RADIO
Welcome to the 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League season, RotoBallers! The prices are slowly but surely being released after Euro 2024, and it's time to start preparing for another season of FPL. We will have you covered from the preseason in July until the final kick of the season in May and everything else that happens in between.
Our team previews will start with Man City. After a treble-winning campaign during the 2022/23 season, expectations were sky-high for the blue side of Manchester. They won the league (again) but fell short in both domestic cups and the Champions League. Erling Haaland (£15.0M) suffered some injury setbacks in the middle of the season and saw his FPL points total fall from 272 points to 217 last year. Despite that, the powers that be decided to price him at £15.0M for the upcoming season, and it's going to give FPL managers quite a headache debating whether or not Haaland can fit into their FPL squad.
The first deadline of the 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League season is August 16 at 1:30 p.m. ET, when Manchester United welcomes Fulham to open the campaign. Also, check out the rest of our excellent soccer coverage as the squad gets you all set for every English Premier League slate and UEFA Champions League game with our EPL DFS lineup picks and betting picks.
FPL Team Previews: Man City
After Liverpool halted their streak in the 2019/20 season, Man City made history last year with their fourth Premier League title in a row. It's been an unprecedented run of success on the domestic front, but some changes to their starting XI could cause a shake-up at the top. Rumors are swirling around Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson possibly on their way out the doors, but the Cityzens' depth should provide enough cover to challenge for a fifth title in a row. A core of Josko Gvardiol, Rodri, Phil Foden, and Erling Haaland is something 19 other Premier League clubs can only dream about.
City @OfficialFPL price reveals! 🩵
Who's making it into your #FPL team? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/TW0JO3wkH1
— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 15, 2024
Last Season's Man City Stats
- League Finish: First, 91 points
- Most goals: Erling Haaland, 27 goals
- Most assists: Julian Alvarez, 11 assists
- Most FPL Points: Phil Foden, 230 points
Who is your favorite Man City defender for the upcoming FPL campaign?
Josko Gvardiol (£6.0M) came into his own down the stretch of the 2023/24 campaign. The Croatian can play as the left center back in a back three or just the left back in a back four. At times, he was almost a winger for Man City as they focused on wrapping up the Premier League. Gvardiol led all City defenders in expected goal involvement (xGI), despite being third in minutes behind Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji.
Which Man City midfielder is catching your eye?
Phil Foden (£9.5M) was priced cheaper than Cole Palmer (£10.5M) and Bukayo Saka (£10.0M) and will pique many manager's interest. The English midfielder had an anonymous Euro 2024, which was surprising considering he was coming off a career year in Manchester. Should Pep Guardiola continue to hand Foden starts and 90-minute appearances regularly, a 200-point season feels like the floor for the talented 24-year-old.
The Man City forward who will be bagging us some FPL points is...?
There's only one answer here: Erling Haaland. The game raised some eyebrows when it priced him at an all-time high, but it's great because it forces FPL managers to make tough decisions. Teams can do a lot with an extra £15 million in the bank, and it's exciting to think of a world where the Norwegian's TSB% (Teams Selected By Percentage) is below 50 percent. Barring injuries, I expect another 200-point season from Haaland, and he should return to the top of the forward's charts after falling to Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) by 11 points.
Introducing the most-expensive #FPL player of all time 🥁@ManCity's Erling Haaland will cost managers £15.0m in the 2024/25 season 💵 pic.twitter.com/85qpOrKfIE
— Fantasy Premier League (@OfficialFPL) July 11, 2024
What run of fixtures favors Man City the most for the 2024/25 FPL season?
From Gameweeks 1-6, Man City only has one fixture (GW2 vs. Ipswich) that I would consider the Cityzens must-have. However, from Gameweeks 7-11, the blue side of Manchester doesn't meet a side that qualified for Europe this year. That could facilitate when FPL managers activate their first Wildcard for the 2024/25 season. Still, going without Erling Haaland and Phil Foden will give FPL managers some sleepless nights over the first month and a half of the campaign.
How many Man City players will you have in your Gameweek 1 squad?
Despite his price tag, Erling Haaland's draw will be powerful in FPL. It's terrifying to go against a player who can produce a 20-point game at the drop of a hat. If I have Haaland on my team, he's likely my only City asset at the beginning of the season. However, if I swerve the Norwegian, a pairing of Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol might cover the big lad up front. Right now, I'm leaning toward the latter option.
What is one bold FPL prediction for any Man City player?
Phil Foden goes back-to-back with another 200-point campaign but fails to set a new career-high in FPL points for the first time in his eight-year career. It's been an incredible run for one of the most exciting talents in the Premier League, but regression to the mean feels inevitable. Foden has outperformed his xGI (expected Goal Involvement) by at least seven in back-to-back years. The trend doesn't continue in the 2024/25 season, and he has to settle for somewhere between 200 and 229 points.
Phil Foden's #FPL history
2017/18: 8 points
2018/19: 25
2019/20: 69
2020/21: 135
2021/22: 137
2022/23: 142
2023/24: 230Can he make it EIGHT straight seasons with a points increase? pic.twitter.com/AJhTg1D0Cf
— Euan Leith (@F1EuanFPL) July 14, 2024
Stick around for more 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League content coming soon. Hit us up on X @RotoBaller. We would love to hear your feedback and ideas!
