Five-time top 1k finisher Tom Freeman hosts our weekly Fantasy Premier League (FPL) Q&A, answering your burning questions.
- READ MORE: FPL General’s Gameweek 1 team reveal: Bench Boost active
- READ MORE: Five-time top 1k finisher’s FPL Gameweek 1 team reveal: 4-4-2 with Isak
Q: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.5m) or Iliman Ndiaye (£6.0m)?
(via waltzingmatildas)
A: Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye are the two main options to consider from the Everton attack.
Dewsbury-Hall is asked to do a bit of everything in midfield.
In his first season on Merseyside, he averaged 5.0 points per start, with eight goals and seven assists in 31 matches.
Ndiaye, meanwhile, provides the flair.
He netted six goals and supplied three assists in 32 matches, but only averaged a shot every 64.7 minutes, which is poor, particularly for an inside forward.
Here’s how Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye compared for minutes per expected goal involvement (xGI) last season:
Dewsbury-Hall might deliver a few corners and free-kicks, but he isn’t the main taker for Everton, whereas Ndiaye is on penalties.
Ndiaye also has the superior defensive contribution (DefCon) point potential:
- Dewsbury-Hall: 7.9 DefCons per 90
- Ndiaye: 9.22 DefCons per 90
I’d subsequently lean towards Ndiaye, especially as he’s cheaper.
Q: Has Roberto De Zerbi tightened up the Spurs defence, making Jan Paul van Hecke (£5.0m) and Marcos Senesi (£6.0m) viable options?
(via Pompel)
A: It’s hard to know just how defensively resilient Tottenham Hotspur will be this season.
It’s a very small sample size, but Spurs had a solid defensive structure under Roberto De Zerbi earlier this year.
The Italian is known for his attacking approach, but they didn’t do much of that at all. Instead, they went into survival mode, with only seven goals conceded and two clean sheets in seven matches.
In fact, from De Zerbi’s appointment in Gameweek 32, their xGC was the lowest of any top-flight team, including Arsenal:
I’m just not sure how much those numbers actually mean. With plenty of time on the training pitch this summer, I’d certainly expect Tottenham to play a more attacking, front-foot style this season.
But the early fixtures certainly aren’t the worst, and there are no European distractions either.
Micky van de Ven (£5.0m) hasn’t kicked a ball for Spurs in pre-season, so they will likely start with a centre-back partnership of van Hecke and Senesi.
Senesi is £6.0m, which is way too expensive in my opinion, so I’d probably fade him out.
However, van Hecke is much cheaper and should get some DefCons, having hit the threshold in 36.1% of his starts for Brighton last season. He’s a threat from set plays, too, so I think he’s fine to own.
Q: Is Sandro Tonali (£5.5m) a good Bench Boost option? He seems to be the more exciting pick compared to the likes of Mamadou Sangare (£5.5m), Ethan Ampadu (£5.5m) etc.
(via Buck The Trent)
A: I think Sandro Tonali is probably a wait-and-see.
He certainly improves Tottenham’s midfield; I’m just not convinced we’ll get much actual FPL output from him.
Last season, the majority of Tonali’s goal attempts were from outside the box (see image below), which resulted in a low 0.05 xG per shot figure.
A chance created every 80 minutes also wasn’t much to shout about.
It’s not like he’s a regular supplier of DefCons either, having hit the required threshold in only 11.4% of his starts for Newcastle United last season.
You could of course get lucky on a Bench Boost, but I much prefer the two £5.5m players we’re about to talk about…
Q: Mamadou Sangare or Pascal Gross (£5.5m)?
(via G-Whizz)
A: I really like both of these players, and consider them among the best £5.5m midfielders in the game.
Helped by a role on set plays, Gross’ creativity is key to his appeal.
He delivered six assists in 19 matches for Brighton last season, and was the fourth-best player for chances created (39) in that time.
His goal potential could be on the up, too.
While his open play threat is extremely limited (182.3 minutes per shot in the box in 2025/26), Gross might be the man to take penalties after Danny Welbeck’s (£6.0m) departure.
As for Sangare, I think he’ll go straight into the Brentford XI.
He was a DefCon monster in France (14.2 per 90!), so even in the tougher fixtures, has the potential to tick over with points.
He doesn’t have as many routes to points as Gross, so I think his ceiling is lower. However, his ball-winning ability looks perfect for Brentford, and he will sometimes arrive in central areas to shoot.
Given Brighton’s European involvement on either side of Saturday’s home encounter with Tottenham, plus some tricky fixtures in Gameweeks 2 and 5, I slightly prefer Sangare, but it is very close.
Q: Is playing Diego Gomez (£5.0m) viable?
(via Jacquet of all trades, mast…)
A: Brighton played the first leg of their European play-off tonight.
The fact that Diego Gomez (£5.0m) has started is a positive in my opinion, having limped off in last weekend’s friendly win over Bologna.
Assuming he came through Thursday unscathed, I think he’s a decent option for Gameweek 1, particularly with Karou Mitoma (£6.0m) and Yankuba Minteh (£6.0m) both out injured.
Longer-term, I think better £5.0m midfielders will emerge, likely the ones who tick over with DefCons.
However, as a short-term Bench Boost option, I think Gomez is fine to include.
Q: Is a 4-4-2 a viable formation to start with this season?
(via Jaws)
A: Yes, a 4-4-2 formation is absolutely viable to play.
In fact, it’s the system I plan to roll out in Gameweek 1, before potentially switching to a 5-3-2 the week after.
Centre-backs provided so much value last season thanks to DefCons, so if that volume continues, these types of formations should serve us well.
If you do opt for a 4-4-2, I’d try and include players like James Tarkowski (£6.0m), Dan Ballard (£5.0m) and Tarik Muharemovic (£5.0m) for their DefCon potential.
