Vote: 2018-19 Fantasy Premier League MVP

Some seasons it’s a clear-cut choice, but one of the truly magical parts of the 2018-19 Premier League campaign is that MVP really seems like a fairly wide open vote with loads of wonderful candidates. So, you’ve got to make the tough call and tell us: Who is your pick for the Premier League’s fantasy MVP?

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Liverpool Attacker Mo Salah

Sure, Salah’s form slid from his amazing debut season, but there is absolutely no shame in that. Nobody’s form this season could compare to what the Pharaoh superstar did prior. Instead of being unbelievably stupendous, Salah was merely amazing. Was his outstanding production worth the highest price tag (by far) in fantasy? You decide!

• 22 goals (tied for #1 in the league, sharing the Golden Boot) and 8 assists (tied for #10)
• 12 fantasy assists
• 137 shots (#1), 64 shots on target (#1), and 16 big chances created (#3)
• 259 points in FPL (#1)
• 488 points in Fantrax (#2 by just 2 points)

And he played every league match, with at least 70 minutes all but once.

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Chelsea Attacker Eden Hazard

Given rumors surrounding Real Madrid, this may have been Eden Hazard’s final season in the Premier League. If so, oh what a memorable farewell! The brilliant Belgian matched his Chelsea career high in goals while notching his second-most assists.

• 16 goals (#8), 15 assists (#1), and 31 goals plus assists (#1)
• 93 shots (#8), 43 shots on target (tied for #4), and 18 big chances created (#2)
• 238 points in FPL (#2)
• 490 points in Fantrax (#1)

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Manchester City Attacker Raheem Sterling

Following a breakout 2017-18 for the Citizens’ dynamic winger, there was no slump whatsoever as Raheem Sterling maintained the same remarkable pace in 2018-19.

• 17 goals (tied for #6) and 10 assists (tied for #6)
• 77 shots (#18), 39 on target (#11), and 12 big chances (#10)
• 15 fantasy assists
• November 2018 EPL Player of the Month
• 2018-19 FWA Footballer of the Year
• 2018-19 PFA Young Player of the Year
• 234 points in FPL (#3)
• 393 points in Fantrax (#5)

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Liverpool Attacker Sadio Mane

Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Sadio Mane was a consistently excellent performer, netting between 10 and 13 goals in each of his prior four seasons with the Reds. This campaign though, the Senegal stand-out really kicked his game up a notch, not only hitting a new EPL career high by far, but grabbing a share of the prestigious Golden Boot trophy with teammate Salah (and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).

• 22 goals (tied for #1) and 1 assist
• 87 shots (#10), 42 on target (#7)
• 3 fantasy assists
• March 2019 EPL Player of the Month
• 231 points in FPL (#4)
• 408 points in Fantrax (#3)

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Bournemouth Midfielder Ryan Fraser

There were many excellent budget performers in Official FPL this season, such as Wolves striker Raul Jimenez, Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson, and Everton defender Lucas Digne. But nobody in the vicinity of Fraser’s price could match his production. The midfielder was a revelation thanks in large part to avoiding injury problems that had plagued him the prior two seasons. Fraser played 3,165 minutes, much more than his previous high of 2,003 in 2016-17.

• 7 goals (tied for #38) and 14 assists (#2)
• 28 big chances created (#1), the most since Mesut Ozil in 2015-16
• 271 crosses (#2)
• 181 points in FPL (tied for #11)
• 400 points in Fantrax (#4)

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Liverpool Defender Andrew Robertson

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

The young Scotland international faces plenty of competition at the defender position from teammates Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, along with Everton’s Lucas Digne who was the scoring leader in Fantrax. But as far as Official FPL is concerned, the Reds’ lethal left back was the stand-out performer.

• 11 assists (#5 in the league, and briefly set a new record for EPL defenders before being surpassed by TAA at the end of the season)
• 12 fantasy assists
• 21 clean sheets (#1)
• 15 big chances created (#5 overall, and #1 among defenders)
• 2,396 passes (#7)
• 213 points in FPL (#5)
• 297 points in Fantrax (#22)

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Liverpool Goalkeeper Alisson Becker

Everybody figured that Liverpool’s big summer transfer would make an impact, but the Brazil #1 exceeded all of those high expectations and then some, stoutly solidifying a defense that had felt uneasy the prior season with Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet in net.

• 21 clean sheets (#1 in the league, Golden Glove winner), only 22 goals conceded with 76 saves
• 212 throw outs (#1), 183 accurate long balls (rank N/A), and 18 sweeper clearances (tied for #3)
• 176 points in FPL (#1 among keepers), better than David De Gea’s mark of 172 in 2017-18
• 337 points in Fantrax (#1 among keepers)

[NOTE: Statistics used above came via the Premier League site along with the Official FPL and Fantrax fantasy sites.]

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Who do you think is the fantasy MVP? Is it someone above, or a player not on the list? Are you voting for a forward? Please take the poll below and share your thoughts in the comments!

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