2016/17 was a season to forget for Leicester City in the Premier League. The defending champions slumped to a 12th place finish. It could have been much worse had they not parted company with Claudio Ranieri in February.
Craig Shakespeare took over and did a marvellous job of getting Leicester City back to playing with the hunger and desire we seen of them in 2015/16. Shakespeare boasted a 54% win rate during his 13 games in charge. Under Ranieri, Leicester won just 20% of their league matches in 2016/17. With no European distractions, I’m expecting a big season from the Foxes.
STAR MAN – Jamie Vardy (8.5m)
8.5m for James Vardy is a generous price from the folk at FPL HQ. It’s easy to forget that this guy scored 24 league goals just two seasons ago (just one less than golden boot winner Harry Kane). Kane is a more complete striker than Vardy and plays in a better side, but Vardy has proved in the past that he can match Harold for attacking output not to mention he’s 4.0m cheaper – the price of an Angel Rangel! Vardy has been overlooked by FPL managers in their early drafts (2.7% ownership) due to the array of attacking options on offer this season as well as Leicester’s tricky fixture schedule in the early part of the season. Don’t rule out including him in your gameweek 1 squad despite the tough fixtures, he’s shown before that he can score against any defence. With Riyad Mahrez likely to exit the King Power before gameweek 1, Vardy should be on penalties as well this season.
HIDDEN GEM – Harry Maguire (5.0m)
Maguire was a hero in FPL last season while at Hull City, registering two goals and three assists. He’s a HUGE threat from set pieces and I expect more goals from him this season. With Robert Huth ruled out through injury until mid-September, Maguire is nailed on for a starting berth at the heart of the Leicester defence. 5.0m is the price I anticipated for him given his attacking threat and Leicester are a team capable of keeping clean sheets regularly. He’s owned by just 1.5% of managers which makes him an attractive differential but the Foxes do have a tricky start. They face Arsenal, Man United and Chelsea in their first four games. I’ve got Maguire on my watchlist for gameweek 5 onwards.
BARGAIN – Danny Simpson (4.5m)
Simpson had a poor season in 2016/17 by his standards and he’ll be determined to hit the ground running in order to make the right-back spot his own. The addition of the versatile Maguire gives Shakespeare another option there. If he’s a regular starter, Simpson could offer excellent value at 4.5m especially for those managers who like to use a rotation strategy in defence.
PREDICTED LINE-UP
Schmeichel
Simpson – Morgan – Maguire – Fuchs
Mahrez – Drinkwater – Ndidi – Albrighton
Vardy – Slimani
If you have enjoyed this early view of the fantasy potential of Leicester City, be sure to check the other teams here.
Written by FPL General (@FPLGeneral)
