5 surprise packages from the 2022/23 Fantasy Football Premier League season so far
The 2022 World Cup concluded a week before Christmas and just a month later the English Premier League reached the halfway stage of the 2022/23 campaign. It’s a great opportunity for Fantasy Football managers to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their squads, with plenty of time for tweaks to recover ground during the back end of the season.
If you’re someone that’s always on the look-out for value picks each season, you’ll almost certainly be interested in this article, as we cover the five surprise packages floating towards the top of the points rankings across multiple positions:
Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest, 82 points)
Who would have thought the keeper of newly promoted Nottingham Forest would be the second-highest-scoring stopper at the halfway point of the season? Manchester United loanee Dean Henderson has registered 82 points and has been a major part of Forest’s recent resurgence out of the bottom three. Bizarrely, still less than a tenth of Fantasy Premier League managers have Henderson as their keeper.
Picking a goalkeeper who plies his trade for a relegation-threatened side is always a risk, but it’s one that’s definitely paid off for many fantasy bosses in 2022/23 to date. Forest have kept six clean sheets so far, which is the joint-fifth best number in the Premier League. A muscle injury against Leicester in Gameweek 20 could mean Henderson is an injury doubt in the short-to-medium term though.
Che Adams (Southampton, 68 points)
Southampton have been one of the Premier League’s most disappointing teams so far in 2022/23. Their early season form proved the undoing of former boss Ralph Hassenhuttl, who was promptly fired from the Saints’ hot seat. Luton Town boss, Nathan Jones, was enticed from Kenilworth Road to the St. Mary’s Stadium, having impressed on two occasions in charge of the Hatters.
Despite staring the relegation zone firmly in the face, one of their strikers is ranked as the seventh best front man in the top-flight. Che Adams may be selected by just 1.7% of fantasy managers, but he has racked up an impressive 68 points despite being available for a measly 6.3 million. Four goals and four assists have made him an attractive support striker to a ‘marquee’ front man.
Miguel Almiron (Newcastle, 109 points)
Almiron has been playing like a man possessed so far this season. With the exception of Arsenal skipper Martin Ødegaard, no other Premier League midfielder has registered as many fantasy points as Almiron. It’s a far cry from his early days as a Magpie, when Newcastle fans had written him off as an expensive mistake. Almiron is clearly thriving in an Eddie Howe team and a side that’s built with plenty of attacking options in mind. Prior to the World Cup, Almiron had racked up eight goals and two assists. In fact, Newcastle are in great shape to push for a Champions League qualification spot.
The latest football betting markets for end-of-season outcomes have the Magpies rated fourth favourites to finish in the top four, even ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, who have stuttered and stagnated in the last six months.
Fabian Schär (Newcastle, 91 points)
Swiss central defender Fabian Schär has been one of the mainstays of the Newcastle defence this season. The Magpies are within a point of second-placed Manchester City, with a Champions League qualification spot looking increasingly realistic for Eddie Howe’s men. The 31-year-old, signed from Deportivo La Coruña in 2018, has become a calming presence at the heart of the Geordies’ backline and is loving life on Tyneside.
At the time of his £3m signing, few Newcastle fans heralded it as good business, but they would certainly do so now. Schär is having the season of his life, forging an impressive central defensive partnership with Sven Botman. Many would argue that Schär is a player-of-the-season candidate at St James’ Park. He is the only Magpies player yet to taste defeat in 2022/23.
Solly March (Brighton, 88 points)
28-year-old midfielder Solly March has been with Brighton & Hove Albion since 2011. Having been a Seagull for 12 years, the Eastbourne wide man knows just how much Albion fans will be enjoying the Premier League ride – and so is he. March has racked up 88 points so far this season, making him the joint-ninth most prolific midfielder in the top-flight, alongside teammate Pascal Groß.
At a price of just £5.1 million, March has been a tremendous pick-up for the first half of the season. Surprisingly, just 2.6% of fantasy managers have opted to select him, despite us mentioning the strength of his underlying stats back in Gameweek 3. That percentage could change once the January transfer window closes.
