Who are the top five essential FPL players as we embark on a new season?

With the excitement building up due to all the new signings, and competitive chatter amongst friends and work colleagues, it’s important to remember the basics of Fantasy Premier League.

A strong start to the season is vital to lay down a marker to any of your rivals. It also provides a solid foundation to push on for a high overall rank.

The secret to a good start is to keep it simple as possible. Pick the safest and proven players.

It’s easy to get attracted to the ‘shiny new toys’. Yet there is always a risk associated with new players coming in from different leagues, no matter how good they are.

For every Bruno Fernandes, there is also a Timo Werner.

Any risks or punts should be saved for later in the season when we have a lot more information. A bad start in FPL can have a knock-on effect to your mindset.

Consequently, it could lead to knee-jerk decisions which ultimately culminate in a negative domino effect.

This article will look at the top five must-own players for FPL in the 2021/22 season. The selections will be based on statistics, price, and overall value.

We won’t just be selecting the best five assets. Realistically, you will not be able to fit all of them in your team without compromising the rest of your squad.

Mohammed Salah (£12.5 m) – Liverpool | Essential FPL Players

The first name on my team sheet for the past few seasons. Since joining Liverpool in the 2017/18 season, he has registered a mightily impressive 95 goals and 40 assists. He has been by far the most consistent FPL player.

Last season was his worst FPL wise since joining the Reds. Yet he still bagged 22 goals with six assists.

Salah’s stats were amongst the best in the league with 126 Shots (2nd), 52 Shots on Target (2nd) and 98 Shots in the Box (1^st). He also received 33 Big Chances (2nd) and created 57 Chances (11^th) and 12 Big Chances (5^th).

I can’t see anything other than another stellar season for the Liverpool star. I expect him to be in the top three overall scores again.

He is currently the most owned player in the game (48.6%) and with good reason. The Egyptian is just far too risky to go without. Not selecting him is surely a recipe for disaster.

Looking at his opening fixtures for the first eight Gameweeks, he will most likely be the best, and most captained player, in six of them.

Norwich (a), Burnley (H), Leeds United (a), Crystal Palace (H), Brentford (a)and Watford (a) are all fantastic fixtures. At the very least, you should own Salah if you don’t stick the armband on him.

With his penalty taking duties to add to the equation, there isn’t much more to say other than to get him in your team!

Mohamed Salah Stats

Liverpool Fixtures

Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.5m) – Liverpool | Essential FPL Players

Although Trent Alexander Arnold didn’t have his best season, he still finished as the second highest scoring FPL defender. Only his teammate Andrew Robertson (£7.0m) was ahead in the entire division.

His below par performances were mainly due to Liverpool’s poor season. Yet Trent registered two goals, eight assists and 10 clean sheets.

Liverpool kept 12 clean sheets overall (5^th) and conceded 42 goals (4^th). In 2019/20, they kept 15 clean sheets (2^nd) and conceded only 33 goals (1^st).

Their defensive record was even more impressive in 2018/19, when the Reds kept a mammoth 21 clean sheets (1^st) while only conceding 22 goals (1^st).

A huge factor in Liverpool’s poor defensive numbers was due to the injury of Virgil Van Dijk (£6.5m). He suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in Gameweek 5 and missed the rest of the season.

With the Dutchman now nearing full fitness, he should be ready to return early in the season. He played 20 minutes in a friendly in Austria, and manager Jürgen Klopp said he will partake in the upcoming pre-season friendlies.

This undoubtedly makes Trent a much better option due to the increased chances of clean sheets. Also, by filtering our Fixture Ticker to defence, the Reds rank second for clean sheet probability in the first eight matches.

Our Points Prediction Tool also ranks Trent to pick up the most points (38.4) from all defenders in the first eight games.

Trent Alexander-Arnold Stats

Liverpool Fixtures

Raphinha (£6.5m) – Leeds United | Essential FPL Players

The Brazilian is surely the most underpriced player in the game. He really impressed in his debut season for Leeds United, ending the last campaign with six goals and 10 assists in only 26 starts.

His numbers were phenomenal and equivalent to a premium midfielder. Raphinha recorded 66 Shots, 24 Shots on Target, 43 Shots in the Box and five Big Chances while also creating 64 Chances (4th) and 13 Big Chances (2nd).

He seems too good an option to ignore given his price. Raphinha is also on corners and the majority of free-kicks so he has an abundance of avenues to points.

Furthermore, he plays in one of the the most attacking teams in the league who can score and create chances against anyone.

With Marcelo Bielsa at the helm, Leeds’s attacking nature won’t change and I can see plenty of attacking returns for Raphinha.

Last season, the Whites scored 62 goals (4th) with 353 Shots in the Box (4th) and 76 Big Chances (8th), while creating 60 Big Chances (6th).

Also, their opening fixtures are good from an attacking perspective although I feel they are fixture proof regardless.

They open the season with a tough game away to Manchester United. Leeds then play Everton (H), Burnley (a), Newcastle United (a), West Ham (H), Watford (H)and Southampton (a) in the next seven matches.

If we exclude the United fixture, they actually rank first for expected goals scored for the first eight Gameweeks according to our advanced fixture ticker.

Furthermore, Raphinha’s price not only grants us a great FPL asset but also helps to strengthen our overall squad.

Raphinha Stats

Leeds United Fixtures

Bruno Fernandes (12.0m) – Manchester United | Essential FPL Players

Bruno Fernandes finished as the highest scoring player in FPL last season and his £1.5m price hike was inevitable.

The attacking midfielder scored an enormous 18 goals and 14 assists with 121 Shots (2nd), 51 Shots on Target (2nd), 48 Shots in the Box (6th), and 20 Big Chances (4th). He also created 95 Chances (1st) and 20 Big Chances (1st).

From his stats and output last season, I believe the Portuguese has come in at a fairly nice price. If he continues in the same vein this year, he will undoubtedly justify his £12.0m price tag.

Manchester United were one of the top attacking teams in the league last season. They have only added to their arsenal with the signing of Jadon Sancho (£9.5m).

They scored 73 goals (2nd) last term with 213 Shots on Target (3rd), 324 Shots in the Box (6th) and 94 Big Chances (3rd). I can see the Red Devils scoring a similar amount of goals this season.

Bruno will certainly be in amongst the action. He was their talisman last season with a 45% Goal Involvement. With him being on penalties, corners and direct-free kicks, I don’t see his talismanic status changing.

Moreover, United have a promising set of opening games. They face Leeds United (H), Southampton (a), Newcastle United (H), Aston Villa (H) and Everton (H) during their first eight fixtures.

With over 40% ownership at the time of writing, he will be a significant risk to go without.

Bruno Fernandes Stats

Manchester United Fixtures

Manchester United Stats

Robert Sánchez (£4.5m) – Brighton & Hove Albion | Essential FPL Players

The Brighton keeper comes in at an extremely generous £4.5m price point. He is currently the third highest owned goalkeeper in FPL (23.6%).

Sánchez kept 10 clean sheets in only 27 games, conceding only 27 goals. He also made 66 saves and accumulated eight bonus points.

The Spaniard boasted the third-best expected goals conceded per game (1.08) The same goes for expected clean sheets (0.37) which was only behind Ederson (£6.0m) and Edouard Mendy (£6.0m).

Brighton’s defensive stats were also among the best in the league last season with 12 clean sheets (5th), and 46 goals conceded (7th).

They conceded only 222 Shots in the Box (3rd), 127 Shots on Target (3rd) and 51 Big Chances (3rd).

The Seagulls were unfortunate to be in the relegation battle and it was ultimately their finishing, and some freak results, which let them down.

With the current goalkeeper options and their pricing, Sánchez looks by far the best choice.

When we factor in how good Brighton’s defence are and his bargain price, he offers too much great value to turn down. I think he is underpriced by £0.5m.

It’s also worth noting that the Spanish international is also blessed with some healthy opening fixtures.

Graham Potter’s men play Burnley (a), Watford (H), Everton (H), Brentford (a), Leicester City (H),Crystal Palace (a), Arsenal (H) and Norwich (a) in their first eight matches.

According to our Fixture Ticker, Brighton have the best fixtures, from a defensive standpoint, until Gameweek 9.

Robert Sanchez Stats

Brighton Fixtures

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