The 2017/18 season was an eventful one for Liverpool: Mohamed Salah took the Premier League by storm and they made it to the Champions League Final.
The season ultimately ended in disappointment, as they failed to take home any silverware. With their squad strengthened over the summer, they’ve got the potential to finish higher than 4th place and mount a serious challenge in the cup competitions too.
Liverpool’s early season fixtures are most appealing of all the “Top Six” sides: West Ham (H), Crystal Palace (A), Brighton (H), Leicester (A). The fixtures do toughen up after this point, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see many FPL managers going into the season with at least 2 Liverpool assets.
STAR MAN – Mohammed Salah (£13m)
Last season’s star man looks set to be absolutely essential again this season. He had a phenomenal first season for Liverpool, breaking the 300 point barrier with 32 goals, 12 assists and 26 bonus points. He’s seen a dramatic price increase to 13 million, which could put some fantasy managers off, but ignore him at your peril.
His ownership is already pushing 50% so if he hits the ground running this season, it will be very difficult to put him into your team if you don’t own him from the start. Some managers may be tempted to go for striker Firmino to save funds, but he may not play the opening games after being involved in the World Cup with Brazil until the Quarter Finals.
On paper, you’d want to captain the Liverpool player in gameweek 1 and gameweek 3, with favourable home fixtures against West Ham and Brighton respectively. Salah will be looking to pick up from where he left off last season and he should keep penalty taking duties which further adds to his appeal. He is a must have!
HIDDEN GEM – Andrew Robertson (£6m)
Surprisingly, Liverpool had the 3rd best defensive record last season, keeping an impressive 17 clean sheets. They’ve not been known for their defensive stability in recent years, but record transfer target Allison between the sticks will bolster their clean sheet potential.
England’s Trent Alexander-Arnold may be topping the ownership charts right now, but it’s left-back Andrew Robertson that you really want in your FPL team. It took a while for him to cement his position in the starting lineup. However, in 22 starts he amassed one goal, 5 assists and 10 clean sheets with a total of 111 FPL points.
If he can maintain those 5 points per game for an entire 38-game season, we could be looking at a total points return close to the 200 point barrier. 6 million may seem expensive for a Liverpool defender, but there’s massive potential there for this hidden gem.
BARGAIN – Xherdan Shaqiri (£7.5m)
Shaqiri is back in the Premier League, after a reasonable season with Stoke, despite the inevitable relegation. 8 goals and 9 assists are decent numbers for a team that were struggling for the duration.
Shaqiri should be able to improve on those numbers in this attack-minded Liverpool team, which is reflected in his increased price tag. With that front 3 of Salah, Firmino and Mane ahead of him, there’s plenty of assist potential and Shaqiri should get his fair share of set pieces.
He was 6th for chances created last season, with 77, managing 14 big chances within his 36 appearances. You can just imagine the points potential this season! It’s inevitable that he will improve on that 155 FPL point total from 2017/18. He looks set to be a bargain!
PREDICTED LINE UP
Allison
Alexander Arnold – Lovren – Van Dijk – Robertson
Keita – Henderson – Shaqiri
Salah – Firmino – Mane
Written by Fantasy Football Community (@FFCommunity_)
