Here’s my first draft Telegraph fantasy football team plus a few others who came close
Mignolet, S
£3.5m
For £3.5m there were 16 clean sheets for Liverpool which is 2nd only to Man City last year. With the negative points for goals conceded having a top 4 challenging team with a good defence is where the GK and defence should be. Mignolet has no serious competition for rotation and they have excellent fixtures to start.
Cole, A
£4.6m
Most certain Chelsea defender in there for the extra game. Chelsea were 3rd equal with Arsenal in clean sheets with 14 and should be improved with Mourinho on board.
Koscielny, L
£3.7m
Arsenal were 3rd in clean sheets last year with Koscielny being the star towards the end of the season as well as chipping in with goals
Rose, D
£3.2m
Come in at the Sunderland price and seems to have nailed the LB spot in pre-season. A bit of a selection risk but should start.
Hazard, E
£5.4m
Great debut season and sure to be better for it this year. Underlying stats, returns and consistency behind Mata who had a more central role but still very strong.
Walcott, T
£5.1m
Excellent goal scoring midfielder who had great shots in the box stats. Nailed on to play every game in an advanced position and also often drifts in centrally. Great fixtures and is a consistent returner no matter what the opposition. William Hill at this moment have him ahead by some distance (ignoring Bale) in the odds for top goal scorer above any other midfielder.
Silva, D
£5.3m
Quality player who didn’t get the returns that he deserved as the top chance creator in the league and also had reasonable shots in the box stats. Didn’t return consistently at all though and this was why he was abandoned last year. However with the uncertainty over who will play in the strike force and Pellegrinis more attacking play Silva stands out as the only really forward playing midfielder although he’s over valued in my mind.
Coutinho, P
£4.2m
Performed brilliantly after joining Liverpool in the transfer window. Will be given a lot of attacking freedom and Rodgers has talked about him being at his best centrally. Great fixtures. Only Mata, Walcott and Bale beat him for consistency. This was no fluke either. His underlying stats were fantastic.
Mirallas, K
£4.2m
Should play in an advanced position of the front 3 or in a midfield 3 beind the striker. Did well in patches last year although had injury problems which slowed him down. Underlying stats were pretty non existent but still had a reasonable consistency rate. Has performed in pre-season and should benefit from a more attacking style with Martinez.
van Wolfswinkel, R
£4.9m
Norwich have good fixtures to start and RVW has a reasonably good record of scoring in Portugal.
Soldado, R
£5.8m
5th top goal scorer in La Liga last season and certain of starts and being the main striker in a team with great fixtures early on. The best option to replace Bale. William Hill at the moment have him as the 3rd favourite to be top goal scorer at 14/1 behind RVP and Aguero. That in itself shows his quality. A great pick in my mind.
I haven’t put RVP at £8.0m in as with the Telegraph fantasy football format not having a a captain and with RVP having tricky fixtures he didn’t seem necessary
Those who came close were
Dzeko £5.3m and Lukaku – good value but too much rotation with no reserve in the Telegraph fantasy football format
Bony £5.2m – top scorer in Holland and will start every game
Cornelius £4.2m- may have made it if not for an injury for GW1
HBA and Lallana – good value at £3.6m
Sterling – £3.1m if he starts at home to stoke in GW1. May allow more spent upfront
B-Kyung Kim £2.5m. – scored a load of goals in preseason
Coleman £3.5m – defence may not be as good as last year but attacking returns should improve and good value
Caulker £2.8m – good value and can score
Here’s my rule summary. League details: Telegraph fantasy football: Code 8000919 league name: fantasy football geek
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Here’s the link to my GW1 fixture ease schedule:
http://www.fantasyfootballgeek.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-fixture-ease-schedule-gw1/