Liverpool&#8217;s two new attacking signings Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike have both been priced at £8.5m in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) &#8211; but are they worth considering for Gameweek 1?
View all of our pre-season content &#8211; in our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-ultimate-guide-fpl-tips">Ultimate Guide to FPL</a>.
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<ul>
<li>Florian Wirtz has impressed in pre-season with goals and assists, playing as an advanced number 10. Last season&#8217;s 22 attacking returns for Leverkusen indicate a strong FPL option.</li>
<li>Hugo Ekitike brings pace and physicality as Liverpool’s new first-choice striker, scoring 15 Bundesliga goals last season, and showing early chemistry with Mohamed Salah.</li>
<li>With Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez departing, and Cody Gakpo shifting to the wing, Ekitike’s starting role looks secure &#8211; at least for Gameweek 1.</li>
<li>FPL outlook: A possible Alexander Isak signing could reduce Ekitike’s minutes later, but for now both players are viable fantasy assets.</li>
</ul>

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<h3 data-start="532" data-end="570">Florian Wirtz (£8.5m)</h3>
The quality Wirtz brings to this Liverpool side has been immediately evident, with goals and assists already flowing for the German in <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-pre-season-results-guide/">pre-season</a>.
His incisive and creative passing range has been on display in these early fixtures, and that&#8217;s something we&#8217;re likely to see more of in the Community Shield on Sunday.
Late runs into the box have been a feature of his play too, with an improvised header hitting the crossbar, and it appears that there will be plenty of routes to goal for Wirtz in this Liverpool side.
<div id="attachment_73889" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73889" class="wp-image-73889 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2228561984.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2228561984.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2228561984-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2228561984-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Florian Wirtz. Picture by Getty Images</div>
His dribbling ability allows him to move the ball into dangerous positions from an already advanced starting role, deployed as a number 10 ahead of Liverpool&#8217;s midfield two.
Last season, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai shared this position, and both hit double figures for attacking returns.
What a player of Wirtz&#8217; quality can produce in this position remains to be seen, but it seems unlikely he&#8217;ll be sharing his game time too often &#8211; at least in the early weeks of the season.
With 22 attacking returns for Bayer Leverkusen last season, it wouldn&#8217;t be a surprise to see the Germany international reach those kind of numbers in the Premier League this season.
<div id="attachment_73884" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73884" class="size-full wp-image-73884" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AveragePosition_Liverpool1-1CrystalPalace.jpeg" alt="" width="840" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AveragePosition_Liverpool1-1CrystalPalace.jpeg 840w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AveragePosition_Liverpool1-1CrystalPalace-300x246.jpeg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AveragePosition_Liverpool1-1CrystalPalace-768x631.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />Liverpool&#8217;s Gameweek 38 team last season</div>
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<h3 data-start="1777" data-end="1817">Hugo Ekitike (£8.5m)</h3>
The arrival of Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt brings a golden combination of pace, flair, and physicality to Liverpool’s attack.
Ekitike managed 15 goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances last season, and has already impressed during his short time under Arne Slot.
Picking up an assist for Salah in Liverpool&#8217;s last game with a deft header, the Frenchman has been deployed largely as an out-and-out number nine in pre-season so far.
<div id="attachment_73890" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73890" class="wp-image-73890 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2228634478.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2228634478.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2228634478-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/GettyImages-2228634478-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Hugo Ekitike. Picture by Getty Images</div>
Following the tragic and untimely passing of Diogo Jota, Liverpool had already lost a key member of their attack, and with Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez both leaving the club, there is really no obvious alternative to Ekitike right now other than Cody Gakpo.
Gakpo however has been excelling on the left wing, so unless youngster Jayden Danns picks up minutes, Ekitike appears to be a fairly safe bet for Gameweek 1.
There is of course talk of Alexander Isak making a move to Anfield in the weeks that remain of the transfer window, which would shake things up slightly.
In this case, you could expect to see Ekitike&#8217;s minutes drastically reduced, although his versatility would likely see him pick up game time out wide as well just up front.
Even in a world where Isak makes his move, there is a possibility Ekitike continues to bring in points from a combination of playing in supporting roles and taking minutes off the Swede up front.
As things stand however, he looks like the first choice striker for Slot heading into Gameweek 1.
<div id="attachment_73886" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73886" class="wp-image-73886 size-full" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Top10-attack-goals-bordered.jpeg" alt="" width="840" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Top10-attack-goals-bordered.jpeg 840w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Top10-attack-goals-bordered-300x246.jpeg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Top10-attack-goals-bordered-768x631.jpeg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />Liverpool&#8217;s top scorers last season</div>
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<h3 data-start="532" data-end="570">Early verdict</h3>
Isak is the key to most of the uncertainty around Liverpool’s new-look attack, but Wirtz should be a safe bet regardless, and the Community Shield is another opportunity to see things in motion.
Both Wirtz and Ekitike could start the season well, but there are less minutes concerns around Wirtz, and his midfield status could make him the marginally better pick.
Keep an eye on Sunday&#8217;s Community Shield for their final pre-season performances.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-pre-season-results-guide">FPL pre-season guide: Results, goalscorers and key notes</a></li>
</ul>
<div id="attachment_73229" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73229" class="size-full wp-image-73229" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Slot.jpg" alt="Arne Slot. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Slot.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Slot-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Slot-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Arne Slot. Picture by Getty Images</div>
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Liverpool’s new attackers: Where will Wirtz and Ekitike fit in – and are they FPL picks?

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