Forward Options for Fantasy Football
Posted by Rob Shepherd on Monday, July 31, 2017
So now we are up to the big boys! The strikers, scoring goals is what football is all about. Fancy the power of a Harry Kane up front or will you be putting your faith in Jesus at Manchester City? Don’t pick anyone till you read our guide to your striking options.
What Are My Forward Options?
If you have a lot of money to burn, then buying a super striker will soon solve that problem for you! There are 7 players that are valued at £10 million or more. The most expensive player is £12.5m but if you’ve already spent most your dosh then you can pick up a bargain basement player for £4.5m.
What Difference Can a Forward Make to My Score?
If we look at last year’s results as a comparison;
The best performing forward was Kane (£12.5m) who is at Spurs. Kane score was 224 (quite a bit short of Sanchez’s 264 points). If you take the number of players who scored at least 1 point last season (49) the average score for a forward was 82 pts, I would be looking for players around the 110 mark as a baseline.
Which Forwards Did Well Last Year?
| Name | Value (This Year) | Score Last Year | £ per PT * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kane | £12.5m | 224 | £55,803 |
| Lukaku | £11.5m | 221 | £52,036 |
| Costa | £10.0m | 196 | £51,020 |
| Firmino | £8.5m | 180 | £47,222 |
| King | £7.5m | 178 | £42,134 |
Which Defenders Didn’t do Well Last Year?
| Name | Value (This Year) | Score Last Year | £ per PT * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fletcher | £4.5m | 16 | £281,250 |
| Mousset | £5.0m | 14 | £357,142 |
| Sakho | £5.5m | 12 | £458,333 |
| Zárate | £5.5m | 8 | £687,500 |
| McBurnie | £4.5m | 5 | £900,000 |
Who are the Ones to Look Out For?
Scoring goals is one thing but it’s strikers that score and assist that will make your team successful.
Harry Kane is of course a popular choice and 34.5% of fantasy football teams have chosen Harry to lead the line. He will score goals no doubt but he’s expensive at £12.5m, his point per £ rate is over £55,000, King would be a cheaper option at £42,000 per pt. Last year Kane missed a part of the season with injury and could well surpass his 29 league goals and seven assists that he achieved last season.
Defoe could be worth a punt following his move to Bournemouth. The guy always scores goals and is good value at £8m, last year he scored 166 pts. I know he’s getting on a bit but there are worse options than him.
Rashford has been promised more game time at Manchester United and is likely to team up with Lakuku to spearhead United’s attack. Last year his total was a disappointing 76 but priced at only £7.5m (the same as Rooney), he could be a value signing.
Anything Else I Need to Consider?
There are lots of new players in the Premier League this year so it’s a balancing act of going for tried and tested players at this level or taking a risk on a new player.
The three forwards I have picked are as follows;
Lukaku was a pretty easy choice for me, even before his move from Everton, I would have picked him but with the better-quality players at United I think he will do really well this season. His score last season of 221 was only 3 short of Kane’s total.
Next up is Arsenal new boy Lacazette. This was a difficult selection as I was torn between Bakayoko and Lacazette. I’ve been impressed with the preseason games I’ve seen Bakayoko play in but Lacazette’s goal scoring rate of 129 goals in 275 matches that swayed it for me (plus the fact that Bakayoko only has a 50% chance of playing the first game). I’ll see how he gets on in the first couple of fixtures.
My last player is Chicharito at West Ham. “Little Pea” makes a welcome return to the Premier League and I can’t wait to see him play. He is only £7m and whilst he is very unlikely to rival the top three strikers, I’m sure he’ll score enough to justify his selection. Perhaps more sentiment than sense but who cares?
Full List of Forwards (As of 27.7.2017)
| Player Name | Current Team | Points Last Season | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kane | Spurs | 224 | £12.5 |
| Lukaku | Man Utd | 221 | £11.5 |
| Costa | Chelsea | 196 | £10.0 |
| Firmino | Liverpool | 180 | £8.5 |
| King | Bournemouth | 178 | £7.5 |
| Agüero | Man City | 175 | £11.5 |
| Defoe | Bournemouth | 166 | £8.0 |
| Vardy | Leicester | 161 | £8.5 |
| Llorente | Swansea | 146 | £7.5 |
| Benteke | Crystal Palace | 136 | £8.0 |
| Deeney | Watford | 130 | £6.5 |
| Vokes | Burnley | 121 | £6.0 |
| Rondón | West Brom | 118 | £6.5 |
| Giroud | Arsenal | 116 | £8.5 |
| Gray | Burnley | 108 | £6.5 |
| Origi | Liverpool | 96 | £7.5 |
| Afobe | Bournemouth | 88 | £6.0 |
| Slimani | Leicester | 83 | £7.0 |
| Barnes | Burnley | 81 | £5.5 |
| Crouch | Stoke | 79 | £5.0 |
| Rooney | Everton | 76 | £7.5 |
| Rashford | Man Utd | 76 | £7.5 |
| Rodriguez | West Brom | 73 | £6.0 |
| Carroll | West Ham | 69 | £6.0 |
| Jesus | Man City | 67 | £10.5 |
| Callum Wilson | Bournemouth | 63 | £6.0 |
| Okazaki | Leicester | 63 | £5.5 |
| Austin | Southampton | 62 | £6.5 |
| Long | Southampton | 57 | £6.0 |
| Janssen | Spurs | 55 | £7.5 |
| Sturridge | Liverpool | 54 | £8.0 |
| Iheanacho | Man City | 52 | £7.0 |
| Robson-Kanu | West Brom | 52 | £5.0 |
| Diouf | Stoke | 51 | £5.5 |
| Batshuayi | Chelsea | 48 | £8.5 |
| Okaka | Watford | 43 | £5.5 |
| Ayew | Swansea | 39 | £5.0 |
| Gabbiadini | Southampton | 38 | £7.0 |
| Welbeck | Arsenal | 37 | £7.5 |
| Berahino | Stoke | 26 | £6.0 |
| Ulloa | Leicester | 24 | £5.0 |
| Pérez | Arsenal | 20 | £7.5 |
| Wickham | Crystal Palace | 18 | £5.5 |
| Calvert-Lewin | Everton | 17 | £5.0 |
| Fletcher | West Ham | 16 | £4.5 |
| Mousset | Bournemouth | 14 | £5.0 |
| Sakho | West Ham | 12 | £5.5 |
| Zárate | Watford | 8 | £5.5 |
| McBurnie | Swansea | 5 | £4.5 |
| Lacazette | Arsenal | 0 | £10.5 |
| Morata | Chelsea | 0 | £10.0 |
| Sandro | Everton | 0 | £7.5 |
| Chicharito | West Ham | 0 | £7.0 |
| Gayle | Newcastle | 0 | £6.5 |
| Murray | Brighton | 0 | £6.0 |
| Mounie | Huddersfield | 0 | £6.0 |
| Depoitre | Huddersfield | 0 | £5.5 |
| Ings | Liverpool | 0 | £5.5 |
| Pérez | Newcastle | 0 | £5.5 |
| Abraham | Swansea | 0 | £5.5 |
| Hemed | Brighton | 0 | £5.0 |
| Baldock | Brighton | 0 | £5.0 |
| Wells | Huddersfield | 0 | £5.0 |
| Solanke | Liverpool | 0 | £5.0 |
| Mitrovic | Newcastle | 0 | £5.0 |
| Quaner | Huddersfield | 0 | £4.5 |
Reminder: Come and Challenge Rob Shepherd
The exciting news is that we have set up a BestBettingBonus league for you to test your skills. It’s your chance to show off your fantasy footy skills. So, if you haven’t done so already, set up an account at https://fantasy.premierleague.com. Once done, use the code 719831-300208. Bring your friends, bring your enemies, all welcome. Do well and your team could be featured on here.
Rob Shepherd’s Final Team
I hope you have found this guide useful, the players available will of course change as the transfer window will be open until 11pm on August 31st.
So here is my final team, not would you would have chosen? Then join my league and show me how it is done!
