The Conversation (0)
- YouTube
The new Premier League season is fast approaching with FPL managers across the world tinkering with their squads and who they think will propel them to glory this season.
The greatest domestic football league in the world kicks off on August 16 as Manchester United take on Fulham under the Old Trafford lights.
Alongside that, the official Fantasy Premier League game starts just before then that same night.
There are so many different things to consider and so many different avenues managers can go down when it comes to FPL, it can end up feeling overwhelming.
So to help managers out (we're not saying this will win you the whole thing but hopefully it will help you get the edge over friends and family for those all important bragging rights), Indy100 is sharing its squad ahead of the new season.
Indy100 will also have regular gameweek specific tips throughout the campaign too.
While football is a game of opinions and everyone will have, and is entitled to, their own, here are Indy100's picks and tips of what we've gone for, why and some points to think about if you do or don't agree along with this writer's opinions along the way.
For clarity, this is a guide to putting together a squad within the £100m budget and not necessarily the best picks in every position as it's simply not affordable to put all of the best picks in, and it has been done with the start of season in mind with changes planned going forward.
Crystal Palace's Dean Henderson got a last minute nod from Indy100 / Naomi Baker, Getty Images
Who are the best goalkeepers to pick in FPL?
- Dean Henderson, Crystal Palace, £4.5m
- Alphonse Areola, West Ham United, £4.5m
These two have been picked because they give good variable options at a good price point.
Crystal Palace have a relatively easy start to the season when looking at the first five games and although West Ham United have a tougher start, the Hammers may do well this year with the business done so far.
Although Sam Johnstone is back from injury, Henderson has started the last two pre-season games for Palace against Premier League clubs.
Another option considered was having two goalkeepers from the same club but this can be restrictive if a club has a really tricky gameweek instead of being able to cash in on a different club having an easier fixture.
Mark Flekken from Brentford was in Indy100's draft for a long time before being replaced by Henderson but Brentford have the most difficult start of all clubs in the Premier League and the Bees defence was quite leaky last term.
Not one Chelsea goalkeeper is above £4.5m but given the Blues' shaky defence in pre-season this might be risky to start off with, even with more favourable fixtures after hosting the champions Manchester City at home in their opening fixture, but it could be one to keep an eye on.
Liverpool's Andy Robertson is Indy100's premium defence pick / Naomi Baker, Getty Images
Who are the best defenders to pick in FPL?
- Andrew Robertson, Liverpool, £6m
- Ezri Konsa, Aston Villa, £4.5m
- Dan Burn, Newcastle United, £4.5m
- Valentin Barco, Brighton, £4.0m
- Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Southampton, £4.0m
A lot of managers will not have Robertson as a premium pick but to start with, Indy100 thinks if a top player is being picked in defence, it has to be a Liverpool player given the Reds have the easiest start to the season out of anyone over the first five games.
Virgil van Dijk could be another option here but Indy100 has gone for a fullback / wingback over a central defender because even though defenders get more points for scoring than assisting (of course), the likelihood and frequency of defenders registering assists is much, much higher, so this has been taken into account here.
Having a premium pick in defence does give options too if top players in this position at other clubs perform well.
William Saliba, Gabriel and Riccardo Califiori are all strong picks from Arsenal but the Gunners have one of the most difficult starts to the season, so Indy100 is considering a switch here later down the line depending on how the season starts.
Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol cannot be overlooked here either.
After that, Indy100 thinks the way scoring is this season will favour midfield and attacking options so has gone for a budget approach with two £4.5m players and two £4.0m players who should all start the season.
Even though Indy100 thinks Aston Villa may find this season a bit trickier than last trying to juggle the Premier League with the Champions League (see Newcastle United last season), Konsa is a must at £4.5m along with Burn.
Indy100 thinks Newcastle United might push for a top-four spot given the strength in their squad, players who start the season injury-free and not competing in European football this term, plus with the Magpies having a straightforward start, Burn is a good option.
Marc Guehi at £4.5m could prove to be a bargain but Indy100 has held off on this to see what happens if a Newcastle move goes through; if this does happen, Burn and Konsa could make way in this squad for Guehi and someone else, depending on when the deal is done and who has started well.
If it doesn't, Guehi may not start for Crystal Palace while talks are ongoing but could feature later down the line, he also played a lot for England at the Euros so may be given some more time to recover.
Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez could be a strong option at £4.5m too.
There are a handful of decent £4.0m options who will start for their clubs and Indy100 has gone with Barco and Harwood-Bellis.
At Brighton, Pervis Estupinan will not be back from injury until September at the earliest and Barco has played well in pre-season.
Harwood-Bellis at Southampton could register some assists as a ball-playing defender who drives forward and could even pop up with the odd goal, either way he will play and that's most important for a £4.0m pick.
Once Estupinan is fit and Barco may not feature as regularly for Brighton, Wout Faes at Leicester City is an alternative.
At £4.5m, Manchester United's Leny Yoro could be a strong option once he's back from injury.
Fulham's Emile Smith-Rowe has incredible value at just £5.5m / Carlos Rodrigues, Getty Images
Who are the best midfielders to pick in FPL?
- Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, £12.5m
- Leandro Trossard, Arsenal, £7.0m
- Christopher Nkunku, Chelsea, £6.5m
- Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham Hotspur, £6.5m
- Emile Smith-Rowe, Fulham, £5.5m
With the midfield, Indy100 has gone for a premium player and strong budget options after that to allow for players to be switched out if needed.
Salah was the very first player Indy100 picked because he's guaranteed to start for Liverpool, who have the easiest start to the season, and he's not played international football this summer so he'll be ready to hit the ground running.
There could be some better, more budget friendly alternatives to get Liverpool players in but it's not 100 per cent known who Arne Slot may start apart from Salah.
After that, a couple of approaches can be considered; a couple of more expensive players with a couple of much cheaper ones or a more balanced spread.
Indy100 has gone more for a balance with the cheapest player still likely to contribute well if needed.
Although Arsenal have a tricky start, an Arsenal player should be included, so Trossard has got the nod; this could change to Martinelli but Trossard was the preferred choice at the end of last season and scored four in the final six PL games.
Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze could be a good alternative at £7.0m but with Michael Olise joining Bayern Munich and Guehi being linked to Newcastle United, Palace might find it more difficult this term.
Moving to the £6.5m picks, of which there are a lot, Nkunku is proving a popular choice among managers and even though Chelsea have not had a good pre-season, mostly because of defence, the Frenchman has been a standout.
At the same price though, Noni Madueke has had a strong pre-season too, scoring two in the last three, and is selected by much fewer.
Kulusevski has been playing as a striker for Tottenham Hotspur through pre-season so if he starts there and performs well, he could have forward-level stats while scoring midfield points.
Players that play higher up the pitch are always strong options.
There are a number of other £6.5m picks that managers should consider too; Manchester City's Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva, Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho and West Ham United's Mohammed Kudus.
Smith-Rowe at £5.5m seems a steal who was priced at Arsenal before his move to Fulham where he will be the main man at a club that has a relatively easy start to the season.
If he doesn't perform before Fulham's games get more difficult, Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo at £5.5m would be a decent pick given how good of a player he is and he's shown in the Premier League he can hit them from range.
An alternate strategy could be to have Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon or Tottenham Hotspur's James Maddison at £7.5m who will have points to prove following the Euros.
Other budget options at £5.5m could be either of Nottingham Forest's wingers in Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi or even Morgan Rogers at Aston Villa for £5.0m who has had a strong pre-season.
Manchester City's Oscar Bobb may even feature early on too.
If players need a really cheap option, Leicester City's Harry Winks is proving popular for managers who need to balance the books.
Despite his amazing season last time out, Indy100 thinks Cole Palmer is too expensive for his price of £10.5m, especially with the way Enzo Maresca will shape up the Chelsea team, and has not been considered at any point despite his popularity with other managers.
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak is the most selected FPL player at the time of writing / Masashi Hara, Getty Images
Who are the best forwards to pick in FPL?
- Erling Haaland, Manchester City, £15.0m
- Alexander Isak, Newcastle United, £8.5m
- Rodrigo Muniz, Fulham, £6.0m
Haaland is proving quite divisive because he's so expensive but he's in Indy100's team now (he wasn't in the first draft it must be said) because of his strong pre-season, he hasn't played at an international tournament, will be ready to go and he will undoubtedly start for Manchester City, even more so now with Julian Alvarez on the verge of completing a move to Atletico Madrid.
Isak was the first forward Indy100 picked, for similar reasons to the above along with that Newcastle do not have European football to contend with this term so if he can stay fit, he will be very dangerous.
Muniz has been picked as the third forward, again for Fulham's relatively easier start to the campaign.
These picks also give flexibility for transfers if other players perform well.
Brighton's Joao Pedro deserves a mention at £5.5m too when Fulham's fixtures get more difficult along with Southampton's Adam Armstrong at the same price point.
If players want to have more up front, Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins at £9m must be considered.
What else was considered?
The starts each Premier League team have over the first five fixtures influenced this heavily; that's why there are two players each from Fulham, Liverpool and Newcastle United, the three teams with the easiest starts, and less from Arsenal for example, who have one of the trickier starts.
The cheaper players, or 'enablers', have been thought about as players who will still make meaningful contributions in key areas and not just take up a spot in the squad for the sake of it.
For example, the defensive options are at the lowest end because points will be more favoured to midfielders and attackers, which is why more has been spent on depth in these areas, but the players chosen will still play.
This squad adds up to £99.5m of the £100m budget. This has been done deliberately so transfers can be more easily made if players in the squad are underperforming or if players not in the squad are doing well.
Also, it's likely Indy100 may make some tweaks before the season starts as things develop ahead of the new season but we'll have that covered in our Gameweek 1 article.
Need a hand getting started in FPL? Check out Indy100's comprehensive guide of how to do so, what the best name players can give their team is and our guide as to when is the best time to play chips.
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
Top 100
