In the first of his weekly FPL articles, Will Rook suggests three transfers, a captain pick and a differential of the week.
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PLAYERS TO ADD
GK – BART VERBRUGGEN (£4.5M)
There’s no need to splash the cash on a goalkeeper. Save the extra million for someone further up the pitch.
There are plenty of options who are both wallet-friendly and can hoover up the points, including new Brighton No. 1 Bart Verbruggen.
Having spent £16m on the Netherlands U21 international and sold Robert Sanchez to Chelsea, the expectation is that he will start against Luton on the opening day.
A home game against the Championship play-off winners should be an ideal way to start, but the fact that four of Brighton’s opening six matches are at the Amex Stadium is also appealing. Better yet, the Seagulls only face two teams that finished above the bottom eight last season.
Brighton are {ODDS:1158435047:10/11} to keep a clean sheet against Luton – the equal second-shortest price on opening day – which provides further encouragement that Verbruggen can make a promising start.
DEF – GABRIEL (£5M)
Another frugal addition here, which is good news for someone who will play every available minute for a title challenger.
Like last season, Arsenal have been dealt a kind hand when looking at their opening fixtures. Starting with Nottingham Forest (H), Crystal Palace (A) and Fulham (H), it’s likely we will see the Gunners with nine points out of nine. Last season, they won all three of the reflecting matches conceding just once.
With Arsenal also {ODDS:1158433530:17/20} to keep a clean sheet at home to Nottingham Forest, there is a degree of confidence that they will have a successful shutout.
MID – KAI HAVERTZ (£7.5M)
For the reasons stated above, it’s worth getting with Arsenal players.
Given the injury to Gabriel Jesus, Havertz will start as a centre forward against Nottingham Forest on Saturday and, if his performance in the Community Shield is anything to go by, he will get chances.
Havertz missed two presentable opportunities in the first half against Manchester City in an energetic showing. Against lesser opposition, logic suggests he will get even better.
FW – JULIAN ALVAREZ (£6.5M)
£6.5m for a Manchester City forward is an absolute bargain.
Alvarez bagged nine goals last season, largely from substitute appearances, and showed he can give opposition sides plenty to worry about.
But for the majority of last season, it wasn’t worth having him given he was below Erling Haaland in the pecking order. That all changed in the Community Shield, with Pep Guardiola starting both Alvarez and Haaland in attack.
Get him at this price while you can.
CAPTAIN PICK – ERLING HAALAND (£14M)
This isn’t big and it isn’t clever, but you don’t want to be the one left out, do you?
City have won their last 11 matches against Burnley in all competitions by an aggregate score of 40-1. That includes a 6-0 drubbing in the FA Cup quarter final last season, in which Haaland scored a hat trick.
He’s just {ODDS:1194386020:2/5} to find the net on Friday.
DIFFERENTIAL OF THE WEEK – JULIO ENCISO (£5.5M)
Ownership of Kaoru Mitoma is high going into the opening weekend of the season, and rightly so. The Japanese forward was a revelation last season, scoring 138 points with seven goals and nine assists.
But you could bypass the 39.6 per cent of Mitoma owners with a cheaper alternative, who is also one of his team-mates. Julio Enciso is £1m cheaper and, if his late-season form last term is anything to go by, he’s worth getting excited about.
The 19-year-old started eight of Brighton’s final 10 matches in all competitions in 2022/23, and scored four times in Brighton’s final 12 league games.
With an ownership level of just five per cent, this represents a great opportunity to steal an early march on your opponents.
