When building your pre-season squad, it’s very easy to just look at the previous season’s performers and just plug them in. However, finding the players that will have their own breakout seasons tends to prove far more fruitful than hoping for repeat performances from last year’s stars.
In that vein, we have compiled a team of 11 players who failed to score 100 points due to injury, underperformance, or team selection, but may just end up hitting that mark in 2018-19.
GK: Alex McCarthy - Southampton, 5.7m, .68%
DEF: Cedric Soares - Southampton, 5.8m, 2.33%
With his crossing ability and penchant for getting forward, it seems crazy that Cedric has never managed to notch more than three assists in a season for Southampton. Last year, the Portuguese right back had more crosses from the right flank than any other player in the Premier League (145), which should have resulted in far more assists. It’s also worth noting that last year’s edition of Southampton had their worst clean sheet record (eight) since 2012-13, but there is little to suggest Cedric won't improve on both counts.
DEF: Seamus Coleman - Everton, 6.2m, 3.95%
DEF: Toby Alderweireld - Tottenham, 6.4m, 6.5%
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Alderweireld was considered the best centre-back in the Premier League just two seasons ago, but his reputation both on and off the pitch has taken a hit over the last 12 months. A serious hamstring injury meant the Belgian only managed to notch just 13 Premier League matches and five clean sheets, both career lows. Regardless of whether he stays at Tottenham or moves to Manchester United, Alderweireld will be a part of a top three defence and should once again be an elite option in the Goal game.
DEF: Benjamin Mendy - Manchester City, 6.4m, 2.77%
MID: Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Arsenal, 7.0m, 6.39%
MID: Cesc Fabregas - Chelsea, 6.9m, 1.41%
The Chelsea midfield could be a Fantasy point draining mess this season, but his role should be secured as the best passer of the bunch. Only Kevin de Bruyne and Christian Eriksen had more chances created than Fabregas last season, yet the latter finished with a paltry four assists.
That tally was the lowest he’d ever registered in the Premier League and falls almost 13 assists shy of his Premier League per season average. So long as he gets his minutes, the Spaniard is a lock for 10 or more assists this season.
MID: Gylfi Sigurdsson - Everton, 6.7m, 5.74%
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MID: Robbie Brady - Burnley, 5.9m, .31%
FOR: Christian Benteke - Crystal Palace, 6.9m, 1.49%
After a fantastic debut campaign for Palace in 2016-17, Benteke really struggled in his second year at the club. He managed a grand total of three goals last season which is the joint lowest of his entire career. Benteke's shot accuracy last year (43%) was actually in line with his five-year average (46%), which makes his low goal rate in 2017-18 look a ridiculous outlier. If all of these numbers return to the mean, Benteke will be a ridiculous value in Fantasy.
FOR: Olivier Giroud - Chelsea, 7.3m, 3.51%
