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 second part of our Season Preview series, we’re taking a look at Bournemouth and a Brentford side that, at the moment of writing, can still count on the service of star striker Ivan Toney.
BOURNEMOUTH – General preview for 2024/25
Looking at the Premier League table at the end of last season, one might be forgiven to assume that Bournemouth had a relatively comfortable campaign that ended with a 12th place finish, a very solid 22 points above the relegation zone. Stats can deceive though, and in the case of the Cherries’ past season, they kind of do. That is because the table doesn’t show how they took just 3 points (three draws) from their first nine games and how the season ended with three consecutive defeats. Of course, their starting set of fixtures was tough, but it wasn’t a smooth start to life in Bournemouth for then-newly-appointed manager Andoni Iraola.
Having said that, the club’s owners were wise to stick with the Basque manager despite the terrible start, because by the end of the season, he was amongst the five contenders for the Manager of the Season award. That’s right, the guy who took 3 points from his first nine games found his name amongst the likes of Pep Guardiola (Man City), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) and Unai Emery (Aston Villa) by the end of the season, and he deserved it. We mentioned the bad start and ending of the season, but in between, recorded two impressive runs: winning 7 out of 8 games between Gameweeks 12 and 19, and winning 4 out of 5 games between Gameweeks 27 and 31. And he did so with a very organised, dynamic style of play that has us hoping for much of the same this season.
As far as the team goes, probably Bournemouth’s best transfer news so far has been that Dominic Solanke is still part of the roster. The 26-year-old striker had the season of his life last year, scoring 19 goals and providing 3 assists in the league, so the Cherry faithful will be anxiously awaiting the summer transfer deadline. It has been quiet on the outgoing front anyway, as no significant first-team players have left the club so far. Looking at the new faces though, Bournemouth have already spent about £48 million, with most of that money having been spent on bringing in Leeds star Luis Sinisterra (£20 million) and Getafe forward Enes Ünal (£14 million). The Cherries also paid £12.6 million for highly rated 19-year-old central defender Dean Huijsen from Serie A giants Juventus.
Bournemouth: Tactical preview 2024/25
Looking back on the 2023-24 campaign, we see with certainty that Bournemouth have brought in an astute tactician in the person of manager Andoni Iraola. Perhaps not that much of a surprise when you realise that legendary manager Marcelo Bielsa is his idol and example. More than that though, the Spaniard is capable of injecting his side with a certain sense of intensity and urgency that has allowed them to be comfortable at Premier League level without compromising on their own style of play.
Iraola likes to line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation focused on intense pressing in defence and organised build-up play in attack. While the numbers at the end of last season perhaps not show it, he has managed to give the Cherries some of the defensive solidity they needed so much, bringing the number of average goals conceded down from 2.45 per game under his predecessor Scott Parker to just 0.71 per game. At the same time, he managed to create a side that is not shy in front of goal and that always has the intention to play vertical, even against stronger sides. Add to that his tactical prowess and it remains nothing short of exciting to see what Bournemouth can do this season, after playing a full campaign (including terrible start) under Iraola last season.
BOURNEMOUTH – Potential FPL picks
We mentioned Dominic Solanke (£7.5m) already and we’re mentioning him here again, as our first FPL pick from the Bournemouth roster. It’s just very difficult to ignore a player who scored 19 goals and gave 3 assists in 37 league starts, for a total of 175 FPL points. The striker seems to be one of the players who thrives the most under the management of Andoni Iraola, for whom he is an undoubtable starter. He is also on penalties, which is always good for a fantasy asset, and his price tag is still very affordable, despite all of the above. One downside to picking Solanke (or any Cherry asset) is the club’s difficult set of opening fixtures, with home games against Newcastle and Chelsea, and away games at Everton and Liverpool, after the season opener away versus Nottingham Forest away.
Considering their tough start to the season, on paper at least, we don’t expect many other Bournemouth assets to attract too much attention in the build-up to Gameweek 1. If you are of a different opinion though, and for example are still looking for a budget midfielder, then Antoine Semenyo (£5.5m) could be of interest. The Ghana international got 25 league starts last season and is expected to further cement his position in the starting eleven this season, most likely on Solanke’s right side. Seeing as he already managed 8 goals and 4 assists last season, we are very curious to see what he can bring to the Cherries offence in the upcoming campaign. He got 107 FPL points last season for his exploits, but it should be noted that he was listed as a forward then. He is a midfielder in FPL now, which means that he will earn an extra point for every clean sheet and for every goal.
In Milos Kerkez (£4.5m), Bournemouth are also offering a budget left-back with attacking intentions. The Hungary international was purchased from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar last summer for a fee of around £15 million and subsequently made it to 22 Premier League starts. Besides being part of 6 clean sheets, he also showed his willingness to help in attack, which resulted in 2 assists. This has even attracted the attention of Manchester United, whose interest in Kerkez was reported as “genuine” by international transfer guru Fabrizio Romano earlier this summer. As far as his defensive capacities go, he is a defender after all, he ranked in the Cherry top five for crosses per game, tackles per game and interceptions per game last season as well.
BRENTFORD – General preview for 2024/25
Since returning to the top division of English football for the first time in 74 years in the 2021-2022 season, Brentford have often been lauded for their consistency and tranquillity, especially in comparison to many other (promoted) sides. Last season though, the Bees hovered close to the relegation zone for much more time than they would have liked, eventually finishing in 16th place, a comfortable 13 points above the drop zone. The season was nevertheless not nearly as comfortable as that gap would suggest, though the only thing that really matters now, looking back, is the fact that Brentford are going into their fourth consecutive season in the Premier League while still being amongst the lowest spenders in terms of transfer fees and salaries.
We do need to mention that there were some mitigating circumstances surrounding Brentford’s struggling campaign last season. There was, of course, the ban for star man and top scorer Ivan Toney (due to breaking the league’s gambling rules), but that was not all. Manager Thomas Frank and his staff also had to deal with what can only be described as an injury nightmare. Throughout the season, the Bees roster suffered 18 injuries, with 13 of those lasting for five games or more. This made it very difficult for Frank’s men to get in something of a consistent run of form, resulting in 19 defeats and more dropped points from winning positions than any other team in the league. The hope and perhaps even the expectation is that an improvement only in this aspect will already result in a much better 2024-25 season.
We also tend to lean that way, especially because we know that the Brentford squad boasts sufficient quality and experience by now to not have to worry too much about relegation. The club’s management seem to be of the same opinion, judging by their activity on the transfer market so far this summer. They did slightly break with their tradition of transfer frugality by splashing £32 million on Club Brugge forward Igor Thiago, a record fee for Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League. That has largely been it so far in terms of transfers, though the departure of loan player Neal Maupay (6 goals and 3 assists in 14 starts last season) is worth mentioning.
Brentford: Tactical preview 2024/25
As he has done since returning to the Premier League a few seasons ago, Thomas Frank mostly varied between a 4-3-3 (primary) and a 3-4-3 (secondary) formation last season. While the previously mentioned injury crisis largely prohibited the team from developing effective automatisms, we know from previous season especially that the Brentford squad is well suited to attacking football. In practice, that often comes to light in the shape of the full backs pushing forwards and the offensive wingers cutting inside to support Ivan Toney (or another central number nine) and create mayhem right in front of the opposition’s goal.
Another tactical aspect that stands out as far as the Bees are concerned is their tactical discipline. They somehow manage to play according to their own principles of high-tempo, high-press football even against the bigger sides, without exposing themselves too much in the back. This is in part thanks to their patient approach with which they try to control the game’s pace. As a result, Brentford assets often appear on fantasy manager radars as soon as their schedule shows a bit of promise.
BRENTFORD – Potential FPL pick
In theory, Ivan Toney (£7.5m) is Brentford’s star player and his price tag for the start of the 2024-25 campaign puts him firmly on our transfer radar. It should nevertheless be noted that the striker has voiced his interest to leave the club with just one year left on his contract and Brentford have indicated that they are willing to talk to other clubs if the price is right. At the moment of writing though, the England international is still part of the squad and is therefore top of our list of potential Brentford fantasy picks. Last season’s stats don’t tell us much about his quality as an FPL asset, seeing as he missed a major chunk of the season due to a ban. The two seasons prior to that do though, in a big way: 12 goals and 5 assists in the 2021-22 season, and 20 goals and 4 assists in the 2022-23 season. On top of that, he is the club’s designated penalty taker (and he is very good at it) and he is on most direct free kicks as well. If he stays for the coming season, Toney could prove to be enormous value for money.
Bryan Mbuemo (£7.0m) was also affected by Toney’s absence for much of last season, but in a positive way. While the star was serving his ban, the Cameroon international stood up, at least in the first half of the season until an ankle injury ruled him out for almost three months. In just 22 league starts, he managed an impressive 9 goals and 7 assists, and that’s not at all. The season prior, with Toney dominating up front, Mbeumo also got 9 goals and 9 assists, which implies a certain reliability that not many attacking fantasy assets in his price category possess. His price is perhaps a tad too high considering Brentford’s mixed bag of fixtures to start the 2024-25 campaign, but we feel he is definitely one to keep an eye on.
Many fantasy managers opt for a rotation system of two budget goalkeepers to start the season, which could explain why Bees goalie Mark Flekken (£4.5m) is currently sitting in just over 13% of FPL squads already. In a difficult season for Brentford, the Dutch international still managed 7 clean sheets and even got an assist to his name for a total of 119 FPL points. Only Jordan Pickford (Everton), David Raya (Arsenal), Bernd Leno (Fulham) and Andre Onana (Manchester United) did better in that aspect last season. Flekken has got two attractive home fixtures (against Crystal Palace and Southampton) in the first five opening games of the season and his price tag allows for a rotating strategy with another budget goalkeeper to fill in when the Bees face Liverpool, Man City and Spurs away from home in the other three of those five opening fixtures.
For further thoughts and discussions on the new FPL season visit FISO’s FPL forum.