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15th Aug 2013

Fantasy Football Insider – Gameweek 1: It begins

Picking an initial squad for the return of Fantasy Football is a nigh on impossible task, but here are a few pointers for those of you tearing your hair out before the big kick-off this weekend.

Conor Heneghan

Picking an initial squad for the return of Fantasy Football is a nigh on impossible task, but here are a few pointers for those of you tearing your hair out before the big kick-off this weekend.

It’s back. Thank the Lord it’s back.

During the course of the summer you may have found yourself inquiring about who got an assist at a local Sunday league match or using a bonus point system during your weekly five-a-side game but now you can apply that Fantasy Football knowledge for real for the next nine months, or at least until you inevitably become fed-up with the lack of progress your team is making three weeks from now.

With very little in terms of form to go on – pre-season performances sometimes give an indicator of a player’s form but can be very unreliable at times – all we can do for now is give you a guide on the initial selection of your squad for the first gameweek, the bones of which will have to guide you through the first few weeks unless you’re prepared to sacrifice one of only two wildcards you’ll get all season early doors.

So, feel free to follow or ignore the few pieces of advice below if you haven’t already selected your squad – or in a likelier scenario, if you have and plan on making wholesale changes before Saturday afternoon – but whether you do or not, be sure to join the JOE Fantasy Football J-League between now and Saturday by heading on over to the Fantasy Premier League site and entering the code 513657-130798.

To RVP or to not RVP, that is the question?

Top scorer in terms of goals and Fantasy Football points last season, RVP quickly became a must-have for all managers, even bitter Arsenal fans who couldn’t bear to look at him wearing a different shade of red. With United making no major signings of note (at least not yet), Van Persie will have to shoulder the goalscoring burden again this season, although he looked in pretty decent nick during the Community Shield last weekend.

Manchester United v Wigan Athletic - FA Community Shield

The problem with Van Persie is that, at £14million, he is by far and away the most expensive player in the league (£2million more than Gareth Bale, who might not even be at Spurs next season) and including him in your squad means that you have to fill a few gaps with players of lesser quality elsewhere in the squad.

The Champions also have a very tough opening period with meetings against Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool in the opening six games, increasing the temptation to look elsewhere for the time being at least.

For Gameweek 1, your squad should be made in Chelsea

Double Gameweeks in Fantasy Football are rare and should be exploited by managers at every available opportunity, especially when they involve the top teams.

Chelsea have two games in the first Gameweek, both of which are at home (v Hull and Aston Villa) and against opposition they have the potential to beat comfortably, which could mean a big points return for their more talented individuals.

With that in mind, plenty of managers will have at least two Chelsea players and might even use the maximum quota of three, with the likes of Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and possibly even Romelu Lukaku proving particularly popular early doors.

City’s potential has no limits in the first few weeks

While no-one would envy Manchester United’s difficult start to the season, Manuel Pellegrini is set for a far from testing start to life as Manchester City manager as the fixture list has been particularly kind to last year’s runners-up.

Before facing United in Gameweek 5, City have four games against Newcastle, Cardiff City, Hull City and Stoke, giving the likes of Negredo, Jovetic and Navas the chance to adapt to their new surroundings and Aguero and David Silva the opportunity to make up for indifferent campaigns last year.

If they click straight away, City could be the source of huge Fantasy Football points in the opening weeks of the season.

Filling in the gaps

Once you’ve picked the big boys likely to provide the majority of your points, you’ll need to dip into the bargain bin for players to fill out your first XI or to provide a reliable two or three points off the bench in the case of injury or suspension to members of your first choice XI.

In midfield, for example, Moussa Dembele and Aaron Ramsey might not be free-scoring but they will probably play a lot and are both available for £5.5 million. For a cheaper and less spectacular option, Leon Britton (£4.5 million) is almost guaranteed two points a game.

Real value for money operators don’t tend to reveal themselves until a few weeks into the season, but initially at least, we also like the look of Luke Shaw (£4.5 million), Stewart Downing (£6.0 million, West Ham is probably his level and he has big Andy Carroll as a target for crosses) and Gary Hooper (£6.5 million).

JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:

Top Dollar: Eden Hazard (£9.5 million). From our experience, most managers appear to be picking either Hazard or Mata from the off and while both would represent a good choice, if the Belgian can replicate the start he had to last season then managers’ faith in him will be richly rewarded.

Mid-Range: Wilfried Bony (£8.0 million). Taking on the Champions isn’t the easiest start Swansea could have asked for, but Bony scored a remarkable 31 goals in 30 starts for Vitesse Arnhem last season and could yet prove to be this season’s Michu.

Bargain Basement: Matthew Lowton (£5.0 million). Like Chelsea, Villa have a double gameweek this week and if he can build on his form at the end of last season, Lowton could be worth a punt.

Irish Pick: Shane Long (£6.5 million). Didn’t have his shooting boots on in Cardiff on Wednesday night, but he could well have been saving himself for Southampton at home on Saturday and the best possible start to the new season.

Captain’s Pick: Juan Mata (£10.5 million). Hazard or Mata is a difficult choice but we’ve plumped for Mata because he’s a little bit more consistent than his team-mate and also provides a threat from set-pieces. Hull and Aston Villa could suffer in the next few days.