da betsul： If you haven’t been tinkering with your Fantasy Premier League team several times a day since it relaunched in July, are you even a proper FPL player?
da spicy bet： It’s that time again when every football fan turns their attention to proper football and, of course, their FPL teams. So much research is needed before locking in your GW1 team these days.
Who is a nailed on starter? Is he worth his price tag? Who will be the next Riyad Mahrez or Michu? Can I justify leaving out Harry Kane from the very start? All key things you really need to consider before being anywhere near ready.
To help you make the finishing touches to your team ahead of Friday evening’s much anticipated GW1 deadline, we’ve taken a look at three bargain picks you should be considering for your team selection.
Bargain buys come in many forms. They’re either cheap options you use to rotate from your bench when fixtures suit, or those with low ownership but high potential for an increase in value and unexpected big points returns. Think Mahrez and Vardy from a couple of years ago. Or Michu before them.
The first of our three bargain picks is West Brom’s Jay Rodriguez. The England international has missed much of the last two campaigns through injury but upon his return to the Southampton team last season, he showed what he’s capable of.
Now at the Baggies and starting the season with a clean bill of health, Rodriguez will be eager to hit the ground running at the Hawthorns and prove that his injury woes are well behind him.
At just £6.0m he classifies as a low end forward on the game despite the likelihood of him being a regular starter for the Baggies. Only 3.2% of teams have selected him so far so if he starts smashing them in from the off you’re likely to gain ground in the rankings, and his value is certain to rise very quickly.
West Brom’s opening fixtures are favourable, too. They begin the season with a home game v Bournemouth before facing the likes of Burnley (A), Stoke (H), Brighton (A) and West Ham (H). Rodriguez will fancy himself to find the net in all of those fixtures.
Next up is Nathan Ake, who impressed heavily during his loan spell at Bournemouth last season. He made the move a permanent one this summer and will have no problems settling in and getting used to Eddie Howe’s tactics. He should know Howe’s game and the South Coast pretty well by now.
Before being recalled by Chelsea at the back end of last season, Ake had become a surprise pick for many an FPL manager.
While at Bournemouth he kept three clean sheets, scored three goals and assisted another, additionally pulling in eight bonus points.
The Dutch defender is priced at just £5.0m this season and while his TSB% remains below 10%, you’re likely to gain some ground in the rankings with him in your team if he picks up where he left off last term.
Lastly, and what we’re calling a pretty risky bargain buy, Christian Atsu may just surprise a few FPL managers this season.
He didn’t impress too much while on loan at Bournemouth a couple of seasons ago but a season in the Championship with Newcastle saw him improve immensely, netting five and assisting five as the Magpies made an immediate return to the Premier League.
The arrival of Jacob Murphy does cast some doubt on Atsu’s place in Benitez’s starting XI but given his performances last season you have to expect him to feature regularly one way or another.
At just £5,0m, Atsu is a cheap option who could indeed go on and return some crucial FPL points. His 2.4% ownership also makes him an attractive option – a big start to the season will see that rise quickly, as would his value, but if he doesn’t impress then his value is unlikely to decrease too much.
If Benitez trusts Atsu to start then expect the 25-year-old to make an impressive impact.
Other potential bargain buys include the following…
Tom Carroll (£4.5m), who has had an impressive pre-season with Swansea, will no doubt take up the creative role in the Swans’ midfield if/when Gylfi Sigurdsson leaves. He may not be on the same level as the Iceland international but he’ll still be in and amongst Swansea’s chance creation.
Crystal Palace’s Luka Milivojevic (£5.0m) only arrived in South London in January but he did make an immediate impact, netting twice and picking up five clean sheet points. The Serb is also Palace’s set-piece taker, which further increases his points potential.
Joe Hart (£4.5m) will be looking to reignite his Premier League career at West Ham this season after his loan-spell in Italy with Torino last term. The Hammers’ defence is still arguably their weak link and that means Hart will be facing a lot of shots, boosting his shots saved points return chances. At just £4.5m Hart is classed as a low end keeper and should not be ignored.