Fantasy Premier League Tips and Bargains in Every Position
Premier League fantasy football is serious business.
Over the years, it's grown from hobby and habit to occupation and, for some, livelihood. Millions play it, thousands devote their lives to it, and hundreds have wrapped themselves so tightly within the game that it's become a job.
Success is met with genuine respect. When world chess champion Magnus Carlsen is topping the leaderboards, it really hammers home how much of a skill it is.
With the 2020-21 Premier League season kicking off this week, it's time to pick your teams. We know the players, the prices and the fixtures; it's now time to make the decisions. Who makes your 15-man squad?
These calls aren't easy to make. Faced with a lengthy list of players in four different positions, it can be tough to settle on a selection. If you're feeling a little lost or if you've already changed your team 16 times and are pondering a 17th switch, then settle in and read our FPL bargain list and top tip hub, direct from three experts and curated by B/R.
Our panel is:
- Rambo, presenter on the Fantasy Premier League show
- FPL Family, Sam and Lee, FPL YouTubers and podcasters
- Andy, aka Let's Talk FPL, YouTuber and creator
They've supplied a bargain pick for each of the four position groups (goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward) and also dropped a top tip each. Read on for their thoughts on difference-makers, transfers and more.
Bargain Goalkeepers
Rambo: Alex McCarthy, Southampton, £4.5m
Goalkeeper is probably one the trickiest positions this season to find a cheeky cheap option without risking too much, but McCarthy is someone I like.
He's probably the cheapest goalkeeper who plays regularly for a club that could make the top 10. He'll have a lot of saves to make, so I wouldn't be backing him for his clean sheets but more so for his save points and to be able to spend that extra budget elsewhere.
FPL Family: Mat Ryan, Brighton, £4.5m
For us, the double-up at Brighton looks sensible.
Ryan's three clean sheets during Project Restart were a good indication of some form heading into the new season. With coveted centre-back Ben White staying at the club, the defence should improve, so I would expect a better clean sheet record for the new season.
In order to free up budget elsewhere, it makes sense to have Brighton's No. 2 (currently Christian Walton, £4.0m) as the spare keeper in case Ryan misses out for any reason.
Andy: Illan Meslier, Leeds United, £4.5m
With Meslier, I'm thinking outside the box a little bit.
Leeds United are probably one of the best sides to come up from the Championship in recent years, and we've seen what a good newly promoted defensive side can do in terms of clean sheets—just look at Sheffield United last year.
The only slight concern might be the opening fixtures with Liverpool, Manchester City and Wolves to play in the opening five gameweeks. But the beauty of cheap goalkeepers is the save points, and if those teams have plenty of shots, Meslier might be able to rack up enough points regardless of whether he keeps a clean sheet.
Bargain Defenders
Rambo: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool, £7.5m
This might sound ridiculous...but the most expensive defender this year is the bargain. Let me explain.
Alexander-Arnold costs £7.5m, but he clocked up over 200 points last season. If he played any other position, you'd be delighted by his price because of the number of points he returns.
Last season, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne all outscored him, but they'll set you back by £11.5m-plus. It only makes sense to splash a bit extra on Alexander-Arnold and make the cuts elsewhere because no player is going to get over 200 points with a price of less than £9-10m.
FPL Family: Kyle Walker-Peters, Southampton, £4.5m
Southampton loaned Kyle Walker-Peters from Tottenham during the January transfer window, and that proved to be a great move.
During Project Restart, KWP made six starts for Southampton (although he did get appearance points in the other three games Southampton played), keeping two clean sheets and registering a fantasy assist in that time.
Making the move south a permanent one has made KWP a great fantasy asset. While he doesn't have huge attacking potential, he looks set to be a regular starter in a reasonably solid Southampton defence. At £4.5m, that makes him an excellent fantasy addition.
Andy: Ruben Vinagre, Wolves, £4.5m
Vinagre has all the makings of a true FPL great in the bargain department.
When Willy Boly (£5.5m) is fit and available, Wolves are one of the best defences in the league. He clocked up 12 clean sheets in just 22 games last season. Vinagre can get a piece of that action for a full £1m less while Jonny is injured.
With Sheffield United, West Ham, Fulham, Leeds, Newcastle and Crystal Palace to come in the first seven gameweeks, there are plenty of clean sheets on offer.
The only concern would be if Wolves sign a new left-back who may come in as cover while Jonny (£5.5m) is out, making Vinagre a doubt for regular minutes. If that doesn't happen, however, Vinagre should have the role nailed down with defensive and attacking returns on the horizon.
Bargain Midfielders
Rambo: Tomas Soucek, West Ham, £5.0m
Right now, it doesn't feel like West Ham are a club to invest any FPL cash into, but Soucek's end to last season gives me a lot of encouragement about his price.
David Moyes had the big Czech playing almost as a second striker in the role we saw Marouane Fellaini occupy for Everton years ago. The Hammers will pump the ball into the box to Soucek, and although he's a big lad, he's got a deadly touch and finish, so he could be one to keep an eye on.
Paying £5m for the next-gen Fellaini is a steal.
FPL Family: Tomas Soucek, West Ham, £5.0m
There are so many important premium assets in the midfield this year that finding value in the budget options is going to be vital to a successful season.
Allan Saint-Maximin (£5.5m) looks a good pick for Newcastle, as does Jake Livermore (£5.0m) for West Brom. However, even with the dreadful fixtures West Ham start the season with, Soucek looks like the standout budget option.
During Project Restart, he started all nine of the West Ham games—this is crucial as you need your budget players to be regular starters so you always have a viable bench—and during those nine starts, he managed three goals.
Andy: Bukayo Saka, Arsenal, £5.5m
There are a lot of £5.5m midfielders on offer this year, but few look like genuine standout options. Saka is, though.
He's playing for a side that will be fighting for a top-four place, and the opening fixtures also look great with a visit to Fulham in Gameweek 1 followed by a home match against West Ham in Gameweek 2.
As long as he gets minutes, he should be able to increase his attacking returns from last season, during which he registered five assists despite playing as a left-back for some of that time. Mikel Arteta clearly likes him, though, playing him out of position initially and then further forward once Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac were fit in 2019-20.
If he can get into the front three ahead of Willian (£8.0m) and Nicolas Pepe (£8.0m), then he'll be an absolute bargain.
Bargain Forwards
Rambo: Eddie Nketiah, Arsenal, £6.0m
Sadly, Danny Ings' price (£8.5m) makes him hard to pick as a bargain, but there are a few knocking around at a similar range to where he was last season.
The one that stands out for me is Nketiah. I'm confident Mikel Arteta's Arsenal will have a positive season, but I fancy the young English prospect to shine. One reason for that is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang playing off the left-hand side, and another is a potential exit for Alexandre Lacazette down the line.
Nketiah looked confident last season, and a club in transition like Arsenal always has space for one or two hidden gems coming to fruition.
FPL Family: Che Adams, Southampton, £6.0m
I really fancy this to be Adams' breakthrough season.
Having struggled to consistently make the Southampton starting XI before the enforced break, he came to life after it. During Project Restart, he played in eight matches, starting four of them, and managed four goals and one fantasy assist.
A change in Southampton's formation to accommodate both Adams and Danny Ings in a two-man attack, coupled with Adams' pre-season form (a goal and an assist against Swansea) means Adams looks set to be a good asset for the 2020-21 season and will be in my squad for Gameweek 1.
Andy: Michail Antonio, West Ham, £6.5m
If Antonio can stay fit—and if he continues to play in a central position as the No. 9 (or alongside Sebastien Haller)—he'll be one of the highest-scoring forwards this year.
The fixtures aren't the easiest, but starting off with Newcastle United in Gameweek 1 before travelling to an Arsenal side that haven't impressed defensively for a while might see Antonio in the goals early.
The one thing that's let him down in previous seasons is his injury record, but there's a lot to be excited about based on what we saw during Project Restart. His expected goals per 90 minutes stood at 0.8 over nine games, per Football Reference. To put that in context, Sergio Aguero's were 0.86 for the season, and Salah's were 0.6.
Top Tips
Rambo: Don't over-tinker
I have this problem whereby I love to change things constantly, and I'm always trying to find the "clever" pick when, in reality, there's no such thing. Don't try to predict something you don't know.
Stick with what you know—or, as we call it, the eye test. If you've got a flavour for a player because you've been watching him, forget the stats and get him in your team before you end up over-thinking and over-tinkering to find space for all your favourite picks while also attempting to follow what everybody else is doing.
Don't be Claudio Ranieri; be Sean Dyche.
FPL Family: Make late transfers, not early ones
This season will likely throw up more complications than usual. We have already seen players such as Paul Pogba having to isolate as a result of the coronavirus. Therefore, waiting until closer to the deadlines to make transfers could be key to success in FPL.
If players are forced into isolation, you want to have the ability to move them on without having to take a points hit to do so. Have a transfer plan, keep an eye on the markets in terms of price rises and price falls, and where possible, hold those moves until the end of the week once we have seen the press conferences and know, as best we can, that we don't have other issues in our team.
Avoiding points hits is key to a successful FPL season.
Andy: Don't waste transfers
It sounds obvious, but too often, we get so excited about who we're bringing in and forget to consider why we might be taking a particular player out.
If you brought someone in because their next four fixtures are great, then why are you looking to remove them after just a week or two? There's nothing to say you can't change your mind, but it's worth considering whether you're taking that player out for the right reasons.
Ask yourself what has changed between bringing them in and now. Transfers are precious, and it can be too easy to get caught up in the latest bandwagon, forgetting why we picked a player in the first place.
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