The new Türkiye Fantasy season is here, with Matchday 1 bringing the first big selection decisions of the campaign.
Ahead of the opening deadline, our expert reveals his first squad and talks through the thinking behind his picks, captaincy and early strategy.
Here’s how he is lining up for Matchday 1.
TEAM REVEAL
NOTES
- With Türkiye Fantasy effectively allowing us to rebuild our squad every Matchday, my opening team is focused heavily on the fixtures immediately in front of us.
- Goalkeeper is probably the position I’m least convinced by. Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe and Başakşehir all have strong clean-sheet potential, but the three-player club limit makes using one of their slots between the posts less appealing. I’ve eventually settled on Muhammed Şengezer of Başakşehir.
- Attacking potential is the priority in defence, especially with assists worth three points regardless of position. Michael Amir Murillo and Archie Brown are two of the more attack-minded options at their respective clubs. Florent Hadergjonaj is another player I particularly like, with his involvement on set pieces and penalties giving him several routes to points.
- There are plenty of midfielders I could have selected, but I’ve largely stuck with my key options for Matchday 1. It’s a position packed with alternatives, though. Marco Asensio, Mason Greenwood, Leroy Sané and Aral Şimşir are among those who could easily come into consideration.
- Up front, I’ve gone with the three standout options in Anderson Talisca, Victor Osimhen and Paul Onuachu. Osimhen also gets the captaincy and will probably be the popular choice this week. I’m more than happy to follow the crowd with the armband.
- Having no Başakşehir players besides Şengezer is slightly frightening. However, they struggled in Europe and I’d rather see how they perform before investing more heavily. Yusuf Sarı, Eldor Shomurodov, Emin Bayram and Andreas Skov Olsen are all alternatives for managers who are more confident in them.
- Fenerbahçe are another team to be careful with because rotation is possible. Brown is therefore one selection I’ll reassess before the deadline.
- That’s where I’m starting the season. The deadline is 18:30 UK time, so make sure your team is locked in. Good luck, everyone.
