Elite XI: Fantasy Premier League Team Reveal by a Manager with 7 Top 10k Finishes
Introducing Andrew, one of the latest additions to our Elite XI: Team Reveal feature.
With an impressive Fantasy Premier League record, Andrew has secured 7 Top 10k finishes, including 5 Top 5k finishes and a remarkable Top 1k finish. His best-ever achievement was ranking 589th in the 2015/16 season, making him a formidable FPL manager.
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A more instinctual FPL manager, Andrew tends to rely on his eye test and excellent footballing intuition to make his picks, rather than statistics.
Andrew’s first draft has been designed with flexibility in mind. He believes it is important to be able to react to the inevitable curveballs which will come our way early on in the season.
Also in Andrew’s thoughts, is the possibility of banking multiple transfers, but he is sceptical that this will become commonplace early on in the season.
Andrew’s squad will undoubtedly raise eyebrows due to the omission of one of the greatest FPL assets of all time, Mohamed Salah (£12.5m), who doesn’t make the cut.
“My team structure has been set up with flexibility in mind. I’ve chosen to go without Salah, as I’m almost certain I’ll want 2 of Son/Saka/Palmer/Foden/De Bruyne. With both Salah and Haaland in a team, there’s just too many sacrifices elsewhere to be able to accommodate this.”
Between the sticks, Andrew has decided to go for Nick Pope (£5.0m). At just 5.8% owned, Pope is ranked incredibly low (12th) in terms of overall goalkeeper ownership.
Newcastle’s opening fixtures are mixed. While they open with a plum home fixture against newly promoted Southampton, they also face Tottenham and Manchester City in the first six Gameweeks. According to the Fixture Planner, this ranks them at 9th for defensive fixture difficulty.
In defence, Andrew has opted for a back-three consisting of two £4.5m picks.
Pedro Porro (£5.5m) has been selected as the premium option. With two good opening fixtures, targeting the Spurs defender may be a shrewd choice. Of all defenders, no-one took more shots (53) than Porro. In addition to the attacking threat this represents, Porro may also avail of the changes to the BPS system, which now rewards shots on target.
“I’m still fairly light in defence, but with Pope in goal and Pedro Porro in defence, I’m confident of a good start. My backline is still not quite as strong as most, but I’ll upgrade on my wildcard.“
It is in midfield where Salah’s omission is most notable. Sacrificing the Egyptian King has enabled Andrew to have two premium midfielders, whereas most Salah + Haaland drafts are forced to only have one.
While Salah leads the way in both output and expected data, being able to start the season with both Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Son Heung-min (£10.0m) is not to be sniffed at.
A quick look at the Fix Comparison Matrix shows us that while Salah is in front, it is not by that much. This makes a compelling argument for going without Salah. That being said, Liverpool’s opening fixtures are difficult to ignore, and not opting for Salah carries with it the inherent danger of having no Liverpool representation for these games.
“A lot of people are weighing up the difference between a Haaland vs Salah side. Ultimately, I think the gap between Haaland and the rest of the forwards is greater than the gap between Salah and the aforementioned midfielders I’d like to have in my side. Potentially not having a Liverpool attacker for their opening fixtures is pretty scary, but those teams with Salah in them are not likely to have either Son or Saka, whereas I have both.”
One of the big disadvantages of a no-Salah draft is that he is the obvious captaincy choice against newly promoted Ipswich in Gameweek 1. In lieu of Salah, Andrew will put the armband on Alexander Isak (£8.5m), who is currently the most owned player in FPL, with an ownership of 55.4% according to Live Insight.
Fulham forward Rodrigo Muniz (£6.0m) joins Erling Haaland (£15.0m) in the front line. The former enjoys a great run of fixtures, facing back-to-back games against newly promoted Leicester and Ipswich in Gameweeks 2 and 3. The latter is, well, Erling Haaland.
Many FPL managers are seeking to take advantages of the rule changes by reinforcing their bench with better players. This enables them to navigate the fixtures and bank transfers along the way. This tactic is not without some merit, but Andrew believes that doing so could inhibit managers’ ability to react to new developments.
“The key to a successful season is planning and timing. Having a rigid strategy that relies on you not making any transfers in the opening Gameweeks makes it so much harder for you to get your timing right. Jumping on bandwagons at the right time can be the difference between a good season and a great one. It’s only your starting 11 that score you points, and by pumping more money into your bench, you’re effectively weakening that starting 11.”
This, of course, is merely a first draft and will be subject to change. Our Elite XI managers will be tweaking and refining their squads as new information presents itself.
If you want to keep up-to-date with Andrew’s (or any other Elite XI managers’) moves, then head over to the Elite XI: Team Reveal area and be sure to turn on notifications and alerts to find out when our managers have updated their squads.
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