Fantasy Premier League

FPL expert's squad: Double up on Wolves wing-backs

25 Aug 2020

Ben McNair reckons early fixtures point to big success for Matt Doherty and Ruben Vinagre as he picks his squad for Gameweek 1

The Scout's panel of experts reveal who they currently plan to pick in their Gameweek 1 squad for 2020/21 Fantasy Premier League, and explain their decisions.

Ben McNair (@drbenmcnair)

Aaron Ramsdale (SHU) £5.0m

Sheffield United are the perfect type of team when sourcing an FPL goalkeeper, because they're defensively decent but also don't score a lot of goals, which means there's a greater chance of bonus points for the ‘keeper when he keeps clean sheets. There is a chance of a strong start too, with the Blades facing Wolverhampton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Fulham among their first five fixtures.

Trent Alexander Arnold (LIV) £7.5m

A bargain at £7.5m, he offers not only clean sheets from one of the best defences in the league but also considerable assist potential and goal threat from direct free-kicks.

Andrew Robertson (LIV) £7.0m

Like Alexander-Arnold, Robertson offers points potential at both ends of the pitch. He ended the season well and started taking a share of corners too. I am happy to double up on the Liverpool full-backs as they are so important to the way their side play.

Matt Doherty (WOL) £6.0m

Wolves are one of the best teams in the league defensively and, aside from Liverpool's full-backs, no defender offers greater attacking threat than Doherty.

Ruben Vinagre (WOL) £4.5m

If Wolves don’t sign another left-back, Vinagre could represent great value for money until Jonny (£5.5m) returns from long-term injury later in the season.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (ARS) £12.0m

Like many other FPL managers, I’m looking at playing Aubameyang for the first two Gameweeks before swapping to Kevin De Bruyne or Raheem Sterling (both £11.5m). I don’t like booking transfers in advance, but I'm comfortable with making an exception for this unusual situation, with the blanks in Gameweek 1.

Mohamed Salah (LIV) £12.0m

He will be in the mix for the top FPL points-scorer again this year. He's a captaincy option every single week.

Tomas Soucek (WHU) £5.0m

Soucek will play in Gameweek 1 for me, with Phil Foden (£6.5m) on my bench as Manchester City are without a fixture.

Timo Werner (CHE) £9.5m

I try to avoid buying players who are new to their clubs so I can observe how they settle, but I might make an exception for Werner if he looks good in pre-season. Chelsea created a lot of chances for their strikers in 2019/20 and Werner has the quality to take advantage.

Michail Antonio (WHU) £6.5m

Antonio was so good post-lockdown it’s impossible to leave him out. His fixtures are difficult after Gameweek 1, but I’m willing to see how he gets on. There are plenty of interesting options around that price point, including Chris Wood (£6.5m) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£7.0m).

Aleksandar Mitrovic (FUL) £6.0m

Mitrovic looks like being good value for money. He has Premier League experience and will score a few goals. We’ll just have to hope he’s not shown too many cards along the way.

Substitutes

Jed Steer (AVL) £4.0m

With Tom Heaton (£4.5m) set to miss the start of the season, it looks like either Steer or Orjan Nyland (£4.0m) will get some minutes.

Nathan Ferguson (CRY) £4.0m

He looks as likely as any of the £4.0m defenders to get minutes on the pitch.

Phil Foden (MCI) £6.5m

I'm thinking of having a Man City or Manchester United player in my initial squad despite their Gameweek 1 blank, so I can give myself a chance of avoiding playing the Wildcard early. Foden is not going to start every game, but his output post-lockdown suggests he can still provide value for money at his low price. Goalscoring midfielders at teams with good defences make superb FPL assets.