The 100m kitty available for the Fantasy Premier League managers is causing more and more headaches before the start of the 2024/25 season. That is mostly because of how high the ‘marquee’ must-pick players have been priced at this time around.
Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland has set a record for the most expensive FPL pick of all time at a whopping 15.0m!
Liverpool star Mo Salah is priced at 12.5m and if one was to choose these two players, they’d be deleting 27.5m of their total kit. That would leave a user to complete their squad and pick 13 more players for just 78.5m!
While it might look like a grave task on paper, there is a possibility to create a pretty competitive team while picking both Haaland and Salah. In fact, one can even chip in Newcastle United front man Alexander Isak, who was one of the Premier League’s most prolific strikers last season with 21 goals!
FPL Ross’ Attractive Draft
Picking all three of Salah, Haaland and Isak would delete 36m off a team, but there is no reason to fear. That is because of some smart economical picks, one can create a team full of influential players from different teams who are likely to make an impact for their respective sides.
As posed as an example for FPL Ross, it’s totally possible to create a strong XI for your FPL team by sacrificing on a relatively weak bench. His draft team has all three of Salah, Haaland and Isak along with other prominent players who are definitely capable of getting goal contributions and scoring big points from the opening game-week.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is in this and being Liverpool set-piece taker and creative beacon, he can be a major positive under Arne Slot. Then there are also other exciting attacking full-backs like Valentin Barco and Daniel Munoz, who are definitely capable of delivering assists.
This team also contains influential wingers like Christopher Nkunku, Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon. Nkunku has impressed for Chelsea in their shaky pre-season so far, scoring two goals. Eze and Gordon both scored over 10 goals for Crystal Palace and Newcastle Untied, with the latter also managing 16 assists!
Fulham forward Rodrigo Muniz, who scored nine goals last season, also finds a place in this line-up to create an ideal early draft. The bench, containing the likes of Wout Faes and Harry Winks, is unlikely to fetch much points but are unlikely to be subbed in because of how the starting XI players are all regular starters.
Argentino FPL’s Centre-Back Heavy Line-up With Explosive Trio
But there is a way to accommodate all three of Haaland, Salah and Isak into one team without having to sacrifice for a horrible bench and cheap defenders. As indicated by Argentino FPL, it’s definitely possible to have a strong defensive shape while having the three expensive players. Gordon, a must-have in an FPL team, is there but the backline is particularly strong in this draft.
That is because this team has been able to bring in popular defenders like Virgil van Dijk, Gabriel Magalhaes and Josko Gvardiol into the starting XI. Newcastle United man Dan Burn can also bring in a decent return, as can Everton left-back Vitalii Mykolenko. Even the midfield line has Nottingham Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi and Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers. This team has a much stronger bench, containing players who are going to get enough game-time.
FPL Matt’s Midfield Heavy Squad
FPL Matt has also created a pretty interesting draft tha is able to accommodate all three of Salah, Haaland and Isak. He’s done so by slightly sacrificing on the third striker, bringing in Ipswich Town forward Freddie Ladapo. A major positive from this team is how it invests heavily on midfielders with high goal or assist contributions possibility.
Apart from menacing wingers like Salah, Gordon and Eze, Nkunku has also found a place in this team alongside Liverpool midfielder Dominic Szoboszlai. But the Szoboszlai pick is a bit of a gamble considering he only managed seven goal contributions (three goals, four assists) last season and plays deep into the midfield line.
The backline has two Crystal Palace players in Dean Henderson and Daniel Munoz, while the reliable Gvardiol and Newcastle United full-back Tino Livramento also feature. Livramento is a slight gamble because of competitiveness in the Magpies’ backline, but there is a decent cover in Southampton full-back Charlie Taylor.
FPL Toni’s Compact Draft
An interesting early draft created by FPL Toni sees him opt for Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga in the midfield, a bit of a unique pick. But considering his 14 goal contributions (five goals, nine assists) last season, he could prove to be a smart pick at just 5.5.
This team also manages to accommodate both Alexander-Arnold and Gvardiol into the backline along with Munoz. The bench is slightly weak here, having Leicester duo Faes and Winks, but the ones in the starting XI are locked on to start on a regular basis.
FPL Velvet’s ‘Differential Picks’
A rather unique line-up featuring Salah, Haaland and Isak has been created by FPL Velvet in which they have gotten in both Nottingham Forest forward Chris Wood and Tottenham Hotspur winger Brennan Johnson as unique, ‘differential picks’.
This team also opts for Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya after he comfortably won the Golden Glove last year. It also has Crystal Palace defender Joachim Andersen and Everton man Mykolenko alongside Gvardiol. The backline might not fetch a high return, but the strengthened midfield and forward lines could have high rewards for this team.
All these abovementioned lineups have an element of risk to them, but the entire point of FPL is about taking risk. It is a gamble on spending a large chunk of your kitty on three popular players, but considering how influential Haaland, Salah and Isak are to their respective teams, it’s totally worth it to consider big amounts to draft them into your game-week one team.
