Best FPL Midfielders to pick in Gameweek 1 (2024/25)

By Fantasy Premier League

best fpl midfielders

In this article, we will look at the best midfielders to pick for your Fantasy Premier League team in Gameweek 1 of the 2023/25 season. Which FPL midfielders to buy, hold/keep, or sell this week?

Let’s look at our watchlist. Here are the FPL midfielders to pick from, with our comments and ratings of each.

Read more about GW1 in our guide: FPL Gameweek 1: Tips, Captain, Transfer Targets & Team Selection

Contents hide
1 Best Midfielders to pick in Gameweek 1: Our Watchlist
2 Tips for picking the best midfielders for your FPL team
3 FPL midfielders with stable points output in the previous 3 seasons
4 How many points should you expect from your midfielder in Fantasy Premier League?
5 How are midfielders awarded points in FPL?
6 Further resources

Best Midfielders to pick in Gameweek 1: Our Watchlist

Budget enablers to pick in Gameweek 1 (4.5m – 5.5m)

Best 4.5m midfielders:

Harry Winks (4.5m, Leicester) – 1.5/10

Verdict: Buy, if you are looking for 4.5m midfielder dor your bench

  • He looks to be the most nailed 4.5m midfielder this season
  • was a 90-minute man for Leicester in the Championship last season
  • He is a defensive midfielder, he will get you 2-pointers, do not have unrealistic expectations about attacking returns

 

Sangare (4.5m, Nottingham) – 1/10

Verdict: Buy only if you do not want to buy Winks as your 4.5m MID

  • When fit, he was regularly starting for Nottingham last season (but was not 90-minute man as Winks)
  • injury prone
  • not as nailed as Winks

 

Morgan Rogers (5m, Aston Villa) – 1.5/10

Verdict: Wait and see whether he can become a regular starter. But if you think he will be a regular starter, do not be afraid to start the season with him in your team.

  • Rogers was regularly starting in the preseason, scored 3 goals
  • But he is not a guaranteed starter
  • He is wait and see for us

 

Oscar Bobb (5m, Manchester City) – 6/10

Verdict: Buy, if your risk tolerance is high and you can afford if he gets benched

  • Outstanding form in preseason for Man. City – 2G and 4A in 5 matches
  • Could he be “Palmer” of this season?
  • Of course he is a big rotation risk
  • We do not know whether he will be a regular starter this season or not
  • Could become a dead weight for your FPL team if he does not come good
  • Could block 3rd City spot in your team

 

Smith Rowe (5.5m, Fulham) – 4/10

Verdict: One to watch

  • 2G in preseason for Fulham
  • Was a good FPL asset in 2021/22 season for Arsenal when he scored 10G + 2A
  • Let’s see how he settles into new team

 

Jacob Murphy (5.5m, Newcastle) – 5/10

Verdict: Buy if you are looking for a differential

  • Excellent in preseason for Newcastle with 5G + 3A
  • Newcastle attacking power is undeniable – in the last season, they had the third highest xG of all teams – you should consider at least one of their attacking players for your team
  • Good price, allows you to squeeze multiple heavy hitters into your team
  • Murphy had strong end of the previous season with 1G + 4A in last 5 Premier League games
  • He is not 100% nailed
  • If Newcastle sign new winger, he could become a dead weight for our teams early

 

Mid-priced FPL midfielders to pick in Gameweek 1 (6.5m – 8.5m)

Gibbs White (6.5m, Nottingham) – 4/10

Verdict: Buy as a differential

  • Nottingham has a great run of fixtures up to GW6
  • Gibbs White has been very consistent in the last two seasons, scoring 140+ FPL points on both occasions
  • The main man for Nottingham, on penalties
  • He is not in such good form in the preseason as his teammates Hudson Odoi, Elanga, or Wood, but we still prefer Gibbs White as he is proven FPL asset
  • You have to be patient with him, he is not very explosive FPL asset, but he can slowly rack up points

 

Nkunku (6.5m, Chelsea) – 6.5/10

Verdict: Buy, but have a plan in case he gets injured

  • Great form in preseason with 3G in 5 matches
  • Hopefully, he can finally become the player we all want him to be, and he can show his talent as he did while playing for Leipzig where he scored 36 goals in two seasons
  • injury prone, his game time might be limited as he is not in 100% fitness yet
  • Be prepared that he could be subbed out early

 

Eze (7m, Crystal Palace) – 7.5/10

Verdict: Buy

  • key man for Crystal Palace, was in amazing form at the end of the last season
  • on penalties and set pieces
  • highest xGI among all Crystal Palace players last season
  • let’s he how Olisse’s departure will influence him. Eze’s biggest points return came when they played together
  • mix of fixtures at the start of the season

 

Mbeumo (7m, Brentford) – 7/10

Verdict: Buy

  • Was amazing last season, if he had not get injured, he could have been among top scoring midfielders last season
  • 9G + 7A last season in just 25 appearances, and 0.66 xGI per 90 minutes
  • If Toney leaves Brentord, Mbeumo should be on penalties
  • mix of fixtures at the start of the season

 

Gordon (7.5m, Newcastle) – 7.5/10

Verdict: Buy

  • still good price
  • He should definitely be in your consideration, after 11G + 16A in the last season
  • Newcastle’s top-scoring player in the last season, second for xGI after Isak
  • Newcastle had very good attacking stats last season, 3rd highest xG
  • Good fixtures at the start of the season
  • Can he repeat his amazing performances from the last season?
  • If you have Isak as well, your team would be too dependent on Newcastle scoring goals

 

Fernandes (8.5m, Manchester United) – 6.5/10

Verdict: Buy

  • 4th best for xGI among midfielders last season.
  • Only 15% owned, could be a differential
  • On penalties
  • 8.5m price tag is very appealing
  • He can deliver FPL points on a regular basis
  • opening fixtures are not bad
  • very consistent performances last 3 seasons, has a potential to get around 170 points again this season
  • Manchester United were not convincing last season

 

Premium FPL midfielders to pick in Gameweek 1 (9.0m – 12.5m)

Saka (10m, Arsenal) – 9.5/10

Verdict: Buy

  • Saka is our preferred Arsenal midfielder
  • 2nd for xGI among all players last season
  • Reliable FPL asset
  • On penalties
  • Set and forget pick for the majority of the season
  • Captaincy candidate in some fixtures
  • Consistent performances in the last 3 seasons, could get around 200+ season again
  • Points could be shared among multiple Arsenal players

 

Son (10m, Tottenham) – 8/10

Verdict: Buy

  • proven FPL asset beat 200+ points in 3 of last 4 seasons
  • the main man for Tottenham
  • 5th for xGI among midfielders last season
  • He is the most effective when playing as a striker. After Solanke’s transfer, we could see Son playing too wide
  • His best seasons came while playing beside Harry Kane

 

Palmer (10.5m, Chelsea) – 7/10

Verdict: Buy, if you believe he could replicate his last season’s performance

  • top scoring player of the last season
  • Tough GW1 fixture, but then nice run of fixtures
  • On penalties
  • 3rd for xGI among MIDs last season
  • Big price increase.
  • He had one good season, but he is not as proven an FPL asset as Saka or Son who had multiple amazing seasons in a row
  • Palmer is returning late after the EUROs, will he be ready for gameweek 1?

Salah (12.5m, Liverpool) – 9/10

Verdict: Buy

  • Liverpool with great fixtures at the start of the season
  • on penalties
  • 2nd for xGI among all players last season
  • captaincy candidate in GW1
  • scored 200+ points in the last 7 seasons
  • hard to fit him in next to Haaland, you likely has to pick only one of them

Tips for picking the best midfielders for your FPL team

  • If you pick a premium midfielder, make sure he is also a good captaincy option.
  • Also, consider midfielders that are talismans for their teams
  • Form and fixtures are also important parts of your decision-making process
  • Consider probabilities when picking midfielders in FPL. Let bookies any time goalscorer odds to help you with that. You can find them here: Premier League Goalscoring Odds.

FPL midfielders with stable points output in the previous 3 seasons

best fpl midfielders 24 25
best fpl midfielders 24 25

Read more in our article: Best long-term FPL picks for 2024/25 season

How many points should you expect from your midfielder in Fantasy Premier League?

Do not have unrealistic expectations from your FPL midfielders.

  • Usually, the top-scoring midfielders can get around 200-240 points per season (on some occasions even more, but this is the realistic expectation from premium FPL midfielders like Salah or De Bruyne) – that is 5.2 – 6.3 points per match
  • Good mid-priced FPL midfielders (usually 7.5m – 9m range) can get approximately 160-190 points per season, so expect around 4.2 – 5 points per match on average
  • Good cheaper midfielders (6m – 7.5m range) can get around 130-160 points per season = 3.4 – 5 points per match
  • Budget midfielders can get around 115-130 points per season = 3 – 3.4 points per match
  • The points of midfielders and forwards usually came in waves or in clusters – so the run of “form” can be followed with a run of blanks.

How are midfielders awarded points in FPL?

The majority of FPL points for midfielders go through goals – 5 points – and assists – 3 points – that’s their main source of points.

Clean sheet point for midfielders is often overlooked = but if a team keep 20 clean sheets, that is 20 more FPL points for a midfielder (that is 5 more goals for forwards).

And usually, when an FPL midfielder registers two attacking returns, he is more likely to earn bonus points as well.

Further resources

Matej Šuľan

Fantasy Football enthusiast with two top 1k finishes in FPL. Best FPL overall rank: 119th in 2019/20 season. Five top 500 finishes in UCL Fantasy, best overall rank: 23rd in 2018/19 season. Founder of Fantasy Football Reports.

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