My Fantasy Premier League Team 2022/23
DANNY WARD + DANIEL IVERSEN: Due to the departure of Kasper Schmeichel, Leicester only have two goalkeepers left in the squad and Brendan Rodgers has reinstated his belief that Danny Ward is a capable number one. Being able to get both keepers for a combined £8 million is virtually unheard of in FPL and why I have taken full advantage of it. Obviously, there is a risk that Leicester sign a new goalkeeper which could potentially leave my team without a playing goalkeeper but that’s what a wildcard is for, no?
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD: My first-choice defender is and always will be Trent. He remained in my squad for the entire 2021/22 season. Trent is such a good defender to have for several reasons. He accumulated the third most points out of all players last season, the most out of any defender. He is so clever on the ball, he picks up point from goals, assists as well as keeping clean sheets (which happens more often than not for Liverpool). Liverpool’s first two games are Fulham (A) and Crystal Palace (H) which are easy fixtures – Trent is more than likely to keep a clean sheet for these games and probably pick up additional points too.
ANDY ROBERTSON: I had Robertson in my team for the last part of the 2021/22 season and it went very well. Robertson and Trent are very similar in FPL – they both get clean sheet points and both get additional points from assists and goals (Trent more for goals, Robertson more for assists). Robertson wins a lot in the box but equally (towards the back end of last season and during pre-season) creates a lot of chances to assist goals. I am usually quite reluctant to have two defenders from the same team incase a game goes horribly wrong, but I can allow two players from Liverpool, especially when it is Trent and Robertson. Both Liverpool full-backs are also serial bonus point winners due to the number of chances they create and clean sheets they keep.
GABRIEL: A guaranteed starter at the heart of an improved Arsenal backline, with significant aerial threat from set pieces, at £5 million I think Gabriel will be a brilliant option this year. Having scored five goals, the most for any defender last year, the combination of clean sheets and attacking returns is something that I hope will pay off.
REECE JAMES: If James can avoid any injuries this season, then he will be one of the most explosive FPL assets in the game. Hopefully playing as a wing-back, as he did much of last season, with his creative ability and surprising finishing prowess, owning James is like having another midfielder in my FPL team with the bonus of clean sheet points too.
NATHAN PATTERSON: A cheap £4million enabler will mainly be on my bench this season, however, an impressive pre-season means that Patterson will likely be the starting right back for Everton this season and will be a capable understudy should any of my starting XI fail to play.
HEUNG-MIN SON: For me, last years’ Golden Boot winner Son is an excellent option that may be able to compete with Salah for this season’s FPL top point scorer but £1million less. His clinical finishing and improved out-put under Antonio Conte are just two of the reasons I want Son in my FPL team.
LUIS DIAZ: Signed in January as a Mane replacement, at £8million Diaz is one of the biggest steals in the game. At £5million less than his teammate Mo Salah, if he can produce anywhere near the same level as Mane has in previous seasons, everybody will finish the season with Diaz in their team.
MASON MOUNT: Mount was also a regular in my 2021/22 team, however I originally looked to leave him out this time round. During pre-season, Chelsea haven’t looked as sharp as other teams and I think that there are other midfielders I would prefer to have than Mount. However, Chelsea has very good fixtures for the first few weeks, and Mount starts every game so I am putting him in for now. I think that now Lukaku has gone on loan, Chelsea’s formation will shift slightly, allowing Mount to get in the box more and score/create assists. A possibility in a few weeks is to swap Mount out for Bowen when Chelsea start to play some harder fixtures – I don’t want Bowen in my team for GW1 because West Ham are playing Man City.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI: Martinelli is new to my FPL team – I have never had him before. Now that Emile Smith Rowe is injured, he is likely to start every game and during pre-season he looked like a very strong component of Arsenal’s new front three. Same as with Mount, Martinelli might be one of my players that sways in and out of my team because the standard of midfielders is so high this year and I fancy having the likes of Bowen and Foden in my team at some point.
ANDREAS PEREIRA: After a summer move from Man United to Fulham, Andreas is one of the few £4.5million midfielders who will actually start games for their team. While he will most likely be first on my bench, a potential partnership with Mitrovic last season’s Championship top goalscorer could prove fruitful for the attacking midfielder.
GABRIEL JESUS: Jesus is a player that I am very excited to see in FPL. He is so cheap for what he can hopefully do this season (obviously because of the lack of game time he got at Man City last season). Jesus will almost definitely start every game as the striker for Arsenal this season, and he has got some good options in Martinelli and Saka in midfield to create opportunities for him – even at Man City, when he gets a chance, he often puts it in the back of the net. His pre-season form has been outstanding and hopefully he will carry this into the Premier League season.
HARRY KANE: Kane will be one of my starting strikers this season, in the hope that as in previous seasons, Spurs can batter Southampton in the first game of the season. The plan is then to move to Haaland for Man City’s home game against Bournemouth in GW2 as Spurs face the more difficult challenge of Chelsea. Moving between premium strikers dependant on fixtures is going to be a key strategy for me this season.
CAMERON ARCHER: A £4.5million striker that will likely not make it off my bench this season, however, an impressive loan spell last season at Preston North End has led Steven Gerrard to commit to keeping Archer in the first team squad this season so he may get some minutes at some point.
