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With very little time to go before the start of the 2021-22 Premier League season, FPL managers must be busy making final changes to their Gameweek 1 teams. While only one in close to eight million FPL managers wins the title, every FPL manager starts the season with optimism and hope.
The challenging player prices have forced FPL teams to be in a set template and often many FPL teams look alike. The difficulty in owning more than two of Mohamed Salah (LIV) (MID) (£12.5 million), Bruno Fernandes (MUN) (MID) (£12 million), Harry Kane (TOT) (FWD) (£12.5 million) and Kevin De Bruyne (MCI) (MID) (£12 million) should make the mid-priced and budget FPL assets all the more important this season.
The promoted teams offer some attractive FPL assets, with Ivan Toney (BRE) (FWD) (£6.5 million) quickly becoming the most popular FPL forward in the game.
Add to that some promising player performances, as well as injuries from pre-season and a host of big-money signings in the transfer window, there's a lot to take in for every FPL manager.
Andrew Robertson (LIV) (DEF) (£7 million)'s injury has made Konstantinos Tsimikas (LIV) (DEF) (£4 million) a promising budget FPL defender, and he could free up funds for FPL managers to use elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Danny Ings (AVL) (FWD) (£8 million) is a much stronger option at Aston Villa, although he's not on penalties when Anwar El Ghazi (AVL) (MID) (£6 million) is on the pitch.
With Jadon Sancho (MUN) (MID) (£9.5 million) already shaking up things and Lukaku likely to do so as well, FPL managers have some tough decisions to make. Whatever they decide to do, they should do so ahead of the Gameweek 1 FPL deadline on Friday, 13th August, ahead of the opening clash between Brentford and Arsenal at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Gameweek 1 Deadline: Friday, 13th August, at 06:30 PM (British Summer Time), and 11:00 PM (Indian Standard Time).
The Fixtures
The 2021-22 Premier League season kicks off with a meeting between Brentford and Arsenal at the Brentford Community Stadium on Friday. Manchester United take on Leeds United at Old Trafford in the early kickoff on Saturday. Chelsea will go up against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge, while Liverpool will travel to Carrow Road to take on Norwich City later in the day.
Newcastle and West Ham will lock horns at St. James Park on Sunday afternoon, with Spurs taking on Manchester City in the marquee and final clash of the Gameweek at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Click here to view the full fixtures for FPL Gameweek 1.
Best FPL Team for Gameweek 1
Goalkeepers
1) Daniel Bachmann (WAT) (GK) (£4.5 million)| Opponent: AVL (H)
2) Robert Sanchez (BHA) (GK) (£4.5 million)| Opponent: BUR (A)
I've always liked to have two FPL goalkeepers who're guaranteed to start and rotate them according to the fixtures. Daniel Bachmann and Robert Sanchez are priced at £4.5 million, and have good fixtures to start the season well.
Bachmann could especially offer good value with save points while playing for a defensively resilient Watford team, although they're still untested in the Premier League. Sanchez should be a reliable pick in goal for most of the season, although Ben White's departure could take some time adjusting to.
Defenders
3) Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV) (DEF) (£7.5 million)| Opponent: NOR (A)
4) Konstantinos Tsimikas (LIV) (DEF) (£4 million)| Opponent: NOR (A)
5) Luke Shaw (MUN) (DEF) (£5.5 million)| Opponent: LEE (H)
6) Calum Chambers (ARS) (DEF) (£4.5 million)| Opponent: BRE (A)
7) Sergio Reguilon (TOT) (DEF) (£5 million)| Opponent: MCI (H).
A fully fit and firing Trent Alexander-Arnold is a no-brainer for me, especially when you consider Liverpool's excellent run of opening fixtures.
It's their second-choice left-back Tsimikas I'm more intrigued with. At £4 million, he allows me to free up funds elsewhere and adds more balance to my FPL draft. While he could lose his place after GW 4, he offers good value till then. Manchester United's Luke Shaw is another self-explanatory pick and is, honestly, undervalued at £5.5 million.
Sergio Reguilon is a riskier pick, but he seems to be the first-choice left-back under Nuno Espirito Santo. Spurs have a good run of fixtures after a GW 1 meeting with Manchester City, and with defensive reinforcements arriving, Reguilon could offer both attacking and defensive FPL returns.
Calum Chambers is the real FPL punt here. He's one among three options at right-back for Arsenal, and while fans are claiming he has risen up the pecking order, there's no predicting who's going to start on Friday.
However, at £4.5 million, with two guaranteed starters on my bench, I have the license to take a risk with Chambers, who offers tremendous attacking FPL potential in addition to clean sheet prospects. Another aspect is that I'm going to bench him either way in GW 2 and GW 3 due to Arsenal's tough fixtures, and if he doesn't seem nailed-on by then, I'll take him out in GW 4 or 5.
I'm pretty happy with my defence, Tsimikas in particular, for giving me five potential FPL starters, and at the same time, allowing enough funds to invest in midfield and attack.
Midfielders
8) Mohamed Salah (LIV) (MID) (£12.5 million) | Opponent: NOR (A).
9) Bruno Fernandes (MUN) (MID) (£12 million) | Opponent: LEE (H).
10) Ilkay Gundogan (MCI) (MID) (£7.5 million) | Opponent: TOT (A).
11) Raphinha (LEE) (MID) (£6.5 million) | Opponent: MUN (A).
12) Dele Alli (TOT) (MID) (£6.5 million) | Opponent: MCI (H).
I think the selections of Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes require no explanation for FPL managers. I believe Fernandes is worth the price hike, despite a tempting downgrade to Mason Greenwood (MUN) (MID) (£7.5 million). Raphinha also seems to be a good FPL midfielder at £6.5 million and should get consistent FPL returns.
With Phil Foden injured and Kevin De Bruyne potentially joining him, Ilkay Gundogan looks like a decent FPL pick from Manchester City. He has slipped under the radar a bit, despite boasting an FPL ownership of 7.3% (at the time of writing). With an xGI/90 of 0.68 whenever he played as a CM, Gundogan should offer good FPL cover for Manchester City in the first few Gameweeks.
Lastly, there is the wildcard selection of Dele Alli. He looks like he will start for Tottenham, at least in the first few FPL Gameweeks. After a disappointing 2020-21 campaign, Alli has worked hard in preseason and seems to have the backing of Nuno Espirito Santo.
He played both as a CM in a 4-3-3 setup or as the no. 10 in a 4-2-3-1, but in both formations, he usually was up the pitch whenever Spurs attacked. While he missed a couple of good chances against Arsenal, he got into good positions, and his eye for goal could see him become a real FPL value pick if he gets consistent starts.
The reason I've explained this selection so much is that he's one FPL asset I'm proud of owing following Spurs' pre-season. I'm expecting him to get back to his best this season, and if he does that at £6.5 million, Alli could be a real FPL bargain.
Forwards
13) Callum Wilson (NEW) (FWD) (£7.5 million) | Opponent: WHU (H)
14) Michail Antonio (WHU) (FWD) (£7.5 million) | Opponent: NEW (A)
15) Michael Obafemi (SOU) (FWD) (£4.5 million)| Opponent: EVE (A)
I've gone with two forwards, with Obafemi as a bench option, so that I can alternate between a 4-4-2 and a 3-5-2 formation in my FPL team. The value seems to be in range of mid-priced FPL forwards this season, and that has led to lower FPL ownership for players like Jamie Vardy (LEI) (FWD) (£10.5 million).
Michail Antonio looks like a solid option for the first few FPL Gameweeks, especially after a good pre-season. His underlying stats were insane last season, and they came about even without penalties.
While his minutes could be managed considering his team's Europa League commitments, Antonio offers tremendous FPL attacking potential for his price and could have his best-ever FPL season if he remains fit.
Callum Wilson is still somewhat of an FPL differential, though Watkins' drop in ownership has got him some new FPL backers. Like Antonio, Wilson registered some great numbers last season, and had injuries not intervened, he could've been an excellent FPL forward. He's involved in a high % of Newcastle's goals, and with a promising run of fixtures to start their season, I'm backing him to come good.
So with all 15 player selections explained, I'm moving on to GW 1 captaincy, and it's a simple decision. As soon as the fixtures were announced and Liverpool were taking on Norwich, I knew I'd hand my armband to Mohamed Salah. He has a brilliant record in season openers and should return big for his FPL owners.
So, that's that. While I could make a couple of changes, this is likely to be the core of my FPL team heading into Gameweek 1. I've tried to be aware of how much decisions of other FPL managers and the FPL community, in general, have affected this team. Overall, I'm optimistic about my chances and looking forward to a better, more disciplined, yet fun FPL season.
Best FPL XI for Gameweek 1 - Summary
Starting XI:
GK - Robert Sanchez (BHA)
DEF - Trent Alexander-Arnold (LIV), Konstantinos Tsimikas (LIV), Luke Shaw (MUN) and Calum Chambers (ARS)
MID - Mohamed Salah (LIV), Bruno Fernandes (MUN), Ilkay Gundogan (MCI) and Dele Alli (TOT)
FWD - Callum Wilson (NEW) and Michail Antonio (WHU)
Bench: GK - Daniel Bachmann(WAT), 1st Sub: Sergio Reguilon (TOT), 2nd Sub: Raphinha (LEE), 3rd Sub: Michael Obafemi (SOU)
Chips activated: None.
Points Hits taken (if any): None.
Captain: Mohamed Salah | VC: Bruno Fernandes.
