Another Fantasy Premier League season is upon us and with it comes the endless chopping and changing that haunts managers until Gameweek 1 eventually brings ‘some’ respite.
Premium options are aplenty this season to the point that it may even be overkill if a certain Lionel Messi enters the Premier League fray. It’s therefore just as important to scout for value.
Gone are the days when tripling up on Liverpool or Manchester City assets while retaining a well-balanced team were an option. In the 2020/21 season, it’s proving difficult to load up even teams on teams on the rise like Manchester United and Chelsea.
Here, we look at the teams who feature several assets for great value.
ARSENAL
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored more goals than any Premier League player since his arrival despite playing out of position for extended periods in a struggling side with limited creativity. That is all. pic.twitter.com/BzcpApliDr
— Patrick Timmons (@PatrickTimmons1) August 30, 2020
On the back of a largely disappointing campaign that saw them finish eighth, most of Arsenal’s players have retained very attractive price tags.
Sure, top-scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (12.0m) has naturally gone up in price by 1m but given he’s now listed as a midfielder, he still offers reasonable value to rival the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at the same price.
The Arsenal skipper seems to have picked up from where he left off last season with a superb goal in the Community Shield against Liverpool before scoring the winner in the shootout.
Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka (5.5m) and Willian (8.0m) represent fine options too. The youngster had six assists in his limited playing time last season and looks set to push on as a first team regular while the former Chelsea winger brings experience and could be a significant threat from set-pieces.
In defence, the Gunners are bound to improve on last season’s record having shown promising signs under Mikel Arteta. The arrival of highly-rated centre-back William Saliba is an intriguing one at a price of just 4.5m while Kieran Tierney (5.5m) offers plenty of attacking potential.
LEEDS
4) Stuart Dallas (DF,£4.5M)
— FPL MERCHANT (@MerchantFpl) August 27, 2020
-✔️ Fresh off a good year in the championship Dallas could be this years Lundstram. He is listed as a defender but often lines out on either side of midfield.
-✔️Leeds underlying stats suggest they will adapt to life in the prem well. pic.twitter.com/qoL71tjcNz
FPL managers should be careful not get carried away by the hype surrounding Leeds United’s return to the Premier League with the revered Marcelo Bielsa at the helm. However, the game has priced their players modestly as a newly-promoted side.
As such, there’s superb value to target in their defence. Their system utilises attack-minded full-backs with Stuart Dallas and Luke Ayling (both 4.5m) bagging eight goal involvements each last season. Dallas takes more shots though and has also been used in midfield on occasion so he may be the better option.
With six goals and fives assists last season, Mateusz Klich (5.5m) is an appealing box-to-box midfielder who takes penalties. Another 0.5m fetches you main man Pablo Hernandez who bagged nine goals and nine assists.
Up front, Patrick Bamford (5.5m) could be a frustrating pick given his poor goal conversion but if he retains the immense faith Bielsa’s shown in him and continues to lead the line, he’s bound to score frequently having racked up 16 last season. New signing from Valencia Rodrigo (6.0m) could be a threat to Bamford’s playing time though.
BURNLEY
👶 Of players currently aged 21 and under, only Trent Alexander-Arnold earned a higher WhoScored rating than Dwight McNeil (7.06) in the Premier League last season
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 26, 2020
🤔 The Burnley winger started every single match but hasn't made England's U21 squad... pic.twitter.com/X25Eq1bYAS
As the FPL’s one-stop shop for budget signings, it’s no surprise Burnley rounds out this top three. In a season where low-priced forwards appear to be few and far between, the Clarets feature two viable options.
Chris Wood (6.5m) is likely the more popular choice having finished last season strongly to notch up 14 goals for the campaign. Ashley Barnes‘ return to fitness puts him into consideration too especially since he’s 0.5m cheaper.
In midfield, it’s a welcome surprise that Dwight McNeil (6.0m) has not gone up in price. With two goals and seven assists, his tally of 123 points was better than the likes of Wilfried Zaha (7.0m), Bernardo Silva (7.5m) and Youri Tielemans (6.5m).
With seven assists and three goals in the 2018/19 campaign, Johann Berg Gudmundsson‘s (5.5m) return after missing almost the whole of last season should put him on FPL managers’ radars.
Nick Pope (5.5m) is no longer a budget keeper but 15 clean sheets last term he still boasts immense value. The standout option in defence though should be Charlie Taylor (4.5m) who has secured the left-back spot and is a frequent crosser. Alternatively, you could opt for Matthew Lowton on the opposite flank at the same price.
