTominay started 2 games at centre mid, scoring 2 goals. In these 2 games, the youngster completed the 90 minutes both times, and fired off 9 shots at a shot frequency of 1 every 20 minutes. It’s a small sample size, but if McTominay can nab a starting central midfield role, or even a spot at CDM next to a defensive minded player who can take the defensive load off him, then he is an excellent option.
Cheapie Rating: A
Andreas Pereira | MID | £5.0 | TSB 0.2%
Pereira is a classy player, but his FPL prospects are less than impressive. Out of his 15 appearances last season, in 12 of them he was deployed in advanced roles at either attacking midfield, right wing or centre midfield. Despite this, Pereira only managed 3 shots and 9 key passes in 590 minutes
Cheapie Rating: C
Mason Greenwood | FWD | £4.5 | TSB 14.1%
Greenwood’s not going to start, so he’ll only be an option as cheap bench fodder. At such a high ownership, Greenwood is likely to drop in price early in the season.
Cheapie Rating: D
Additional Notes
- Alexis Sánchez (£7.0) starts this season ridiculously cheap after only scoring 47 points last season. Solskjær has stated an intention to use Sánchez in his frontline this season, aiming for Sánchez to score 20 goals. Monitor his minutes and form, but if he looks sharp, he is a serious option.
- No United player played more pre-season minutes than Daniel James (£6.0)