22/23 Fantasy Premier League preview: Top Palace picks

Club

2 Aug 2022

The start of the 2022/23 season kicks-off this Friday, as Palace welcome Arsenal to Selhurst Park, and with the start of the new season comes the start of Fantasy Premier League.

A new Fantasy Premier League (FPL) season means new players, new prices and new options for managers to consider. The Eagles have a number of competitively-priced FPL assets which could offer great value.

Last season: Points, points, points

Patrick Vieira’s first season in charge at Selhurst Park saw the Eagles register a 12th-place finish, with Wilfried Zaha (£7.0m) and former Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher topping the scoring with 150 and 140 points respectively.

Zaha’s scintillating run of form towards the end of 21/22 saw him selected by over 1,000,000 Fantasy managers in the final few gameweeks, and he is currently sat at 7.5% ownership before the start of the season.

Further back, Palace recorded 12 clean sheets and centre-back duo Joachim Andersen (£4.5m) and Marc Guéhi (£4.5m) recorded 124 and 123 points respectively, while goalkeeper Vicente Guaita (£4.5m) registered 119 points.

This season: Great value options

For 22/23, many Palace players have retained their FPL pricetags. The defensive pairing of Guéhi and Andersen have had their kept at £4.5m, offering outstanding value as they were the highest scoring defenders in the price bracket last season.

The £4.5m price tag also carries over for full-backs Nathaniel Clyne, Joel Ward and Tyrick Mitchell - the latter of which recorded two assists along with 10 clean sheets last season.

James Tomkins and Nathan Ferguson offer a versatile 'enabler' option for Fantasy managers, as both have a £4.0m price tag – the lowest price for a defender.

In midfield, fan favourites Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise come in at £5.5m. The latter was involved in 44% of Palace goals in his 12 starts last season, and the former contributed to four goals in his five pre-season games.

Further forward, strikers Christian Benteke, Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta are all competitively priced at £5.5m, giving Fantasy managers a tricky decision to make when composing their attack.

New signings

There have been four new arrivals at Selhurst Park this summer, along with the return of January’s deadline day signing.

Experienced goalkeeper Sam Johnstone comes in as a £4.5m option between the sticks, the same price as new American centre-back Chris Richards.

Midfielder Cheick Doucouré, who arrived from Lens last month, will set Fantasy managers back £5.0m. However, with a more defensive role in the team his Fantasy total may belie his ability. Malcolm Ebiowei is priced at £4.5m and could also act as an ‘enabler’ in midfield as this is the lowest price for a midfielder.

Pre-season hat-trick hero Luke Plange is set for his first Premier League season, following his loan back to Derby County after signing for the Eagles in January. He is a high-value £4.5m forward option and is already selected by 2% of all teams.

Who to choose?

Fantasy managers have a number of different options to choose from for the season ahead. The likes of Mo Salah, Erling Haaland and Son Heung-min may feature in many FPL sides, though their hefty price tags limit managers to one or two big-cost choices.

Value has to be sought elsewhere, which is where Palace’s players come in. Zaha (£7.0m) featured in every domestic pre-season game this summer, scoring five and assisting three, building on his strong end to the 21/22 campaign.

Eze (£5.5m) offers a unique proposition to Fantasy managers. The former QPR man spent most of 21/22 recovering from injury and only registered a single goal and assist towards the end of the season, though a solid pre-season could indicate a return to the form which saw him score 125 points in the 2020/21 season.

Elsewhere, captain Luka Milivojević recorded two assists in pre-season and could potentially offer outstanding value as a cut-price £4.5m midfielder. He was Palace’s highest scoring FPL asset in 2017/18 and 2018/19, with 144 and 166 points respectively.

Top tip

Jordan Ayew (£5.5m) could act as a great differential for Fantasy managers. He has been reclassified as a midfielder for the 22/23 campaign – meaning he gets an additional point for goals scored and has the potential to pick up a clean sheet point. He notched a goal and two assists in pre-season and will look to replicate his tally of 132 points from the 2019/20 season.

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First-team

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