FPL champions’ Gameweek 1 tips and team reveals

We’ve heard from 2014/15 Fantasy Premier League (FPL) champion Simon March and 2022/23 winner Ali Jahangirov already this summer – now we pick the brains of two more former champions!

Jon Reeson and Ben Crabtree, who took the top spot in 2009/10 and 2016/17 respectively, share their thoughts and plans in this Q&A.

Which 2-3 players (other than Erling Haaland!) were first on your Gameweek 1 teamsheet for 2023-24?

“Bukayo Saka, Bruno Fernandes and Pervis Estupinan.” – Jon Reeson

“Ben Chilwell, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford.” – Ben Crabtree

Who do you think will be the biggest FPL bargain(s) this year?

“Gabriel Magalhaes, Pervis Estupinan, Bruno Fernandes, Bukayo Saka and Sven Botman.” – Jon Reeson

“Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill.” – Ben Crabtree

Who do you think will prove the most over-priced or likely to be the biggest FPL flops this season?

“I think Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Ben White are overpriced.”

“The possible flops are the premium picks in defence, due to a combination of rotation (Manchester City), Europe (Newcastle United) new systems (Andre Onana at Manchester United, Alexander-Arnold inverting at Liverpool). I’m not convinced the big-money defenders will deliver value week in, week out.” – Jon Reeson

“Ben White looks overpriced to me but no-one else really seems too expensive, what with the generous pricing – and I can’t say Kevin De Bruyne.” – Ben Crabtree

Can you briefly talk us through your Gameweek 1 squad and likely team? What were the key decisions? What are the most important factors generally? And how do you go about selecting?

“I generally want to attack the first 3-4 fixtures and put myself in a position to be lucky and then pivot from there. I spend a lot of time assessing value and fixtures and keep an eye out for ‘effective ownership’.

“I look out for insights from some of my favourite content creators to pick up on their specialist knowledge and how they expect new trends to emerge this season: for example, Baker and the Bonus Points System, James at PlanetFPL re formations/strategy/player positions, and of course FFSccout/Blackbox and the godfather’s (Mark) stats and thoughts.

“My team was very template (with no Liverpool) until the Gabriel Jesus injury and now things are up in the air. Right now I feel inclined to reconsider and move money out of defence and bring in Mohamed Salah.” – Jon Reeson

SIGN UP HERE FOR ALL THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO WIN AT FPL!