Do you wonder who will be starters in the Premier League? How nailed on are each player? Which players are the biggest contenders to break into a starting XI? All those questions and more down below:
Last Update (Final): September 11th, 8:30PM (BST)
Updated: Gone through all squads and double checked
All of these line-ups and a whole lot more Fantasy Premier League tips can be found in our 2020/21 FPL Guide right here
NB:
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These are not GW1 lineups, but predicted XI’s for the whole season.
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The number on the kit are predicted starts/nailed-on-ness on a scale from 0-38.
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This will be updated until the GW1 deadline arrives.
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Any tips/help welcome. Take a look at your favorite team and tweet me @Maefteda if you find any errors.
Contents
Arsenal:
XI Contenders (Starts): Luiz (19), Nketiah (18), and Torreira (15)
Other Potential Starters: Guendouzi
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 23.72 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Bukayo Saka seems to have cemented his place in the XI. Laca drops out.
- Lacazette might leave. More chance for Nketiah and more Aubameyang up front.
- New-look defense, with David Luiz the biggest threat for Saliba.
Aston Villa:
XI Contenders (Starts): El Ghazi (20), Nakamba (18), and Wesley (14)
Other Potential Starters: None
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 25.81 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Tom Heaton should be back pretty early in the season and start again.
- Watkins is the 3rd new striker in the past year. Let’s see if he has more success.
- Matty Cash completes a revitalized defense that kept more clean sheets post restart.
Brighton
XI Contenders (Starts): Pröpper (24), Veltman (22) and Groß (18)
Other Potential Starters: Webster
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 29.18 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Potter will fluidly switch between a 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1 system.
- Got about 5 good center-backs and no proper left-back. Weird.
- Lallana likely to start when fit. Still got plenty left at 32 years old.
Burnley:
XI Contenders (Starts): Pieters (26), Brownhill (22), and Barnes (20)
Other Potential Starters: Lowton
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 29.81 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Sean Dyche has a pretty settled XI, but full-backs and right-wing still a ?
- Brownhill could break into the team at center mid or right-wing.
- Pieters likely to start a lot, but in several positions, including on the wing.
Chelsea:
XI Contenders (Starts): Mount (23), Rüdiger (23), and James (18)
Other Potential Starters: Jorginho
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 25.90 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Lampard rotates A LOT and that will be even more the case with all the new signings.
- Kepa lost his place, but don’t expect Caballero to start either. New GK incoming.
- Rüdiger seems to have lost favor with Lampard, but could still edge out Zouma.
Crystal Palace:
XI Contenders (Starts): Ayew (22), Cahill (19), and Schlupp (15)
Other Potential Starters: None
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 28.72 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Eze and Zaha will provide a lot of pens for Milivojevic.
- Outside of Milivojevic, the midfield is lackluster.
- Sakho should still be a starting CB, a slight edge for Tomkins to partner him.
Everton:
XI Contenders (Starts): Gomes (23), Iwobi (18), and Davies (16).
Other Potential Starters: None
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 27.18 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Richarlison is a striker and Ancelotti wants 30 goals from him.
- STRONG center midfield now. Gomes will feature a lot too.
- Jonjoe Kenny returning after a decent spell in Germany. Won’t start over Coleman unless injuries happen.
Fulham:
XI Contenders (Starts): Reid (22), Knockaert (17), and Tete (15)
Other Potential Starters: Anguissa, Robinson, Mawson
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 34.54 out of 46 matches
Additional Notes:
- Hector stepped right next to Ream from January onwards. Sorry, Mawson.
- Mitrovic is an FPL option up front, behind him there are no sure things.
- Lots of options in midfield, but Cairney and Reed brought them to the PL.
Leeds:
XI Contenders (Starts): Bamford (16), Shackleton (15), Douglas (13)
Other Potential Starters: Casilla
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 39.09 out of 46 matches
Additional Notes:
- Koch in as new CB, partners Cooper in the heart of defense.
- Casilla might very well leave and Meslier looks set to replace him regardless.
- Rodrigo might be eased in for Bamford, but should be the starting striker eventually.
Leicester:
XI Contenders (Starts): Iheanacho (18), Gray (18) and Praet (16)
Other Potential Starters: None
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 31.09 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Castagne slots in at left-back, but Justin and Thomas can both feature.
- Harvey Barnes should cement his place on the wing.
- Iheanacho got some burn towards the end of the season, impact sub with Gray.
Liverpool:
XI Contenders (Starts): Keita (22), Oxlade-Chamberlain (17), and Minamino (15)
Other Potential Starters: None
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 30.81 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- No huge XI contenders other than Keita, who is showing signs of breaking out.
- Henderson, despite player of the year plaudits, only started 26 matches last season.
- Wijnaldum on the last year of his contract. Might favor Keita over him.
Man City:
XI Contenders (Starts): Jesus (22), Foden (22) and Torres (16)
Other Potential Starters: Mendy, Fernandinho, Gundogan
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 24.63 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Pep rotation is still in full effect.
- Foden will step into the David Silva role, including the sporadic starts.
- Aké and Laporte can and will play together, despite both naturally being LCBs.
Man Utd:
XI Contenders (Starts): McTominay (21), Matic (20), James (15)
Other Potential Starters: None
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 28.54 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Henderson will stay and challenge de Gea for a starting spot.
- Donny van de Beek can and will play deep next to Pogba.
- Brandon Williams has an outside shot at taking over at left-back.
Newcastle:
XI Contenders (Starts): S. Longstaff (22), Ritchie (20), and Hendrick (17)
Other Potential Starters: None
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 26.09 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Callum Wilson solves Newcastle’s striker problem. More incoming players inbound.
- Almirón and Saint-Maximin will be vital for Newcastle offensively again.
- Dubravka is out injured, while Fraser needs more matches to get match-fit.
Sheffield United:
XI Contenders (Starts): Mousset (18), Lundstram (16) and Osborn (16)
Other Potential Starters: Ampadu
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 32.27 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- He’s Norwegian and he’s gonna play a lot this season. It’s Sander Burghe (Berge).
- Striker spot the only question mark. Mousset will try to win back a spot. Sharp a bit-part player.
- Most new signings are squad depth with good potential. Ampadu could become starting CB/DM.
Southampton:
XI Contenders (Starts): Djenepo (22), Stephens (20), and Obafemi (19)
Other Potential Starters: Smallbone
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 27.81 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Che Adams got into his own towards the end of the season, but Obafemi lurks too.
- Armstrong and Redmond look nailed, but Djenepo is very very talented.
- Smallbone might very well start next to the ever-present Ward-Prowse.
Tottenham:
XI Contenders (Starts): Moura (22), Winks (20), Sissoko (18)
Other Potential Starters: None
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 25.81 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Bergwijn comes in to edge out Moura, but the Brazilian will feature a lot, also off the bench.
- Dier has been given the armband in pre-season and a new contract. Nailed.
- Lo Celso should get a bigger role this year, Højbjerg likely starts over Winks and Sissoko.
West Bromwich Albion:
XI Contenders (Starts): Grosicki (20), Austin (18), and Robinson (17)
Other Potential Starters: None
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 34.09 out of 46 matches
Additional Notes:
- GRADY DIANGANA. That’s all.
- Dara O’Shea took over the RB spot at the end of the season, Gibbs LB for now.
- Callum Robinson could be the starting striker over Robson-Kanu and Austin.
West Ham:
XI Contenders (Starts): Haller (23), Yarmolenko (18) and Snodgrass (16)
Other Potential Starters: Anderson
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 27.90 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- NO GRADY DIANGANA. That’s sad. Felipe Anderson and Lanzini can also play left-wing.
- Ben Johnson seems to have wasted his chance of becoming a starter in pre-season.
- Haller will get quite a few games up front with Antonio or by himself. Lots of potential.
Wolves:
XI Contenders (Starts): Dendoncker (26), Podence (19) and Marçal (18)
Other Potential Starters: Vitinha
Last Season XI Nailed-on-ness: 32.63 out of 38 matches
Additional Notes:
- Should sign a Doherty replacement at RWB, pushing Traoré further up.
- Plenty of good wingers to choose from with Jota, Neto, Podence, and Traoré.
- Jonny Otto sadly out for 6-9 months. Young Ruben Vinagre gets his chance.
Credit: Big shout out to buildlineup.com for providing a great XI maker. Several team subreddits, whoscored.com ++