Here we go again – new season, new hope, same old story ? Hopefully not. I has now been 3 seasons since my top finish of 35k and since then I have consistently finished outside top 1 lakh. This is the season to change that and with the target yet again to finish top 30k, I am setting up my team of GW1.

As highlighted in the previous post, my focus is on creating a team which has the right balance of premium picks, high ownership players and some differentials. With that in mind, below is the analysis of my options for GW1 team:

Goalkeepers

One of the first name for consideration is none other than Emiliano Martinez (5.5M). He is a fantastic shot stopper, racks up the saves, bonus points and Aston Villa have decent start to season in terms of fixture difficulty. Over the past few seasons, for primary GK I have focused on a low priced GK to save money, but I am planning to go against that approach, as there is enough value that can be derived from GKs for an additional 1M or so, so Martinez is more or less finalised for me.

For the second GK position, I typically go a 4.0M non-starter, in order to avoid decision fatigue of picking a GK, but there were times last GW when I had no playing GK and I want to avoid that and hence I am looking for a 4.5M playing GK. Robert Sánchez (4.5M) seems to be the best available option. Brighton were tight defensively last season and hence unless I need to squeeze in 0.5M, I will go for him as my second GK pick.

Defenders

As I pick the defenders for my team, the plan is to get two – three defenders from top 6 teams (most likely high ownership), one/two semi differential and one 4M / 4.5M playing defender to complete the team.

TAA (7.5M) is obviously the first name for consideration. He is a great example of attacking full back, was in good form towards the end of last season, will be in with a point to prove post English team snub and Van Dijk is back for Liverpool, which might result in TAA playing far more confidently in the attacking third. He has ~33% ownership at the time of writing this, so makes all the sense to get him. However at 7.5M he is slightly over priced, hence slight doubt. I am going look at the balance of rest of the time and finalise.

Manchester City had the best defence last season and therefore it makes sense to get one defender from Man City. Dias(6M) and Stones(5.5M) are the most feasible choices, with Pep typically rotating the fullbacks very often. I might go for Dias (6M) just based on the fact that he is less likely to be rotated. Also keeping in mind that if I get a good differential, I might avoid them at stage just for a bit of a punt.

For the third defender plan is to get either a a Manchester United or Chelsea defender. Chelsea were brilliant defensively under Tuchel last season but it is hard to overlook Shaw (5.5M), with the kind of form he is in. He is probably worth more than 5.5M based on recent form and is the most owned player in the game as of now (~56%). For a brief moment I thought of getting AWB(5.5M) instead of Shaw, but couldn’t look past Shaw’s ownership level and Shaw it is.

For the next defender spot, I am looking at Aston Villa, Everton and West Ham given the good start they have in terms of fixtures. I am already going with Martinez in goal. Hence looking at Everton and West Ham. Based on consideration of the options, I feel Coufal(5M) is the best fit, given the attacking potential.

In terms of defenders at 4.5M / 4M value, Ben White(4.5M) is definitely under consideration. A regular for Arsenal at 4.5M could be a good option without much to lose. He could be a great rotation option and if this doesn’t work out, I can switch him with another 4.5M defender. Next up, Kostas Tsimikas(4M) can be a great short term punt, but the question is with TAA is it worth it to get another Liverpool defender. Few more options are Luke Ayling(4.5M) and Brentford’s Mads Roerslev(4.5M). Ayling is expected to play consistently over Leeds and Brentford have decent fixtures to begin with, hence both could be decent bench options.

Midfielders

Mo Salah(12.5M) and Bruno(12M) are high ownership premium midfielders that go right into my team without much contemplation. I had a brief moment when I considered to Greenwood(7.5M) over Bruno as a punt, but I have decided to go for the higher priced option as he is likely to provide higher consistent return. Just like Greenwood, I am also contemplating Jota(7.5M) as an add on to the other premium mid in my team. Buendia(6.5M) could also be a fantastic option, but I am not sure how Aston Villa are going to lineup so I will wait for that to settle.

City are an extremely attacking team but they are also FPL manager’s nightmare. It is extremely difficult to predict the midfield and hence the challenge is, which mid to go for. With KDB and Foden injured, Grealish(8M) and Mahrez(9M) are prime City options. Grealish is cheaper but Mahrez is just 7.7% owned, hence he could be a great option. There is one more option in Ferran Torres(7M). If he gets some consistent run of games, he could be gold at his price, specially playing in the false 9 role.

Amongst the cheaper options, ESR(5.5M), who is most likely to start against Brentford in no.10 position for Arsenal could be a great punt. I am also considering Mbuemo(5.5M) as he could be the prime creator for Brentford.

Forwards

Probably one of the few seasons, when starting without a premium forward might be okay. Once Lukaku(11.5M) settles in, I think he will be a must have, as he has the potential to absolutely destroy some of the lower placed teams in the league.

Amongst the mid priced forwards, Antonio(7.5M) looks one of the best ones, right up there with Ings(8M) and Watkins(7.5M). I will play the waiting game with Aston Villa forwards, just to see how they click.

The first name on my team was Ivan Toney(6.5M), right from the time he broke records in the Championship. I feel he should easily have 10+ goals this season at that is great at 6.5M. The fact that he is so highly owned is a slight put off.

For the third striker spot Obafemi(4.5M) could be an option post the departure of Ings. As long as he gets a few minutes as a sub it should be okay.

My team for GW 1

Captain – Mo Salah

Best of luck for a brilliant GW1, green arrows everyone!