With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) live for 2023/24, we’ll be welcoming back our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers for the new campaign.
We’ll be hearing from a different contributor every day in the aftermath of the FPL relaunch, to get their thoughts on the pricing and to see their initial picks.
Our writers will be providing regular articles and team reveals throughout the new season, with only Premium Members able to access every single one.
You can sign up here for the new campaign – once you’re aboard, you’ve locked in the price of your Premium Membership for good, so long as you don’t cancel!
Next up, five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman shares the first draft of his FPL team.
In this article, I’ll share my very early thoughts on the players and teams that have caught my eye since launch, alongside my first draft.
I guarantee it’ll change, with pre-season/transfers/the Community Shield etc adding crucial information, but it’ll at least allow me to start thinking about the kind of squad I want to create.
GOALKEEPERS
I usually prefer a £4.5m/£4.0m ‘keeper pairing to start the season and having scanned the new prices, see no reason to deviate this year.
Jordan Pickford (£4.5m) kept five clean sheets from Sean Dyche’s appointment onwards in January – the same amount as David Raya (£5.0m) and Aaron Ramsdale (£5.0m) – and also ranked fourth for saves. I expect Everton will benefit defensively from a full pre-season under Dyche and they have some pretty decent fixtures between Gameweeks 1-8.
If I can find a spare £0.5m, I could pair Pickford with Fulham’s Bernd Leno (£4.5m), who plays Luton Town and Crystal Palace in Gameweeks 5/6 respectively.
Other options I will consider are West Ham United’s Lukasz Fabianski (£4.5m) and Alphonse Areola (£4.0m), plus Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone (£4.5m).
DEFENDERS
Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.0m) was a very different proposition after Jurgen Klopp started using him as an ‘inverted full-back’ last season. From that point onwards (Gameweek 30), he racked up seven assists in 10 games, with nine of the 25 ‘big chances’ he created in 2022/23 coming in that period. If he continues in a hybrid role, he could easily reach 15 assists, perhaps more.
Above: Trent Alexander-Arnold’s touch heatmap Gameweeks 30-38 2022/23
Chelsea could be a great source of value next season and the upside is there for Reece James (£5.5m) and Ben Chilwell (£5.5m) playing under Mauricio Pochettino. Admittedly, there are a lot of unknowns, but I genuinely see points at both ends of the pitch for these players, especially with their fixtures from Gameweek 3 onwards. There is no Europe either, hopefully reducing the chance of fatigue/injuries.
Elsewhere, we probably don’t need to be taking unnecessary punts on promoted defenders like Anel Ahmedhodzic (£4.5m) – who I’d singled out as ‘one to watch’ pre-launch – when Sven Botman (£4.5m) is available at the same price, which is a bit annoying.
My five picks in my draft are therefore Alexander-Arnold, James, Nathan Ake (£5.0m), Botman and George Baldock (£4.0m). Other players on the ‘maybe’ pile are Luke Shaw (£5.5m), Pervis Estupinan (£5.0m), Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.0m), Matty Cash (£4.5m) and Rico Henry (£4.5m).
MIDFIELDERS
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