As Fantasy Premier League managers can now select their 15-man squads, The Scout analyses standout budget and premium players in each position.
James Tomkins (£4.5m) CRY
A low price and a strong finish to last season are persuading many managers to choose the Crystal Palace centre-back.
Tomkins is the team's most popular defender in FPL so far, owned by 11.8 per cent.
At £4.5m he is cheaper than his defensive team-mates Patrick van Aanholt (£5.5m) and Mamadou Sakho (£5.0m).
Strong finish
Tomkins also finished last season in excellent form. In the final eight Gameweeks he returned two goals and four clean sheets.
And during that period no defender bettered his nine shots inside the box and four big chances.
Palace have a favourable opening run of opponents. Only one of their first nine matches scores more than three in the Fixture Difficulty Ranking (FDR).
Palace's first nine Gameweeks
| GW | Opponent | Venue | FDR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulham | A | 2 |
| 2 | Liverpool | H | 4 |
| 3 | Watford | A | 3 |
| 4 | Southampton | H | 2 |
| 5 | Huddersfield | A | 2 |
| 6 | Newcastle | H | 3 |
| 7 | AFC Bournemouth | A | 3 |
| 8 | Wolves | H | 2 |
| 9 | Everton | A | 3 |
This run of fixtures, a cheap price tag and an ability to provide goals and clean sheets suggest that Tomkins can bring in big points from the start.
