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Goalkeeper: Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m)
Brentford newcomer Caoimhin Keller (£4.5m) is dominating the budget goalkeeper category, in almost a third of teams, while Brighton’s Verbruggen is flying under the radar at 7.0% owned.
He’s predicted to score 14.0 points over the opening four gameweeks, with games against Fulham and Everton to start the season. He kept seven clean sheets last season.
Defenders: Nikola Milenkovic (£5.5m), Murillo (£5.5m) & Daniel Munoz (£5.5m)
When it comes to premium defenders, it’s those priced at £6.0 million from Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City who sit in 20% of sides. But managers would be foolish to overlook the solid options coming in at £5.5m, including Nottingham Forest centre-backs Milenkovic and Murillo.
They are predicted to score 18.6 and 18.3 points respectively over the first four gameweeks. Their defence kept 13 clean sheets last season, with Milenkovic the third-highest scoring defender in the game.
The introduction of defensive contribution points this season will help their case, boosting Milenkovic to the top spot on last season's numbers, with Murillo only three points behind in second. Murillo would have notched the second-highest tally for defensive contributions among defenders, with 38 points from 36 appearances.
Elsewhere, Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz notched 10 goal involvements last campaign, with his 14 defensive contribution points one of the highest totals among full-backs, with a predicted 18.3 points over the first four.
Defensive Midfielders: Declan Rice (£6.5m) & Enzo Fernandez (£6.5m)
The arrival of defensive contribution points has also given utility to defensive midfielders, accumulating points for clearances, blocks, interceptions, tackles and ball recoveries.
Arsenal’s Declan Rice is predicted to be within the top five performing midfielders over the opening four gameweeks, with 21.9 predicted points. He would have amassed 18 additional points this season from this metric, to go alongside 11 goal involvements.
At Chelsea, it’s Moises Caicedo dominating defensive contributions, notching 42 additional points from these actions, but teammate Enzo Fernandez would have had an uplift of six points, while also registering 14 goal involvements with his set-piece responsibility.
He’s predicted to score 18.0 points in the first four gameweeks, with fixtures against Crystal Palace, West Ham, Fulham and Brentford.
Attacking Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m), Antoine Semenyo (£7.0m) & Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m)
Those managers backing Manchester United newcomers Mbeumo and Cunha would be wise to remember the dominance of talisman Bruno Fernandes, who produced 20 goal involvements last season.
He is predicted to outscore them both, with a projected 22.6 points over the first four. He is on most set pieces, including penalties, with defensive contributions also providing a significant increase to his FPL potential.
Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr have both seen price hikes for this campaign, but remain excellent attacking options, on 20.4 and 19.6 predicted points respectively.
Semenyo chalked up 18 goal involvements last season and has favourable fixtures after Liverpool on the opening weekend, while Sarr managed 15 attacking returns. The Eagles have tough opening games against Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
Forwards: Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m) & Raul Jimenez (£6.5m)
Those early Palace fixtures have dissuaded managers from investing in striker Mateta, despite a red-hot pre-season where he’s produced four goals and two assists at the time of writing.
Crystal Palace also have midweek Europa Conference League qualifying fixtures to contend with in August following their demotion from the Europa League. His AI prediction remains strong over the first four gameweeks, on 20.1 points.
Fulham’s fixtures are appealing, with Brighton and promoted Leeds United in the opening four gameweeks helping Raul Jimenez to 19.9 predicted points for this period. He’s super differential in just 2.3% of sides, with 15 goal involvements from 30 appearances last season.
His biggest barrier to points is sharing minutes with fellow striker Rodrigo Muniz, but he should have the early edge, plus penalties in his locker.