The rise of the content creators regarding the Fantasy Premier League inevitably has led to many Fantasy teams looking similar. Rank gains are hard to come by with a strong and popular template always doing the rounds amongst engaged managers.
There is a flip side to the given scenario, differentials not only make the game interesting for an individual manager by separating from the herd. They also provide the opportunity for rank gains including even better at times.
James Maddison: The Differential Pick That Could Boost Your FPL Rank
James Maddison falls right in the category with the promise of rank gains by bifurcating from populist narratives and if his season does gain momentum there will be more managers boarding the Madders train, thereby, leading to a rise in his value as an FPL asset.
Before the rest of the article, a sentence of caution is written by a person in love with Maddison’s style of play.
At the time of writing, Maddison sits in 13% of the squad, way below the likes of Martinelli, Odegaard, and Bruno Fernandes, even Mitoma.
Playing for a much poor and struggling Leicester team, Maddison had season totals of twenty attacking outputs in each of the last two seasons.
Spurs start at Brentford away before taking on Manchester United at home.
The opening schedule can be considered somewhat tricky, but fixtures turn considerably easier post-game week 2, with Bournemouth away, Burnley away, Sheffield United at home, Luton Town away, Fulham at home, and Crystal Palace away, all within the first ten games.
Spurs under Ange Postecoglou as expected are playing an incredibly attacking style of football. The Australian is known as a follower of the philosophy of a certain Marcelo Bielsa. He has already started deploying his style of play evident in pre-season matches.
Tactics so far have seen more emphasis on playing in the front foot, with Son and Kulusevski playing wide linking up attacks.
Son and Kulusevski are joined and covered in situations of losing possession by the fullbacks and it is Maddison along with Kane is the fulcrum of the attack.
Spurs’ new style of play will likely mean even if Kane does leave, Richarlison, might be able to slot in with ease.
Under Ange, the system is the basis rather than the team playing around any certain individual.
Maddison’s position in this system is not a complete 10 but rather close to 9. Playing in a better team with better finishers, his assist numbers will also be having better outputs.
Focusing on team budget and player budget in the micro, Maddison is certainly more advanced in playing position than the likes of Odegaard or Bruno. Odegaard and Bruno both cost a million more than him in the game.
There are no £7.5m asset midfielders with a similar pedigree as Madders in the price category. Foden does come close but his starting spot in the team is always under perpetual cloud. He is expected to outperform the £6.5m midfielders over a given period.
In terms of creating a suitable formation for managers going with Mo Salah in game week 1, Maddison does provide the option of an alternative of betting against the likes of Martinelli with assets like Mo Salah in the team. Martinelli will be expected to play 60-70 minutes in most games while Maddison plays 90 minutes in a very attacking team.