The first Fantasy Premier League deadline is now just a few hours away and we’ve compiled everything you need to know ahead of the season opener.
By this point, you’ve probably already built your draft and are making final tweaks ahead of tonight’s game that sees Liverpool taking on Bournemouth.
We’ve gathered everything you need to know ahead of the first deadline later today.
Captain picks
The most popular captain heading into GW1 is Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. Since joining the Reds, Salah has always registered at least one goal contribution on the opening weekend.
Last season, he scored and assisted against Ipswich Town on the opening weekend and proved to be a popular captaincy pick all year round.
While some might have been put off by Salah’s performance in the Community Shield, we’d still back him to get a return or two against Bournemouth tonight.
Alternatively, Erling Haaland will also be a popular captaincy pick, with Man City facing Wolves on the opening weekend.
Only three teams conceded more goals than Wolves last season and Haaland has scored eight goals in five appearances against them.
Given his form during the Club World Cup, Cole Palmer is also worth considering for the armband, with Chelsea playing Crystal Palace at home on Sunday.
If you’re looking for a more differential pick for captaincy, West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen could be worth a punt as they take on newly promoted Sunderland over the weekend.
Suspensions
A handful of players are suspended heading into the opening weekend because of the cards they received during the back end of last season.
Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez is probably worth avoiding in your opening draft as he’ll be serving his one-game suspension against Newcastle this weekend.
Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch will miss the season opener via as suspension, as will Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson.
Other suspended players include Mykhailo Mudryk, Jaka Bijol and Lewis Cook.
Predicted line-ups
In order to help you out with your selection headaches ahead of the deadline, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of how each Premier League side will likely line up this weekend.
Of course, these line-ups won’t be 100% accurate, but taking into consideration things like suspensions, injuries and pre-season form, most of these should be farily on the money.
READ: Every Premier League club’s predicted starting XI for the opening weekend
Budget options to consider
If you’re still scrambling around looking for a budget goalkeeper, defender, midfielder or forward, then we have you covered.
We’ve already done a comprehensive review of every position and have picked out the best budget players for each position.
Caoimhin Kelleher (£4.5m) and Martin Dubravka (£4.0m) are both worth considering as budget goalkeeper options.
In defence, El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.5m), Micky van de Ven (£4.5m) and Maxime Esteve (£4.0m) are among the budget defenders that we picked out.
Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson (£5.5m) and Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard (£6.0m) are great value picks in midfield.
Finally, forwards like Niclas Fullkrug (£6.0m) and Beto (£5.5m) also look like good value for money forward players.
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