­FPL promoted teams: £4.5m Winks a low-budget enabler

Having profiled Ipswich Town and Southampton, our series on the newly promoted sides continues with this look at Leicester City.

We have already discussed Steve Cooper in a separate piece, so this preview will instead focus on the Foxes’ defence and attack from a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) perspective.

To provide a fan’s view, we’ve got insight from Foxes Fancast presenter Sam Martin.

• READ MORE: Steve Cooper at Leicester: What can we expect in FPL?

The stats in this piece are taken from WhoScored and FBref.

WHAT IS LEICESTER’S CLEAN SHEET POTENTIAL IN FPL?

Previewing a newly promoted side is usually pretty straightforward.

However, Leicester’s Championship-winning manager – Enzo Maresca – has since departed for Chelsea, leaving FPL managers with more questions than answers.

Under Steve Cooper, the Foxes are likely to employ a more pragmatic approach. Less possession than last season’s Guardiola-ball, of course, but he arguably gives them a better chance of staying up.

Initially, Cooper will probably prioritise defensive stability, which means Leicester’s budget defenders could offer a bit of value, perhaps from Gameweek 7 when their fixtures start to improve:

“Maresca’s Leicester side were pretty solid and you’d like to think that a Cooper-styled team will adopt a similar approach. I think we’ll look to be solid in both defence and attack with a more traditional approach.” – Sam Martin

WHAT IS LEICESTER’S GOALSCORING POTENTIAL IN FPL?

While Leicester played some beautiful, free-flowing football under Maresca in the Championship, goals have generally been much harder to come by for Steve Cooper’s sides.

In his only full top-flight season, Cooper’s Nottingham Forest scored just 38 goals, ranking joint-16th for expected goals (39.3) and bottom for average possession (37.6%).

Next season, it’s highly likely the Foxes will look to hunker down in a deep/mid-block and look to use their pace on the break.

However, pre-season performances have shown a real lack of quality in attack, with the loss of star player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.0m) in midfield leaving a huge creative void.

Above: Leicester City’s pre-season results this summer

2023/24: APPS, GOALS AND ASSISTS

*No longer at the club

BEST FPL OPTIONS

DEFENCE

Above: Leicester City’s predicted defensive line-up in Gameweek 1

Leicester have added left-sided centre-half Caleb Okoli (£4.0m) to their squad this summer.

If Cooper uses a back four regularly, he will compete with Jannik Vestergaard (£4.0m) for starts.

So, it’s hard to look past the experienced Wout Faes (£4.0m) as the superior option. The Belgium international started 42 games last season, chipping in with two goals from 24 shots.

“At £4.0m, the two of Faes, Okoli and Vestergaard that start are a bench option for those that want one. That said, there are maybe better options as none of them scream attacking returns. I think Faes and Vestegaard will start but the latter’s lack of pace may be found out (again).” – Sam Martin

The £4.5m options – Mads Hermansen, James Justin, Victor Kristiansen and Ricardo Pereira – could potentially offer value further down the line.

However, starting with one arguably feels like a waste of funds, given the appeal of others in this price bracket such as Ezri Konsa (£4.5m) and Lewis Dunk (£4.5m).

“Technically Hermansen, Ricardo, Justin and Kristiansen are all talented footballers but at £4.5m I can’t see any real reason why you’d want to include them given that we won’t be keeping many clean sheets. The only caveat is the possibility of Ricardo in midfield but it’s still a no in my opinion.” – Sam Martin

ATTACK

Above: Leicester’s predicted midfield/attacking line-up in Gameweek 1

During his stint with Nottingham Forest, Cooper managed to get decent output from Brennan Johnson (£6.5m), so Stephy Mavididi (£5.5m) and Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (£5.5m) might be worth a look.

They will likely play and be expected to create and offer a goal threat from wide areas. There is also potential for Mavididi to play through the middle with Patson Daka (£5.0m) and Jamie Vardy (£5.5m) out of Gameweek 1. He might even be on penalties when the latter isn’t involved.

Providing the lowdown on both midfielders, Sam Martin said:

“Each with over 18 goals and assists last year, I think Fatawu/Mavididi will provide value at some point at £5.5m. Forced to pick one, I’d be on Mavididi for his better goal threat and possibility of penalties with no Vardy to start the season. Transfers will obviously play a part in his appeal moving forward. Where Bobby De-Cordova Reid plays will be one to keep an eye on, mainly for the impact it has on the above.” – Sam Martin

Probably the only £4.5m midfielder who we can say with confidence will be a regular starter is Harry Winks (£4.5m). He made the Leicester starting XI in all 45 of the Championship matches he was available for last season.

However, you’ll mainly be relying on appearance points, so he’s not someone you’ll want to start regularly. That’s because he only produced two goals from seven shots last season. He also failed to produce a single assist.

“Quite clearly the best pick here at £4.5m is Harry Winks. The former Spurs man was one of our best players last year and everything goes through him. With only two goals last season, you’re unlikely to get more than two points but he will at least start.” – Sam Martin

Further forward, Patson Daka led the line most often in pre-season after Jamie Vardy picked up an injury at the start of the summer. However, both players will miss Gameweek 1, with Daka set to be out for a “good few months” with an ankle injury and Vardy still “a little while away”.

At 37, Vardy remains a potent striker – he scored 18 goals in the Championship last season at an average of 0.92 per 90 minutes – but he won’t start every match even when he is fit, making him a tricky FPL purchase.