Fantasy Premier League is an extremely addictive but rewarding game and can cause many arguments amongst friends and family alike. Leicester City have some excellent options for FPL players to pick from, but here are three that stand out from the crowd in terms of value.
Ricardo Pereira: FPL Price £5.5m
Ricardo Pereira looks to be at his very best, providing many dilemmas for FPL players. In GW1 Pereira achieved 12 points due to an assist and clean sheet, and seems a nailed-on started at right-back for Leicester City. Currently, he’s also only owned by around 5% of players, making him a potential differential option.
Currently, Brendan Rodgers favours a 4-2-3-1 formation with Ayoze Pérez coming inside, giving Pereira the license to bomb forward as an auxiliary right-winger. This means Ricardo is likely to pick up more goals/assists as well as benefitting from clean-sheets Leicester City pick up. Furthermore, his high involvement in general play will help increase his likelihood of picking up ‘bonus points’.
Due to a lack of set-piece taking, he might not register as many assists as Premium defenders such as Trent-Alexander-Arnold. Nevertheless, at £2m cheaper (barring future price rises), Ricardo remains excellent value, giving you the option to invest in other areas of your squad.
Ryan Bertrand: FPL Price £5.0m
Another potential differential option. Ryan Bertrand seems like an excellent value for the first half of the season, with the Veteran being given preference over Luke Thomas. Surprisingly owned by just 1.7% of players, Bertrand is slightly riskier but could prove a shrewd acquisition that doesn’t break the bank.
Whilst he’s not a guaranteed starter due to competition from Thomas/Castagne, Bertrand will likely start most EPL games until James Justin gets up to speed.
Whilst he was unavailable for GW1, throughout pre-season Bertrand has not only shown himself to be a solid defender but also a mean set-piece taker. In fact, these qualities are what makes him stand out; he got 2 assists against Villarreal and hopefully will be in line to get even more. With LCFC getting double-figure clean sheets in each of the past 3 seasons, Bertrand has the potential to pick up points at both ends of the pitch.
In the immediate future, however, it’s probably not worth bringing Bertrand in until at least GW 3. Not only is West Ham is a difficult fixture but Bertrand’s availability is also uncertain. Even so, after this, he is a reasonably priced rotation option for your team and isn’t very expensive, removing the feeling that you have to start him.
Harvey Barnes: FPL Price £7.0m
By far the most picked option out of the three at 12.3%, Harvey Barnes has the potential to be one of the best-value mid-range FPL options on the market. Last season before his injury, the winger registered 13 GA in 25 appearances, showing he’s totally at home. Now, Barnes is perfectly placed to kick on from his injury
An indifferent performance in GW1 has seen his net ownership fall by around 60,000. It’s safe to say that people shouldn’t be too trigger-happy with removing the Englishman from their teams. Barnes has all the right attributes to rack up double figures in goals. He’s fast and direct whilst his finishing of late has been lethal. Additionally, his role in the side allows him to play extremely high up the pitch almost in line with Vardy (with Pérez on the other side dropping deeper), increasing the likelihood of goal/assist returns.
The only worry for Barnes is a potential change of formation. If Rodgers were to go back to the 3-4-1-2 formation employed latterly throughout last season, Barnes may not be a guaranteed starter or may be played out of position. Do not fear, however, as LCFC seem to be persisting with the 4-2-3-1 which hopefully will be augmented by the signing of a right-winger.
A quick tip that isn’t really Leicester City-related
Three things to remind readers to do. Firstly, it’s Game Week 2, don’t panic! Secondly, don’t do a Pep Guardiola and overthink your team selection. Thirdly, try to enjoy watching your team without thinking about your FPL team, please