The Scout is helping Fantasy Premier League managers to build their 15-man squads ahead of Gameweek 1 with some ready-made solutions.
In this second part, you can see how to create a squad that features seven penalty-takers, including premium stars Erling Haaland (£15.0m), Cole Palmer (£10.5m) and Bukayo Saka (£10.0m).
Load up on penalty-takers
Picking players with penalty duties was the favoured tactic of last season’s FPL champion Jonas Sand Labakk, with all seven of his Gameweek 1 attackers the first-choice options for spot-kicks at their respective clubs.
“I think you should go for Premier League-proven players first,” says Labakk.
“People who are also proven to be good Fantasy Premier League players, including a few penalty-takers, of course.”
When building a Haaland squad, it’s arguably easier to start with the cost-cutting moves as you get a better idea of how to distribute the remaining budget. With Palmer and Saka also on board, you are left with £64.5m to spend across 12 other players.
When building a Haaland squad, it’s arguably easier to start with the cost-cutting moves as you get a better idea of how to distribute the remaining budget. With Palmer and Saka also on board, you are left with £64.5m to spend across 12 other players.
Obviously, big sacrifices have to be made from the get-go, with no Mohamed Salah (£12.5m) and two non-playing bench assets in AFC Bournemouth midfielder Jaidon Anthony (£4.5m) and Brentford’s back-up goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson (£4.0m).
Picking Valdimarsson along with the Bees’ No 1 Mark Flekken (£4.5m) does, however, affords you a ‘keeper pairing for a mere £8.5m. Meanwhile, the kind pricing of a host of promoted defenders in 2024/25 Fantasy gives you a guaranteed starter for your bench in Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£4.0m).
Rotate budget defenders alongside Saliba
Arsenal’s William Saliba (£6.0m) is the most secure starter in the league’s best defence and can be played regardless of fixture. The Frenchman is also the most-owned player in his position in Fantasy, found in over 39 per cent of squads.
A trio of £4.5m assets can be rotated for the two spots alongside Saliba. Newcastle United’s Dan Burn and Aston Villa centre-back Pau Torres have kind early fixtures, while Ipswich Town’s Leif Davis looks such a strong pick from Gameweeks 3-10 that you may as well own him from the outset.
Mid-price midfielders will be crucial
A quick glance at the player price list indicates why the mid-price midfielder bracket is likely to prove crucial this season.
As many as 29 midfielders who cost £6.5m or under produced 100+ points last season. By contrast, this applies only to five forwards and shows the vast disparity of options across both price positions.
Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze (£7.0m) and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White (£6.5m) have kind early schedules that warrant investment.
The same can be said for Fulham forward Rodrigo Muniz (£6.0m), who faces promoted clubs Leicester City and Ipswich over the first three Gameweeks.
Similarly to Eze and Gibbs-White, Muniz is his club's first-choice penalty-taker.
Budget left for Newcastle star
By using value slots across all positions, managers would still be left with £8.5m to spend on their final forward spot – the exact funds needed for Alexander Isak (£8.5m).
Newcastle's Swede completes the list of seven penalty-takers, with a home match against Southampton in Gameweek 1 making him a great captaincy option.
Isak is also at a convenient price point for managers’ frontlines - apart from Haaland and Ollie Watkins (£9.0m), he is more expensive than any other forward.
Also in this series
