The scientific guide to picking the perfect Fantasy Football team

• Alli’s 18 goals last season from a position behind lone striker Harry Kane has persuaded an enormous 37% of FPL managers to pick him in the heart of their midfields. As noted above there wasn’t too much between Alli and Eriksen last season, with Alli’s close range threat proving more popular.
• Liverpool’s midfield is providing FPL managers with many headaches as they try to decide between Coutinho, Mane and Salah, priced 9.0m, 9.0m and 9.5m respectively. Coutinho as the most trusted option has 25% ownership at present, but Barcelona remain keen on recruiting his services following the sale of Neymar to PSG.
• Kevin ‘how can I assist you’ de Bruyne has been snapped up by nearly a quarter of all FPL managers and we can see why. Uncertainty surrounds the starting position of both Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero as Guardiola flirts with different formation options for the season ahead. De Bruyne is nailed on in midfield and is likely to pull the strings for the Manchester outfit throughout the season.
• Ex Man United star Wilfried Zaha stands out as a cheaper option in midfield with 23% ownership. Last season Zaha kicked on scoring 7 goals and providing 11 assists for his teammates, resulting in strong interest from Spurs for his services. But Zaha has ended speculation about his future by signing a new 5 year deal with Crystal Palace and has expressed his determination to shine under new manager Frank de Boer.
• The worlds second most expensive player sits in 22.6% of teams and is the most popular choice from Jose Mourinho’s midfield. The arrival of Nemanja Matic in midfield should free Pogba up to move into the number 8 position he held at Juventus and bomb up and down the pitch on a regular basis supporting his best friend Lukaku in attack.

• Kevin de Bruyne really is the stand out option in midfield to start the season for Man City. Alexis Sanchez may demand our attention should he be fit for Arsenal’s opening game, but at the time of writing it looks unlikely.
• Liverpool score goals and deciding between decide between Coutinho, Mane and Salah is going to prove a challenge.
• Wilfred Zaha, Willian and Georginio Wijnaldum are all moderately prices at 7.0m.
• At the lower end of the scale we think James Ward-Prowse and Ryan Fraser at 5.5m are solid options as are Tom Carroll and Ruben Loftus-Cheek at bottom of the barrel 4.5m prices.

4) Attackers

• Harry Kane, with 29, 25 and 21 goals in his last three seasons respectively has been a mainstay in many FPL managers teams over the past few years. Despite missing the beginning of last season through injury, the England striker managed 29 goals, 7 assists and 33 bonus points taking the top spot for forwards in the game.
• Romelu Lukaku scored a total of 221 points last season, just 3 shy of Kane courtesy of 25 goals, 6 assists and 33 bonus points. He started the season as a 9.0m striker and made a mockery of that price tag as he bullied defenders throughout the season with his hunger and physicality under Ronald Koeman at Everton.
• Often controversial, there is no denying Diego Costa had an exceptional season for Conte’s Chelsea last season as he scored 20 goals, 11 assists and 25 bonus points. Similar to Lukaku, Costa looked under-priced at 9.5m last season and delivered in devastating fashion.
• Roberto Firmino was listed as a midfielder last season, but has been reclassified as a forward this year. He scored a solid 11 goals and 11 assists in Jürgen Klopp’s flamboyant at times Liverpool attack.
• Similar to Firmino, Josh King was listed as a midfielder last season and managed an impressive 16 goals and 3 assists for Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth side. Coming in as a 7.5m forward this season the Norwegian will need to hit the ground running to warrant our attention.

This year's popular picks...

• Despite the jump in price this time around to 11.5m, Romelu Lukaku sits in 48.3% of FPL managers teams and is likely to be the most captained player in Gameweek 1. Ignore Lukaku at your peril, as with such vast ownership one runs the risk of being left behind should he explode in the opening week of the season.
• Similar to Lukaku above, Kane has the potential to explode into life in Gameweek 1 against Newcastle. At 12.5m his is an expensive pick but as Leicester City experienced last May he can be devastating when on form as he was when he netted four times against Craig Shakespeare’s title winning side.
• West Ham added significant firepower to their attack this summer with the addition of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernández. Coming in at 7.0m, almost 20% of FPL managers have snapped up ‘Chicarito’ who managed 20 goals and 5 assists in his debut season in the league back in 2010/11.
• Wayne Rooney is another cheaper option in attack for FPL managers coming in at 7.5m this time around, on the back of a poor 5 goals and 5 assists last season. Rooney only played 1,540 minutes for Mourinho’s side last season and looks rejuvenated under Ronald Koeman at Everton in pre-season. It remains to be seen if he can rediscover his form in a season where he tries to secure a place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the 2018 World Cup.
• Finally, Liverpool’s reclassified Roberto Firmino sits in 17.1% of FPL managers teams as an intriguing pick. This season he is likely to be deployed as the main striker in Klopp’s system and the pre-season signs suggest that the Brazilian has taken over penalty duties from James Milner which should further his appeal even more.

Top striker picks

• Most FPL managers will own Kane, Lukaku or both but this will take up a big chunk of your transfer kitty.
• Jay Rodriguez at 6.0m could be a great option should he replicate the form for West Brom that he produced in the 2013/14 season scoring 15 league goals.
• Chicarito at 7.0m, Benteke and Defoe at 8.0m and Gabbiadini at 7.0m are also worth consideration.