FPL pre season – an update after the weekends games Plus each PL teams potential Lineup

Fantasy Premier League, Preseason

Here’s our updated FPL pre season guide 22/23 so far where we are focused on identifying value players for our FPL team. We review the key players in the matches to date and also focus on the best cheap players for our benches. There’s also an update on the potential lineups of every Premier League team taking into account preseason matches and transfers

FPL Pre season – an update after the weekends games Plus each PL teams potential Lineup

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Introduction

Preseason is in 3 parts

Value Players

Firstly there is my list of 44 players that I will be assessing over pre-season to try and find players that are undervalued and then establish as to whether they will be starters in their team. That last point is crucial. As I write this there will be some element of gametime risk about each player on this list or at least some positional interest. Martinelli is an obvious example as he at least has competition for his place with Smith-Rowe.

There’s also a included a list of players with loan or transfer potential to create value for another team. Take £4.0m Neco Williams for example has gone to Nottingham Forest from Liverpool.

It’s not a complete menu of players that I will be considering for my team. It doesn’t include the likes of Salah, De Bruyne, Son, Robertson, Toney, Cancelo etc etc. All these players I know will start. That’s the difference and we know what they can do. Preseason form for me is irrelevant for these types of players. Their priority is fitness.

You can see this list updated on the FFGeek Patreon site

In the commentary below I will give the key points after the weekends matches.

Preseason matches

Pre-season matches are starting to look more focused on first team lineups but there’s still some preseason matches are against poor opposition with teams mixed up with reserves, young players with no discernible lineup pattern. That means at times there’s very little to take from the games.

I’ll focus as I said above on value players getting into the starting lineup

I’ll comment generally here but you can find the link to the google spreadsheet I’m running on the FFGeek Patreon site

Comment on players by team

Today I’m going to do something different and comment on each team after I’ve put the lineup up. Remember I’m mainly talking from a lineup and value perspective.

Arsenal

FPL pre season

£8.0m fwd Jesus has been tearing it up in preseason and with good fixtures looks a great pick. £6.0m Mid Martinelli is looking more certain of the LAM spot and is great value. The hunt for a £4.5m Defender is more complicated.

There are 3 CBs who are competing for 2 spots with the form of £4.5m Saliba complicating last seasons lock partnership of White and Gabriel. £4.5m Def Tomiyasu then becomes the obvious pick but he is also injured as is £5.0m Tierney. So if you want Arsenal Def representation there’s some work to do. The last friendly is on Saturday v Sevilla. However I suspect Tomiyasu won’t be ready so White will be going to RB meaning we have no resolution

Aston Villa

FPL pre season

The Value play here is £5.0m Mid Bailey. Whether he starts probably depends on whether Gerrard plays 4321 or 4312. The latter would see Watkins and Ings partnered. Bailey seems ahead of Buendia at the moment so it’s just a formation choice. However, he could be a 60-70 minute sub magnet but is the best £5.0m attacking mid option so far.

I’m not sold on the defence or the fixtures after the first 2 but the addition of Carlos at CB and in midfield Kamara in theory should strengthen them. Both £5.0m Cash and Digne have reasonable attacking potential. £4.5m Mings should be the other CB. 1 more fixture on Saturday again a very good Rennes side

Bournemouth

FPL pre season

Given the fixtures and the unknown promoted factor there’s no one here for me.

They do have a cheap £5.5m attacking mid in Billing and a relatively cheap £6.0m forward in Solanke if you’re desperate. They were the best defensive side in the Championship and are all £4.5m but again not for me given the unknown promoted factor.

Brentford

FPL pre season

We start here with the number 2 contender for the £4.5m Mid spot after Fulham’s Andreas. That is Josh DaSilva. The only complication is that a supposed lock CDM in Noorgard has not played any minutes in preseason and I can’t find out why. Unless you need 2 £4.5m Mids go for Andreas. Brentford still have 2 friendlies to go which will be helpful.

Otherwise as Brentford have good fixtures then £7.0m fwd Toney as penalty taker, talisman and a rare striker who gets assists is the obvious pick. If you’re desperate for a cheaper option then £6.0m fwd Mbeumo. Even cheaper is £5.5m Wissa but we need further confidence around formation and selection in the next 2 friendlies for Wissa.

£4.5m Raya is a good GK option but he has to play at least 1 of the last friendlies as he now has a good quality backup.

Brighton

FPL pre season

Reasonably good attacking and defensive fixtures means that £4.5m Def Dunk is an option for me. The best result would have been a transfer of £5.0m Def Cucurella to Man City for him as a City defender but given where we are time wise even he he does move now I would be surprised if he lines up in GW1 for Man City.

Otherwise there’s nothing particularly attractive for me. I suspect £6.5m fwd Welbeck will be CF. There are a couple of £5.5m mids in Gross and MacAllister but the rotation and the subbing off from Potter does put me off.

Chelsea

FPL pre season

The 4-0 loss to Arsenal plus the loss through transfers out of Rudiger, Christensen and possible loss of Azpilicueta has dented the confidence in the Chelsea defence. However they have 2 of the best attacking defenders in £6.0m def Chilwell and James. The arrival of Koulibaly and now looking unlikely Kounde would have resolved those fears and one of the 2 would have been in my team. They have 1 more friendly v Udinese and both Chilwell and James should play hopefully as wing backs to at least give the option.

£5.0m Mendy is a great value GK option for last seasons 3rd best defence if more signings are made.

The Attacking midfield area is difficult and you’d hope to see a starting 11 v Udinese. £6.0m Pulisic would be the value option but he seems unlikely to start.

£8.0m Havertz should be the CF.

Crystal Palace

FPL pre season

Crystal Palace have alot of cheap options but have terrible fixtures. However those cheap options could be rotatable in your FPL team.

The defence though is fairly settled and are all £4.5m but with poor fixtures. They do rotate home and away with Wolves though so that could be a decent £4.5m rotation pairing. I still like Guehi better than anyone else.

Upfront if you are looking for a £5.5m forward then one of Mateta or Edouard hopefully will become clear after their last preseason fixture although expect rotation and early subbings unfortunately. Both have regularly started in the front 3 in preseason so we don’t know who is first choice.

£7.0m mid Zaha is the talisman penalty taking 90 minute player. I would personally save him for a good fixture run.

Weirdly £4.5m Milivojevic has started a decent amount of preseason as has Rak-Sakyi. I can’t see either starting GW1 but if they start the last friendly in a strong team they could be in the small line of £4.5m mid options

Everton

FPL pre season

The Talisman here for Everton is £8.0m fwd Calvert-Lewin who should have pens. He’s not cheap though and the fixtures mixed. He also is an injury monitor. Plus his stats fell of a cliff after coming back from injury last season so he’s a no for me.

The £5.5m Mids in Gray and Gordon are also no’s until decent fixtures. Gordon seems to be liked by Lampard so should start if you’re desperate.

The defence was a disaster last season and a total stay away. £4.0m RB Patterson has been starting in preseason but Forests £4.0m Def Neco Williams is the better option. I suspect Patterson will lose his place when Coleman is fit

Fulham

FPL pre season

The Talisman here is undoubtedly £6.5m forward Mitrovic. For me though he’s for a good fixture run which is not now.

Other than that Fulham hold the best £4.5m Mid for our FPL benches in Andreas. Interestingly there also seems a possibility that £4.5m Mid Reed could start if you need 2. That’s a big call to have 2 Fulham £4.5ms though so hope that Da Silva of Brentford is a starter if you need 2 £4.5m Mids.

Defence is an avoid for me

Leeds

FPL pre season

The Talisman here is £7.5m forward Bamford but with poor fixtures and the price tag he’s an avoid for me.

The £4.5m Meslier GK gets a mention from some FPL managers but I can’t see the defence improving enough with Phillips gone despite the additions and his expected saves stats were poor last season.

Forshaw is another on the list of potential £4.5m mids if you need more than Andreas of Fulham. I still think it’s unlikely and Roca will take that spot.

Leicester

FPL pre season

£9.5m forward Vardy is the penalty taking Talisman here. Fixtures are a bit mixed though and there’s alot of competition in the premium area.

£5.0m mid Dewsbury Hall is a cheap FPL bench option although I’d prefer Bailey of Villa if he is nailed.

Personally I’m not sure on Barnes or Maddison without exceptional fixtures

The Leicester defence should be improved from last season and if £4.5m Ricardo Pereira or Castagne are certain then they could be good picks for their attacking ability as part of a rotation strategy.

Liverpool

FPL pre season

£13.0m Mid Salah is the Talisman here and a great captain option and a pretty certain pick for me. Diaz as an £8.0m Mid looks under priced and also a great pick.

The 2 defenders in £7.5m Alexander-Arnold and £7.0m Robertson are also great picks. If Konate at £5.0m is nailed then he becomes a good value pick.

The Community Shield next week should be helpful

Man City

FPL pre season

The issue with £11.5m Haaland at the moment is gametime in preseason and some comments by Pep

“But this is just the first 40 minutes he has played, he made just four or five training sessions. He needs weeks, he’s not like Phil Foden for example, who can have two days of training sessions and then play 180 minutes

That is a bit concerning for GW1 and how long he stays on the pitch. How long he plays in the Comm Shield next week will be helpful. He should have pens

The Attacking Mids of £8.0m Foden, £7.0m Grealish and £8.0m Mahrez are confused by Foden not being on the US tour. Again the Comm Shield could be helpful.

The defence is similarly confused by £6.0m Laporte not being fit and £5.5m Stones also not on the US tour. The proposed transfer of Brighton’s £5.0m Cucurella not happening quickly also causes confusion. If he were to come it could mean £7.0m Cancelo to RB and Cucurella LB edging out the cheap option of £5.0m Walker.

It’s all a bit of an uncertainty mess.

One person where there is no doubt apart from the usual Pep related rotation is £12.0m De Bruyne. You just pay the price for that relative certainty.

Manchester United

FPL pre season

There is becoming more certainty about FPL choices for Man Utd. The fixtures are a bit mixed though.

£6.5m Rashford has potential although his form last season was diabolical. The same could also be said for £7.5m Sancho and even more so for £7.0m Martial. It depends on how much you think they are transformed by the new manager and whether you want to wait for better fixtures

In defence £4.5m Dalot is the best option as long as you can rotate him with someone else. They rotate home and away in early fixtures with Arsenal. I doubt the defence even with the addition of Martinez will be strong enough to play him every game given the fixtures

Newcastle

FPL pre season

The fixtures as far as attacking players are concerned make me swerve Newcastle players. With the right fixtures I think £7.5m forward Wilson and £6.0m Mid Guimaraes could be options.

The defence was strong last season when Howe took over and signings were made. £5.0m Trippier is the best choice for me. The fixtures aren’t great and Newcastle were poor away from home but in the short term they do rotate home and away with Arsenal.

If you need more than 1 £4.5m Mid then Sean Longstaff at the moment has potential to start. He’s only a 2 point player but could be an option for a FPL permanent bench warmer although there is competition for the place so it’s a bit of a stretch.

Nottingham Forest

FPL pre season

Most importantly Forest have the only nailed £4.0m Defender as I write this in Neco Willams. If you are looking to minimise the value of your FPL bench then he’s the defensive option.

In the short term they also should have a £4.5m mid in Colback as Yates could be out until at least the middle of August. That’s unless they don’t sign someone else for the position.

The fixtures for me are pretty mixed for any of the attacking options

Southampton

FPL pre season

The fixtures aren’t great for Southampton but there’s a few cheap options that are worth monitoring over the last 2 friendlies.

£4.5m Mid Lavia is another potential option in the £4.5m Mid bracket if you need more that Fulham’s Andreas on your FPL bench.

Other than that £5.0m Mid Tella has played a couple of games as a forward but I think it would be unlikely he will start GW1 as one.

Spurs

FPL pre season

The attack is easy for Spurs. Great fixtures and just pick 1 of £11.5m forward Kane (with Pens) or £12.0m Mid Son. Kulusevski and Richarlison I suspect will be rotated too often to be options

Defence is far less straight forward and we have 1 more game against Roma for information. There are 2 issues at play with the wingbacks who have the potential to be attacking monsters. Firstly is the uncertainty of starts for GW1 and the 2nd is Conte’s sub and rotation policy with them

£5.0m Doherty would be my first choice. However he has Emerson to fend off and the surprisingly positive words Conte said about Moura as a possible RWB. Perisic has less issues competition wise with only Sessegnon. However as I write this he has only played 30 minutes of preseason after coming back from an injury. Will he start GW1?

If you’re thinking of Doherty or Perisic I would suggest they need to start against Roma and play at least 60 minutes for there to be any hope of them being in your FPL team.

West Ham

FPL pre season

Another side with difficult fixtures.

Mid Bowen is the obvious pick here but he’s not cheap at £8.5m and again a good fixture run I would personally wait for.

In defence I would go for £4.5m Coufal as a FPL defensive rotation option only. They rotate home and away with Brentford

Wolves

FPL pre season

The attraction for Wolves is good attacking and defensive fixtures. The negatives are last season they were poor in attack and the defence collapsed at the end of the season. While there maybe reasoning for both these it still attaches some risk for me.

In attack £5.5m Mid Neto is the pick. He does have competition from Podence and his stats last season were far better than previous although that could be explained partly as he played as practically a striker.

Defence is the trickier one. There are 3 players for the wing back positions assuming he plays a back 3. They are £5.0m RB Semedo as well as £4.5m RB/LB Jonny and LB Ait-Nouri. Given how injuries fell last season and the fact that Semedo has only just started training in the return from his I suspect the last friendlies won’t been any help as Semedo won’t be fit. If you want to go cheap with less attacking potential then there are 2 choices in £4.5m Kilman and Collins. The last preseason games should sort out who will start of those 2. There is a theory that £5.0m Coady won’t play in a back 4 so he should be swerved for that and price.

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So you can look at the fixtures while reading this

FPL pre season

Defensive Player Fixture Ease

FPL pre season

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