Fantasy Premier League

FPL Lessons: Start Ward and free up funds

By The Scout 15 Nov 2022

The Scout says top-scoring 'keeper since GW9 should be viewed as a viable No 1 option

The Scout looks at the key lessons from the opening 16 Gameweeks of Fantasy Premier League, broken down by position.

Goalkeepers

Owners of Danny Ward (£4.1m) have overlooked the Leicester City No 1’s improved output in Fantasy.

Ward started the season slowly, with only eight points across the first eight Gameweeks.

But the Foxes’ recent revival in defence has transformed the Welshman’s production.

Ward was the top-scoring goalkeeper in Fantasy from Gameweek 9 onwards, earning 52 points thanks to six clean sheets, five save points and eight bonus points.

Another big Danny Ward save! 🧤 ⛔#WHULEI pic.twitter.com/aqBGfYfJl1
— Leicester City (@LCFC) November 13, 2022

He was the joint-fourth top-scoring player in that period, level with Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane (£11.6m).

Ward’s low cost of £4.1m has made him the most popular goalkeeper in Fantasy, found in 28 per cent of squads.

Yet millions of those managers are missing out on his points by naming him as a substitute each Gameweek.

Ward's bench ranking from GW9

GW	Bench rank	Benched by	GW	Bench rank	Benched by
9	1	2.10 million	13	2	1.93 million
10	2	2.01 million	14	1	2.52 million
11	1	2.19 million	15	1	2.31 million
12	1	2.10 million	16	1	2.14 million

Indeed, he has been among the two most-benched players in Fantasy from Gameweek 9 onwards.

In terms of value, Ward is the top-ranked goalkeeper in Fantasy, returning 14.6 points per million spent.

His recent run of returns, meanwhile, has taken him to just 10 points behind Newcastle United’s Nick Pope (£5.3m) at the top of the goalkeeper standings.

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Managers now have unlimited free transfers to restructure their squads before domestic action resumes on 26 December.

Pairing Ward with his Leicester deputy Daniel Iversen (£3.9m) for a cost of just £8.0m can continue to offer huge value, allowing managers to free up funds for bigger spends in attack in the second half of the campaign.