The Best FPL Forwards for 2020-21

The countdown continues as the new Premier League season opens just six days from now. Many decision must be made before we launch this roller-coaster.

In this article, we identify our choices in the striker category, forwards who should rain points as they rain goals. This season, there seems to be a good number of selectable forwards. Interestingly, the price points for ‘premium’ strikers are above £10m, yet we do have decent options below that at the same time. Everybody prefers to hunt and hope for a goal than just to get an assist or clean sheet because real joy does abound when your strikers fire the ball into the back of the net, so let’s check out the lethal attackers of the up-coming 2020-21 season. Let’s keep in mind the selection has been based around the price-tag of over £9.0 forwards, their ability to perform immediately, preseason form, and relative strength of early-season fixtures.

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Anthony Martial (Manchester United, £9.0)

Now you can make this call if you plan to enhance quality in your midfield and need a forward guaranteed to start a majority of his fixtures. Anthony Martial was put in charge at forward by manager Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer last season, and his stats have been rather impressive. The 2019-20 season was by far the best campaign for the Frenchman who recorded 17 goals, 9 assists and 200 points, finishing a clear fifth among FPL midfielders in the overall points table, with averaged 6.2 points per match.

The arrival of Bruno Fernandes (£10.5m) and later return to fitness of Marcus Rashford (£9.5m) and Paul Pogba (£8.0m) boosted Martial’s confidence, lifting him to another level with 15 of his 26 attacking returns coming in the final 13 game-weeks. During this time, he averaged 8.0 FPL points per match, which shows how deadly he could be with an improved squad for a whole season. The latest arrival of Donny van de Beek just adds more quality support.

The only downside (after his blank GW-1) is that his position changed from midfielder to forward, which means losing the extra point per clean sheet or goal, but that should not be the biggest issue for everyone.

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Timo Werner (Chelsea, £9.5m)

It’s not the best idea to start your campaign with a player new to the league, but Timo Werner should be an exception. One of the most exciting prospects of this season, the German is a proven elite goal scorer with an impressive Bundesliga record of scoring 28 goals in 34 matches. He has quickly be come a famous player in the FPL world already as over 45% of FPL squads own him at this moment.

Plus, the fact that he provided eight assists suggests that he is a team player, which is makes him even more valuable. With the departure of Willian, and with Jorginho out-of-favour, Werner has the opportunity to step up in the penalty box, having scored 13 of 16 from the spot. And, with Christian Pulisic (£8.5m), recent arrival Hakim Ziyech (£8.0m), and newly-signed Kai Havertz (£8.5m) around him, Werner will have plenty of chances to convert their supply into goals.

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Harry Kane (Tottenham, £10.5m)

Though scoring “only” 18 goals last season after netting 20+ in each of his prior four, he did so in less game time due to injury problems, suggesting that he’s still not bad in front of goal. Despite playing in a deeper position now and even overplayed when coming from injury, Kane has suffered a shift in the style of play under Jose Mourinho.

However, the Portuguese manager has a history of turning the ship around in second seasons with many clubs. The English striker has been lethal in putting the ball in the net and has been efficient when providing goal points, but with many options this year and Kane being a bit expensive and now injury-prone, fantasy managers will eye others. Just never forget a known proven goal scorer.

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Sergio Aguero (Manchester City, £10.5m)

We can all agree that Sergio Aguero is a legend in the world of fantasy football, not just at the Etihad Stadium. The Argentine forward has rarely disappointed fantasy managers, which is why he will always be among our favorites. It’s a shame he missed out on 12 games last term, but he still managed to tally 16 goals plus 6 assists. He had the best goals to game ratio, averaging a goal every 91 minutes.

The trouble is that Pep Guardiola worries us is with his rotation, players like Gabriel Jesus (£9.5m) in the picture. But the Argentine international finds his way into a majority of games, which is why a fully-fit Aguero is by far the best forward and best value forward in FPL. Note: Like Martial (and all assets from either Manchester team), Aguero has a blank in GW-1).

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Jamie Vardy (Leicester, £10.0m)

Since his historic 2015-16 campaign, the Vardy Party has seldom stopped scoring goals. With 23 goals plus 7 assists last term, and with the most points from the forwards with 210 points, the England international took home the golden boot.

The Foxes’ forward has the highest goal conversion rate of the aforementioned strikers — 32%. He recorded 35 “big chances”, more than any other player in the league. The biggest reason to pick him for the new campaign is the number of kind fixtures in the first few weeks against the likes of West Bromwich Albion, Burnley, West Ham and Aston Villa. Against soft defenses he has multiple chances to explode for a massive return.

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Notable Mentions

Southampton’s Danny Ings (£8.5m) just had the best season of his life, unlucky to miss the golden boot by one goal (22 goals, 2 assists) to Jamie Vardy. However, his goal conversion is higher than Vardy’s at 33%.

Wolves’ Raul Jimenez (£8.5m) is an overall striker who doesn’t just score; he also provides assists here and there (17 goals plus 7 assists). Of all forwards last term, he had the most shots on target (118), shots inside the box (93), big chances created (13), and minutes played, so many fantasy managers have turned their attention to the Mexican striker.

Rodrigo (£6.0m) is someone whom Leeds fans will be watching closely; Marcelo Bielsa’s new record signing has a decent reputation in the front-line. He scored a total of 59 goals and added 41 assists in 220 games at Valencia, but the Brazilian-born striker grabs attention due to his price-tag. Having a striker who will likely start many games at such a reasonable price is not a bad option at all.

Statistics obtained from whoscored.com and premierleague.com

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JOIN THE NMA FPL MINI-LEAGUE

The Never Manage Alone “BTB” (“Beat the Bloggers”) FPL league has been automatically renewed, so if you were a member last season, there should be no need for you to do anything (except buying your initial roster of course).

If you are new to the league, first set up your account and pick a squad. You can do so by visiting the Official FPL site and registering. Then you can join by clicking on “Leagues” and then “Private Leagues.”

League Name: Never Manage Alone “BTB”

League Code: btojt9

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Any forward from the list you will look to buy? What strategy do you apply when picking a striker? Are you going for a premium long-term striker or rotating among budget forwards? Any player you think will outshine everybody in the list? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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