The midfield berth seems to be rather juicy this season in Fantasy Premier League. With the reclassification of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marcus Rashford to midfield and the likes of Salah, De Bruyne, and Sterling coming in at lower than expected prices, it seems ‘big in the middle’ is the way to go this season. The midfield is arguably the most valuable position in fantasy football seeing as they are more likely to get goals and assists and get an extra point for a goal compared to forwards, plus the extra clean sheet point. This article will talk you through who the best midfielders are in FPL for 2020-21.

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Mohamed Salah (£12.0m)

The Egyptian King is the most expensive player in the game along with both Sadio Mane and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Saying that I do believe he is under-priced by £0.5m.

Best FPL Midfielders Gameweek 1 - Mo Salah

Predicted points Gameweek 1. View all predictions

Looking at his stats last season he is still the most attacking player in the game and was unlucky not to score more points. In 2019-20 He scored 233 points, scoring 19 goals and 10 assists. In 2018-19 he scored 259 points picking up 22 goals and 12 assists. At first glance, it would seem he was in decline but looking at the stats in both seasons his metrics were almost identical.

Using the Comparison Tool (image below) we can see that his xG, and big chances are identical and he actually had more shots in the box in the box and the and just four fewer shots on target last season than in 2018-19. The numbers are so similar that it shows he is the same Salah who was priced £12.5m last season and will most likely get the same sort of points again this term. He is the best captaincy option in the game and the first name in my team. Furthermore, Liverpool do not blank in Gameweek one and face LEE, che and ARS in the first three. Have a look at our Fixture Ticker for the full view.

Best FPL Midfielders gameweek 1 2020

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Sadio Mane (£12.0m)

Sadio Mane has always been worth consideration in seasons past as he has always been a cheaper alternative to Mohammed Salah. This season though he has come in at the same price which for me kills him as an option. While they have both been at Liverpool the Senegalese has never scored more points than the Egyptian. While he was cheaper he did provide a good alternative based on value. Sadio is no doubt a great player and an excellent fantasy option but when priced the same as Salah he is very much a differential and the riskier option.

His stats last season were also much inferior to Salah’s. Having a look at a like for like comparison for last season Mane comes up short in almost every single metric. When analysing goal-scoring players I especially look at shots in the box, shots on target, and expected goals (xG). Comparing these metrics we can see Salah had 110 shots in the box to 64, 59 shots on target to 36, and 21xG to 15xG. If you fancy a double up with Mane and Salah then picking him may be justified but I don’t see him as an alternative anymore.

Sadio Mane Best Fantasy Premier league Midfielders gameweek 1 2020

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Aubameyang (£12.0m)

The biggest reclassification news for this season was the Arsenal frontman being reclassified as £12.0m midfielder. He is by no means a midfielder but I guess if Mane, Salah, and Sterling are classed as mids then he has to be too. A recalculation of his points showed that if he was a midfielder last season instead of scoring 205 points as a forward he would have scored around 230 points as a midfielder, an increase of 25 points. This means he would have finished just three points behind Mohammed Salah and ended up the third-highest scoring player in the game. Therefore it seems the price he has been assigned is a fair one and with his goal-scoring pedigree he really does seem a tantalising prospect. He is Arsenals talisman and best player without a doubt.

Best FPL Mids Aubameyang

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Aubameyang scored 22 goals in each of his last two full seasons for the Gunners and also picked up 7 and 5 assists respectively, scoring exactly 205 points in both seasons. There is nothing to suggest he won’t reach those numbers again and with him potentially playing through the middle if Lacazette changes clubs (keep an eye on out for this) I really can’t see any reason not pick him from Gameweek one. Like Mane and Salah he does not blank in Gameweek one and with ful, and WHU in his first two games he’s another nailed player in my team just now.

FPL Midfielder options Gameweek 1

Kevin De Bruyne (£11.5m)

The Belgian maestro is another player I feel who has potentially been under-priced. After finishing last season with 13 goals, 23 assists, and 251 points he was the top point scorer in the game. He has been improving every year at Manchester City and was unfortunate to have been out through injury the majority of the 2018-19 season. He is the only player to match Salah for overall stats last season. Although Mohammed is ahead on goal-scoring threat Kevin is equally ahead on assist threat. Looking at the attacking metrics of both last season we can see from the off from web-graph how much De Bruyne is superior in terms of creation. His 23 assists, Big Chances Created (34) Key passes (136) show just how many chances he creates for his teammates. If he manages to stay fit then he is another mainstay pick and top captain option. The only problem is Manchester City have a blank in Gameweek one and then play Wolves away in Gameweek two so leaving off him until Gameweek three is probably the wise move.

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Raheem Sterling (£11.5m)

The England forward had another good season although it wasn’t looking that way pre-lockdown. Nine of his 20 goals last term were scored post 'Project Restart' (GW30 onwards). The lay off and playing with no fans seemed to do him well. His total of 20 goals actually saw him beat his personal best of 18 goals in 2017-18. He is another player who is improving year on year under Pep Guardiola and with him being priced the same as De Bruyne it leaves us fantasy managers with an interesting decision. Although goals are superior to assists, the Belgian is a more consistent player and now seems to have penalties which makes the decision even harder. I think both are great options and will no doubt have one of these guys, if not both in my team at some point this season. However, as stated earlier Manchester City blank in Gameweek one so one to leave out until Gameweek three at least I feel.

Bruno Fernandes (£10.5m)

The Portuguese midfielder could not have asked for a better start to his Manchester United career. In Just 14 games he scored an impressive eight goals and eight assists and finished the season on 115 points. His point per game worked out at 8.67 which of course is unsustainable however he is still an elite player both in real terms and FPL wise. It would also seem he is now the main penalty taker, after sharing with Marcus Rashford for a period last season. One thing to note about Bruno is that even at Sporting Lisbon who are not as near as good as Manchester United, he had an exceptional record scoring 63 goals and 52 assists in 137 games for them. Now with the quality, he has around him in Rashford, Martial, Greenwood and Pogba I think he is a great option and should be in the five top-scoring midfielders at least. Despite him being the most expensive United asset I still think he is the best pick, closely followed by Marcus Rashford who we will talk about next.

Marcus Rashford (£9.5m)

The young England forward had a great year both on and off the pitch last season. Another striker who has been reclassified as a midfielder by FPL. Again a recalculation of his points would have seen him score 22 more points had he been a midfielder last season and would have finished on 199 points rather than 177. His tally of 17 goals and 8 assists was by far the best season in his career and he seemed to flourish playing with the likes of Martial, Bruno and Pogba. Coming in at £9.5m, and £1m cheaper than his Portuguese teammate he is another good option at that price point and could prove to be just as good if not better than Bruno. If you are struggling for cash then he is the perfect alternative. Unfortunately, he suffered a bad back injury in gameweek 22 which would have kept him out for the whole season had it not been for the Covid break. Coming back in gameweek 30 he had a decent end to the season and if we compare his overall stats with Bruno Fernandes over that time we can see the metrics were quite similar which is encouraging for him and any prospective owners. Looking at Big Chances he had 7 to Bruno’s 8, shots in the box 14 to 10, Shots on target, 10 to 11 and xG was 4.14 to 4.99.

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As with Manchester City, The Red Devils also blank in gameweek one which means both these players may have to be put on hold. They do start gameweek two with a very favourable run playing CPL, bha, new, WBA, sou, whu in their first 10 games so a plan to bring at least one of these two in would be wise.

Best mids

Heung-Min Son (£9.0m)

Son has been a consistent performer over the years for Spurs. The South Korean is the only midfielder in the game to be priced at £9.0m. In each of his last four seasons, he has gotten 11+ goals 9+ assists. You know exactly what you are getting with Son and that’s a reliable stream of points and a nailed player. The question is whether there is a better option around his price point. His teammate Dele Alli who comes in at £8.0m has great potential as he showed in his first two astonishing seasons at Spurs picking up 10 goals and 12 assists in 2015-16 and a mammoth 18 goals and 11 assists in 2016-17. Since then he has had a fairly stop-start career and not been anywhere near as consistent as Son. Riyad Mahrez (£8.5m) is nowhere near nailed enough, playing under Pep. There is one player though who provides competition for the South Korean and is also cheaper! We will talk more about him next. Spurs have a good run of games from the off and don’t blank in gameweek one. Their first eight games are as good as you will get – EVE, sou, NEW, mun, WHU, bur, BHA and WBA. The only hard fixture in that lot is Manchester United away.

Best midfiders Fantasy Premier league picks and tips

Christian Pulisic (£8.5m)

The American winger has been a breath of fresh air for Chelsea. It took him around nine games to find his feet but when he did he was a pleasure to watch. After his hatrick at Burnley in gameweek 10, he scored in the following two games and then got an abductor muscle injury in gameweek 22 which saw him miss a chunk of the season. It was a huge blow for Chelsea and fantasy football managers. Again the Covid break meant he was able to return in gameweek 30 once the season resumed. This is where he stepped his game up to another level. Of his nine goals and eight assists, last season four of his goals and assists came after 'Project Restart' and he was unlucky not to have more. Using the Comparison Tool (image below) we can compare his GW1-30 against his GW30-38. Blue is GW1-30. I’ve filtered it to ‘per appearance’ as he was injured for nine gameweeks and spent four games on the bench, without coming on.

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We can see clearly that his form from GW30 onwards was phenomenal in terms of stats as well as output. He does seem to have an injury at the moment so one to watch out for but If he is declared fit he will more than likely be in my team sooner rather than later as I think he is another player who is around £0.5 to £1.0m under-priced.

Gameweek 1 planning

One thing to keep in mind when selecting your Gameweek one squad is to plan ahead even more than you would normally. We have a strange situation this season with four teams blanking in the first Gameweek. Either have a plan on how to bring in the likes of De Bruyne, Sterling, and Bruno etc or if you are going to pick them from the start then make sure you have adequate backup. Looking at the fixtures, Gameweek three looks a good time to bring in the City players and for Man United players as early as Gameweek two. With postponements due to Covid still a possibility, a double Gameweek that we don’t know when will take place and the confusion around gameweek 18, it would seem really wise to hold your wildcard for as long as possible. Therefore I would reiterate again to have a solid plan for the first five to six Gameweeks at least.

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In conclusion, I rank these budget FPL Premium mids in order from best to worst for Hub members

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Best Fantasy Premier League Premium Midfielders 2020/21 | Gameweek 1

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