The relaunch of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) for 2022/23 will see the usual price swings for various players based on last season’s performances but will also feature positional reclassifications for a handful of them.
In this article, we’ll outline the case for or against a change of position for a number of assets whose Fantasy classifications have been widely discussed recently.
We should stress that this is purely educated guesswork on our part and is based on how FPL have gone about classifying players previously.
READ MORE: When might FPL relaunch for 2022/23?
HOW FPL CLASS PLAYERS
As a rough guide, FPL tend to classify players using the following criteria:
| Defenders | Centre-backs, full-backs, wing-backs (eg in a 3-4-3/3-5-2) |
| Midfielders | Central/defensive midfielders, number tens, wingers/wide-midfielders, players on either flank of a front three |
| Forwards | Lone strikers, strikers who play in a two-man attack, the central striker in a three-man frontline |
So forget what you might think about heatmaps, shot counts, penalty box touches and Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min sharing the Golden Boot: starting position on a teamsheet has traditionally been pretty much all that matters for the folk at FPL Towers, whether you agree with that or not. Only with a revamp of the above criteria will we see Son and Salah become forwards, as the vast majority of their appearances in 2021/22 were as ‘wingers’ on paper.
The positional classifications are also typically based on what each player in question has done in the previous season alone. For example, Stuart Dallas was recategorised as a midfielder a year ago after spending most of 2020/21 playing in the middle of the park.
There are a number of players who may not have done enough to warrant a change this time around: for example, you’d probably expect Richarlison to play the majority of 2022/23 on the left flank if Dominic Calvert-Lewin stays fit but the bulk of his run-outs last season came up front and FPL have traditionally looked backward rather than forwards with their positional groupings.
DIOGO JOTA
- FPL position in 2021/22: Midfielder
- Possible FPL position in 2022/23: Forward
- Chance of FPL position change: Likely
Diogo Jota may not only get a modest price rise this season but he is also very likely to get a positional change.
He was almost exclusively used as Liverpool’s starting centre-forward in the first half of 2021/22 and while he was more of a utility player after New Year, dividing his game-time across the frontline, he still ended up featuring centrally in not far off two-thirds of his Premier League run-outs across the season.
Eleven of his 15 league goals last season came when starting as a central striker.
A total of 29 points would have been initially shaved off his total FPL score for goals and clean sheets had he been listed as a forward in 2021/22, although he would have recouped – by our calculations – 13 extra bonus points to partly compensate.
That would have seen him end up on 159 points, enough to finish as the joint-second highest-scoring alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
KAI HAVERTZ
- FPL position in 2021/22: Midfielder
- Possible FPL position in 2022/23: Forward
- Chance of FPL position change: Likely
With the returning Romelu Lukaku largely underwhelming on the pitch and doing his best to alienate anyone associated with Chelsea off it, Thomas Tuchel frequently turned to Kai Havertz to lead the line for the Blues last season.
Havertz’s first stint as the spearhead of the Chelsea attack from Gameweeks 9-16 wasn’t exactly a roaring success, with his failure to deliver any sort of return in the 7-0 thrashing of Norwich City – a match he was widely captained in – earning him Fantasy infamy.
Covid and cup-related postponements then kept him off the FPL watchlist until Double Gameweek 28, when he burst back onto the scene with a brace against Burnley.
The win at Turf Moor cemented Havertz’s place as Tuchel’s first-choice option up top, and he went on to score six goals in his final eight league starts as a nominal centre-forward.
Just over 60% of Havertz’s league appearances for Chelsea came when playing through the middle, a number similar to Jota.
The German would have lost 18 clean sheet/goal points had he been a forward but earned an estimated 10 extra bonus points.
PHIL FODEN/GABRIEL JESUS
- FPL position in 2021/22: Midfielder/Forward
- Possible FPL position in 2022/23: Forward/Midfielder
- Chance of FPL position change: Doubtful
FPL listing Phil Foden as a forward would really set tongues wagging.
In fairness, he made more Premier League starts as the nominated central Manchester City striker (false nine or otherwise) than even Gabriel Jesus in 2021/22.
But the England international made as many league appearances in other positions (14) as he did through the middle of the season just gone, again using Transfermarkt as a guide.
He indeed finished the campaign mostly operating on the left flank, with Jesus returning to a more central role.
Perhaps if we think of positional changes like VAR: is there a ‘clear and obvious’ excess of appearances as a striker for Foden? The answer is probably no.
And while what we said in the introduction is true about FPL tending to be more reactive than proactive, there’ll surely be a subconscious thought towards Erling Haaland’s imminent arrival at the Etihad.
Jesus is worth mentioning in this section, too.
The Brazilian’s game-time was divided almost equally between centre-forward and right-winger in 2021/22, although his final five starts through the middle may well have put any thoughts about a positional change on ice.
Stuart Dallas
- FPL position in 2021/22: Midfielder
- Possible FPL position in 2022/23: Defender
- Chance of FPL position change: Likely
The cult Fantasy hero from 2020/21 was reclassified as a midfielder a year ago but, if regular starting position is the deciding factor, he will return to being a defender after spending much of the campaign at full-back.
Interestingly, though, Leeds boss Jesse Marsch has recently gone on record to say that the Northern Ireland international is better as a ‘number six’ – so he could end up being a £4.5m ‘out of position’ FPL prospect once again, eligible for full clean sheet points while operating further forward.
We won’t see him for a while, however, as he is not expected back from injury until November.
OTHER LIKELY CHANGES
- Joelinton (Forward to Midfielder): Converted into a central midfielder by Eddie Howe after dropping back in a deeper role to help 10-man Newcastle United in Gameweek 14.
- Jordan Ayew (Forward to Midfielder): Almost exclusively used as a right-winger by Patrick Vieira during 2021/22.
- Allan Saint-Maximin (Forward to Midfielder): Used virtually exclusively as a left-winger by Eddie Howe upon his appointment as Newcastle United manager in Gameweek 12.
- Rodrigo Moreno (Forward to Midfielder): Rodrigo’s run-outs as a bona fide central striker were outnumbered by his appearances as a number 8/10 under Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch.
- Hwang Hee-chan (Forward to Midfielder): Around two-thirds of the South Korea international’s appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers came on the left flank.
- Cheikhou Kouyate (Defender to Midfielder): Along with Dallas and Saint-Maximin, he will have a swift reversion to his original FPL position after a brief change in 2021/22. Virtually all of his Premier League appearances last season came in central midfield.
OTHER POSSIBLE OR LESS LIKELY CHANGES
- Daniel James (Midfielder to Forward): The Welshman was increasingly used through the middle by both Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch as the season dragged on, with Patrick Bamford unable to return to any sort of sustained fitness. Across the whole of the campaign, however, the former Manchester United winger spent a similar amount of time operating out wide or in ‘the hole’, which could nix any positional reclassification.
- Bryan Mbeumo (Midfielder to Forward), Yoane Wissa (Midfielder to Forward), Sergi Canos (Midfielder to Defender): We’ve grouped these three Brentford players together as they’re pretty much in the same boat. For much of 2021/22, Thomas Frank opted for a 3-5-2 with Mbeumo up top alongside Ivan Toney – Wissa used as back-up off the bench – and Canos operating at wing-back. Positional changes to a forward, a forward and a defender respectively beckoned for the trio as a result but their manager stumbled on a winning formula in Gameweek 28 when he reverted to a 4-3-3, sticking with that shape for much of the run-in. All three players were predominantly used as wingers thereafter but it remains to be seen if that tactical tweak comes too late to change the minds of the Fantasy position-makers at ISM.
- Solly March (Midfielder to Defender): Graham Potter’s regular shape-shifting in between and during games sometimes makes it difficult to pin Brighton down to a recognisable formation. Nevertheless, March spent a significant amount of time at wing-back in 2021/22, so could be in line for a positional change.
- Leandro Trossard (Midfielder to ??): The Belgian played all over the park in the season just gone, frequently featuring as a central striker in the first half of 2021/22 but ending the campaign at wing-back in the 3-5-2 set-up Graham Potter seemed to have settled on. There were plenty of run-outs as a left-winger or a number 10 in between, however, so FPL may decide to simply leave him be.
Have we missed any others in the above article? Let us know in the comments below.
1 year, 10 months agoAgree with all of these.