Who to pick, who to avoid – your team’s FPL assets ranked

To help Fantasy Premier League managers as you tinker with your teams before Friday’s deadline, we’ve gone through all 20 teams and ranked some of their assets.

Our four experts – Pras, FPL Heisenberg, Gianni Buttice and Holly Shand – have each chosen:

Talisman: Bukayo Saka (£10m)

Last season was the first since 2020-21 that Saka did not reach 20 goal involvements in the Premier League – he got 17 and that was after missing nearly half the campaign with injury.

There are a couple of question marks around him this season. Will his minutes be managed more and will new striker Viktor Gyokeres want to take penalties? – but Saka is a pretty safe bet to get 200 FPL points if fit.

Differential: Declan Rice (£6.5m)

Holly: Midfielder Rice carries extra appeal this season given the introduction of defensive contribution points, having already been involved in Arsenal’s set-pieces.

He accumulated 11 goal involvements last season and would have received an additional 18 points on this new metric. Arsenal host promoted Leeds United too in Gameweek 2.

Player to avoid: Gabriel (£6m)

Holly: Centre-back Gabriel was one of the most popular picks in the game when it launched in mid-July, but he has only played 28 minutes in pre-season.

Talisman: Ollie Watkins (£9m)

Watkins is such a reliable FPL asset with 50 goals and 34 assists over the past three seasons. His FPL points in that time were 178, 228 and 186.

So you know what you’re getting at an enticing price. His only downside is the lack of penalties – Youri Tielemans is likely to be Villa’s designated taker – but don’t let that put you off.

Differential: Donyell Malen (£5.5m)

Heisenberg: The Netherlands midfielder has been in great pre-season form, only costs £5.5m and has an eye for goal.

He may even get some minutes in the centre-forward position if Watkins gets injured or subbed early. The only concern with Malen is the insecurity of minutes but, at that price point, he’s potentially worth a gamble.

Player to avoid: Alex Moreno (£4m)

Heisenberg: Moreno is the fourth-highest-owned Villa player in over 11% of FPL teams.

Talisman – Evanilson (£7.5m)

The Brazilian striker scored 10 goals in 28 starts and he underperformed his expected goals by nearly three, when forwards tend to outperform xG.

That suggests he has more goals in his locker and he was already involved in 35% of his team’s goals when on the pitch.

With question marks around Justin Kluivert’s fitness, Evanilson could be on penalties too and, if he gets a full season under his belt, that 10-goal mark from 24-25 is easily beatable.

Differential: Antoine Semenyo (£7m)

Pras: The midfielder enjoyed a strong 24-25, scoring 11 goals and assisting seven times across 37 matches. Only Mohamed Salah and Cole Palmer attempted more shots.

Should he improve on his 8.8% shot conversion there is a real possibility he makes his £7m price tag look like a bargain. At just 5.5% ownership at the time of writing, he could rival Aston Villa’s Rogers and Spurs midfielder Mohammed Kudus in the same price bracket.

Player to avoid: Marcos Senesi (£4.5m)

Talisman: Kevin Schade (£7m)

It might surprise you Schade was the 14th highest-scoring midfielder last season and with Bryan Mbeumo gone, Brentford will be hoping the German can fill the creative gap.

Schade scored 11 times last season – seven from January onwards – in just 26 starts. Brentford scored more goals than fourth-placed Chelsea last season so the potential is there for Schade to be a steal at £7m if the Bees carry on in that vein.

Differential: Igor Thiago (£6m)

Gianni: In February 2024, the Brazilian joined Brentford for a club-record £30m fee and a growing reputation. Fast forward 18 months and he’s only made eight appearances, scoring no goals.

Now fully recovered from a meniscus injury, he will surely lead the line this season. Under 1% owned, he could be the best £6m forward in the game.

Player to avoid: Nathan Collins (£5m)

Talisman: Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m)

The Japan forward is another one of those players who would be FPL gold dust if he could stay fit for a season.

Mitoma was Brighton’s joint-top scorer (10) and had the most key passes and big chances created. All that from just 28 starts make him the Brighton midfielder of choice and a potential bargain.

Differential: Danny Welbeck (£6.5m)

Pras: Welbeck – in just 7.8% of teams – is one of the rare forwards under £7m, play for a top-10 team and also very likely to be on penalties (following Joao Pedro’s departure).

Brighton were ranked joint fifth for goals scored last season, racking up 66 in total. At 34, Welbeck is of course prone to injuries and rest, but clocking more than 2,000 minutes last season, where he got 10 goals, four assists, is not bad at all.

Player to avoid: Georginio Rutter (£6m)

Pras: Big things were expected from Rutter when he was signed for a club-record deal from Leeds a year ago. The Frenchman disappointed, however, delivering less than 100 FPL points and playing under 2,000 minutes, despite injuries to Joao Pedro and Welbeck at various points.

Talisman: Jaidon Anthony (£5.5m)

It’s hard to highlight a talisman from a promoted side, but winger Anthony scored eight goals and had seven assists in the Championship last season.

He looks likely to be a creative spark again for Burnley – he had 81 key passes last season – and his price point makes him a great enabler if you prefer him to a defensive midfielder.

Differential: Maxime Esteve (£4m)

Holly: We’ve seen from data for last season that centre-backs from promoted teams can perform very well for defensive contributions, which sees Burnley’s Esteve as a top pick.

He comes in as one of the lowest-priced defenders in the game, with some kind early fixtures including Sunderland in gameweek two. Rotate him with a Spurs defender.

Avoid: Aaron Ramsey (£4.5m)

Holly: Ramsey is the bandwagon £4.5m midfielder but should be avoided, with better options from other sides at this price point.

Talisman: Cole Palmer (£10.5m)

You don’t need to say much about Palmer really. He was the top scoring player two seasons ago and had 25 goal contributions last term, even he fizzled out a bit towards the end.

Is he under-priced at £10.5m? Only Mohamed Salah really rivals him for talisman status and everything Chelsea do flows through Palmer.

Differential: Pedro Neto (£7m)

Heisenberg: The Portuguese midfielder is usually a player I avoid due to rotation worries and his injury record. However, with 10 goal contributions last season and a strong Fifa Club World Cup, he’s now fully settled at Chelsea and could be their best differential asset.

Avoid: Joao Pedro (£7.5m)

Heisenberg: The Brazil striker is a great player but I see two problems.

Talisman: Eberechi Eze (£7.5m)

Palace’s attack is really a three-headed monster, with Eze, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta having 16, 15 and 16 goal involvements respectively last season.

Eze is the leader of the pack though, having had a hand in 35% of Palace’s goals while on the pitch and almost double (102 to 59) the amount of shots to Sarr.

Which suggests he can improve on his eight goals with better finishing.

Differential: Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m)

Gianni: The Frenchman is in fewer than 6% of teams and has a lot of competition at his price point with Dominic Solanke and Chris Wood being much more popular.

Mateta has an impressive 30 league goals and nine assists over the past two seasons and looks very happy playing as the focal point in Oliver Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 formation.

Avoid: Tyrick Mitchell (£5m)

Gianni: Mitchell is a solid defender and an important part of the team, but when it comes to FPL he doesn’t stand out as best in class for any metric.

Talisman – Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m)

Ndiaye has been reclassified as a midfielder this season but will essentially play as a second forward, he is on penalties and will be confident of beating last season’s nine goals.

At £6.5m he is one of the cheapest penalty-taking midfielders you can find and Everton start the season with games against Leeds, Brighton, Wolves, West Ham and Crystal Palace in their first seven.

Differential: James Tarkowski (£5.5m)

Pras: The centre-back accumulated more defensive contribution points than any other Premier League player last season.

More than 75% of his appearances would have met the two-point threshold for defensive contributions under this season’s new point-scoring system. Consequently, Everton’s fixture schedule may be less critical; a clean sheet could yield between eight and 11 points for Tarkowski. This makes him a valuable differential option and justifies his price tag.

Player to avoid – Beto (£5.5m)

Talisman: Raul Jimenez (£6.5m)

Alex Iwobi (£6.5m) was Fulham’s top point-scorer last season and both he and Jimenez are Fulham’s best picks, with 15 goal involvements each in 24-25.

Mexican striker Jimenez has penalties though and that sets him apart if he maintains his first-choice status. He scored 12 goals from 30 starts last season.

Differential: Joachim Andersen (£4.5m)

Holly: Andersen is quickly becoming one of my favourite defenders at this price point, where 26 defensive contribution points would have been a welcome boost.

He could be a useful asset to rotate with a Nottingham Forest defender, in order to target both of their promising early fixtures.

Player to avoid: Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m)

Holly: Muniz is more highly owned than Jimenez in FPL right now, which comes as a surprise when Jimenez is currently their first- choice striker.

Talisman: Dan James (£5.5m)

James had 12 goals and nine assists in the Championship last season and we’ve seen in Leeds’ recent spells in the top flight that they can provide some FPL gems – who remembers goalscoring defender playing in midfield Stuart Dallas?

James is one of Leeds’ first-choice midfield assets and could be the budget enabler you need at £5.5m.

Differential: Gabriel Gudmundsson (£4m)

Heisenberg: A £4m defender who should be nailed on to start for Leeds. He has more attacking threat than Rodon (also £4.0m) as he may take some set-pieces and he has also played in a midfield role previously in his career.

Player to avoid: Patrick Bamford (£5m)

Heisenberg: Bamford was our FPL cult hero under Marcelo Bielsa in the 2020-21 season, amassing a huge 28 attacking returns, and he is the third-highest owned Leeds player in drafts at the moment.

Talisman: Mohamed Salah (£14.5m)

The best player in the game, coming off the back of a historic season.

The question is, can he do it again and is he worth the increased price?

Our four experts debated that point in our ‘Burning Questions’ article.

Differential: Cody Gakpo (£7.5m)

Gianni: Clocked 15 league attacking returns last season and has played his way in to being first choice on Liverpool’s left side while scoring some important goals. Now rightly classified as a midfielder, £7.5m could prove to be exceptional value.

Avoid: Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.5m)

Gianni: Liverpool’s second-best midfielder last season with 143 points (six goals and 10 assists), but Florian Wirtz has played most of his pre-season minutes as a number 10 in a 4-2-3-1, leaving Szoboszlai’s starting place at risk.

Talisman: Erling Haaland (£14m)

The Norwegian striker scored 22 goals and returned 181 FPL points in what was considered a disappointing season for him.

He’s City’s main man and if he can return to nearer the 45-return 22-23 season then he is worth every penny of that £14m.

FPL managers just need to work out if they want Haaland or Salah, can afford both or want to risk it with neither.

Differential: Tijjani Reijnders (£5.5m)

Pras: If the Dutchman secures a regular spot in central midfield, he has the potential to be exceptional value at his price tag.

His style of play is reminiscent of Ilkay Gundogan, and last season he registered 77 shots for AC Milan, placing him among the top 10 in Serie A. He also demonstrated a clinical edge, scoring 10 goals from an expected goals tally of 8.34.

Player to avoid: Omar Marmoush (£8.5m)

Pras: The Egyptian forward featured for the full 90 minutes in 13 matches last season, which is noteworthy for a player who joined in January. However, many of these appearances occurred during periods when Haaland was injured or Phil Foden was not regularly selected.

Talisman: Bruno Fernandes (£9m)

Despite some uncertainty over his playing position, Fernandes is a 90-minute man, consistent and at the heart of United’s play.

He has penalties, set-pieces and open-play assist threat, on top of his goals, with eight goals and 12 assists last season.

With the new defensive contribution points, Fernandes would have been the fourth-best midfielder last season with 22 extra points.

Differential: Patrick Dorgu (£4.5m)

Holly: Dorgu carries plenty of promise if he can nail down the left wing-back role in Ruben Amorim’s system. He has been attacking in some of their pre-season games.

His inclusion does come with its risks though, as he could easily be left on the bench, so be sure to have cover for him.

Player to avoid: Bryan Mbeumo (£8m)

Holly: United’s big money signing Mbeumo was inevitably going to be popular in FPL, with around 18% of managers acquiring his services.

Talisman and player to avoid: Alexander Isak (£10.5m)

Heisenberg: We have a unique situation with Newcastle, where their star man – Alexander Isak – wants to leave but may well end up staying.

Isak is Newcastle’s best FPL asset by far (he scored 211 points last season), but manager Eddie Howe has said he “can’t involve” the Swedish striker in the team at the moment, with speculation about a move to Liverpool.

He’s one to avoid from the off until we get clarity on his future, but if he returns to the Newcastle starting XI he will once again be the striker to pick.

Read the latest on Isak’s future

Differential: Anthony Gordon (£7.5m)

Heisenberg: Gordon has the potential to have an excellent season. He’s in just over 3% of FPL teams, but he might be on penalty duty this season if Isak leaves.

Talisman: Chris Wood (£7.5m)

Wood scored 20 goals last season and finished with 200 points, second only to Isak among strikers.

Still on penalties, still with very little competition – he might not match last season but Wood has everything in place to be a great FPL pick again and is a very safe bet to stick in your opening drafts, given Forest’s kind opening run of games.

Differential: Neco Williams (£5m)

Gianni: Both Nottingham Forest full-backs are worth consideration, but Williams beats Ola Aina in the vast majority of defensive and attacking metrics.

Aina played more minutes last season and therefore earned more FPL points which is why he’s now highly owned but Williams is the better pick for those buying a £5m defender at Forest.

Player to avoid: Taiwo Awoniyi (£5.5m)

Gianni: If you’re buying a £5.5m forward, make sure it’s one that gets game time. Awoniyi won’t see many league minutes this season.

Talisman: Simon Adingra (£5.5m)

The Ivory Coast winger impressed in spells at Brighton, when given game time, and Sunderland have spent £20m to bring him to the Stadium of Light.

He’s likely to nail down a starting spot on the left wing for the Black Cats and that consistency should lead to more FPL returns – with 25 starts two seasons ago he scored six times and was close to 100 points.

Differential: Granit Xhaka (£5m)

Pras: Xhaka made 33 Bundesliga appearances for Bayer Leverkusen last season, scoring twice and providing seven assists. He will likely have to play a bit deeper at Sunderland, having previously lined up as one of two central midfielders in a 3-4-2-1 formation at Leverkusen, but it should help boost his defensive contributions.

He averaged 7.6 per 90 of those (with 12 needed to gain two points) in his final season at Arsenal, but this will undoubtedly increase playing for a newly-promoted club. At just £5m, he could be the enabler your team needs to afford the other premium picks.

Player to avoid: Reinildo (£4m)

Pras: Sunderland had the fourth-best defence in the Championship last season but their 17 clean sheets were significantly less than Burnley (30) and Leeds (25), suggesting they might not keep many in the Premier League.

Talisman: Dominic Solanke (£7.5m)

Spurs have a host of midfield options but Solanke is clearly the man up front.

With Son Heung-min gone, penalties are his and he is now playing under a manager – Thomas Frank – whose tactics resulted in a 20-goal striker and a 19-goal striker last season.

Just keep an eye on his injury status – Solanke might be one to bring in once fully fit.

Differential: Cristian Romero (£5m)

Holly: Spurs have some strong opening fixtures, including Burnley at home in gameweek one and Bournemouth in gameweek three. Investing in their defence is a wise move.

When considering options, look at centre-back Romero as a reliable route into this defence at a reasonable price, with solid clean sheet potential under Frank.

Avoid: Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m)

Holly: Ghana midfielder Kudus is a very popular pick in the game, owned by 26% of FPL managers. However, it’s unclear what his role will be in this Spurs attack.

Talisman: Jarrod Bowen (£8m)

It’s a shame Bowen has been reclassified as a striker, but he is still going to end up as West Ham’s highest points scorer.

Bowen has had 24 goal contributions in each of the past two seasons and, if he does play as a central striker, he should better his 13 goals from last season.

Differential: El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.5m)

Heisenberg: Left-back Diouf looks like the pick from the West Ham defence, if you want to go there. He’s in less than 4% of FPL teams but he’ll have greater attacking threat compared to the other West Ham defenders. He has a wand of a left foot and I like his assist potential.

Player to avoid: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£4.5m)

Heisenberg: Wan-Bissaka is overhyped currently. There are plenty you should avoid from West Ham (most of their assets in my opinion) but I wanted to highlight Wan-Bissaka because of his high ownership (30.9%).

Talisman: Jorgen Strand Larsen (£6.5m)

The Norwegian had a stunning end to last season with seven goals in his past nine games, to finish with 14 in his debut Premier League season.

With Matheus Cunha gone, the striker will be even more of a focal point for Wolves and likely to be on penalties. A bargain at £6.5m.

Differential: Jhon Arias (£5.5m)

Gianni: The Colombian comes with a big reputation after delivering for Fluminense in the Club World Cup. No player created more chances in the tournament than Arias.

The attacking midfielder could be a steal at £5.5m but there are question marks over a start in gameweek one as he is integrated to the Wolves squad.

Avoid: Hwang Hee-chan (£6m)