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

Southampton

Fixtures

Attack 46%

Def 14%

Southampton are arguably one of the form teams, finishing the season strongly with only one loss after lockdown and a win over Man City (remember that Che Adams goal). Their defence also kept 3 clean sheets in that time and looks a lot stronger than it did previously.

My fixture rankings have them as an easy team to attack, but that includes the 9-0 loss to Leicester and their performances before the introduction of McCarthy who helped give them some confidence!

Main Pick

Danny Ings (FWD, 8.5m)

There are a lot of teams with a single focus on their one striker. We’ve looked at Vardy and Kane, now it’s the (slightly) cheaper Ings, who had a breakout season (can it be called a breakout when he’s 28 and already earned a transfer to Liverpool?) to show he can still do it after his injury. As long as he stays fit he can definitely get at least 15 goals this season.

Differential Pick

Che Adams (FWD, 6.0m)

If you need a cheap option compared to Ings, Adams finished the season well after finally scoring his first Premier League goal in fine style against Man City. Three more goals followed in Project Rester and he fits nicely into Hassenhuttl’s system, helping Ings get more goals and Saints into mid-table safety. He should continue in that role and if he can grow into it more, then there will be more goals to follow.

Defensive Pick

Alex McCarthy (GK, 4.5m)

I mentioned McCarthy above as a reason why Southampton’s defence got its act together last year. He is very kindly priced at 4.5m (probably because people still remember the 9-0 defeat, even though he didn’t play in it). There are some tricky fixtures in there like Spurs and Chelsea, but luckily they rotate very nicely!

Steer Clear

Nathan Redmond (MID, 6.5m)

Redmond is a player that showed a lot of promise and occasionally might warrant a glance in FPL, before you remember that its Redmond. He’s a shot happy winger with a very low conversion rate, which also means he doesn’t create many chances. Fewer than Westwood, Shelvey and Norwood! There are way better options if you want a Southampton attacker or a 6.5m midfielder.