Welcome to the first edition of AM’s Players To Watch column. This is my tenth season writing about Premier League fantasy football, but 2018/19 will be the first in which I don’t have a specific fantasy game to focus on.
As long-time readers will know, my column advice has previously revolved around games that would allow you to make unlimited transfers each gameweek, selecting an entirely new 11 players if you wanted to. Unfortunately Yahoo Fantasy Premier League is a glorious but distant memory, while Togga, sadly, will not be returning for the upcoming campaign which puts an end to the Perfect XI column I’d been penning for the past two years.
And so, it’s time for a change. This season I’ll be a bit more general in my advice. Whether you’re playing Official FPL, FPL Draft or Fantrax Draft, Fantrax Salary Cap, Sky Sports, The Sun, The Telegraph or any number of other the fantasy games available to fans each season, I’ll be offering my top five picks for the week ahead, mixing “must-haves” with hunch picks and players flying under the radar. Hopefully this will offer something for everyone, whether you’re considering captain options, looking to make transfers or picking up a free agent in draft.
Editor’s Note: Fed up with everyone in your league having Harry Kane up front or Hazard in midfield? Join a draft league where there can only be one! Here’s the link ...
On to Gameweek 1, which is always the toughest to write about. Pre-season friendlies are glorified practice sessions and so we can’t be certain of this weekend’s starting line-ups, nor do we have any true indications of the form of individual players in competitive fixtures. There’s also no way of knowing which of the new summer signings will adapt to the rigours of the Premier League AND we have tired players returning late after a gruelling World Cup, so it’s tough to produce picks with 100% confidence at this stage. But we’re all in the same boat here so let’s give it a go, starting with a quick look at the fixtures.
Friday 10 August
Man Utd v Leicester
Saturday 11 August
Newcastle v Spurs
Bournemouth v Cardiff
Fulham v Crystal Palace
Huddersfield v Chelsea
Watford v Brighton
Wolves v Everton
Sunday 12 August
Liverpool v West Ham
Southampton v Burnley
Arsenal v Man City
We’re given some intriguing clashes in Gameweek 1, none more so than Arsenal hosting champions Manchester City, but as you’re looking for players with a good chance of being on the winning side, either scoring goals or keeping clean sheets, then Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea should be your focus. I also fancy Wolves, Bournemouth and Fulham to get off to decent starts in front of their own fans. With that in mind, here are my five ...
Diogo Jota (Wolves - MF) - A new name for the Premier League, but those of us who took interest in Wolves’ phenomenal Championship promotion run will already be familiar with Diogo Jota. The 21-year old attacking midfielder is an exciting talent, ending 2017/18 as the club’s top scorer with 17 goals while tallying five assists and generally causing mayhem for opposing defenders. Will those impressive stats transfer to the top division? Perhaps not in his first season, but he’s a busy enough player to return plenty of attacking fantasy points over the next nine months, starting against Everton in the late Saturday kick-off in front of a raucous Molineux crowd.
Josh King (Bournemouth - FW) - Bournemouth striker Josh King had a superb run in 2016/17, bagging 16 goals and three assists but he was brought crashing down to earth last year as Eddie Howe‘s men found themselves in a relegation battle. King suffered a couple of injuries over the course of the season which affected his form and he wasn’t helped by a lack of creativity from the Cherries midfield, often being played in a deeper role to create the spark himself and finishing with just eight goals. However, we know the Norweigan is a class act with a proven record at this level and he’s had a good pre-season, leading the line and scoring four times. He’s likely to start the season as the club’s first choice striker and is well priced across most fantasy formats. I’d say he’s worth a punt as your third forward, especially once you’ve checked out Bournemouth’s fixtures through the first two months of the season.
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool - DF) - Solid in defence and a threat in attack, Andrew Robertson took full advantage of an injury to Alberto Moreno last season to secure his spot as Liverpool’s first choice left back. Most of the Scot’s fantasy points came from his work in the forward areas, scoring a goal and providing five for his teammates, but this campaign should also see an increase in the number clean sheets kept by the Red’s backline given their investment in a vastly superior goalkeeper and midfield solidity. Shout out to Virgil van Dijk, who is an equally attractive option and may be your preference if you’re partial to headed goal threat from set pieces.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham - FW) - After an extremely difficult spell at Newcastle, Aleksandar Mitrovic was granted permission to move to Fulham on loan last January. The rest, as they say, is history. The enigmatic Serbian forward helped fire his new side to promotion with 12 goals in just 17 games, and both he and the fans will be delighted that the move was made permanent last week. Provided he can stay fit and keep himself out of trouble Mitrovic offers an out-and-out goal threat that gives the Cottagers genuine hope of staying in the Premier League beyond 2018/19. A viable alternative to Josh King as your third striker.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool - MF) - I make no apology for leaving the final slot for the most obvious of selections. Mohamed Salah endured a hugely frustrating World Cup campaign with Egypt but Jurgen Klopp won’t mind too much as his talisman returned for pre-season reasonably fresh in comparison to players who made it in to the knock-out rounds. Salah has been involved in the last four friendlies, notching two goals, two assists and looking pretty darn sharp. He’s 52% owned in FPL and is topping Fantasy Football Scout’s Week 1 captain poll with over 60% of the vote, so going without the attacker presents a huge risk. If Mo goes big against West Ham you’ll already be playing catch up. I advise you to find a way to fit him in to your team, whatever the price. Sometimes it’s ok to follow the crowd.
That’s it for Gameweek 1. Check out the Rotoworld Features page to access a host of fantastic content to get you ready for the new season. If you have any questions about a specific player or your own fantasy team then feel free to post them in the comments below or hit me on Twitter (@nikarg) and I will get back to you.
Thanks for reading - good luck to all managers this weekend.
