Well, that didn’t take long.
A super quick turnaround sees the Premier League return after a mere 46 days. Most of which was dominated by the aftermath of a Pep Guardiola shocker in Portugal, a couple of gallivanting England nationals, a trademark Messi-tantrum and a smattering of transfer signings over a month and a half.
The high octane ‘Football Break’ was poetically capped off with an English snooze-fest against Denmark, which makes us eager to get back to work as we start off the weekly Fantasy Premier League (FPL) guide, which will be aided by a faux-expert syndrome and overreliance on my gut-feeling.
Without further ado.
3 Must-Haves (Defender, Midfielder, Forward)
With a limited sample set, we will be relying on past exploits of the players as we pick three options who we feel should, absolutely, be gracing our fantastical XI.
#1 Trent Alexander-Arnold (7.5)
The costliest FPL defender on offer makes the list courtesy of his superhuman showings last season. An assist machine and a vital cog in Jurgen Klopp’s uber-charged serial winners, TAA racked up 210 points last season- a tally only bettered by Kevin de Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, and Sadio Mane.
Liverpool face newly-promoted Leeds United at Anfield and if things go according to script, the Whites might well be handed a rude reality check instead of a welcome party.
#2 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (12.0)
The Gabon international looks set to extend his stay at the Emirates with Mikel Arteta getting to work behind the scenes as well.
His classification as a premium-priced midfielder will mean he will have to jostle for space in our squads with the likes of Salah, Mane and KDB. But given his penchant of being the overwhelming figure in almost all of Arsenal’s attacks coupled with a match-up against another newly promoted team in Fulham, he makes the list of must-haves for Gameweek 1.
#3 Harry Kane (10.5)
An inconsistent and dour Tottenham Hotspur side meant we overlooked an otherwise fantasy gold option, last season. And on first thoughts, a couple of uninspired individual showings from the English superstar for his country also put a slight doubt regarding his viability for the start of the season.
But his recent record against Everton and the fact that the season is starting in September, thus negating his already-floundering August curse, made me pick him in my side. A home game against a side he has scored a brace in four of their last five meetings makes him a must-have for Gameweek 1.
3 Light-On-The-Budget Options (Defender, Midfielder, Forward)
#1 William Saliba (4.5)
With Arsenal dealing with a number of injuries in their defensive contingent, the young Frenchman is in line to be handed a start and at 4.5, could be an excellent pick in an ever-improving Arsenal defence under Mikel Arteta.
If handed a start, he will be eager to impress and a starting berth seems to be up for grabs with the manager open to refurbishing his defence.
#2 Allan Saint-Maximin (5.5)
Already a popular figure on Twitter, it will be up to the flair player to turn his razzmatazz brand of football into fantasy points.
Photo by OWEN HUMPHREYS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
He faces a West Ham United side who are still struggling at the back as evidenced in last Saturday’s 5-3 loss to Bournemouth.
#3 Che Adams (6.0)
Understandably overshadowed by Danny Ings’ exploits last season, Che Adams has a chance to offer a very good value option as the third forward choice.
Priced a whole 2.5 lower than his strike partner, he outscored Ings over the last three matches last season and his underlying stats were all superior as well since the Project Restart.
FPL Captain pick
Harry Kane (10.5)
With the likes of Sergio Aguero missing and Mohamed Salah looking off-colour, we are going with Harry Kane as the Captain Pick with a generous dollop of trepidation.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang just about misses out.
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