Welcome back to Fantasy Premier League and welcome back to FISO!
Looking at the top of the Premier League table at the end of last season, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was almost a replica of the season before that. As they have done in six of the last seven season, Manchester City finished on top, followed by Arsenal. The Gunners once again lost out to their skyblue Manchester rivals, though they did manage to limit the gap to the top to just 2 points, compared to the 5 points between the top the season prior. At this point in the pre-season last year, we asked ourselves whether or not Arsenal would be able to compete for the title until the very end once again? Now we are asking themselves, will this be the season in which the Gunners finally bring the Premier League title back to North London, for the first time since the legendary 2003-04 season?
Now, on to more serious business, because the Fantasy Premier League has undergone a significant facelift in the build-up to the 2024-25 campaign. We recommend FPL managers to explore the changes in detail, but we’ll already list them here below to give you a head start:
Banking 5 free transfers: This season, fantasy managers can save up to FIVE free transfers instead of the usual two. In other words, great news for the patient managers and the big planners. On top of that, however many free transfers you have saved up will NOT be reset to zero after activating either a Free Hit or a Wild Card.
Mystery Chip: Talking about Chips, we’ve got a new one this season! It’s called the Mystery Chip and fully in line with its name, it’s use is well… a mystery. FPL towers say that all will be revealed towards January 2025, so keep an eye out for that.
Updated points-scoring: Good news for goalkeepers with a penchant for goalscoring, because a goal by a goalie will be worth 10 points this season, up from 6 points last season. As far as the Bonus Points System (BPS) goes, a saved penalty is now worth 9 BPS (down from 15 BPS). Also, conceding a goal now results in -4 BPS for goalkeepers and defenders. For any player, a goal line clearance is now worth 3 BPS, a foul won 1 BPS and a shot on target 2 BPS.
New look: The design of the in-game FPL pitch has been improved as well, copying the format that is already being used in FPL Challenge.
The Premier League 2024-25 season is set to kick off on Friday, August 16th, at 20h00 (UK time), when Manchester United host Fulham at Old Trafford. The free to play FPL or pay to play games like FanTeam (which has a £200,000 prize fund) are ideal ways of following the Premier League action.
In the build-up to gameweek 1, we will be taking an in-depth look at each of the 20 teams competing in the Premier League this season, including a general team preview, a tactical preview and some FPL recommendations per side. In this tenth and final part of our Season Preview series, we’re taking a look at West Ham United and a Wolves side that showed significant improvement under Gary O’Neil after a chaotic start to the season.
WEST HAM – General preview for 2024/25
The upcoming 2024-25 season will mark the first time in four years that West Ham United will not be led by David Moyes during the pre-season. The Scottish manager led the Hammers to three consecutive European qualifications for the first time in the club’s long history, but the decision was made not to extend his contract at the end of last season, after leading his side to a 9th place finish. On top of that, he also made it to the Europa League quarter-finals where later finalists Bayer Leverkusen proved a bridge too far for the Londoners.
On the one hand, it seems like a bit of a shame to let Moyes go at this point, seeing as it was starting to look like he was really getting West Ham to play the way he likes. More and sharper counter-attacks, a solid defensive base and the type of grit that made them very exhausting to play against. On the other hand, the club brought in Julen Lopetegui to replace the Scot and he is an exciting manager in his own regard. The quick decision-making right at the start of the summer transfer window has assured that the Spaniard has the entire pre-season to bend the squad to his will.
Looking at how much West Ham has spent on transfers so far and the names that have been brought in, the club’s leadership is clearly willing to accommodate their new manager. Major signings so far include central defender Max Kilman from Lopetegui’s previous club Wolves (£40 million), Leeds winger Crysencio Summerville (£25 million) and Dortmund forward Niclas Fullkrug (£27 million). They also just signed Man United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka (£15 million) and wanted OGC Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo on a free. As far as outgoing transfers are concerned, the biggest names to be sold so far have been Said Benrahma (£12 million to Olympique Lyon) and central defender Angelo Ogbonna (no contract extension), while loan player Kalvin Phillips returns to Man City.
West Ham: Tactical preview 2024/25
As usual, in order to know exactly how a new manager will line up with his new side requires waiting until Gameweek 1, but in the case of Julen Lopetegui we know at least one thing: it will be a different West Ham than we have seen under David Moyes over the past years. Like his predecessor, the Spaniard likes to set his side up in a 4-3-3 formation, but his intentions tend to be considerably more attacking. He likes ball-playing central defenders and adventurous wing-backs that fit his objective of building up from the back, and a dynamic forward line that can press heavily, dropping back into a kind of 4-1-4-1 formation if so required.
Having said that, fantasy managers should not expect some kind of ultra-attacking West Ham side this season. Lopetegui likes his side to have possession of the ball and to pass the ball around quickly. Most of all, he places great importance on tactical discipline and flexibility as he will often look at how to destabilise opposition teams in order to get results. Combined with a sturdy defence, this has often resulted in low-scoring matches with a lot of possession for Lopetegui’s sides in the past. It’s not that the Spaniard prioritises defending, for example with a low block, but more that he implements an aggressive press followed by a rather slow kind of build-up.
WEST HAM – Potential FPL picks
On paper, the current West Ham roster contains a few interesting FPL picks, but the problem is the uncertainty surrounding Lopetegui’s starting eleven. That is why we are starting this list with Jarrod Bowen (£7.5m), who has been the star Hammer for about four seasons now. The 27-year-old was part of England’s EURO 2024 squad, but seeing as he ended up with only 35 playing minutes, we expect him to be ready for his new manager in Gameweek 1. Last season was the most prolific season of his career so far in terms of goals, scoring 16 in 34 games, plus another 6 assists for a total of 182 FPL points. To underline his role in the team: no Hammer had more total shots, more shots on target or more shots in the box than Bowen. Basically, the only reason we can think of for his current ownership still sitting below 7.5% is the fact that West Ham have a pretty tough opening to the new season, including games against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Chelsea in the first five.
Considering the key role for wing-backs in Lopetegui’s teams in the past, we feel that West Ham’s Emerson Palmieri (£4.5m) should be on your radar. His counterpart on the right side, Vladimir Coufal, is also a proven FPL asset, but with the recent arrival of Man United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka, we’re not exactly sure what the manager’s plans are for that position. At the same time, the left-back spot looks Emerson’s to lose at the moment and at just £4.5m, that’s good news for fantasy managers. His points total of 82 FPL points from last season wasn’t the most impressive, but he did get 1 goal and 4 assists from 35 league starts. The main problem for him was West Ham’s lack of clean sheets (just 5). Assuming Lopetegui can give the Hammers some of their defensive sturdiness back, Emerson could be a very affordably priced and solid fantasy pick.
If you’re convinced by the idea of West Ham under Julen Lopetegui, but feel that spending £7.5m on Jarrod Bowen is a bit too much, Mohammed Kudus (£6.5m) could be a great alternative. The former Ajax man comes in at a full million less than the England international and should be part of West Ham’s starting eleven this season. Last season was his debut season, but he didn’t need long to show what he can add to the Hammers. David Moyes gave him 27 league starts and the Ghana international repaid that vote of confidence with 8 goals and 9 assists. His FPL points total was only surpassed by James Ward-Prowse (who is also a solid West Ham fantasy pick) and the previously mentioned Jarrod Bowen. The Hammers have already brought in a few attacking reinforcements, but we feel that Kudus will be starting come Gameweek 1, especially given his versatility in terms of the various positions in the front line.
WOLVES – General preview for 2024/25
At first glance, Wolves’ 14th place finish last season looks like a decent yet unexciting result for a team that has competed for the European spots on various occasions over the past seasons. And while that might be true, it does not reflect the chaos the Wanderers found themselves in last summer. At all. That’s because the club was on the verge of non-compliance with the Premier League’s PSR (Profitability and Sustainability Rules), which are part of the Financial Fairplay Rules the FA are trying to apply.
In order to avoid punishments like the ones received by Everton, for example, who got a points deduction, Wolves had to get rid of several key players right before the start of the season, including attackers Raul Jimenez and Daniel Podence, midfielders Matheus Nunes and Ruben Neves, and defenders Conor Coady and Nathan Collins, and those are just a few of the names that left the club. As a result, Julen Lopetegui left Wolves mere days before the start of the season, which led to the club bringing in Gary O’Neil. Considering the context of last season, a 14th place in the league plus an FA Cup quarterfinal was a great achievement.
Even though Wolves’ struggles to comply with PSR continue into the current summer, the situation is less dire than it was a year ago. Part of that is thanks to the generation of about £94 million in transfer sales. Pedro Neto was sold to Chelsea for £54 million and Max Kilman went with Lopetegui to West Ham for £40 million. Part of that money has already been reinvested into the squad by bringing in Rodrigo Gomes from SC Braga (£13 million), Pedro Lima from Sport Recife (£8.5 million) and Tommy Doyle from Manchester City (£4.3 million). Wolves have also brought in Celta de Vigo striker Jorgen Strand Larsen on loan.
Wolves: Tactical preview 2024/25
As mentioned earlier, Gary O’Neil had his work more than cut out for him when he replaced Lopetegui as Wolves head coach a couple of days before the start of the season. He took on the challenge with enthusiasm though, and the results were almost immediately noticeable. Compared to the season before, Wolves’ game approach was faster and more intense, and considerably more attractive in attacking sense. Having said that, they still managed just 50 goals, while conceding 65 goals. Only Sheffield United, Burnley, Luton Town and Nottingham Forest ended with a lower goal difference as a result.
We feel that those numbers will continue to improve this season, especially now that O’Neil has a full pre-season to prepare his side. The expectation is that he will do so in his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, consisting of a talented offensive block supported by wing-backs with attacking tendencies on both flanks. At the same time, the manager is known as a reactive tactician who is not afraid to adapt his side to the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses. Much of their success coming season will depend on the defensive side of their game though, as O’Neil will need to find his ideal duo in the heart of this defence as well as his ideal pairing for the double pivot in midfield.
WOLVES – Potential FPL pick
With Pedro Neto now at Stamford Bridge, much of Wolves’ attacking creativity will have to come from Mathues Cunha (£6.5m). With the arrival of Jorgen Strand Larsen, we expect the Portuguese international to fill in the number 10 spot. Cunha managed a decent 135 FPL points last season, especially considering his starting price of £5.5m at the time, courtesy of 12 goals and 7 assists. This actually made him the highest-scoring Wolves players in the official fantasy game, as Pedro Neto managed just 18 league starts due to injury issues. Competition in the budget forward segment is nevertheless fierce this FPL season, and Wolves have a tough start to the season, so we don’t expect Cunha to feature in too many Gameweek 1 squads.
It’s actually that challenging opening set of fixtures that makes us think that Wolves assets overall won’t be very popular in the build-up to Gameweek 1. They are starting with a visit to Arsenal, followed by Chelsea at home, a visit to Forest, a home game against Newcastle, a visit to Villa and a home encounter with Liverpool. If you’re set on bringing in a Wolves player anyway, then loan signing Jorgen Strand Larsen (£5.5m) could be one of the smarter moves. We expect him to lead the line for the Wanderers this season and his price tag means that he won’t eat up too much of your budget. His height (6ft 4ins) allows him to battle it out with practically any defence if his teammates can get the ball to him. We don’t expect him to score game after the game at the start of the season, but he might be an interesting punt.
Looking at the opening set fixtures are listed above, we expect O’Neil to adopt a more defensive style of play, at least for the first games of the season. Therefore, one of the wing-backs might provide some value, in great part thanks to their affordable price tags. Seeing as intended starting right-back Nelson Semedo is currently marked as injured in the official fantasy game, we are putting left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri (£4.5m) on this list. The Morocco international got 29 league starts under his belt last season, which resulted in 2 goals and 3 assists on top of 3 clean sheets. That’s not bad at all for a £4.5m-priced defender and we would recommend those who are not planning to bring him in for Gameweek 1 to at least keep an eye on Aït-Nouri from Gameweek 7 onwards.
For further thoughts and discussions on the new FPL season visit FISO’s FPL forum.
