Premier Punt Returns for the New Season

Liverpool – the forehead perspective.

Goalkeepers:

New boy Loris Karius (£5m) has a broken hand and will miss 6-10 weeks, paving way for Simon Mignolet (£5m) to start the season. Nice and easy.

Defenders:

Nathaniel Clyne (£5.5m) is the only senior right back Liverpool have. Jürgen Klopp has allowed Jon Flanagan (£4.5m) to join Burnley on a season long loan, whilst Connor Randall (£4m) has been in talks to join Wigan.

Alberto Moreno (£5m) has suffered defensively since joining Liverpool but boasts some attacking threat. (http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/comment/13633146) . Moreno isn’t nailed; though he is the only senior LB in the squad since Brad Smith (£4m) joined Bournemouth. Meanwhile, James Milner (midfielder: £6.5m) has been used as a left back in pre-season whilst Jürgen Klopp continues to search in the market for more cover.

Injuries to Joe Gomez (£5m) and Mamadou Sakho (£5m) mean that Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan will battle it out for 2 places. Klavan (£5m) has impressed in pre-season, notably against Messi and Suarez, and he’s my tip to start LCB whilst Mamadou Sakho is out. This means that one of Lovren (£5m) or Matip (£5.5m) will start RCB. If you asked me a few weeks ago, I would’ve said that Matip would be starting. Given his disrupted pre-season with injuries, coupled with his poor performance vs Mainz, I think Matip may not start for now. This leaves Lovren, who has improved somewhat under Jürgen Klopp, to start the season in partnership with Klavan.

Midfielders:

Emre Can (£5m) is pretty much one of the first names on the team sheet. He has impressed heavily in the centre of the park since Jürgen Klopp took over and will look to continue his role this season. His fitness isn’t at 100%, so there’s a small doubt whether he’d play 90 minutes in GW1.

Marko Grujic (£5m) is another who has impressed in pre-season and Jürgen Klopp has been no stranger to starting young players and developing them. I don’t think he’s a regular starter for the short term however, as the 20 year old would need a transition and adaption period.

Club captain Jordan Henderson (£6.5m) was injured for the large part of last season and has struggled since. There was talk of him being available for transfer but it seems no club has met Liverpool’s asking price. Henderson could yet play a vital part this season, but it remains to be seen whether he’s a first team player or not.

Vice captain James Milner (£6.5m) did well in the latter stages of last season as he played RCM/RM, tallying an impressive number of assists. However, I think he was mainly in the first team as Liverpool lacked options last summer – the new signings this summer push Milner into a more squad-like role. As mentioned above, Milner has been used as a left back in pre-season, so that could be a new role

New signing Gini Wijnaldum (£8m) is a versatile midfielder who has played in central midfield, attacking midfield and wide at his previous clubs. It remains to be seen what his primary position will be, but he has been used as a central midfielder in pre-season. He’s been making his usual runs into the box and this may be a feature of Liverpool’s new look midfield. Wijnaldum got 170 points last season, more than any current Liverpool player, as he scored 11 goals and got 6 assists. I think he’ll feature quite heavily and could be a differential at some point.

Adam Lallana (£7m) was often used as the first line of press last season and didn’t do too bad at doing so. He’s been used as part of a 3 man central midfield in pre-season, and was pretty lively against Barcelona. I wouldn’t associate Lallana with goals and assists, and his place in the side isn’t guaranteed either.

There’s no doubt Philippe Coutinho (£8m) is a wonderful footballer who is capable of producing magical moments. Coutinho, however, hasn’t always returned FPL numbers good enough to justify him as pick over others in the same price bracket. Last season, in fact, was his best season in terms of FPL, as he returned 8 goals and 6 assists in 1996 minutes. He seems to be the player who dictates the attack, and assists the assist.

His Brazilian teammate Roberto Firmino (£8.5m) had a wonderful first since season which kick started when Jürgen Klopp took over. Klopp is a huge admirer of Firmino and instantly got the best out of him. He played as a false 9 and did very well as he took apart some of the best sides in the league: notably Man City (twice) and Arsenal. Firmino can also play in the 10 as he may look to form a partnership with Sturridge/Origi. I’ve been singing his praises for quite some time now and I think he will continue to impress FPL wise too. Firmino, in my opinion, is the least likely to be rotated. He’s key to everything Klopp wants.

Summer signing Sadio Mane (£9m) has a reputation of being a streaky FPL player who either blows very hot or very cold. His new role on the right side of Liverpool’s attack will help to him to create chances and score more, as we set to be more potent in front of goal and more efficient on the counter attack. I think Mane will be the most key player in our attack when we look to counter, as he’ll use his pace to break defensive lines and get in a goal scoring position. He showed this many times vs Barcelona, and with Liverpool facing early trips to Arsenal/Tottenham/Chelsea, I think we could see something similar. Mane is another one who I think won’t be rotated as much. He, however, will be going to the African Cup Of Nations in January.

If you want to see how Coutinho, Firmino, and Mane have performed in pre-season, I highly recommend reading Bowstring’s reports after games and giving his spreadsheet a check.

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1q0xdI9z_lhyQXOXm-7aviARcfRmyEcKMLCx0k36vsGs/edit#gid=0

If you want to see how Liverpool’s midfielders and strikers have performed in terms of goals and assists per 90 minutes over the last few seasons, you can give my spreadsheet a look. My spreadsheet also covers every other attacker in the PL.

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1q0xdI9z_lhyQXOXm-7aviARcfRmyEcKMLCx0k36vsGs/edit#gid=0

Explanation to the spreadsheet: http://www.fantasyfootballscout.co.uk/comment/13553492

Strikers:

Daniel Sturridge (£10m) is no stranger to finding the net, but he is also no stranger to an injury. He’s currently a doubt to face Arsenal, although it seems he was withdrawn from Barcelona/Mainz as a precaution. I think Sturridge would play in the 4231, but unlikely in a 433 as I think Jürgen Klopp will prefer Roberto Firmino – especially in the big games. It’s worth noting that Sturridge started both finals last season as the striker ahead of Origi, and ahead of Firmino, who operated in behind.

Divock Origi (£7m) is another who impressed last season and has continued in doing so during pre-season. There’s not much expectancy on him to score as much as the likes of your Aguero’s and Kane’s do, but he certainly is capable of putting the ball in the net. He’s rated highly and I honestly think he’ll be a starter as the season goes on. For the short term he may have a bench role but that could suit his style of play as Liverpool will be looking to create chances on the counter attack.

Danny Ings (£6m) is seen as a squad player and is down the pecking order in terms of striking options. He however, is still in front of Christian Benteke (£7.5m) who is likely to leave the club this window, and outcast Mario Balotelli (£6.5m) who doesn’t have a future at the club.

Side points:
- It’s not clear who Liverpool’s penalty taker is. It’ll be interesting to see who steps up when we get one.
- Moreno and Coutinho have been on freekicks. Milner has taken the odd one.
- Corner duty usually belongs to Coutinho or Milner.

Overall thoughts:
- Avoid Liverpool defence unless there’s a drastic improvement. I think there’s better value elsewhere.
- Only an elect few are nailed/unlikely to be rotated in my eyes: Clyne, Emre, Firmino and Mane.
- Liverpool have created the most chances in the league since Jürgen Klopp took over and have scored one of the most since he took over, too. Make use of the tough fixtures as a bench mark to get early points over rivals.
- Roberto Firmino has proven to be fixture proof. 2 goals vs Arsenal, 2 goals 3 assists vs Manchester City, an assist a piece vs Chelsea and Leicester. He also scored against Manchester United in Europe. Didn’t feature vs Spurs last season.
- Sadio Mane should do very well in this setup and should excel on the counter attack. He's probably the most explosive FPL player in this Liverpool side.
- Check Bowstring’s pre-season spreadsheet to see how players have performed.
- Check my spreadsheet to see goal and assists stats over the last few seasons.

🙂