Best Newcastle FPL Players | Newcastle Preview

With this being my first ALLABOUTFPL article, it would be rude not to introduce myself to you all. My name is Declan, although some may know me as @FPLJoelinton on Twitter. I have been playing Fantasy Premier League for around 10 years and have been a Newcastle fan for as long as I can remember.

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Newcastle Overview

Over the years, one of these articles would be near irrelevant when it comes to Newcastle United. A team that was trudging along, flirting with relegation with no real spark in defence or attack from a Fantasy Premier League perspective. Newcastle were as green as a fixture could be on a ticker over the past few years. However, with a change of ownership and manager has led to a dramatic alteration in optimism and performance on the pitch. Newcastle assets are now in serious consideration from FPL managers and rightly so.

In the ever-changing landscape of Newcastle United, unless you are a fan yourself, it may be difficult to keep on top of likely starting eleven, style of play, and thus ultimately who are the best players to have in your team. I will be delving into all these topics to give you those answers and maybe unearth some gems from the Magpies that can be used to supplement those premium players.

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Newcastle Pre Season

Under Steve Bruce, pre-season was relatively relaxed affair with a lack of testing games and intensity. This led to the team being undercooked when the season started with fitness levels a big concern come the second half of games. My memory goes back to the opening game of last season where Newcastle were leading West Ham 2-1 at halftime, only to go on and concede 3 goals in the second half when intensity and energy levels were sapped.

This will not happen under Howe. The team have had an intense pre-season which has consisted of fixtures against 1860 Munich, Mainz, Burnley, and Benfica (with Atlanta and Athletic Bilbao still to come). Compare this to the calibre of opponents last summer which included York, Harrogate, Doncaster, and Rotherham and I think it is clear to see the difference in quality.

Newcastle have chopped and changed the starting eleven a lot during pre-season but the formation and style of play has remained consistent across all fixtures. Howe has been trying to implement a more possession-based attacking style of play in his usual 4-3-3 formation.

What has really stood out to me during pre-season is the use of the right flank. Miguel Almiron has been on fire with 6 goals and 2 assists and he has been given the freedom to cut inside and find those pockets of spaces between the midfield and defence. This has given Kieran Trippier far more freedom and space on the touchline to get forward and use his elite vision in the final third. This partnership combined twice in an almost identical fashion for the two goals against Benfica.

However, there have been times during pre-season where the expansive, possession style approach with a high line has led to Newcastle looking a bit vulnerable at the back (especially when Burn and Lascelles who are the slower pair of center-backs have played).

Link to our pre-season round-up for all Pre-season fixtures, including line-up, goals and assists for all premier league teams.(Directly scrolls to Newcastle)

Newcastle Predicted Team and Signings

Based on all the information we currently have on Newcastle, below is my expected first choice eleven and shape for the majority of the season.

First, I think all Newcastle’s new signings (Pope, Botman, and Targett) will go straight into the starting line-up. There is scope for a couple more signings to come in before the transfer window shuts with the club on the prowl for a winger and a striker. If a winger comes in, then this puts Almiron’s place under more threat than it currently is. Any incoming striker is likely to be a backup for Wilson so there is no worry over Wilson’s starting birth.

There is a bit of a debate over the centre-back pairing but with both Burn and Botman preferring the left-sided centre-back spot, I’d be surprised not to see Schar continue his rich vein of form on the right-hand side.

With the possibility of a Shelvey hamstring injury, it would likely lead to Longstaff to fill straight in or Willock to come into the midfield and Bruno drop slightly deeper to the base of the midfield three.

The rest of the side essentially picks itself with the odd rotation here and there with the likes of Willock, Fraser, and Krafth all showing they can produce under Howe.

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Newcastle Fixtures

Opening Fixtures:

Newcastle’s opening fixtures are a mixed bag with two of the hardest fixtures in the calendar in Gameweek 3 and 5 sandwiched between some nicer fixtures including home matches against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace. The sight of Liverpool and City should not put you off Newcastle assets, as long as there is solid planning within your squad for rotational options during those weeks (e.g. Pereira).

Best Newcastle United Fixture Runs

Analysing Newcastle’s fixtures over the season has led to me identifying GW 6-10 and GW 18-23 as potentially the best period to load up on Newcastle players. GW 6-10 has a set of 3 home games out of 5, which includes Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, and Brentford. The West Ham fixture is not by any means easy but it is not outside the realms of possibilities for an attacking or defensive return in a 0-0 or 1-1 draw.

From Gameweek 18-23 Newcastle have a similar set of fixtures with 1 difficult game, on paper versus Arsenal, in a run of six fixtures. This set of fixtures come just after the world cup and the unlimited transfers which therefore could be the optimum time to jump on the Magpies.

Newcastle’s fixtures have fallen this season in an interesting manner. There is not an obvious period of games where you have to avoid Newcastle players but also not a run of 8+ games of favourable fixtures. This could see Newcastle assets as long-term holds within your squad where potential rotational pairings could really work well and help save budget.

Newcastle FPL Assets by Position

Goalkeepers:

Nick Pope – 5.0m

Newcastle United best FPL assets for the 2022/23 season ~ Nick Pope

I do suspect Pope will be the number 1 for the season but it is not a foregone conclusion. Pope has been a gem in fantasy seasons gone by for Burnley and therefore is definitely scope for him to match or better his 11 clean sheets in 2020/21 and 9 in 2021/22. Every season he has been in the Premier League he has surpassed 130 FPL points which is on par with Mendy last season. He has also averaged 18.5 bonus points per season that he has played in the Premier League. In years gone by I would say he is 100% a viable asset but with the amendments to Goalkeeper pricing, it makes Pope far less desirable as for the same price you could get a Chelsea or Arsenal keeper.

Further Read: Best FPL Goalkeepers at each price point for 2022/23 Season

Defence:

Kieran Trippier – 5.0m

A fantastic signing for Newcastle in January and the step up in class that he brought to Newcastle was obvious to see. I think Trippier could be the pick of the 5.0m defenders this season and that has stemmed from two reasons:

Set Pieces – Trippier will be on free kicks and corners which could give him a steady flow of attacking returns throughout the season. Trippier only started 5 games for Newcastle due to injury but scored two direct free kicks in that time. As much as the conversion rate is unlikely to continue, it’s definitely a threat I would like my defender to have. Trippier created a chance every 61 mins since he joined Newcastle which is superior to a similarly priced asset like Cash who created a chance every 120 mins. This is the impact taking corners and free kicks can have.
Clean Sheets – Newcastle’s defence improved markedly since Howe became manager. In GW 1-18 last season Newcastle had an xGC of 38 (the worst in the division), whereas in the second half of the season, GW 19-38, Newcastle’s xGC was 25.8. This was only bettered by Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham. This is an unbelievable turnaround and something Howe deserves massive credit for.

Further Read: Best FPL Defenders at Each Price Point for The 2022/23 Season

Sven Botman – 4.5m

Newcastle United best FPL assets for the 2022/23 season ~ Botman

There may be some people that do not want to stretch to 5.0m for a Newcastle defender that plays Man City and Liverpool in the first five fixtures. Botman is the most nailed of the centre-backs and thus the safest bet if you want to save a bit of money. Botman has some element of attacking threat to him due to his 6ft4 frame, which will be a target point for a lot of Newcastle’s set pieces. He scored 3 goals for Lille last season which highlights this point, but I don’t expect him to keep pace with Trippier.

One option with Botman and all 4.5m options is the potential to rotate them in your squads and play one in a perceived good fixture and bench the other for a tougher fixture. This allows you to pick an asset such as Botman that does not have brilliant fixtures game after game but can be rotated to get a run of 10+fixtures that are more favourable.

The table below highlights a possible rotation between Botman and any Brentford Defender over a 10 GW period to avoid each assets least favourable match-up.

*Gameweek*	*Newcastle Defenders*	*Brentford Defenders*	*Rotational Pairing*
1	NFO (H)	LEI (A)	NFO (H)
2	BHA (A)	MUN (H)	BHA (A)
3	MCI (H)	FUL (A)	FUL (A)
4	WOL (A)	EVE (H)	EVE (H)
5	LIV (A)	CRY (A)	CRY (A)
6	CRY (H)	LEE (H)	CRY (H)
7	WHU (A)	SOU (A)	SOU (A)
8	BOU (H)	ARS (H)	BOU (H)
9	FUL (A)	BOU (A)	FUL (A)/BOU (A)
10	BRE (H)	NEW (A)	BRE (H)

Further Read: FPL Fixture Swing Analysis & Best Player Rotation for 22/23 FPL Season

Newcastle Midfielders

Miguel Almiron (5.0m)

Newcastle United best FPL assets for the 2022/23 season ~ Almiron

Miggy Almiron has not had the best time at Newcastle and it has not been for the want of effort or desire, but finally, it looks like it is starting to click for the Paraguayan. He has been formidable on the right wing in pre-season and looks (without any new signing) the likely holder of the spot in the starting eleven for the beginning of the season.

There are no stats from last season that I can use to sell him to you. He scored 1 goal and got 0 assists from an xGI of 3.09 across the season and therefore it is hard avoid right?

Well… I would put him in the Leon Bailey category, a very cheap enabler that is showing great pre-season form and should get a starting spot for the first few weeks of the season. My worry with Almiron is the same as Bailey, if there is a poor performance or the team is losing they are both easy assets to take off (even more so with the 5 sub-rule). It could work as a short-term punt, considering football is such a confidence game and it is clear Almiron has that currently.

Further Read: Best £5 & £5.5 Million FPL Midfielders For The 2022/23 FPL Season

Bruno Guimares (6.0m)

Newcastle United best FPL assets for the 2022/23 season ~ Bruno Guimares

Bruno is an absolute gem of a player and honestly looks a class apart in the middle of the park. He has the composure and technical ability that Newcastle have been longing for in that number 8 position. I think he surprised a few with his FPL returns last season but he has a very good knack of timing his runs into the box for the finishing touch.

5 goals and 1 assist in just 11 starts shows the impact he had for Newcastle and anyone that gambled on him from an FPL perspective. Bruno had an xGI of 4.43 and thus outperformed this slightly but not by such a margin that would consider his returns lucky in any manner. All his goals came from inside the box with 4 of them being “big chances” and this is all due to his movement and intelligence on when to make that run into the box.

Bruno will be a very good asset at 6.0m this season but whether he will be better than the likes of Martinelli and Rashford (albeit 0.5 more expensive), who both play more attacking roles for their club, is unlikely.

It is also worth noting there is a chance Bruno drops a tad deeper if/when there is an absence of Shelvey. This would mean he would play in the base of the 3 and although not a defensive midfielder it may stifle some attacking presence from him. I do strongly believe Howe is of the impression that the number 8 role is his best position but in certain scenarios, it could be needs must in dropping him deeper.

Further Read: Premium FPL Midfielders Analysis Ahead of 2022/23 FPL Season

Allan Saint-Maximin (6.5m)

Newcastle United best FPL assets for the 2022/23 season ~ Saint Maximin

Now now now… the man the often promises so much but doesn’t quite deliver. ASM is electric and frustrating on the ball in the same breath. A reclassification from a Forward to a Midfielder makes the Frenchman far more enticing than last season due to the extra point for a goal and a clean sheet. I think this is an important season for ASM, he has often been the outlet in a very poor Newcastle side. He is often double-teamed as the main Newcastle threat but with a better manager and better players around him it is time for him to thrive or questions will be asked.

ASM tallied 5 goals and 7 assists last season, with an xGI of 9.46 and outperformed slightly on xA. Watching Saint-Maximin is often frustrating as he often misses chances he shouldn’t and scores goals that he shouldn’t. This is highlighted by the fact that he was offered up 6 big chances last season and yet only scored 2 of those.

It is without a doubt that ASM has been Newcastle’s biggest creator and that will continue this season. There is hope with a fully fit Wilson that some of the chances ASM does create will be finished more often than has been done in the past. He created 50 chances last season so there is scope for definite improvement in his assist total too.

I think I will own Saint-Maximin at some point this season and at 6.5m I think he could provide some very good value if the finishing and decision-making improves.

Further Read: Best £4.5 Million FPL Midfielders For The 2022/23 FPL Season

Forwards

Callum Wilson (7.5m)

Newcastle United best FPL assets for the 2022/23 season ~ Wilson

Wilson has had a full pre-season without injury which is very pleasing to see, albeit injury does seem to follow Callum Wilson around so I won’t count my blessings just yet. Wilson is a prolific Premier League striker when he is fit and there is some hope that if gets near a full season under his belt he can match or better his tally of 14 goals in the 2018/19 season (also under Howe).

Wilson is Newcastle’s talisman which is highlighted by the fact that when he was on the pitch last season, he had a 50% FPL goal involvement. If Newcastle scored there was a very strong chance Wilson was involved. Wilson bagged 8 goals last season from an xG of 7.04 and had an attempt every 39.7 minutes.

Wilson's record in the opening five games of the last four seasons — Wilson’s record in the opening five games of the last four seasons

The worry with Wilson is that often he has scraps to feed off under this Newcastle side and although Howe did improve the attacking output of the team it was not as drastic as an improvement that we saw with the defence. With no attacking signings so far to help supply Wilson, there is slight worry he still may not get the number of chances he deserves. This is where I would keep an eye out for a potential incoming winger in the transfer market that can help reduce the creative burden on Saint-Maximin.

At 7.5m there is fantastic value to be had with Wilson and is definitely worth a gamble for the first few weeks of the season. I don’t see ownership of Wilson ever being high due to the likes of Jesus, Haaland, and Kane being favoured. This coupled with the ever-trend of Fantasy Premier League which is seeing more people move away from 3 upfront will mean Wilson will always be a differential.

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