More than 1.8 million managers have already built their squads for 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League since the game launched last Wednesday.
The Scout looks at the early schedules, best captaincy options and player ownerships to construct a 15-man squad.
Why Haaland v Foden is a key decision
In his two seasons since joining Manchester City, Erling Haaland’s (£15.0m) popularity among Fantasy squads has been so ridiculously high - reaching 92 per cent at one point last season - it has effectively driven how millions of managers play the game.
If you owned Haaland, you simply captained him in the vast majority of Gameweeks. This tactic not only offered an easy captaincy solution, it also helped lessen the risk of your squad dropping down the overall rankings as so many of your rivals were in exactly the same position.
Right now, though, it appears Haaland’s record-breaking cost of £15.0m for 2024/25 has proven too much for many and could alter how managers approach the start of the new season.
The Norwegian is currently owned by 32 per cent, which makes him only the third most-selected forward since Fantasy launched last Wednesday.
If that pattern remains until the season gets under way on Friday 16 August - with over two-thirds of managers NOT owning Haaland - then the fear factor of suffering a big drop in the manager rankings by going without him has clearly been diluted.
Haaland's Man City team-mate Phil Foden (£9.5m) is also owned by 32 per cent after claiming his career-best total of 233 points in 2023/24.
Foden delivered 19 goals and eight assists to finish as the second top-scoring player in Fantasy, having moved into a central attacking midfield role last season.
Picking Foden instead of Haaland saves managers a huge £5.5m and allows them to not only load up on a host of big-hitting captaincy alternatives, but to also invest in premium defences and build a very balanced starting XI from the outset.
Target promoted opponents with your captaincy
The displays of all three promoted clubs in 2023/24 show why it’s a good move to target the key attackers from their opponents.
Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United had the worst defensive records in the league last season and suffered relegation straight back to the Championship.
Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak (£8.5m) and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) could be the best captain picks in Gameweek 1, as they face Southampton and Ipswich Town respectively. Isak scored 14 of his 21 goals at home last season, recording a league-high 25 big chances in such contests.
The importance of Foden is obvious in Gameweek 2 when Man City host Ipswich in their first home match of the campaign - clearly, this is where Haaland will be at his most dangerous as the best captain pick.
Foden was the second top-scoring player in home matches in 2023/24, with his 133 points bettered only by the 143 of Cole Palmer (£10.5m). The midfielder averaged 7.5 points per start to the 7.7 of Haaland.
Again, the funds freed up by not having Haaland give you two of the very best alternatives - Salah at home to Brentford or Palmer at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Follow the fixtures to find value
Assessing the schedules over the opening Gameweeks is a big part in finding value, with Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz (£6.0m) and Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze (£7.0m) ticking a number of boxes here.
According to the Fixture Difficulty Ratings (FDR), three of both clubs’ first four matches score only two. Muniz has back-to-back encounters with promoted Leicester City and Ipswich in Gameweeks 2-3, while Palace midfielder Eze faces Leicester in Gameweek 4.
The pair are also expected to be on penalty duties for their respective clubs.
Fulham and Palace's GW1-4 fixtures
| GW | FUL | FDR* | CRY | FDR* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MUN (A) | 3 | BRE (A) | 2 |
| 2 | LEI (H) | 2 | WHU (H) | 2 |
| 3 | IPS (A) | 2 | CHE (A) | 4 |
| 4 | WHU (H) | 2 | LEI (H) | 2 |
*1 = easiest possible fixture, 5 = hardest possible fixture
See: Fixture Difficulty Ratings for 2024/25 season
Combine premiums with budget assets at the back
Arsenal’s Gabriel and Man City’s Josko Gvardiol (both £6.0m) offer the most attacking options in the league’s best defences. Their potential for points at both ends of the pitch means they should be selected each Gameweek.
Similarly to Muniz and Eze, Newcastle’s Dan Burn (£4.5m) is the early value pick in his position thanks to a kind early schedule.
Newcastle follow up their opening match at home to Southampton with a visit to AFC Bournemouth in Gameweek 2, offering an early chance of clean sheets. Burn is essentially a placeholder for a £4.5m starting Newcastle defender at the moment, with pre-season likely to shed more light on Eddie Howe’s backline for 2024/25.
From Gameweek 3, though, Ipswich’s Leif Davis (£4.5m) looks the standout mid-term budget option at the back. According to the FDR, seven of their subsequent eight matches score only two. Davis’s dominance of set-piece duties helped him produce two goals and 18 assists in the 2023/24 Championship.
Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis is among a number of £4.0m-priced defenders who are regular starters for the promoted clubs, while pairing Brentford No 1 Mark Flekken with his deputy Hakon Valdimarsson will set you back a mere £8.5m in total for both of your goalkeepers.
Bournemouth’s Jaidon Anthony (£4.5m) is admittedly not a starter right now, but the idea in picking him here is to build a team for the opening two Gameweeks at least. This allows you to soak in as much information as possible before potentially using two free transfers to restructure and bring that fifth midfield spot into play.
