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Fantasy Premier League is back after a summer that still featured plenty of football between the Euros, Copa America and Olympics.
That means a rather short pre-season which missed several key FPL assets is all we have to go by as we prepare for the opening gameweek.
Liverpool have an appealing trip to Norwich to begin with but Man City’s clash at Tottenham will be the most intriguing, particularly for the Harry Kane narrative.
Here are a few tips to help guide you through GW1.
CAPTAIN – MOHAMED SALAH | LIVERPOOL | 12.5M
Getting off to a flyer in FPL is great, but there’s nothing worse than starting with a stinker. So while the temptation is to side with a maverick pick right off the bat, you’re better served playing it safe and accumulating a few weeks of data before making the more exciting moves.
And when it comes to a safe bet in GW1, or for FPL in general, you can’t do much better than Mohamed Salah.
The Liverpool star seeks out the back of the net like his life depends on it and is secure as the team’s penalty-taker. But it’s his record in season openers that really stands out.
Salah has scored in GW1 for four years in a row, including a hat-trick last season.
ALTERNATIVE
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.5m) finished last season strong and looks fired up for the new campaign. A clean sheet should be on the cards at Norwich and he’ll have plenty of opportunities to get forward.
BOLD CHOICE
MASON GREENWOOD (7.5m) has had plenty of time to rest and recharge the batteries in the summer. He’s had a good pre-season and is certain to start the first few fixtures with other attacking options unavailable.
ONE TO GET
BRUNO FERNANDES | MAN UNITED | 12.0M
Priced at 12m this season but Bruno Fernandes still promises to be worth every penny. The additions to United’s attack should only elevate his output with better players to link-up with. He’s still the main man and returned to Old Trafford with a superb free-kick goal during the latest friendly with Everton.
ONE TO AVOID
TEEMU PUKKI | NORWICH | 6.0M
He may have begun like a house on fire two seasons ago but Teemu Pukki will likely struggle to get involved early on this season. Norwich endure a difficult start to the campaign and he’s also lost his chief supplier in Emiliano Buendia to Aston Villa.
BARGAIN BUY
ROBERT SANCHEZ | BRIGHTON | 4.5M
Despite a very tidy campaign last time out, Robert Sanchez’s price has remained the same. He bagged 10 clean sheets last season and a healthy number of save points to be great value. Even with Ben White gone, Brighton are a compact unit under Graham Potter, so he should retain good protection ahead of him.
