With the 2018/19 Premier League season looming on the horizon, Andy (@LetsTalk_FPL), an FFScout regular and Youtube content creator, talks us through his five players who could excel in FPL for the upcoming campaign.
Aaron Ramsey – £7.5m – Arsenal
Ramsey has had varying success over the last 10 seasons in Fantasy Premier League with a high score of 146 points in 2013/14. Although in and out of the team at times, new Arsenal manager Unai Emery has said the Welshman is an important part of his plans, and if Ramsey is awarded a starting berth from the outset of the upcoming campaign, he could begin to shine in Arsenal’s naturally creative starting XI.
With an impressive 5.4 points per match last season, the box to box midfielder could be in for a bumper score this year, though Arsenal start with two tough fixtures against top six rivals Manchester City and Chelsea. The squad is almost fully rested with a lack of World Cup participation meaning they could be quick out the blocks, giving Arsenal assets, most notably Ramsey, an added case for inclusion in your FPL squad.
Benjamin Mendy – £6.0m – Manchester City
After signing from Monaco at the beginning of last season, Mendy was firmly part of Pep Guardiola’s plans to strengthen the full back positions for Man City. Before getting injured against Crystal Palace, the Frenchman was involved in three full games in the league recording one assist and two clean sheets.
Although part of a World Cup squad which has gone all the way to the final, Mendy’s minutes at the World Cup have been minimal and he could feature in the league early on. Man City recorded 18 clean sheets last season and I’d expect that to continue this season. Clean sheet points, coupled with attacking potential in a team that scored 106 goals in 2017/18, could see Mendy come out on top of the defender standings.
Loris Karius – £5m – Liverpool
You’re not seeing things, I’m putting my neck on the line and touting Karius as a potential player to watch for this season. Champions League final aside the German actually had a good record for Liverpool in the league last year. His 4.6 points per match was equal to David De Gea (who is priced at £6m this season).
Karius played 19 times in the league last year recording an impressive 10 clean sheets. Jurgen Klopp now has an established backline, and has also reinforced midfield options with Naby Keita and Fabinho. Liverpool have the potential to build on the 17 clean sheets they got last season which was only one behind Man City and two behind Man United.
If Loris is employed as the no.1 he could be a set and forget option for just £5m.
Gylfi Sigurdsson – £7.5m – Everton
While at Swansea, Sigurdsson was considered Fantasy Premier League royalty.
Dominating set pieces, he was always a consistent points scorer, though when the Icelandic talisman moved to Everton he lost penalty duties and suffered a price increase which he never really matched with the right amount of points.
This season his price is back down to £7.5m, penalty taker Wayne Rooney has left for American shores and we could be set to see Sigurdsson start to dominate set pieces once more. New Everton manager Marco Silva should be shrewd enough to play Sigurdsson in his preferred no.10 position, rather than out on the left where he often played to accommodate Rooney. Everton are expected to be much more attacking this year after being freed of Sam Allardyce and have a great set of opening fixtures.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – £11m – Arsenal
Aubameyang burst onto the Premier League scene after signing for Arsenal in January 2018. In just 1056 minutes he scored 10 goals and registered 4 assists by the end of the season. This came in at 6.7 points per match, with Salah, Sterling and Aguero the only attackers to better this. The versatile forward can play as a no.9 and an inside forward and will be integral to Emery’s plans. Like Ramsey, he has two tough opening fixtures but top strikers can score against anyone. With Lukaku playing in a long World Cup and Aguero potentially a rotation risk with Jesus lurking, Aubameyang could be the go to £11m striker capable of incredible scores.
Written by Andy // @LetsTalk_FPL
Twitter: LetsTalk_FPL
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/LetsTalkFPL
