Fantasy Premier League 2021 Preview of 9th to 12th place

Burnley

Fixtures

Attack 25%

Defence 54%

Dyche’s men also start with a difficult run including NO GAME IN GW1!!! So like Man United and Man City, it’s best to avoid them for week 1, but they are at the advantage of being cheaper so less of an issue to bench for a week.

Main Pick

Nick Pope (GK, 5.5m)

Pope was the gift that kept on giving last year. If it wasn’t for the slip up against Brighton in the final week he would have shared the Golden Glove with Ederson, but he still had the honour of being top FPL goalkeeper! Hence the price hike from 4.5m to 5.5m, which is a lot! However, with the exception of week 1, you could just put him in goal and leave him there!

Differential Pick

Chris Wood (FWD, 6.5m)

Wood has improved slowly over the past few years. He went from 10 goals in back-to-back seasons to 14 goals last year. Only 2 strikers in his price bracket had a better shot conversion rate last year, and they both got relegated (Deeney and King), so even though he doesn’t get many chances you can be fairly confident he will bury a lot of the ones he does get.

Defensive Pick

Charlie Taylor/Phil Bardsley (DEF, 4.5m)

If you can’t stretch to Nick Pope in goal (and, let’s be honest, we all want to plough that money into midfield or attack), then either of these two will do as an alternative. The Burnley centre backs are 5.0m, whereas preseason would suggest these are Burnley’s first-choice fullbacks, available for just 4.5m. But keep an eye on Pieters and Lowton waiting to take their places!

Steer Clear

Ashley Barnes (FWD, 6.0m)

Wood is the number one striker at Burnley currently, and Jay Rodriguez took his chance during Barnes’ injury issues, finishing the season strongly. Barnes is now the other side of 30 and facing injury issues that could reduce his minutes and his appeal as an FPL player.