We all love a good nosey at other people’s ranks. As draft tools go, this is arguably the most helpful one in order to see where others rank FPL assets in each position. I love ranks!
For my ranks this year, I have rated players on last year’s performances, my own preferences while also adding in data that I have collected from five mock drafts that I have either taken part in or observed. I’ve also put them into tiers (very difficult task for this group of midfielder!
Here is what I’ve come up with for my top 40 midfielders. Comment below to tell me about any changes that you would make. Enjoy!
| TIER ONE | ||||
| Rank | Player | Team | MID rank 18/19 | Average PPM 18/19 |
| 1 | De Bruyne | MCY | 52 | 9.13 |
| 2 | Eriksen | TOT | 7 | 11.81 |
| 3 | Sigurdsson | EVE | 1 | 12.87 |
| 4 | Bernardo Silva | MCY | 8 | 11.4 |
| TIER TWO | ||||
| 5 | Maddison | LEI | 6 | 12.31 |
| 6 | Pogba | MUN | 3 | 13.26 |
| 7 | Anderson | WHU | 4 | 12.56 |
| 8 | Fraser | BOU | 2 | 12.82 |
| TIER THREE | ||||
| 9 | Milivojevic | CRY | 5 | 11.87 |
| 10 | David Silva | MCY | 10 | 11.21 |
| 11 | Alli | TOT | 38 | 8.82 |
| 12 | Gross | BHA | 37 | 8.96 |
| 13 | Redmond | SOU | 12 | 9.37 |
| 14 | Townsend | CRY | 9 | 10.01 |
| 15 | Jota | WOL | 16 | 8.71 |
| 16 | Pulisic | CHE | – | – |
| TIER FOUR | ||||
| 17 | Moutinho | WOL | 11 | 9.63 |
| 18 | Tielemans | LEI | 69 | 10.42 |
| 19 | Lucas Moura | TOT | 17 | 8.94 |
| 20 | Lanzini | WHU | 105 | 6.05 |
| 21 | Ward Prowse | SOU | 33 | 9.02 |
| 22 | Grealish | AVL | – | – |
| 23 | Brooks | BOU | 21 | 8.67 |
| 24 | Mkhitaryan | ARS | 36 | 9.00 |
| 25 | Ozil | ARS | 46 | 7.77 |
| 26 | Mahrez | MCY | 31 | 8.78 |
| TIER FIVE | ||||
| 27 | Buendia | NOR | – | – |
| 28 | Barkley | CHE | 59 | 5.59 |
| 29 | Almiron | NEW | 88 | 8.85 |
| 30 | Bernard | EVE | 40 | 6.31 |
| 31 | Doucoure | WAT | 18 | 8.00 |
| 32 | Antonio | WHU | 15 | 8.97 |
| 33 | Iwobi | ARS | 27 | 6.97 |
| 34 | March | BHA | 20 | 7.6 |
| 35 | Barnes | LEI | 76 | 7.5 |
| 36 | Gudmundsson | BUR | 29 | 8.34 |
| 37 | Keita | LIV | 78 | 4.48 |
| 38 | Shelvey | NEW | 77 | 7.5 |
| 39 | El Ghazi | AVL | – | – |
| 40 | Norwood | SHU | – | – |
Tier One
Every part of me wanted to put Christian Eriksen at top spot. During an “off season” in 2018/19, the great Dane hit 8 goals and provided 12 assists. With Kieran Trippier’s set piece threat out of the way and a strong midfield of Sissoko and N’Dombele backing him up, Eriksen’s productivity will surely only improve this season. If he stays, that is…
I just found it impossible to resist KDB at top spot. A fully fit Kevin De Bruyne starts 35+ games per season and is the best midfielder in the game. Simple as that. The statistic going around Twitter that he’s created more chances than anyone in the Premier League over the last three seasons, despite having played in “two and a bit” of them tells you all you need to know. I thought that his injury hit season would see him slip down the order a little. He’s been the first midfielder off the board in every mock draft I’ve witnessed.
The inclusion of Gylfi Sigurdsson ahead of Bernardo Silva will raise a few eyebrows. I personally can’t see Bernardo getting the uninterrupted Premier League minutes that he enjoyed last season, competing with KDB, namesake David (and maybe even Phil Foden) in central midfield and with Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and a rejuvenated Riyad Mahrez on the flanks.
Plus, I love Siggy this year. The top scoring midfielder of last year is arguably part of a better Everton side at the start of this one. There’s even half a chance he will fall to the second round in a lot of drafts, despite the shallow midfielder pool.
Tier Two
Each of these tier two talents can count themselves as unfortunate to be left out of the top tier in these ranks after a stellar campaign in 2018/19. James Maddison in particular has been going in the first round in a lot of mock drafts this season. After being the only player to reach 100 key passes in the Premier League last season, it’s easy to see why. Many fancy Leicester to be the most likely to break the top six and Madders is their main man. You’d be forgiven for taking him in the top 10-15 picks.
Felipe Anderson was the top scoring midfielder for a lot of the season but tailed off a little towards the end of the campaign. It’ll be fascinating to see how he starts this one. The introductions of Pablo Fornals and Sebastian Haller increase Andersons value in my opinion, particularly the latter.
The big question over Ryan Fraser is whether last season was a fluke and that he will never reach the heights of 7 goals and 14 assists. It’d be wrong not to include him so high in these ranks after achieving the second highest score in the midfielder rankings (4th overall) but I’m still treating him with some trepidation this season.
And then there’s the little noticed, little talked about Paul Pogba. There’s no doubt in my mind that his transfer saga will rumble on until the last minutes of the transfer window, making a dependable Fantrax scorer a very risky early pick. If you take a punt on him in the second round and he stays to captain Manchester United, the rewards will be massive.
Tier Three
This tier is packed with high value, non-goal/assist dependant scorers. The most notable faller in this category will be Luka Milivojevic, a player going in the top 25-30 picks in most mock drafts. A lot of this is down to personal preference. I’d much rather take a Maddison or an Anderson (basically a more exciting but still reliable pick) with my second round pick rather than Milo. Much has been made of his dependancy on penalties and I, for one, buy into that a little. If Wilfried Zaha leaves, his value decreases. Having said that, he carries a decent amount of value in his defensive contributions and his dominance of set pieces makes him a decent FPL asset. If he’s still there in round 4/5 I would take him. The fact is, he won’t be and I’m happy to see him go elsewhere.
I love Nathan Redmond and Andros Townsend in this game due to their vast amount of point scoring assets. They will most likely go in the third round or the start of the fourth, and deservedly so.
Meanwhile, Dele Alli and Pascal Gross will both be hoping for a big comeback season after both enduring a disappointing 2018/19. They could both be massive steals in this year’s drafts if they fall as a result. I’d be very interested in them in the third round, despite finish as the 37th and 38th highest scoring mids last season.
Christian Pulisic appears here. No one truly knows how he will fare. Or even where he will play. Well worth a gamble after a solid first few picks.
Tier Four
This tier is absolutely packed with potential sleeper value. I’m much higher on Jack Grealish than most people seem to be. There’s a theory that he will be the provider of the past before the assist which isn’t a lot of good in FPL. What I like about him is that everything Aston Villa do going forwards should go through their captain and talisman. I took him in round five in one mock which was probably a little early. However, if I manage to grab two exciting forwards, two dependable midfielders and perhaps a high scoring defender, I’m taking a gamble on Grealish.
Manuel Lanzini could be the ultimate faller in this year’s draft. The highest I’ve seen the West Ham magician hit the board in any mock draft so far has been 43rd pick and he’s also gone as low as 73rd. He’ll be an absolute steal if he can re-find the form of 2017/18. Another one worth the risk.
The biggest hitters in this tier are undoubtedly Mesut Ozil and Riyad Mahrez. They fall to this level due to doubts over playing time. Obviously. If they play, they’re tier one/high tier two midfielders. Obviously. Willing to take the risk? Could pay massive dividends.
Tier Five
The lowest tier but still a tonne of value.
If any manager is going to bring the best out of an English attacking midfielder, surely it’s going to be Frank Lampard. Chelsea’s new boss could be the key that unlocks Ross Barkley’s potential, making him a top class FPL asset. On the day of writing, Barkley scored a pre-season goal against Barcelona. One to watch and one I’d be excited to gamble on, especially having seen him leave the board at pick number 143 in one mock.
Much is being made of Emiliano Buendia and I’m excited to see what the fuss is about. I’ve seen the Argentinian placed much higher in other ranks and his stats lend themselves to a potentially great FPL asset. The fact that he is completely unproven in the Premier League puts him firmly in the gamble category, but he could easily end up being the next James Maddison. If he’s still there around the 8th I am more than happy to take the gamble. If you’ve got a Norwich fan in your league, he will be long gone by then.
Meanwhile, Johann Berg Gudmundsson doesn’t belong in this category if and when he returns to the Burnley lineup this season. He goes right into tier three as does Alex Iwobi under similar circumstances.
Oliver Norwood and Ahmed El Ghazi also possess plenty of FPL potential. As I said, a tonne of value.
Fantasy Football 92 