Premier League - The Big Interview - Episode 8
Sep 28From an attacking point of view, choosing the right midfielders can make or break your Fantasy Football season.
Last year’s Premier League Golden Boot was shared by two ‘midfielders’ and one of those was also the top assist-maker.
Pick players who play for defensively sound teams and you’ll benefit from clean sheet points too.
Here’s our Fantasy Football midfield picks for the 2022/23 season.
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Bargains
Anthony Gordon
Price: £5.5m
He might not have set the world alight last season, with just four goals and two assists during Everton’s disappointing campaign, but there were glimpses that Anthony Gordon has a lot more to offer.
With Richarlison moving to Tottenham, there's an opportunity and need for Gordon to take his game to the next level and chip in with more goals.
Plus, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin returning to the team, getting service into the striker will be a priority so he could pick up a few more assists too.
John McGinn
Price: £5.5m
John McGinn was the third highest scoring midfielder with a price-tag of £5.5m or lower last season (the West Ham duo of Tomas Soucek and Pablo Fornals both had a few more points).
But with Steven Gerrard looking to improve on Aston Villa’s 14th place finish, McGinn will likely have to up his game this season and improve on his goals and assists total from 2021/22, which stood at three and four respectively.
He's certanily capable of scoring a few more long-range efforts that's for sure.
Mid-priced
James Ward-Prowse
Price: £6.5m
Southampton’s set-piece specialist scored 10 goals in the Premier League last season and managed five assists, which for £6.5m isn’t too shabby.
He’s expected to play every game when fit and continue to take free-kicks, corners and penalties, which should guarantee goals and assists.
Plus, with the World Cup around the corner, he may be putting in extra practice on the training ground to secure his place on the plane. Goalkeepers should be worried.
If The Saints can tighten up their defence or get a target man to finish off his crosses, he could bag lots more Fantasy points this season. No player put in more crosses than Ward-Prowse in 2020/21 – 302 in total.
JWP was the ninth-highest scoring midfielder in Fantasy football last season – and nobody finished above him with a lower or equal price-tag.
Jesse Lingard
Price: £6m
J-Lingz will be the main man at Nottingham Forest this season. With the money the club have invested in him, you’d expect him to start every game when fit.
Lingard made a huge impact while on loan at West Ham in 2021, scoring nine goals in 16 Premier League appearances. If he can reproduce that kind of form across the season for Forest, he’ll be a snip at £6m.
Bruno Guimaraes
Price: £6m
Newcastle’s sensational Brazilian signing from Lyon only made his debut for the Toon in February 2022, but his impact was instant. He ended the season with five goals in 17 appearances, helping the Magpies move away from the relegation zone in the process.
His pace and trickery is a constant pain for defenders and he’s adept at arriving late into the box, so expect him to keep picking up points especially when the roar of St James’ is pushing him on during home matches.
With Newcastle strengthening their defence this summer, he’s likely to pick up more clean sheet points too.
Premium players
Heung-min Son
Price: £12m
Heung-min Son popped up with two goals on the final day of last season to ensure his share of the Golden Boot award alongside Liverpool’s Mo Salah.
Sonny’s incredible goal return was spurred on by his team-mates and coach, who urged him to aim for the top goalscorer award – a title often reserved for Tottenham's other talisman, Harry Kane.
But with Kane frequently dropping into the number 10 role, Son and the other forwards (Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Moura) will have more opportunities to get on the end of a final pass. Last season was no fluke, expect Son to be right up there again this season.
He was the second highest midfielder in Fantasy Football last season with 258 points.
Mo Salah
Price: £13m
With Sadio Mane gone, Salah may have to step up and bag a few more goals (if that's possible) while new signing Darwin Nunez finds his feet at Liverpool.
Salah has been there or thereabouts at the top of the goalscoring charts for a number of seasons now, and Klopp will be looking for him to chip in with 20+ goals this season too. Salah also topped the table for assists last season, with an impressive 13.
With Luis Diaz just as capable at providing as he is at scoring, there should be plenty of opportunities for Salah.
Plus, with penalty duties as part of his remit we wouldn’t be surprised if Salah pips the league’s top strikers to the Golden Boot award this time around.
Last season Salah was the top scoring midfielder in Fantasy Football with 265 points and there's little to suggest he won't post a similar total this time around.
Differentials
Christian Eriksen
Price: £6.5m
Eriksen’s ability to pick a pass is undoubted. At Tottenham he regularly saw an opportunity that others couldn’t. And he had a pretty decent goal return too.
At Brentford, he immediately lifted the team, chipping in with four assists and a goal in 11 outings.
For Man United, you’d expect the forwards to gobble up Eriksen's assists and set-pieces, and for the Dane to claim a few goals himself along the way.
It will of course depend on how much game time he gets, but he made it clear upon signing that he wants regular football, and he appears to have a big fan in new manager Eric ten Hag. He could be an important player for United this season.
Conor Gallagher
Price: £6m
Conor Gallagher had a cracking season on loan at Crystal Palace in 2021/22, where he played regularly and chipped in with goals and assists.
If he can break into the Chelsea team, you'd expect him to get a few more clean sheets and assists, which will boost his points total. But how likely is he to start games? He’s definitely one to keep your eyes on over the early weeks.
Riyad Mahrez
Price: £8m
With Raheem Sterling now at Chelsea, Manchester City will need to rely on others to play the killer pass to their new strikers, Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez. Step forward, Riyad Mahrez.
He doesn’t always make the starting line-up, but consistently delivers whenever he’s called upon, and he could get more appearances this season.
He popped up with 11 goals and five assists last season, giving him a total of 135 points. There are other options around the £8m price mark or even cheaper, but if you know he’s going to play Mahrez could be a savvy choice.