With just ten days remaining until the Premier League returns, there's no doubt that most will have their Fantasy Premier League squads carefully selected for Gameweek 1 already. If you're one of the few who haven't or not convinced that you've chosen the best possible side, this list on players to avoid will hopefully help in your decision making.
READ ALSO: Fantasy Premier League 2022-23: Best Fantasy Football Team Names
1. Ivan Perisic - £5.5 million
✍️ We are delighted to announce the transfer of Ivan Perišić.
Welcome to Spurs, Ivan! 💙— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) May 31, 2022
Spurs' new signing Ivan Perisic looked like a real bargain at just £5.5 million when the FPL prices were revealed, but as pre season has progressed, Perisic could be one to avoid. The Croatian has been picked in a massive 33% of people's squads but has found game time limited so far and Ryan Sessegnon has been in impressive form during Spurs' pre season games.
It looks like a doubt that Perisic will be used as Antonio Conte's first choice full back for the start of the season and he could be one player to avoid.
2. Phillipe Coutinho - £7 million
Aston Villa is delighted to announce the permanent signing of Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona for an undisclosed fee! 🙌
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) May 12, 2022
Coutinho has been selected by almost 20% of players for Gameweek 1 and with a valuation of £7 million, this could be an early mistake. There's no doubting the Brazilian's talent but his point scoring form dried up towards the back end of last season.
With Steven Gerrard welcoming back players like Leon Bailey to the squad after an injury-plagued first season, there will likely be squad rotation at Villa Park this campaign. There's cheaper alternatives to Coutinho with the likes of Pedro Neto and Bailey having the potential to score more points at a cheaper cost.
READ ALSO: Fantasy Premier League: FPL Price Reveals For 2022-23
3. Cristiano Ronaldo - £10.5 million
Ronaldo is on the list for obvious reasons. He's highly unlikely to feature for Manchester United in their opening game of the season having refused to report for pre-season training due to the 37-year-old seeking for a move elsewhere. Erik Ten-Hag has used a front three of Sancho, Martial and Rashford primarily during the summer and the trio have looked like a good fit for United's new playing style.
Ronaldo is valued at £10.5 million making him the third most expensive forward available just behind Harry Kane and Erling Haaland and with the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Darwin Nunez and Jamie Vardy all cheaper options, selecting Ronaldo for the first game week could prove a huge mistake.
4. Conor Gallagher - £6 million
Gallagher 😬😬 pic.twitter.com/RT2PY9ULLs
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 21, 2022
Gallagher scored a whopping 140 points for Fantasy Premier League managers during his loan spell at Crystal Palace last year. This season, the England international is expected to stay at Stamford Bridge, rather than looking for another loan move.
Gallagher showed his exceptional ability in the 2021/22 season but with competition for places in the Chelsea midfield as difficult as any club in the world, Gallagher could find regular starts hard to come by. With Jorginho, Kante and Kovacic all main stays in the side, it's tough to see who Gallagher could push out of the side.
5. Diogo Jota - £9 million
🆕 Diogo Jota injury setback ensures Liverpool can't escape £90m dilemma Man City have avoided #LFC
✍️ @TheoSquiresECHO https://t.co/Kwc8SKPubO— Liverpool FC News (@LivEchoLFC) July 15, 2022
Jota was one of last season's stand out Fantasy Premier League players as he claimed 175 points, more than the likes of Raheem Sterling, Cristiano Ronaldo and Riyad Mahrez. This season, Jota's price has been raised to £9 million and after picking up an injury during Portugal's Nations League campaign, the striker hasn't featured or trained yet with Liverpool.
The addition of Darwin Nunez to Liverpool's attack is another reason to possibly avoid the former Wolves attacker, with Nunez likely to lead the line for Liverpool against Fulham in their first game.
6. Lucas Digne - £5 million
Aston Villa is delighted to announce the signing of @LucasDigne from Everton! ✅
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 13, 2022
Lucas Digne had always been a consistent performer in Fantasy Premier League since joining Everton back in 2018, but since arriving at Villa, he hasn't featured in the top 15 among defenders for expected goal involvements. On the other side, the likes of Brighton and Arsenal also have been expected goals conceded and there's likely better options for your defence.
7. Matty Cash - £5 million
MC2. 😁 @MattyCash622 pic.twitter.com/xR8M6mQbgZ
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 11, 2022
Similarly to his teammate Lucas Digne, Cash also hasn't featured in the top 15 for expected goal involvements since Steven Gerrard has taken over. Although he might look a steal at just £5 million given his solid performance last year, you can pick up Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier who are the same price and will almost certainly score you more points that Matty Cash.
8. Michail Antonio - £7.5 million
Antonio started last season in tremendous goal scoring form, leading to a huge percentage of Fantasy Premier League players drafting the Jamaican international into their squads. Antonio's goals and assists did take a downturn during the second half of the season and with Gianluca Scamacca joining for a fee of around €40 million, Antonio could find regular starts less frequent than last season.
David Moyes also likes to play primarily with just one striker and taking a risk on Antonio to be his starting striker for the majority of the campaign may harm you chances at a good start to your Fantasy Premier League season.
9. Any Bournemouth Player
Our 2022/23 @PremierLeague fixtures are here 🗓️@amuzogames // #afcb 🍒 pic.twitter.com/5Kbk5g5PxX
— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) June 16, 2022
Bournemouth have returned to the Premier League after a one year absence, finishing in second place of the Championship. The Cherries have possibly the toughest fixtures to start their season with games against Manchester Cty, Liverpool and Arsenal all coming in their first four games, so selecting a Bournemouth player to find points in this scary start to the season for them will likely deprive you of neccesary points to start your campaign.
SEE ALSO: Fantasy Premier League 2022-23: The Biggest FPL Price Changes
