Sport360’s Fantasy Football (FPL) Tips: The expert’s squad

Chelsea have the best defence in the league and the goalkeeper is the cheapest position to get clean sheets from. All first-choice defenders will cost a minimum 6.0m so you can save more by having a ‘keeper from one of the more frugal sides. He doesn’t have Petr Cech to compete with this season either, so should be a regular week-in-week-out.

DEFENCE

DF – Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea) – 7.0m
Ivanovic scored four and assisted six goals last season and helped his team achieve 17 clean sheets en route to Premier League glory. It is surprising that he is the same price as John Terry when there is no doubt he will be picked when fit, whereas Terry has Kurt Zouma to compete for a starting place.

DF – Robert Huth (Leicester City) – 4.5m
Everybody knows that Huth is a threat from set-pieces and if Leicester can maintain their solid defensive record they had at the back-end of the last season, he should help his side keep plenty of clean sheets. He is a bargain at 4.5m and they have Aston Villa (h), Sunderland (h) and Bournemouth (a) in their first five matches. If you aren’t happy with him or the Foxes defence by then, swap him out.

DF – Hector Bellerin (Arsenal)  –  5.5m
Bellerin made the right-back spot at the Emirates his own last season with some fine displays once given the chance in the absence of Mathieu Debuchy. Now fit-again Debuchy may get the nod ahead of Bellerin, but Wenger will find it hard to change a back four that helped his team finish the season in sensational form.

MIDFIELD

MF – Raheem Sterling (Man City) – 9.0m
This is a huge season for the young England forward. From the looks of things in pre-season, it is likely that Sterling will be used alongside Silva in a wing-attack role. With the quality of his new teammates, he should be aiming to get 10/15 goals and a number of assists too this season. Expect his price to rise in the coming weeks, so get him early.

MF – Yaya Toure (Man City) – 8.5m
Firstly, Yaya is one of the best players in the Premier League on his day. He will also want to put last season behind him and help the Sky Blues reclaim the title. Toure seems extremely underpriced for such an enormous talent that cost between 10-11 million the last two seasons, in which he scored 30 goals altogether.

MF – Memphis Depay (Man United)  – 8.5m
It appears that Depay will be Man United’s danger man next season, playing just behind Wayne Rooney and being on set-piece duties. The Dutch international has looked sharp in pre-season and having scored 22 goals in 30 games for PSV last season, he is an obvious source of goals.

MF –   Dimitri Payet (West Ham) – 7.5m
Coach Slaven Bilic confessed that Payet has “got everything” after signing his number one transfer target this summer. The former Marseille midfiedler created the most chances in Europe last season so expect him to rack up an array of assists as long as he can settle in his first Premier League campaign.

FORWARDS

FWD – Troy Deeney (Watford) – 5.5m
Most strike-forces will be built up of two superstars and a cheaper option. Last year Charlie Austin and Danny Ings were fantasy heroes and this year the debate revolves around Deeney and Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson, who are priced the same. Deeney gets the nod for this side purely because he takes penalties and Wilson doesn’t. In his last three seasons he has scored 64 goals in 126 matches.

FWD – Diego Costa (Chelsea) – 11.0m
If you can’t afford Aguero, Costa is definitely the best shout. He lit up the league in his inaugural season and expect him to improve this year if he can stay injury-free. Goals, goals, and more goals.

FWD – Wayne Rooney (Man United) – 10.5m
No more messing about in midfield and attempting to replace Scholes; Rooney returns to his old dangerous self by leading the line at Old Trafford. If the Red Devils are going to challenge for the title, they will be relying on their main man to produce the goods.

SUBSTITUTES

GK – Mark Schwarzer (Leicester City) – 4.0m
No need to replace Courtois all season so just go for the cheapest goalkeeper. If Chelsea’s No1 gets injured or suspended, transfer him out.

DF – Nathan Baker (Aston Villa) – 4.0m
A cheap defender who will probably never be used; a Fantasy Football must to accommodate more expensive first-team signings. Trade him for a defender at the same price who's getting more games once the season gets underway.

DF – Joel Ward (Crystal Palace) – 4.5m
The versatile Palace defender gets used in midfield sometimes but will be an integral part of a solid-looking side next season. If Palace are at home, there’s a good chance he will be selected.

MF –  Darren Fletcher (WBA) –  4.5m
The former Manchester United midfielder should be a regular in the Baggies side, making him an an excellent sub to have in case of any injuries.