Last years 4th place finish sees Liverpool return to Champions League football, following a year in which they had no European football at all. From an Fantasy Premier League perspective it’s time to be prepared for the potential of a little more rotation and a little less certainty around team selection.
So far this summer Liverpool have addressed several needs by bringing in Mo Salah, Dominc Solanke and Andrew Robertson whilst still heavily pursuing a new centre midfielder and centre half. If they can finalise deals for Naby Keita and whisper it, Virgil van Dijk, then I think we could see another prosperous season for The Reds.
STAR MAN – Sadio Mane (9.5m)
There can be arguments made for three players here with Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho making strong cases. The problem this year though is Firmino is now listed as a striker and Coutinho is being strongly linked with a move to Barcelona. This gives Mane the slight advantage. The Senegalese playmaker hit the ground running and picked up both the Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season awards in his debut season with The Reds, scoring 13 times and registering 7 assists in 27 league appearances. This led to him totalling 156pts and if it wasn’t for a couple of big injuries he would have very likely gone on to score far more. Especially given that Liverpool’s problems certainly don’t lie in their ability to score goals.
His FPL value of 9.5m looks about right and puts him joint 4th highest priced midfielder alongside Mesut Ozil, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli. My initial thoughts are that he has more attacking threat and will outscore Ozil and given that Spurs have moved away from Fortress White Hart Lane it’s difficult to see both Eriksen and Dele breaking the 200pt barrier again.
At the time of writing he is apparently recovering well from his knee injury picked up in April but it may well be worth keeping an eye on his progress. He has been announced as part of the squad travelling to Germany for the Audi Cup but I highly doubt he will feature. We will then need to see if he plays any part in Liverpool’s final pre-season game on August 5th against Athletic Bilbao. Therefore it may be worth approaching him with caution for week 1 but from there on I think he will be a safe and solid player that I project will score around the 175-185pt mark.
HIDDEN GEM – Andrew Robertson (5.0m)
After a season of playing James Milner at left back Jurgen Klopp has finally signed a recognised player for the position. In all fairness to Milner he did a really good job last year but they simply couldn’t run with him there for another season whilst being fully aware that Alberto Moreno was the only cover. So in comes Robertson and what a rise it has been for the exciting Scottish full back. It was as recent as 2013 that Robertson was playing as an amatuer in the Scottish fourth tier with Queens Park before moving to Dundee United and then Hull. Although his rise has been meteoric he actually has over 50 Premier League appearances under his belt with Hull, so inexperience need not be a worry. In those appearances he has impressed many and has gone on to earn 15 caps for Scotland. He may only have 1 Premier League goal to his name but don’t let that deter your thinking. His 57 Premier League appearances have come across two seasons that Hull have been relegated in which they scored just 70 goals and conceded 131. Not the best opportunity to bomb forward and pick up FPL points. Saying that, he was Hull’s highest scoring defender last year with 73pts, more than even teammate Harry Maguire, who himself was very highly rated in many FPL circles. Me included.
In the days since his arrival Jurgen Klopp has dropped more than enough hints to suggest that he will be the starting left back for Liverpool this season and given that Klopp loves utilising his full backs in the opposition half I think Robertson could well be an absolute gem at 5.0m. Especially given that Milner currently has an ownership of 10% whilst Robertson sits on just 0.6%. I’ve always been a big fan of picking the cheaper defensive option as cover from the big teams and seeing as he comes in cheaper than Nathaniel Clyne, Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren I think he could see his ownership hit double figures very quickly.
BARGAIN – Jordan Henderson (5.5m)
Rate him or not it’s hard to argue that Hendo doesn’t make Liverpool run a little smoother when he plays. Granted he does have his injury doubts but as team captain and a favourite of Klopp’s he seems unlikely to be forced out regardless of whether any additional midfielders do arrive. Emre Can was in contention here given the fact he’s a classy individual and has a penchant for scoring a worldie but I just can’t help but think Hendo is far more of a safe pick when fit.
It’s a fair point to make that of the six listed midfielders to break the 100pt scoring barrier last year for Liverpool Henderson was not one of them. Injuries did hamper him but he should have scored more than 73pts that he did. On the other hand, he comes in markedly cheaper than most of those and given that he is getting good preseason minutes under his belt he will go into the season as a 5.5m starting midfielder looking to face Watford, Crystal Palace and Burnley in his first five games. Maybe I’m wrong but it feels as though there have been a few more price increases throughout the midfield than usual in FPL so sifting through looking for a bargain is tough. But when you look at the list below the 6.0m mark it’s hard to find many better options than a team captain who takes some of the set pieces within a team that scored 78 goals last season. With five or six players vying for three centre midfield places there will inevitably be rotation but going into the season I’d feel confident that Hendo can be a reliable 4th/5th midfielder in your line ups.
*One to keep an eye on. This may not be a long term option but with Trent Alexander-Arnold featuring very heavily at right back in pre season he could be a nice pick up from gameweek 1. At 4.5m and liked by Klopp he’s maybe a bargain differential early on.
PREDICTED LINE-UP
Mignolet
Clyne – Lovren – Matip – Robertson
Coutinho – Henderson – Wijnaldum
Salah – Firmino – Mane
If you have enjoyed this early view of the fantasy potential of Liverpool, be sure to check the other teams here.
Written by FPL Guru (@FPL_Guru_)
