With Gameweek 1 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) 2024/25 nearing, we’re welcoming back our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers. Here, two-time Indian FPL champion Lateriser shares his updated draft, which doubles up on the Liverpool attack.

With the final batch of pre-season action coming in over the weekend, I thought I would write about my latest draft and the explanation behind certain parts of it. Therefore, if the last set of friendlies cloud my judgment, I can simply come back to this draft and substantiate my reasoning.

HAALAND + SALAH

Firstly, the more I think about it, the more likely I am to start with both Erling Haaland (£15.0m) and Mohamed Salah (£12.5m).

While I’ve previously stated that Haaland is a fast starter, I also want to reiterate that last season’s 27 goals and five assists were probably his floor. Compared to 2022/23, you’ll notice that he generated roughly the same expected goals (xG) – in fact, he generated slightly more but in 300 fewer minutes – but instead of overperforming (+7.41), he underperformed (-2.32).

Only 21 of 55 big chances were scored last time, whereas he netted 31 from 59 in his debut Premier League campaign. After arriving from Dortmund, his output was 272 points, 36 goals and eight assists.

There are a couple of reasons why, in my opinion, a fit Haaland will bring at least 30 goals. Last season was the first xG underperformance of his career and I think that some injury issues might have played a factor. Also, I love that he’s had a full pre-season because he suddenly looks a lot fitter and sharper to me.

SALAH SPOT UNDER SLOT

Meanwhile, Liverpool have great-looking early fixtures and Salah – like Haaland – has a full set of friendlies behind him. That’s why he’s in my draft.

When it comes to team structure, I like owning both premiums because it’s then easier to move away from them and onto any player I like.

For example, I don’t currently have Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) or Trent-Alexander Arnold (£7.0m) in my draft. But if I urgently want either around Gameweek 3 or 4, I can just downgrade one of them and invest the new funds.

In a nutshell, it’s easier to sell Haaland and Salah than bring them in, so seeing the duo feature in pre-season when the likes of Watkins, Cole Palmer (£10.5m) and Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) haven’t makes me even more inclined to own them from the start. Great fixtures help, too.

Maybe if I was unhappy with the other 13 spots, I’d start to consider sacrificing one. But I genuinely think you can construct a draft that includes both and doesn’t miss out on much.

Another thing that interests me about Salah came up when I was chatting to Josh Williams from The Anfield Wrap. Last season, the Egyptian was reliant on a bit of magic and playing off the cuff. He was sometimes fairly wide under Jurgen Klopp and Josh expects Arne Slot to rely more on systems, ones that put Salah in more advantageous situations.

LATERISER’S LATEST DRAFT

These are the permutations I’m currently looking at. Obviously, these thoughts will crystallise further after the final bunch of friendlies but I feel like I’m in a good place with team structure and most of the picks.

If you want more from me, we’ve been doing a flurry of FPL Wire pre-season content, including looks at the best defenders and forwards (below). Some great StatsBomb visuals are on display, so make sure to check them out.

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