Castagne is on the bench so I’m making a last minute change to:

Team Selection 2024/2025 – final team

I’ve been tweaking my final team quite a lot over the past week and I’ve finally settled on the team I’m going to start the season with. I’ve made a few changes after studying the fixtures and points from last season. I’ve also tried to formulate some plans for transfers to get the players in that I’ll want for European fixtures. The way Europe starts this season is slightly complicated and the EFL Cup is thrown in the mix but here’s a simple breakdown (which I think is correct but don’t hold me to it):

GW1 – single Premier League week
GW2 – EFL Cup starts for clubs not in Europe
GW3 – single Premier League week
GW4 – Champions League starts but also a double game week for all other clubs in the EFL Cup (other European teams and non European teams who made it through the last round)
GW5 – Europa League starts and Champions League clubs play their EFL Cup fixture.

Here’s the team I’ve settled on and why:

McCarthy (1.5m – Southampton) – not overly happy with this pick but at 1.5m it does free up funds for elsewhere, which I’m going to need to get some of the big hitters in. Southampton don’t have awful fixtures after the first game week.

Burn (3m – Newcastle) – cheap way into the Newcastle defence. Good opening fixtures and one of the strongest teams not in Europe so potential for EFL Cup involvement.

Porro (4m – Spurs) – good opening fixture from an attacking defender. I may swap him for Gvardiol after game week 1. Equally if he does well, Spurs have a good game week 2 fixture anyway.

Castagne (2.5m – Fulham) – I wanted Robinson and ideally I wanted to avoid the opening fixture against Man Utd but I’ve had to compromise somewhere. Fulham have three good fixtures after game week 1 so I’m happy to take a hit on the first game week.

Guimarães (4.5m – Newcastle) – I’ve gone for Guimarães over Gordon due to Guimarães scoring more overall points last season. I also like Newcastle’s GW1 and GW2 fixtures. Will move on for a European player at some point.

Saka (6m – Arsenal) – I’m going to need some of the premium players so I’ve opted for Saka as I’ve got no other Arsenal coverage at this stage and they play Wolves first. He pretty much matched Palmer for points last season who is another option at 6m but has a difficult start against City.

Eze (4.5m – Palace) – was a bonus points magnet last season and has the potential for minutes in the EFL Cup. May move on for a European player as soon as possible.

Kulusevski (3m – Spurs) – Spurs have a good opening fixture and Kulusevski is my risky pick for game week 1. If he does well they play Everton next, if he doesn’t I’m going to swap him for Smith-Rowe who again has good fixtures in GW2 and GW3 and potential for EFL Cup minutes.

Haaland (8.5m – Man City) – tops most of the stats charts from last season – most goals, highest points on average and most shots on target. He’s also been rested over the summer with no involvement in the Euros. I don’t like City’s opening fixture against Chelsea but Ipswich up second is a good fixture.

Isak (5m – Newcastle) – scored reasonably well last season and follows the trend of having good Newcastle coverage for their easier opening fixtures and potential EFL Cup involvement.

Salah (7m – Liverpool) – hard to look past Salah against Ipswich in game week 1.

Captain: Isak
Vice-Captain: Salah

Captain pick could be the make or break point for game week 1. I’m favouring Isak as Newcastle are at home to a newly promoted team. Which I appreciate goes against my McCarthy pick but I’m hoping he can do OK from a saves made point of view and better fixtures after this tough opening game.

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Team Selection 2024/2025 – second draft

I’ve been reviewing my team over the past week and I’ve made a couple of changes to it so thought it was worth updating this blog. Here’s the new draft:

Miguel (2m – Forest) – I’m not 100% sure he will be first choice so this is a position I may change but at 2m with decent opening fixtures, a Forest keeper could be a good option if we can pick the right one.

Robinson (3m – Fulham) – as below.

Burn (3m – Newcastle) – as below.

van de Ven (3.5m – Spurs) – swapped Dalot out to free up funds for a stronger midfield. Not sure it’s the right decision at the moment but Spurs do have a good opening fixture. This is one I’m a little stuck on so it may change again.

Gordon (4.5m – Newcastle) – as below.

Saka (6m – Arsenal) – as below.

Mainoo (3m – Man Utd) – as below, but I’m not massively convinced it’s the right play. He’s cheap but I don’t want to end up being stuck with him if the points don’t follow.

Eze (4.5m – Palace) – Eze feels like a big upgrade on Gibbs-White, he should be the main man at Palace this season once again. Bonus point magnet as well.

Haaland (8.5m – Man City) – as below.

Isak (5m – Newcastle) – as below.

Salah (7m – Liverpool) – as below.

I haven’t changed an awful lot at this stage as we’ve got two weeks to go so a lot could happen in terms of injuries or new signings. I’m relatively happy with Salah, Isak, Haaland, Gordon, Saka and Eze. It’s the rest of the team I’m less happy with as these are all enablers to allow me to get these bigger guns in.

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Team Selection 2024/2025 – first look

I’m away next week so I’ve invested some time already looking at a potential starting 11 for the new season. I must admit I’ve found it very challenging from the point of view of budget and this feels like the worst team I’ve ever looked to start a season with. However, I’m sure it will change drastically before the season gets underway. At this stage, I’ve simply looked at points scored last season and opening fixtures. I’ve also taken into considering that teams without European football will have an additional EFL Cup fixture early doors.

Steele (2.5m – Brighton) – he should be first choice to start with for Brighton as I’m hearing Verbruggen is injured. I don’t really like Brighton’s opening fixtures so this will probably change. I also had my eye on Sa and Flekken but they also have tough opening fixtures. I’m going to have to go for a budget keeper this season as keepers didn’t score well last time around.

Robinson (3m – Fulham) – one of only 4 players priced at 3m who broke the 200 points mark last season. Fulham have good opening fixtures after the Man Utd game but I’m still in disbelief that I’m even considering a Fulham player at this stage.

Burn (3m – Newcastle) – Burn wasn’t too far behind Trippier in terms of points last season and Newcastle have two good opening fixtures then an EFL Cup game. Another cheap enabler though which makes me feel uneasy.

Dalot (4m – Man Utd) – third highest scoring defender last year despite Man Utd being fairly poor. Seems to do well for bonus points.

Gordon (4.5m – Newcastle) – nearly hit the 300 points mark last season and was the 8th highest scoring midfielder. Picked due to good opening fixtures as well as the impressive numbers from last season.

Saka (6m – Arsenal) – I’m going to need some of the premium players so I’ve opted for Saka as I’ve go no other Arsenal coverage at this stage. He pretty much matched Palmer for points last season who is another option at 6m.

Mainoo (3m – Man Utd) – I wanted another Man Utd player with fairly good opening fixtures. I’m not really convinced by Mainoo due to him being less attacking but he’s cheap at 3m so he’s in for the time being.

Gibbs-White (3.5m – Forest) – staggered that I’m forking out 3.5m for Gibbs-White but the numbers don’t lie. He was the second highest scoring midfielder last season who is valued at less than 4m and Forest have three very good opening fixtures. The other 3.5m option who scored more is Ward-Prowse, who I may consider.

Haaland (8.5m – Man City) – tops most of the stats charts from last season – most goals, highest points on average and most shots on target. He’s also been rested over the summer with no involvement in the Euros. I don’t like City’s opening fixture against Chelsea but Ipswich up second is a good fixture.

Isak (5m – Newcastle) – scored reasonably well last season and follows the trend of having good Newcastle coverage for their easier opening fixtures and potential EFL Cup involvement.

Salah (7m – Liverpool) – hard to look past Salah against Ipswich in game week 1, he could even be a potential pick for captain.

This is massively going to change but that’s where I am after a quick initial look.