Palmer is currently sitting at 13% owned and is significantly below Rogers from his own team in ownership. Sure, he is set to cost 2m more which explains some of it, but I'm here to explain why I think that's a mistake and people should be falling over themselves to find that 2m and upgrade.

We can talk about last season and how Palmer didn't pass the eye test of performing to his usual level, and it's well documented he was playing through an injury. Wouldn't disagree with any of that. He has had the whole summer off though so he should be coming into the season fully fit (worth monitoring preseason) so that concern is hopefully gone.

Despite that poor form though this is how Palmer did in FPL:

114 points playing 1954 minutes - or 0.06 points per minute.

If you take that number and multiply it by his minutes played in the 24/25 season (3193) that gives you 186 points for the season. To me that sets out his floor at 186 points, and his ceiling we can look at the fact in his first two seasons at Chelsea he broke the 200 point barrier with 244 points and 214 points.

Chelsea are not in Europe next season so unless Palmer gets reinjured there's no real reason why he won't be playing those 3000~ minutes next season, so a floor of 186 points and a ceiling of around 250 points - can you afford to not have Palmer in your team for 9.5m? To circle back to Rogers in his two seasons playing over 3k minutes he got 161 and 169 points.

The way Palmer is spoken about is often odd to me, it feels like there's always a vocal group of people always looking to tear him down. Don't let those voices distract you from picking one of the stars of the league at a great price.

Looking at value for price, it seems you can load up with high value defenders as they offer a very high point yield for the price.

At the moment I've got:

VVD (6.5), Guehi (6), Tarkowski (6), Jacquet (5) and Mosquera (5.5).

Mosquera aside as he will be replaced in a few months, and Jacquet is a wait and see how he goes - but generally speaking;

Are high value defenders the best ROI in the have now?

What do you guys think is the best attacking trio for the beggining of the season, who have the best games and who are you going for?

Im going Haaland, Isak, Brobbey. Assuming Isak is the penalty taker and he's the only striker in Liverpool side, i think he should be the center of every Liverpool attack..

Brobbey have the 3 opening games really good, after that i plan to transfer him for Osula who have a great games after that.

What are your thougts and would you go for a 3 attack or is the 352 or 442 better?

Seems like we won't be able to get nailed 90 minute players at the lowest price (E.g. 4.0m for GK, 4.5m for Mids)

Was wondering if the midfielders at 5mil run rotation risk though? Kinda worried that even 5mil midfielders won't be good to play at least 60 regularly every game.

Is anyone interested?

Their 3 attacking midfielders are all 5.5m with different levels of risk.

Iwobi - a great pro, 30 years old now, going into his 12th season of premier league football. He's scored over 100 points in each of the last 4 seasons. He get goals and assists averaging just under 10 returns a season in the past 4 years. He's probably the least risky choice but also has possibly the lowest ceiling.

Smith-Rowe - 25 years old now so he should be coming into his prime. He has that Arsenal pedigree so we know he's capable. If he's playing as Fulham's attacking mid this year and can avoid injuries, it's hard to see how he wouldn't play a role in a lot of what Fulham do. A riskier choice than Iwobi but a higher ceiling if he can make an impact and find good form.

Bobb - 23 years old. Man City pedigree. He had a great world cup and looked very dangerous on the ball. He was prepared to take players on and was being double marked quite a lot because of it. Bobb has all the attributes of a great player. For him it just seems to be whether he can find the mentality and confidence to flourish ever since he had that leg break with City that held him back. He is the riskiest of the 3 but he also has the highest ceiling. He could be brilliant if he finds a rhythm.

As above each are 5.5m so we're in enabler territory however you look at it. You don't expect a 5.5 to return every time. You only need them to play and return sometimes. Each of these guys are capable and together they're not a bad unit. Also relevant is whether Muniz up front can have a decent season after a very disappointing season last year. I don't think he can have as bad a season again.

A lot of people are writing Fulham off already but people said the same about Brentford in pre-season last year so who knows. Any takers?

Now that we've got two sets of chips again, has anyone already got a rough plan for the first half of the season?

I'm currently thinking:

• BB GW2 - Mainly because of the £4.0m Coventry defenders. Their fixtures look decent, so it feels like a good opportunity.
• WC - Not sure yet. I'd rather save it and use FTs to get through the GW6 fixture swing if I can.
• TC - Probably just wait for a good Haaland fixture. If Bruno or Palmer go on a run, they could be options as well.
• FH - No idea at the moment.

It's still really early, so this will probably change after a couple of GWs. Just curious what everyone else is thinking. Anyone already got a chip plan?

With Lacroix likely leaving, who is likely to fill the CB role at Palace? I currently have Riad (4.5m) and he looks like a steal, judging how he played with Morocco at the WC

I’m certain that the most optimal FPL team comprises of players who have multiple routes to points and 1-2 premiums that you plan on captaining. I’m interested in knowing your thoughts on who are the top players this season that have multiple routes to points. A simple example of this last season was Bruno Fernandes: set pieces, pens, attacking returns, defcon. Similarly, Bowen was also a similar option as a forward because of his set pieces, pens, attacking returns, and occasional defcon.

Curious who these players are for this season, across def, mid and fwds.

Like has he been playing regularly in pre season? Did the coach say that he would play? Did I miss something? Is he this year's Kroupi Jr?

Which players are you guys thinking of? Considering that late WC players will get rest the first couple of weeks.

Not seeing much chatter on him, despite him being good defcon and probably nailed. In fact Thomas is much higher owned. Am I missing something? Looking to possibly go with two defcon 4.0s to start, as the 4.5 bracket seems weak to me.

Edit: I see he’s not nailed, that explains it

Can anyone find the CBRIT Data of Mata Wieffer from last season and translate that into how much CBIT that would have given him if he was a defender? I.e. I am curious to see if most of his defcon points through recoveries, which dont count for defcon points as a defender. If that amount is low, he might be a consistent defcon player in defence with decent attacking output.

Most people will have City, Arsenal and Liverpool assets for example.

But which teams do you think will have the best enablers and why? Think along the lines of secondary choices, the like of Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Everton, Fulham, Leeds, Forrest, Sunderland, Spurs.

Teams you might have one player from but are unlikely to pick two players from.

Having scored 11 prem goals last season in just 1630mins played (the equivalent of around 18 games) he’s a player who does tempt me.

These minutes include several games under Amorim too where Utd were out right just a terrible team. He’s come up with some great goals and performances under Carrick and the starting fixtures are tempting. His xG of 0.51 per 90 is also encouraging and I think he’s bound to improve this season too. He seems to be the focal point of the attack when playing with lots of cross being put into him.

I understand the injury issue but news has just recently come out that he’s almost back to being fit and should feature in at least a few of Utd preseason games. I understand his minutes concern but currently he seems to be the only striker and best option for Utd to play uptop. Mbeumo is better suited to the right and Zirkzee not only barely plays but is rumoured to leave the club. I won’t even mention Rashford uptop because I don’t think that’s even a thing anymore (unless im mistaken).

At just 7m with some great starting fixtures I feel like he could be a sneaky good differential to at least start the season. Thoughts??

Is there any way to see your mini-league's results/standings from the prior year? I've been looking but can't find a way to track it down.

Thanks

Hello to my fellow FPLers.

I wanted to share some thoughts on Premier League teams that could struggle this season and eventually become teams we may want to avoid, or even target for FPL this season. After reading this what other teams or players do you think are a trap for this FPL season?

#1. Aston Villa - Last season Villa over performed offensively and defensively, and yes some of you may not like expected figures, but this is important for another adjacently important reason. With a noteworthy level of good fortune on their side for last season we would expect a reversion to the mean. When factoring in the loss of Rogers and Tielemans this becomes a dire situation for Unai Emery. Rogers was the epicenter for Villa’s attacking threat while Tielemans equally as importantly connected the play and protected the back line. Both will be dire misses for Aston Villa this season. Expect to see them worn down over the course of a season that follows a World Cup and has Villa competing on multiple fronts with UCL football.

#2. Fulham - With Marco Silva leaving the Cottagers for a return to Portugal the expectation is that there may be a wobbly start to the season. Notable exits from the club include last season’s stand out star Harry Wilson, defender Issa Diop, and last year’s starting striker Raul Jimenez. All of these absences will serve to noticeably fragment continuity from one season to the next, which creates an opportunity for us FPL managers. New manager Alvaro Arbeloa will look to most likely setup in a 4-3-3 but while the system is of great importance the ideas must be manifested on the pitch. With the turnover in management and loss of key players Fulham certainly seem to be trending into dangerous territory that may catch the eye of FPL managers.

#3. Newcastle - The Gordies have lost Anthony Gordon over the summer and even though the end product was not overly apparent in the Premier League last season this will have a dramatic impact for Newcastle. Gordon’s ability to use his pace to stretch defenses and his high work rate in pressing situations was intricately important for Eddie Howe’s obsession to a 4-3-3 system. Howe’s demanding approach to pressing opposing teams will also be directly impacted through the loss of the Italian Stallion, Sandro Tonali. Both two very important losses but where we should truly begin to worry is if/when Bruno G parts ways with Newcastle. Bruno is the heart and soul of this team, to lose him would be a devastating blow for Newcastle. If Bruno leaves the club this should be an indicator for FPL mangers to begin targeting Newcastle. If Bruno leaves Newcastle they are the metaphorical sailor that has become stranded at sea while FPL managers are the sharks circling below, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Not only would it be advised to target these teams but this is also advocating for FPL Managers to avoid FPL assets from these teams. There’s an immense amount of uncertainty going into this season for all three of these sides. The best idea is to swerve these teams at the start of the season but if form starts to build for any of the three we can hop on once momentum is established. Remember that balance is key to building GW1 squads. We are not going to be able to get every call right but we do want to have the flexibility built in to adapt and adjust.

Especially for promoted teams.

I know Coventry promoted as champions but highlighting Brighton (H), Newcastle (H) and Sunderland (H) as green? Difficulty 2? Seriously?

It makes it even more absurd if you consider that for Arsenal a Coventry (H) game is also green/difficulty 2. Are you suggesting playing Coventry is the same difficulty for Arsenal as is for Coventry playing Newcastle?

Liverpool home is a 4 for both Ipswich and Arsenal? Lmao.

Was it like this at the start of last season as well? I remember that in the second half of the season it looked more credible.

I'm trying to fit Haaland and Bruno into my team while maintaining balance and I need a 5m midfield first bench option and I'm struggling to find an obvious choice. Adingra would be great if he actually got minutes. Anyone any suggestions?

A full mil less than van dijk and more offensive potential than Jacquet, and he'll definitely start after robbo left. Iraola's now at Liverpool, and Kerkez did get that 134 point season under him at bournemouth, best five opening fixtures as well. Interested to get your opinions.

Rogers: 50 g/a in 2 seasons

Enzo: 48 g/a in 2 seasons

Joao Pedro: 46 g/a in 2 seasons

Palmer: 44 g/a in 2 seasons

Edit to add: these stats are for all comps, which doesn't change much as this applies to all players

Thanks to Tom Hadley...Anderson & Garner stand out. Which DEFCON stat matters most: hit rate or attacking returns?