Fantasy Premier League scout

Posted on by maodun

In this fantasy Premier League scout article we at Fantasy Sports info will look to give reasons for picking each of the 15 players currently in our second version of FPL team. So here is the full list of players ordered by FPL positions.

Goalkeepers

1. Simon Mignolet

Simon Mignolet is our number one pick and our first FPL tip. Liverpool will likely have a better season than the last one in the Premier League. They’ve shopped smarter this time and departure of Sterling who was their best player in the last season could be a good thing considering how much money they got from him. Liverpool still managed 14 clean sheets last season and this is something it could be surpassed in the BPL season to come. Their defence looks stronger with Clyne instead of Johnson at right back. Henderson – Milner duo at CM could also prove to be a strong one this season which should help their defence as well. More about FPL goalkeepers and why Mignolet is a good value for the money read in our earlier article – FPL goalkeepers.

2. Artur Boruc

Boruc is a talented goalkeeper that didn’t get the chance with amazing Fraser Forster at Southampton but this could be a good bounce back season for him. At Bournemouth he is unlikely to keep a clean sheet often but due to his talent he should be able to rack up a lot of saves. You get awarded 1 FPL point for every 3 goalkeeper saves. For every save GK gets 2 BPS which could translate into getting FPL bonus points here and there. At this point he’s owned by 3.5% FPL managers but we are keeping him as a backup GK for now.

Defenders

1. Patrick van Aanholt

Sunderland had a turbulent season but they managed to stay up in the Premier League. This season their defence should be stronger with the arrival of Younes Kaboul from Tottenham Spurs, and for now we are keeping Patrick van Aanholt in our FPL team. He’s got offensive tendencies and because of that he is the most expensive Sunderland defender to own at £5.0m but he is worth it. He assisted his team mates 5 times last season which is more than any other Sunderland player, including midfielders.

2. Cesar Azpilicueta

Alongside Azpilicueta there is only one more valuable Chelsea defender to own in your FPL team – Branislav Ivanovic. If John Stones joins from Everton that could change but for now Azpilicueta is considerably cheaper so we decided to go with him. He is actually cheapest than all of the starting Chelsea defenders. He will get plenty of minutes at left back positions and plenty of opportunities to assist. While Ivanovic can score goals as well we think he won’t outscore Azpilicueta as much to justify the difference in FPL price.

3. Phil Jagielka

Everton is another Liverpool club that under performed last season but this one should be an improvement. Jagielka – Stones tandem in the defence looks very solid if Stones doesn’t get transferred to Chelsea. Everton has good full backs as well and a solid goalkeeper. Howard should have a better season as well as last year’s World Cup heroics probably influenced his Premier League performances. This is overall a good team and without European competitions they only have domestic competitions to focus on this season. All of that above could translate in a much better Premier League season to come for Everton, so in that regard experienced Jagielka looks like a good choice for your FPL defender. Him and two defenders above are 3 defenders that we really recommend in our fantasy Premier League scout report.

4. Kyle Naughton

At £5.0m Naughton is a bit risky pick for a defender. He has got low ownership so far but he has some potential. His spot as right back in Swansea team is pretty safe and he has the ability to assists for goals. He didn’t play much last season as he joined Swansea in January and got injured after some time but this could be a good season for him. Swansea is a nice, balanced team and there is also some clean sheet potential, especially at home. For now Naughton is in our time, but in all honesty he is the one that could get replaced before the Premier League season starts.

5. Sebastien Bassong

Bassong is our cheapest midfielder at £4.5m but his ability to score goals makes him interesting to own. No top 6 teams in Norwich fixture list throughout August means he could have a good start to the new season.

Midfielders

1. Eden Hazard

No need to over analyze this pick, Hazard was a highest scoring FPL player last season. He is the highest owned player so far with 54.4% ownership among FPL managers. He was very consistent last season which does not guarantee the same this season though. If he should carry that fine form to the new season it would be very dangerous not to own him but on the other hand his high starting ownership means his price will drop fast if he starts the season slow. Make sure you monitor his form closely in the preseason and an opening game against Swansea.

2. Theo Wallcot

Wallcot is a great FPL prospect when healthy as he has ability to score a couple of goals and/or assists in almost every game. It is due to his talent and high pace. He only played 447 Premier League minutes in the last season, but it was enough for him to score 5 goals and an assist. Unfortunately he is injury prone but he should be healthy to start the season and he is definitely worth a second look, especially if he gets the striker role like hinted in this excellent article about Arsenal’s projected XI.

3. Juan Mata

Man Utd signed quite a few classy midfielders this season which could hurt Mata’s value in theory. On the other hand United doesn’t have plenty of options in the attacking department with only Rooney having true FPL value as a Man Utd forward. Depay could join him as a striker and Schweinsteiger – Schneiderlin should play in the center of the midfield. It is unclear what status Herrera will have in the new season but Mata should have a lot of minutes as an attacking midfielder. De Gea and him led the team in FPL points scored and if Di Maria leaves the team Mata could even surpass the last season’s total of 138 points. He can score and assist and attract FPL bonus as well. At this point he is our FPL tip for your midfield at an affordable price of £8.5m.

4. James Milner

Milner is a new addition to Liverpool team. He is going to play as a central midfielder, a position he actually prefers, which was the big reason why Milner joined Liverpool. With a price of £7.0m he is very affordable and at that price you can’t find much better FPL midfielders out there. You can get Mirallas or Chadli at that price but there is a lot of potential in Milner with the minutes he’ll get at his favorite central midfielder position. He managed 5 goals and 8 assists last season with a very limited minutes on the pitch and this could easily be his best season in years. He is our fantasy Premier League scout tip to seriously consider.

5. Victor Wanyama

Wanyama is a midfielder that has a defensive tendencies but he can also score goals and he will be playing a lot of minutes for Southampton. He has a high ownership but he is still one to seriously consider for drafting as he is our best value cheap FPL midfielder.

Forwards

1. Diego Costa

Costa is likely to have another great season at Chelsea and with Sergio Aguero tipped to miss a start of the new Premier League season, he is very likely best striker option to own at the very start of a new season. Costa scored 20 goals despite playing limited minutes due to the various injuries he had. When healthy he is a must start FPL forward and a captain material.

2. Gabriel Agbonlahor

Other two forwards in Fantasy Sports info second version FPL team are very cheap at £5.0m. However both of them have a lot of fantasy value as examined in this budget FPL forwards article. Agbonlahor will be main Villa attacking weapon if Benteke leaves the team. At £5.0m he is a must own and he will be starting alongside Costa in our FPL team.

3. Cameron Jerome

Jerome is our 3rd forward option that is often going to be benched if he does make it to our final squad list before the Premier League actually kicks off. He does have value as a Norwich’s first forward option but we would strongly consider getting a better striker for a 3-4-3 FPL lineups.

Conclusion

This was Fantasy Sports info FPL team explained player by player. It is just a second version of the team that will likely see more modifications until the early August when Premier League starts. There are couple of more players that would be our first choice players like Sergio Aguero as aforward and Alexis Sanchez as a midfielder, but they are going to miss opening game(s). They will very likely enter our team eventually so we left £3.0m in the bank to buy at least one of them early.

What do you think? Do you like our team? Are you going to include any of our choices in your FPL team? We would like to hear from you, so please comment below and consider sharing this article on Twitter.