Gameweek 1 is only days away and it’s time to see the first draft for the FPL Updates team. After many hours of reading through pre-season reports, seeing if I can find a £4.0m defender that has started the majority of games and searching for a player that is criminally undervalued by FPL towers I think I’ve come close to a team I like.
I myself never plan a certain week to play my first wildcard as anything can happen in the football world but this season I’ve decided that there could be a high possibility I play it relatively early this season. The main factor behind this is key players returning late from the World Cup. We’ve seen some players return already but a number of players from the top clubs are yet to feature in pre-season.
With this in mind I’ve decided not to focus too long term and take advantage of the short term potential. A number of big teams have a very favourable run and I’m going to try target these players. I’ve left £1.5m ITB as I’m still pondering over a few moves and this is will be spent come the final draft.
Goalkeepers
In between the sticks I’ve gone for a £9.0m rotation both of which featured in my bargain goalkeepers article. Budget keepers are able to get close to the points tallies of the premium keepers through their higher amount save points and bonus points. Wolves’ new signing Rui Patricio is the first part of the goalkeeping duo as I expect him to rack up the saves but also keep some clean sheets for his side. Alongside him is last season highest scoring budget keeper Lukasz Fabianski. His opening run of games are quite tough but with a few bankers thrown in between I expect him to rotate well with Wolves keeper.
Defenders
At first glance you can see I’ve spent big at the back. Like I mentioned earlier it’s a lot easier for budget keepers to come close to premium keepers but this isn’t the case for defenders. Andrew Robertson was the first name in my defence after an impressive end to last season. The Scottish left back was allowed to roam high under Klopp and picked assists and bonus points at the tail end of last season. At £6.0m I think he’s Liverpool’s best defensive option. The second of my three premium defenders has gone to the City left back, Benjamin Mendy. After spending a year out injured I think the City defender has been undervalued by £0.5m. City’s opening run can’t get much easier and therefore I can’t see myself going without a City defender. My third and final premium defender goes the Ben Davies. You might have noticed I’ve picked three left backs but I think all three of these guys offer such great defensive and attacking value. The Spurs defender rotated with Danny Rose but with him returning late from the World Cup and rumours off him leaving the club I can’t see as much rotation for the Welsh defender. The first of two budget options I’ve chosen is Southampton’s Cedric Soares. There are some doubts over him due to his recent illness and returning back late from Russia but I don’t plan on starting him in gameweek 1. He’s more of a long term investment and he should offer some attacking threat. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is my £4.0m gem and I can’t see him going anywhere while he’s got the Palace right back spot. Even if he only gets a 2 pointer every week I won’t complain as he’s likely to be sat on the bench.
Midfielders
There plenty of options in the midfield this season but I don’t think there’s much to mention when I say Mohamed Salah was the first name in my team. Owned by 52% the only thing the man can’t do is get bonus points. Man City’s new signing Riyad Mahrez takes a spot in the side as he looks set to take the right wing spot in Pep’s side. A City attacker looks a must have and I think the new signing edges it with him potential having set-pieces on the right hand side along with his goal threat. At Leicester he was a big fish in a small pond so it’ll be interesting to see how he performs in this lake. Everton’s opening run of games look too good to miss out on and I’ve gone for their talisman Gylfi Sigurdsson. With set-pieces to his name and in the number 10 spot I think he could be a great differential with only 2.2% ownership as of writing this. Marco Silva should improve Everton’s attacking output after taking over from Big Sam and Siggy will hopefully benefit from this too. I try not to pick too many newly promoted players but my final two spots in the midfield come from Wolves and Fulham. My 4th spot goes to a player who shouldn’t be playing in the Championship after signing for Wolves on a permanent basis this season, but Diogo Jota has Champions League experience and is key part of Wolves’ team. There’s a plethora of £6.5m options but I’ve decided to choose this man who’s only got 6.3% ownership and should get the Wanderers off to a good start in England’s top division. Diogo should start out of position at left wing with the potential of starting up front. My 5th and final midfielder is Fulham’s skipper Tom Cairney who’s priced just over the base price at £5.0m. In this current draft I plan to rotate him with one of my defenders on the bench. With the arrival of Serri I’m hoping can have more of an advanced role alongside his set-pieces. Spending the extra £0.5m seems to be worth it as there’s next to no options in that bracket.
Forwards
I’ve decided to spend most of my budget in defence and in the midfield so I’ve only got room for one premium striker and that’s gone to Sergio Aguero who finishes off the Manchester City trio. Aside from rotation I can’t see any reason not to own 3 assets from Pep’s side. Last season’s runaway record breaking winners steam rolled through Chelsea in the Community Shield where the Argentine bagged a brace. There are concerns over Jesus stealing minutes if Pep only plays 1 up front but there’s still a possibility of both being selected if he goes for a 2 up top formation. My second striker spot has been awarded to Josh King. The Cherries opening fixtures are worth investing in and at this price point he’s one of the best options. Chris Wood was in my thoughts but he hasn’t made the cut after picking up a knock against Aberdeen. King’s owned by 5.6% of managers and starts the season at home to new boys Cardiff and I can see goals in this game. Aboubakar Kamara takes the final spot mainly due to his price and his potential to get minutes. At £4.5m I don’t expect to play him often and with the signing of Mitrovic there’s a possibility he could be benched. There doesn’t seem to be any nailed on £4.5m strikers to play 90 minutes week in week out so it might be worth upgrading this position.
That’s the current draft but there’s no chance it’s not going change. The transfer window is still yet to shut and that’s likely to alter my plans. There’s only a few players that’s nailed on in this side and with a few days left to tinker anything could change. We have only 3 players over 20% ownership so there’s plenty of differentials in the side so there could be an argument to play safer. There’s lots to think about!
Written by FPL Junior (@FPL_Junior)
