Fantasy Premier League 2018/19: Reclassified players, price changes, bargain buys and all you need to know about new season

It’s that time of the year again! The first deadline of a Fantasy Premier League Gameweek is inching ever closer.

With every passing day, the head-scratching becomes more intense. Whom to pick? Whom to omit? How to make the best use of the ever-diminishing purse? These are some questions swamping the FPL managers right now. If you get your first combination right, rewards are aplenty. However, if you get it wrong, the uncomfortable idea of a premature wildcard weighs on your mind.

Every year a few things change in the game, but some factors ensure there’s an aura of novelty around the FPL. The introduction of summer signings, fresh player prices and obscure stars from the promoted sides add just about the necessary spice to keep you hooked.

As the 2018/19 season is upon us, we take a close look all the aspects that have changed over the summer and also give you our picks for the purchases that carry most value.

Price changes

Last season, the FPL belonged to Mohamed Salah. 32 goals and 12 assists helped his FPL managers bag 303 points across the season. His heroics from last year mean that FPL managers this season will have to shell out a fortune to acquire his services. At £13 million, Salah is the most expensive player in the game, with his price going up by £2.4 million from last season. The other big mover is Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling who is available at £11 million. The former Liverpool man surprised everyone with his return of 18 goals and 17 assists last season and those who put faith in him early on in the season profited big time.

Among the lower priced players, Luka Milivojevic’s late season surge made him a must-have in the team, coming at an attractive price of under £5 million. The man who is on penalty duties for Palace won’t come as cheap this time around, with an upgraded price tag of £6.5 million. Burnley’s 12 clean sheets that helped them to a top-seven finish last term reflects in the price of their defenders, who have been handed a £0.5 million raise. Liverpool’s full-backs Andy Robertson, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who were available at attractive prices last season, have all seen an increase in their price tag. 13 Liverpool players saw their price go up from last season to make the club’s tally the highest among all Premier League clubs.

Chelsea fell from being champions to finishing fifth last season and their players would come slightly cheaper than usual. 10 Chelsea players have seen their price drop and that includes defenders Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Alonso and misfiring forward Alvaro Morata. The Spanish striker, who cost double figures last term, will be available for £9 million.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan moved to Arsenal from Manchester United last season, and the Armenian is offered at the lowly price of £7 million. Christian Benteke hardly fired for Palace last season and subsequently sees his price drop.

Reclassified players

A big headache for FPL managers is seeing the players they have picked being played out of position by their managers. However, the system updates players’ new playing positions every year and that makes them an interesting proposition again. This season, nine players have been reclassified and that includes some big hitters from the previous campaign.

Marko Arnautovic (West Ham United) - MID to FWD

Wilfred Zaha (Crystal Palace) - MID to FWD

James Milner (Liverpool) - DEF to MID

Arthur Masuaku (West Ham United) - DEF to MID

Elias Kachunga (Huddersfield Town) - MID to FWD

Fabian Delph (Manchester City) - MID to DEF

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace) - MID to DEF

Ashley Young (Manchester United) - MID to DEF

Fousseni Diabate (Leicester City) - FWD to MID

Bargain purchases

Ross Barkley (Chelsea) - £6 million: Ross Barkley appears to have reinvigorated himself under Maurizio Sarri. The new Chelsea manager has put a lot of faith in Barkley during pre-season where he has played him on the left side of a midfield three. Sarri has heaped praise on Barkley and deployed him in the role carried out by Marek Hamsik at Napoli. After a long time, Barkley has a full pre-season campaign under his belt and has looked promising in those games. At a price of just £6 million, Barkley could prove to be a real handy purchase.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Arsenal) - £7 million: Mkhitaryan showed glimpses of his abilities after moving to Arsenal in January. His understanding with striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has the potential of blossoming this season. Despite having a stop-start season, Mkhitaryan made 9 assists last campaign and with plenty of attacking talent around him, the Armenian could come to life this season. At £7 million, Mkhitaryan can provide a fine supply of assists that will keep your score ticking.

Phil Jagielka (Everton) - £4.5 million: The veteran English defender’s place in the side was under threat with Everton lining up a move for Manchester United’s Marcos Rojo. But with that deal unlikely to materialise, Jagielka is set to retain his place at the heart of the Evertonian defence. At £4.5 million, he is a steal especially considering Everton are likely to be very organised in their defensive play under new manager Marco Silva.

Jack Wilshere (West Ham United) - £5 million Wilshere might not have transformed into the player he was once touted to be, but the former Arsenal midfielder still has time on his hands to prove his worth as a player. Under Manuel Pellegrini, West Ham are expected to play a slightly more expansive game of football and Jack Wilshere will be at the heart of it. After finally ending his association with Arsenal that turned sour in terms of playing time on the pitch, Wilshere might be that low-priced midfielder that provides great balance to your side.

Marko Arnautovic (West Ham United) - £7 million: Arnautovic has been reclassified as a forward for the upcoming season. However his price hasn’t undergone a great deal of change from his time as a midfielder. Thus in the market of forwards, Arnautovic that has been a regular source of goals for the Hammers is the perfect option to have in your side to compensate for the money spent on other forwards.

Rule changes

Surprisingly, there have been no changes in the rules of the game. No new chips have been added to the fray, nor have the team composition rules been altered.