We are delighted to announce that our final team we will be running is our official FPL Updates XI. The main aim of this team will be to place as high as possible, and also try to provide an insight into a successful team selection.
Starting XI: De Gea (MUN), Wisdom (WBA), Cahill (CHE), Rosenior (HUL), Barkley (EVE), Sigurdsson (SWA), Sterling (LIV), Ramsey (ARS), Silva (MCI), Giroud (ARS), Rooney (MUN)
Bench: Krul (NEW), Bojan (STK), Trippier (BUR), Ward (CRY)
Goalkeepers
After much deliberation we have chosen to put David De Gea between the sticks, which is mainly due to the favoured run of games at the start of the campaign, against the likes of QPR, Leicester City, Swansea and Burnley. Usually it is somewhat unwise to spend a lot of the budget on a goalkeeper as they don’t pay much in the terms of value. You’re generally better off spending more on the other positions as they are more likely to pick up the odd goal or assist. At 5.5m De Gea is a bit more than what we would like to have spent, as you could pick a rotational pair of goalkeepers that play week in week out for a total of 9.0m (4.5m each). One of the first things Louis van Gaal will look at is strengthening the defence of Manchester United, which can only help with the clean sheet bonus points that hopefully De Gea will benefit from.
Defenders
For the start of game-week 1 we have chosen to include Wisdom, Cahill and Rosenior in defence. Just as it is with the goalkeepers, we tend to try and save as much of the budget as possible for those players that will be more likely to pick up the big points such as your stikers and midfielders. However we have spent a bit more of the budget on Gary Cahill at 6.5m who is a key part of Mourinho and Chelsea’s ability to keep clean sheets. We then have Andre Wisdom who is probably one of the only 4.0m defenders who will have a chance of starting each week with West Bromwich Albion. The right back is on loan from Liverpool and will like to push forward for the Baggies, possibly getting the odd assist or maybe, even a goal. Finally, alongside them we are starting Hull City’s Liam Rosenior who had a cracking end to last season with 7 clean-sheets, 3 assists and one goal tallied for the campaign.
Midfielders
In the centre of the park we have decided to play five; Ross Barkley, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Raheem Sterling, Aaron Ramsey and David Silva. Firstly, at 7.0m Barkley could turn out to be good value for money this season if he shows some of the form that he has for both Everton and England. With 7 goals and 4 assists over the 2013/2014 campaign, Barkley showed a lot of promise and this could be the season that he really announces himself, which could mean raking in the Fantasy Football points too. Alongside him we have chosen Sigurdsson who has returned to Swansea after a brief spell at Spurs. The Icelandic play-maker failed to impress at Tottenham and has returned to Swansea where he first saw success, of which he has already started well with 2 goals and an assist in a pre-season game against Plymouth Argyle.
Raheem Sterling is the third in our midfield and his inclusion is fully justified with his performances of last season. Sterling was a crucial part to Liverpool’s success in the latter stage of the season, which can be seen with his price of 8.5m this season. If he hits the heights he has shown he can, then we could see some big Fantasy Football points from the youngster. David Silva is the penultimate part of our midfield at 9.0m. The Manchester City player is one of the most creative players in the Premier League and is always likely to get a goal or an assist, with 7 and 12 last season respectively. The final place in the midfield goes to Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey at 9.0m. With the form he showed last season, we felt it would be rude not to include the Welsh Wizard in the team. Ramsey was key to Arsenal’s form, as when he became injured their form dropped, seeing them fall from 1st to 4th by the time he returned. Along with this he also managed to pick up 10 goals and 9 assists during the 2013/2014 campaign.
Strikers
We have gone with two up top, with the first being Olivier Giroud at 8.5m. Although the Frenchman had a somewhat poor end to the season, he still managed to hit the back of the net on 16 occasions over the campaign, along with 9 assists. We believe that he will benefit from the inclusion of Sanchez and the return of Walcott, who will both give him better options to play to and off of. The final place in the team goes to Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, at a price of 10.5m this can be seen as a little steep, but the English striker does bring in some big points and with Manchester United’s easier start, his big point scoring could continue.
Bench
Finally, on the bench we have Tim Krul, Kieran Trippier, Joel Ward and Bojan Krkic. Just a few notes on our bench; Kieran Trippier managed 14 assists and 2 goals last season in the Championship, Bojan was tipped to be the ‘next Messi’ and is out to revitalise his career and finally, Joel Ward. Crystal Palace found defensive form under Tony Pulis and this may be set to continue.
