More than likely you’ll have heard the news by now but for those unaware, the new Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game is up and running. Having taken time to soak up this season’s current player list, we roll out the first in a series of articles focussing on each position – not surprisingly, we start with the goalkeepers.
The Budget Bracket
Southampton’s Artur Boruc comes in at just 4.5 – the most expensive of his side’s three keepers. The Pole looked to have established himself as number one under Mauricio Pochettino last term, though, and is bound to receive plenty investment, with a schedule that sees him entertain Sunderland, West Ham, Palace, Swansea, Fulham, Hull and Villa in his first seven at St Mary’s.
Simon Mignolet’s departure from Sunderland leaves new boy Vito Mannone and Kieran Westwood to battle it out for the number one jersey – both have been priced at 4.5, though the opening schedule is somewhat tricky for the Black Cats, with plenty of saves, rather than clean sheets, perhaps anticipated. Everton new boy Joel Robles is also been handed a budget price tag but while Roberto Martinez has admitted the Spaniard could push Tim Howard all the way for a starting role, too many question marks hang over his game time at the moment to make the former Latics man a viable proposition.
Promoted trio David Marshall, Julian Speroni and Allan McGregor all come in at 4.5. As mentioned in a previous article, the latter two offer up a home/away rotation pairing right across the season, with a decent opening eight Gameweeks (TOT, NOR, SUN, CAR, SWA, SWA, WHM, AVL, FUL). Faith in both Hull and Palace’s abilities to register clean sheets is understandably low but for those Fantasy managers looking to spend an absolute minimum on their keepers, this pairing is the cheapest option on offer with a guarantee of regular game time.
Marshall has some tricky opening fixtures but not only does he rotate with Swansea’s Michel Vorm, the Cardiff keeper also offers decent back-up for those willing to take a punt on Mignolet nailing down the Liverpool keeper’s jersey.
The Mid-Price
Jussi Jaaskelainenand Asmir Begovic – last season’s standout budget options – have both been handed a significant price hike in light of their heroics between the sticks. The duo will now set you back 5.5 apiece compared to 4.5 a year ago; a move that will severely dent their appeal. As always, Jaaskelainen will offer save points aplenty and, with (CAR, new, STO, sot, EVE, hul) could barely ask for a better opening schedule – while he offers a strong rotation option with Boruc over the 38 Gameweeks, there are cheaper routes into Sam Allardyce’s backline that may sway Fantasy managers. Begovic has a dire first few matches, with only a home clash against Palace likely to appeal in the opening five, and with Stoke set for a more attacking approach under Mark Hughes, many may choose to hold fire on investing in the Potters backline options.
Both Simon Mignolet and Pepe Reina will set you back 5.5. The Belgian’s arrival at Anfield suggests the latter’s days are numbered and if the former Sunderland man can nail down a regular role, he’d offer the cheapest route into a defence that registered 16 clean sheets under Brendan Rodgers last time round. With only one tricky fixture in the first nine, Liverpool look primed for investment from the offset.
Everton’s Tim Howard has been priced at 5.5 after the Toffees shipped just 41 goals in David Moyes’ final season in charge. With Roberto Martinez now at the helm, question marks remain over the Merseysiders’ ability to keep out opponents if, as expected, they roll out a 3-4-3 – bearing in mind that Seamus Coleman is cheaper and should be fielded as an out of position prospect on the right of midfield, Howard’s appeal is significantly reduced.
Midlands duo Ben Foster and Brad Guzan both cost 5.0 and offer a home/away rotation pairing with West Brom and Villa over the season. Guzan’s saves are crucial to how we assess his potential – despite producing just five clean sheets in 2012/13, the US stopper still finished as Villa’s top scoring defensive option and looks a viable alternative to the similarly priced Matt Lowton, though there are cheaper alternatives to consider at Villa if you fancy them to improve defensively. Foster is 0.5 cheaper than Gareth McAuley for the Baggies and could well outscore the centre-half this time round if he can stay injury-free.
While Jaaskelainen and Begovic have been priced out of many managers’ reach, the 2011/12 star duo of Michel Vorm and Tim Krul have slipped in FPL’s estimations after registering 92 and 75 points apiece in the campaign gone by. The pair are now down to 5.0 and while you’re unlikely to find a cheaper alternative in the Swansea set-up (unless 4.5 Neil Taylor can nail down left-back at Ben Davies’ expense), there are a couple of 4.5 price options in Newcastle’s defence which may see Krul bypassed. With home games against West Ham, Fulham and Hull, in addition to a trip to Villa by Gameweek 5, the Tynesiders – opening day trip to City aside – offer a decent opening schedule.
John Ruddy’s appeal has been hit by a cost of 5.0. The Norwich stopper made just 15 appearances last season and was expected to be a cut-price option – although he rotates home/away with Stoke, a partnership with Begovic is surely too expensive at 10.5. With Michael Turner priced at 4.5 in the heart of the Canaries backline, our plans for Ruddy may be shelved. Similarly, Fulham’s new keeper Maarten Stekelenburg could be overlooked by fellow new-boy Fernando Amorebieta – at 5.0 and 4.5 respectively, the more budget-friendly centre-half may prove a more popular option for those eyeing up the Cottagers as a source of clean sheets.
Arsenal seems very favourably priced at the back this year, with Wojciech Szczesny (5.5) potentially offering real value over the season ahead. If the Pole can retain the number one jersey, he offers a solid route into a backline that conceded just 37 goals last time out – the second most resilient defence in the Premier League. Arsene Wenger’s side face just one of last term’s top six in the first nine Gameweeks and have been handed the platform to sprint out of the blocks.
The Top Bracket
Just four keepers have been afforded a price tag of 6.0 or more this season. Surprisingly, Hugo Lloris’ name is amongst that quartet, despite the fact that Tottenham managed nine clean sheets in Andre Villas-Boas’ first term in charge at the Lane – less than Norwich, for example. While there’s no doubt the Frenchman is now fully established as Spurs’ first-choice stopper, his appeal is somewhat diminished by options elsewhere in the Tottenham backline; with the likes of Younes Kaboul at 5.0 and Benoit Assou-Ekotto also coming in under 6.0, Lloris will surely struggle to garner any real attention.
United’s David De Gea will also set you back 6.0. The champions’ first few fixtures, which pits them against Chelsea, Liverpool and City in the opening five, could be a lot kinder on David Moyes’ side and if the likes of Jonny Evans (5.5) can nail down a regular role in the new regime, De Gea looks an expensive commodity many will be more than happy to do without. New City manager Manuel Pellegrini’s promise to bring a more attacking style of play to the Etihad suggests 6.5 priced Joe Hart could struggle to mirror the resilience that has seen him produce 18. 17 and 18 clean sheets in the previous three campaigns under the more cautious Roberto Mancini. It remains to be seen whether Pellegrini will utilise rotation at the back to the same extent as his predecessor but if he settles on a regular back-four domestically, the fact that every City defender bar Vincent Kompany is cheaper than Hart is likely to play a part in Fantasy managers’ thinking as we look to save on budget to begin with.
Finally, Chelsea’s Petr Cech looks a nailed-on option under the returning Jose Mourinho. Aside from the similarly priced Ashley Cole, there remains plenty of uncertainty over the Blues’ likely back-four for the season ahead, with Cech offering a security of starts that boosts his clean sheet prospects – there are cheaper options in Mourinho’s defence, though, with 6.0 priced Cesar Azpilicueta’s runs down the flank offering real attacking potential if he can possibly cement the right-back berth.
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