James Cooper's First FPL Draft Features Both Haaland And Salah
James Cooper is the first of our Elite XI: Team Reveal managers to reveal his initial draft for the upcoming Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season. With an impressive record that includes one Top 1k finish, four Top 5k finishes, and seven Top 10k finishes, James has consistently proven his ability to excel in FPL’s global rankings.
FPL Launch Offer: Get full Premium Plus preseason access for just £1! This includes first drafts from all Elite XI: Team Reveal managers, who boast an impressive 83 top 10k finishes.
A self-confessed numbers man, James uses a statistical approach when it comes to managing his squad, focusing on a combination of expected data metrics merged with a deep tactical understanding of Premier League managers and their squads.
James’ first draft includes both Erling Haaland (£15.0m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.5m). Taking up over a quarter of the budget between them, the inclusion of these two premiums requires an obvious sacrifice in the squad.
"The individual picks are at this stage not especially relevant. The draft is more for identifying price points for structure, and key decisions on premiums. The particular players will become clearer nearer the start of the season, but in many respects it’s far too early to sensibly conclude who goes in."
The first surprise of the squad is seeing Nottingham Forest’s brand-new signing Carlos Miguel (£4.5m) between the sticks. A quick look at the Opta Stats Sandbox tool confirms James’ logic; Forest were ranked the fourth best team for xGC (Expected Goals Conceded) with 53.81.
In reserve is West Ham’s Łukasz Fabiański (£4.0m), a likely placeholder for a potential playing £4.0m sub.
"Forest had surprisingly good defensive data (5th best xGA); I just think their keepers sucked. If their new purchase in goal looks like starting by mid-August, that will be of interest. I also have an eye on Palace and Brentford as decent options here."
At first glance, it would seem trimming the back line is how James has funded the acquisitions of Salah and Haaland. With a back-three consisting solely of £4.5m defenders, his budget defence will play a huge role in balancing the scales of his premium attack.
"I have gone thoroughly budget for now – more so than ever before - which I suppose is a consequence of Haaland’s pricing. I am sorely missing Gvardiol in there, who I would love to squeeze in if I could."
There are few squads out there who will have the trio of Salah, Haaland and Bukayo Saka (£10.0m), and this could be a powerful combination going into the new season.
Salah is an obvious captaincy choice for Gameweek 1, when Liverpool take on newly promoted Ipswich.
Funding these premium options means James will turn to the budget-to-mid-priced pairing of Eberchi Eze (£7.0m) and Christopher Nkunku (£6.5m).
The former is another beneficiary of Oliver Glasner’s stewardship of Crystal Palace, whose attacking metrics have improved dramatically under the new manager. According to Opta Player Heatmaps, Eze’s shots in the box have increased from 1.68 per 90 minutes to 2.26. Under the new BPS rules, players who can increase their shots on target are likely to avail of more bonus points.
The latter is something of a renegade pick, having spent most of last season sidelined with injury. Back to full fitness and with a pre-season goal to his name, Nkunku could be a bargain at £6.5m, despite a difficult opening fixture against Manchester City.
“Even with a ‘Klopp hangover’ to contend with, I’m inclined to give Salah a shot. There was a lot of talk about a drop off last year, but his data was still elite. Given their [Liverpool’s] fixtures, and the goal scoring threat of wide players in Slot’s system, he’s worth rolling with.”
James’ inclusion of Haaland is a ‘safety-first’ approach. Even at £15m the Norwegian can provide good value, and City’s kind opening fixtures further cement his place. James believes that missing out on monumental hauls so early on could be damaging, but acknowledges that FPL’s pricing of the forward means that the damage done by Haaland won’t be as severe as in previous seasons.
"I don’t think he’s essential - his ownership is low enough that you won’t be punished by him as much as in previous years, and I accept that the drafts that go without him are dripping in quality. It’s a defensible call either way."
Haaland will join Alexander Isak (£8.5m), who is currently the third most owned player in FPL, with an ownership of 54.6% according to Live Insight.
Perhaps the pick which raises the eyebrows the most is Fulham forward Rodrigo Muniz (£6.0m). Another budget compromise required to fund the big hitters.
"Muniz is in there to make the rest of the numbers add up. I like the value he provides, given his strong data, albeit it remains to be seen how losing Palhinha will impact his side."
This, of course, is merely a first draft and will be subject to change. Our Elite XI: Team Reveal managers will be tweaking and refining their squads as new information presents itself.
If you want to keep up-to-date with James’ (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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