The start of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) 2023/24 is nearing, which gives us an opportunity to have a look at some differential options.
As always, we’ve selected three players with an ownership of 5% or less at the time of writing, who represent viable alternatives to some of the more popular names out there.
SOLLY MARCH
- FPL ownership: 2.7%
- Price: £6.5m
Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m) is an enticing pick at Brighton and Hove Albion, but is Solly March (£6.5m) perhaps being overlooked?
The pair are owned by 38.9% and 2.7% of managers respectively, ahead of their appealing opening-day clash against newcomers Luton Town.
March scored six goals last year – seven if you count the one he was later credited for against Leeds United – and assisted 10, meaning he was behind only Pascal Gross (£6.5m) for overall points at Brighton.
He registered 2.46 shots per 90 minutes, compared to Mitoma’s 2.01, and was one of Albion’s key creators, sitting second among team-mates for chances created and expected assists (xA).
Like Gross, he takes corners and free-kicks, which could be important as this is one area Brighton can improve upon next season. They scored only seven goals from set plays in 2022/23 – only Manchester United netted fewer – despite ranking tenth for shots and seventh for expected goals (xG) from such situations. With better finishing, March can profit.
Roberto De Zerbi came in to replace Graham Potter last September and the Seagulls went from strength to strength, finishing sixth and securing UEFA Europa League football. Their attacking output was excellent, too: they ranked top for shots and xG after the FIFA World Cup.
It means they will rotate this year, but that might not be a problem until Gameweek 5, which is when their European campaign begins.
March hasn’t played too much in pre-season after suffering a hamstring injury in May but did manage 63 minutes against Rayo Vallecano last weekend. And with Luton up first, followed by Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United, two sides who have endured difficult pre-seasons, he could score nicely.
DEJAN KULUSEVSKI
- FPL ownership: 1.8%
- Price: £7.0m
Injuries and a drop in form saw Dejan Kulusevski (£7.0m) struggle in 2022/23, but he has looked much more like himself in pre-season.
The Swede supplied two assists in Tottenham Hotspur’s 5-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk last weekend and went close to scoring, getting better and better as the match wore on.
Ange Postecoglou is committed to playing an attacking brand of football and it’s an approach which has unsurprisingly gone down well among the players. The Australian has specifically told his wingers to stay high and wide and attack the penalty box at every opportunity, something Kulusevski addressed earlier this week.
“It is fun actually. I love it. You have to be physically very good, I love that too. I’m enjoying having a lot of the ball higher up the pitch. I know exactly what he wants from me. He wants me to attack the box much more when the balls are on the side and when I have the ball just go all the time and don’t care if I lose it. Just keep going.
Last season, maybe we scored one and then we tried to protect the result. We all want to score much more. When we go 1-0, we want to score the second, not back off. I always have a target but I just want to play the game right and then everything will come. Today I did two assists. I’m very happy because usually when I start making those, the goals come after.” – Dejan Kulusevski
It suggests Spurs assets could quickly become serious options in FPL, even if Harry Kane (£12.5m) departs. In that scenario, Postecoglou will be relying on others to step up and contribute more, including Kulusevski, who scored five goals and provided nine assists in 18 appearances when he first joined the club from Juventus.
Spurs finished eighth last season, which means no European football in 2023/24. They sit third on our ticker for fixture difficulty in the first five Gameweeks and with James Maddison (£7.5m) providing chances, Kulusevski can get back to his best.
DIOGO JOTA
- FPL ownership: 3.3%
- Price: £8.0m
Diogo Jota (£8.0m) has arguably been Liverpool’s standout player in pre-season, after grabbing his seventh attacking return in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over SV Darmstadt.
In that match, Jurgen Klopp squeezed all of Cody Gakpo (£7.5m), Mohamed Salah (£12.5m), Luis Diaz (£8.0m) and Jota into his team, with the four of them creating havoc, a theme throughout pre-season: across their five friendlies, they have scored 18 goals.
You’d assume there will be plenty of rotation up front next year, with Salah on the right the only guarantee, but Jota’s pressing from the front is regularly talked up by Klopp. He is also one of Liverpool’s most versatile attackers and can play on the left wing or through the middle.
Even if Jota is a substitute on Sunday, the new injury-time ruling should see him get plenty of minutes off the bench.
The Portuguese spent a large chunk of 2022/23 injured and missed the FIFA World Cup, but still ended the campaign with seven goals, scoring all of them in his last nine games.
It meant he actually found the net at a quicker rate than Salah, averaging a goal every 165.3 minutes compared to the latter’s 173.2, albeit off a limited sample size.
There are certainly easier opening fixtures than Liverpool’s to target, but Jota’s underlying numbers are generally excellent whenever he takes to the pitch and he’ll surely have a crucial role to play in the coming campaign.
