To aid Fantasy Premier League managers as they refine their squads ahead of Friday’s deadline, we’ve analyzed all 20 teams and identified key assets.
Our panel of experts – Pras, FPL Heisenberg, Gianni Buttice and Holly Shand – have each selected:
A differential pick – a player with low ownership who possesses the potential to become an FPL standout;
A player to avoid – an asset deemed unlikely to justify their price or deliver sufficient returns to enhance your league performance.
BBC Sport has also pinpointed a talisman – the star player for each team.
You can join the BBC Sport League on the official Fantasy Premier League game using the code bbcfpl – or by clicking this link, external.
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Talisman: Bukayo Saka (£10m)
Last season marked the first time since 2020-21 that Saka didn’t achieve 20 goal involvements in the Premier League, settling for 17 after missing a significant portion due to injury.
While concerns exist regarding potential minute management and the possible emergence of Viktor Gyokeres as a penalty taker, Saka remains a reliable option for accumulating 200+ FPL points if he maintains fitness.
Differential: Declan Rice (£6.5m)
Holly: Rice’s appeal is amplified by the introduction of defensive contribution points, alongside his involvement in Arsenal’s set-piece plays.
His 11 goal involvements last season would have been complemented by an additional 18 points under the new metric. Arsenal also hosts newly promoted Leeds United in Gameweek 2.
Player to avoid: Gabriel (£6m)
Holly: Gabriel was initially a popular choice upon the game’s launch in mid-July but has only played 28 minutes in pre-season.
This has tempered his popularity. While Mikel Arteta indicates his availability for Gameweek 1, concrete news is needed before investing, given Arsenal’s defensive depth.
Talisman: Ollie Watkins (£9m)
Watkins is a consistent FPL performer, boasting 50 goals and 34 assists over the last three seasons. His FPL point totals during this period were 178, 228, and 186.
His reliability comes at an attractive price. While Youri Tielemans is likely Villa’s designated penalty taker, this shouldn’t deter potential investors.
Differential: Donyell Malen (£5.5m)
Heisenberg: The Netherlands midfielder has displayed impressive pre-season form, comes at a budget-friendly £5.5m, and demonstrates a keen eye for goal.
He might even see minutes in the center-forward role if Watkins is injured or substituted early. While Malen’s playing time may be uncertain, his price point makes him a potentially worthwhile gamble.
Player to avoid: Alex Moreno (£4m)
Heisenberg: Moreno is the fourth-most-owned Villa player, featuring in over 11% of FPL teams.
However, as the third-choice left-back behind Lucas Digne and Ian Maatsen, he’s unlikely to feature prominently. Although he’s priced at just £4.0m, opting for budget defenders like Maxime Esteve (Burnley), Reinildo Mandava (Sunderland), or Gabriel Gudmundsson (Leeds), who are all likely to be regular starters, is advisable.
Talisman – Evanilson (£7.5m)
The Brazilian striker tallied 10 goals in 28 starts, underperforming his expected goals (xG) by nearly three, a metric that forwards often exceed.
This suggests untapped goal-scoring potential, with Evanilson already contributing to 35% of his team’s goals while on the pitch.
With concerns surrounding Justin Kluivert’s fitness, Evanilson could also be on penalties. If he enjoys a full season, surpassing the 10-goal mark from 24-25 is certainly achievable.
Differential: Antoine Semenyo (£7m)
Pras: The midfielder had a strong 24-25 season, scoring 11 goals and assisting seven times in 37 matches. Only Mohamed Salah and Cole Palmer attempted more shots.
Improving his 8.8% shot conversion rate could make his £7m price tag a bargain. With just 5.5% ownership at the time of writing, he could rival Aston Villa’s Rogers and Spurs midfielder Mohammed Kudus in the same price bracket.
Player to avoid: Marcos Senesi (£4.5m)
Pras: Bournemouth have already sold Dean Huijsen, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Milos Kerkez this summer. Illia Zabarnyi could also depart. While this makes defensive assets like Senesi tempting at their price, I’d avoid them due to the disrupted defense, which may take time to settle.
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Talisman: Kevin Schade (£7m)
It might surprise you that Schade was the 14th-highest-scoring midfielder last season. With Bryan Mbeumo’s departure, Brentford will hope the German can fill the creative void.
Schade scored 11 times last season – seven from January onward – in just 26 starts. With Brentford outscoring fourth-placed Chelsea last season, Schade could be a steal at £7m if the Bees continue this form.
Differential: Igor Thiago (£6m)
Gianni: In February 2024, the Brazilian joined Brentford for a club-record £30m fee, bringing a growing reputation. Fast forward 18 months, and he’s made only eight appearances, scoring no goals.
Now fully recovered from a meniscus injury, he is expected to lead the line this season. Under 1% owned, he could be the best £6m forward in the game.
Player to avoid: Nathan Collins (£5m)
Gianni: Collins is the highest-owned and priced Brentford defender. He performs well in defensive actions (two goals and seven assists last season), but £5m is too much to spend on a defender who won’t keep many clean sheets and has only five league goals in his past four seasons.
Talisman: Kaoru Mitoma (£6.5m)
The Japan forward is another player who would be an FPL asset if he could stay fit for a season.
Mitoma was Brighton’s joint-top scorer (10) and had the most key passes and big chances created. All that from just 28 starts makes him the Brighton midfielder of choice and a potential bargain.
Differential: Danny Welbeck (£6.5m)
Pras: Welbeck – in just 7.8% of teams – is one of the rare forwards under £7m who plays for a top-10 team and is also very likely to be on penalties (following Joao Pedro’s departure).
Brighton were ranked joint fifth for goals scored last season, racking up 66 in total. At 34, Welbeck is of course prone to injuries and rest, but clocking more than 2,000 minutes last season, where he got 10 goals, four assists, is not bad at all.
Player to avoid: Georginio Rutter (£6m)
Pras: Big things were expected from Rutter when he was signed for a club-record deal by Leeds a year ago. The Frenchman disappointed, however, delivering less than 100 FPL points and playing under 2,000 minutes, despite injuries to Joao Pedro and Welbeck at various points.
Despite Joao Pedro’s move to Chelsea creating an opportunity up front, I would avoid Rutter initially.
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Talisman: Jaidon Anthony (£5.5m)
It’s difficult to highlight a talisman from a promoted side, but winger Anthony scored eight goals and had seven assists in the Championship last season.
He looks likely to be a creative spark again for Burnley – he had 81 key passes last season – and his price point makes him a great enabler if you prefer him to a defensive midfielder.
Differential: Maxime Esteve (£4m)
Holly: Data from last season shows centre-backs from promoted teams can perform well for defensive contributions, making Burnley’s Esteve a top pick.
He comes in as one of the lowest-priced defenders, with favourable early fixtures including Sunderland in Gameweek 2. Consider rotating him with a Spurs defender.
Avoid: Aaron Ramsey (£4.5m)
Holly: Ramsey is a £4.5m bandwagon midfielder to avoid, with better options from other sides at this price point.
He missed most of last season with a knee injury and is unproven at Premier League level. It’s surprising to see the 22-year-old former Aston Villa man in 12.8% of teams.
Is Cole Palmer priced too low at £10.5m this season?
Talisman: Cole Palmer (£10.5m)
Little needs to be said about Palmer. He was the top-scoring player two seasons ago and had 25 goal contributions last term, even if he did fizzle out towards the end.
Is he underpriced at £10.5m? Only Mohamed Salah rivals him for talisman status, and everything Chelsea does flows through Palmer.
Differential: Pedro Neto (£7m)
Heisenberg: The Portuguese midfielder is usually someone I avoid due to rotation and injury concerns. However, with 10 goal contributions last season and a strong Fifa Club World Cup, he’s now fully settled at Chelsea and could be their best differential asset.
Avoid: Joao Pedro (£7.5m)
Heisenberg: The Brazil striker is a great player, but I see two problems.
Firstly, he could and almost certainly will share minutes with Liam Delap. Secondly, he was on penalties at Brighton, which was a big plus point, but Palmer will take them at Chelsea.
Talisman: Eberechi Eze (£7.5m)
Palace’s attack is really a three-headed monster, with Eze, Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta having 16, 15 and 16 goal involvements respectively last season.
Eze leads the pack, having had a hand in 35% of Palace’s goals while on the pitch and almost double (102 to 59) the amount of shots to Sarr.
Which suggests he can improve on his eight goals with better finishing.
Differential: Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m)
Gianni: The Frenchman is in fewer than 6% of teams and has a lot of competition at his price point, with Dominic Solanke and Chris Wood being much more popular.
Mateta has an impressive 30 league goals and nine assists over the past two seasons and looks happy playing as the focal point in Oliver Glasner’s 3-4-2-1 formation.
Avoid: Tyrick Mitchell (£5m)
Gianni: Mitchell is a solid defender and an important part of the team, but he doesn’t stand out as best in class for any FPL metric.
At the same £5m price, team-mate Maxence Lacroix is the pick for those looking to benefit from bonus and defensive action points. For £0.5m more, Daniel Munoz is an attacking output machine.
Talisman – Iliman Ndiaye (£6.5m)
Ndiaye has been reclassified as a midfielder this season but will play as a second forward, he is on penalties and will be confident of beating last season’s nine goals.
At £6.5m he is one of the cheapest penalty-taking midfielders, and Everton start the season with games against Leeds, Brighton, Wolves, West Ham and Crystal Palace in their first seven.
Differential: James Tarkowski (£5.5m)
Pras: The centre-back accumulated more defensive contribution points than any other Premier League player last season.
More than 75% of his appearances would have met the two-point threshold for defensive contributions under this season’s new point-scoring system. Therefore, Everton’s fixture schedule may be less critical; a clean sheet could yield between eight and 11 points for Tarkowski. This makes him a valuable differential and justifies his price tag.
Player to avoid – Beto (£5.5m)
Pras: The striker delivered eight goals in the second half of last season when stepping in for an injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin. However, manager David Moyes has recently commented about wanting more from Beto, and given Everton signing Thierno Barry as direct competition, I would avoid him despite the appealing price.
Talisman: Raul Jimenez (£6.5m)
Alex Iwobi (£6.5m) was Fulham’s top point-scorer last season and both he and Jimenez are Fulham’s best picks, with 15 goal involvements each in 24-25.
Mexican striker Jimenez has penalties, which sets him apart if he maintains his first-choice status. He scored 12 goals from 30 starts last season.
Differential: Joachim Andersen (£4.5m)
Holly: Andersen is quickly becoming one of my favourite defenders at this price point, where 26 defensive contribution points would have been a welcome boost.
He could be useful to rotate with a Nottingham Forest defender, in order to target both of their promising early fixtures.
Player to avoid: Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m)
Holly: Muniz is more highly owned than Jimenez right now, which is surprising when Jimenez is currently their first-choice striker.
They shared minutes last season, with Muniz often coming on as a substitute for the final 20 minutes of games. He provided nine goal involvements.
Talisman: Dan James (£5.5m)
James had 12 goals and nine assists in the Championship last season. We’ve seen in Leeds’ recent spells in the top flight that they can provide FPL gems – who remembers Stuart Dallas, the goalscoring defender playing in midfield?
James is one of Leeds’ first-choice midfield assets and could be the budget enabler you need at £5.5m.
Differential: Gabriel Gudmundsson (£4m)
Heisenberg: A £4m defender who should be nailed on to start for Leeds. He has more attacking threat than Rodon (also £4.0m) as he may take some set-pieces, and he has also played in midfield previously.
Player to avoid: Patrick Bamford (£5m)
Heisenberg: Bamford was our FPL cult hero under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020-21, amassing 28 attacking returns, and he is the third-highest-owned Leeds player in drafts at the moment.
But don’t expect those heroics again, as Daniel Farke confirmed he is not part of his plans this season.
Talisman: Mohamed Salah (£14.5m)
The best player in the game, coming off the back of a historic season.
The question is, can he do it again, and is he worth the increased price?
Our four experts debated that point in our ‘Burning Questions’ article.
Differential: Cody Gakpo (£7.5m)
Gianni: He registered 15 league attacking returns last season and has played his way into being first choice on Liverpool’s left while scoring important goals. Now rightly classified as a midfielder, £7.5m could be exceptional value.
Avoid: Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.5m)
Gianni: Liverpool’s second-best midfielder last season with 143