Here’s FFGeek TFF pundit Stephen Troop with an article on the players with the highest ownership among Telegraph fantasy football managers
Telegraph Fantasy Football – TFF Pundit Stephen Troop looks at the games most owned players
Welcome to my second instalment in my TFF pre-season articles after my article looking for value. In this one I look at the highest owned players for each position (at the time of writing) and add my thoughts on these players. Whilst I think using %owned by as a way of selecting a team is a pretty boring way of playing, it does mitigate early ranking drops. I also think it can be used to identify opportunities for ranking gain (either by identifying a differential or identifying a highly owned player who upon analysis I don’t feel will do well). So let’s get into it.
The player list below is for all players who have over 10% ownership
Goalkeepers
No surprises here with the primary goalkeepers from the 3 teams with the most clean sheets last season in De Gea, Allison and Ederson Moares. With no stand out cheap option available currently the distribution of keepers is pretty wide. Pickford is an odd one for me and can only assume it’s a result of more casual players selecting him on the back of a good world cup campaign. Realistically though Everton’s defensive record last season was poor and their new manager Silva hardly has a great record with tightening up defences. If Courtois moves away from Chelsea as rumoured and they replace him with Schmeichel then we will see a big shift towards him.
Defenders
Trippier
The Spurs RB/RWB again looks mainly driven by his world cup performance and on the face of it looks like the cheapest way into the Spurs defence. The downside is that he will likely miss one or two games after arriving back to pre-season late. This is the case for a number of key players, and they have a hectic start to the campaign with only 2 out of the first 7 fixtures at home (one at Wembley and the other against Liverpool in their first game at the new stadium). Personally I’d prefer Davies in my squad but I’ll likely be avoiding Spurs altogether initially.
Robertson
The Liverpool LB looks great value after a great second half of the season. Since Van Djiks’s arrival Liverpool have the best defensive record out of prem teams and new signing Fabinho should give additional protection to the defence. Robertson likes to attack so could pick up plenty of assists. Van Dijk has a bigger goal threat and was unlucky not to score in the league last season however costs significantly more.
Maguire
The Leicester CB is another world cup player who has attracted a lot of players. £3.7m for a Leicester defender seems steep. He has goal threat but Leicester’s defence has been very questionable. It is rumoured United are after him, in which case could make him great value and maybe some of his owners have this in mind. Its worth noting there are no Utd defenders highly owned currently.
Alonso and Azpilicueta
Last season’s top two scorers from Chelsea in Alonso and Azpilicueta unsurprisingly make the list. Alonso is one of the most attacking full backs I’ve seen in the premier league. However, Sarri prefers a 4-3-3 traditionally and it’s unlikely Alonso will be given quite an attacking role. Azpilicueta might therefore be a better option if you are after Chelsea cover. Luiz could be a value pick so worth monitoring how they line up in the charity shield.
Stephen Ward
The Burnley LB is the cheapest option amongst the most popular defenders and looks the best value in a usually steady Burnley defence. Burnley also have a nice run of opening fixtures however they have made no signings so far and will have Europa league to contend with so long term could be risky.
Walker
Finally, we have the Man City RB/RWB Walker, the most expensive defender in the game. Personally, I prefer Mendy as he carried a much bigger attacking threat last season and has featured in their pre-season after not playing much for France in the world cup. Walker will return late and may miss a couple of games.
Midfielders
Salah
Anyone think Salah could be underpriced? At 6m it would be crazy not to have him and turns it into a 10 man game. I don’t recall such high ownership before the season has started. Mane features in the list although Firminho is more highly owned (see strikers) so doubling up on Liverpool attack looks popular. Mane has taken Liverpool’s penalties in pre-season and his underlying stats suggest he could be due a big season however Firminho will likely be on penalties when he returns.
Sane
Unsurprisingly City assets are popular. Sane is the most popular likely due to his friendlier price tag and not having any world cup action leaving him with a point to prove. Oddly though Pep hasn’t been starting him in pre-season games, stating he isn’t fit which I can’t believe given he wasn’t at the world cup. Definitely worth monitoring in the charity shield.
De Bruyne
De Bruyne is next most popular but likely won’t start the first game or two. What you will get is consistent KC points, guaranteed starts and occasional goals. Interestingly Sterling isn’t in the list so the masses must think he can’t repeat his returns from last season. Mahrez was over 10% owned yesterday however picked up a recent injury and since dropped. It is rumoured not serious though.
Sanchez
Sanchez does make the list despite a mediocre start to his life under Mourinho. We all know his potential and with Lukaku returning late from the world cup he could play up front initially. He also has had a significant price drop from last season and could be great value if we see him return as he has in the past.
Richarlison
Richarlison had a spell last season where he looked like he could be bargain of the season. Whilst his underlying stats continued, his finishing ability didn’t and once Silva had left Watford his performances went downhill. Now he is re-united with Silva after an eye watering £40m fee so could we see that form return? £3.8m feels a reasonable price for that gamble, particularly with Everton’s opening fixtures.
Finally, we see a couple of cheaper options. Sessegnon at £3.8m I feel is a little much as we don’t know how he will do in the premier league but has obvious potential. Fulham have just signed Schurrle who naturally plays in his position but I wouldn’t question his starting place. Mitrovic has also signed permanently which gives him a striker to aim for.
Jota comes with a much friendlier price tag at £3.2 and could be worth a gamble. He was Wolves top scorer last year and whilst usually plays in part of a front 3 has also played as a striker. Of course there is always a risk with new players to the premier league however Wolves look more than capable of getting to mid table.
Zaha just missed out on 10% ownership. His price seems a bit too steep at £4.8m but no questioning his ability to score points.
Strikers
Not too many surprises here.
Kane
Kane will want his golden boot back and is selected by half of players. Despite his claims he will be playing the first game, I’d be surprised if he did as he is only due back to training 5 days earlier. Nevertheless if you don’t want to start with him, you should make a plan to get him in once he hits form.
Aubameyang
Aubameyang started life well at Arsenal but will compete with Lacazette for the goals. If their new manager can get the best out of Ozil though I can see Aubameyang have a good season and fancy Arsenal to have a new manager boost this season. They have City and Chelsea first but following this have a good run of fixtures where any of Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Aubameynag, Lacazette and Ramsey could emerge as good options.
Lukaku
The Belgian will be late back from the world cup and whilst he started off well last season, his form tailed off through the season. He will score consistently I feel but can he make a case as a must have.
Firminho
He seems popular as a double up with Salah. He has received a price hike since last season and is the most expensive Liverpool asset. The new price feels about right if you take Salah out the equation but will be interesting if he can keep up with the other out and out premium strikers again.
Arnautovic
He was, perhaps, the biggest surprise as his price is much higher than last year, however he could still easily outperform that price. His end of season form as a striker was excellent and his current pre-season form is even better (albeit not against the toughest competition). West Ham have invested in the transfer window and they look a lot stronger. He should start as a lone striker initially with his form however will have to compete with Hernandez.
If ever you did need evidence that the crowds can be wrong, almost 8% of managers have selected Son, despite the fact he is going to the Asian games. He could start the first game but then miss around a month.
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