Telegraph Fantasy Football Preview - Strikers - Part One

With just a week to go we bring you the final piece in our Telegraph Fantasy Football preview – the all-important striker slots, where things are not quite as clear cut as they were in past years.

In the past it has been a case of picking two or three from a stellar group of around five. However, with so much doubt surrounding the futures of Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney, coupled with the fact that in several cases it is difficult to gauge who will be a guaranteed starter – therefore making this years striker picks more interesting than ever.

Robin van Persie comes in at the highest price of 8, whilst this is lofty the Dutchmen should guarantee goals and consistent starts – something which many of his close rivals simply can’t match at this stage. United have been dealt a less than kind start so early returns might not be spectacular, nevertheless the Dutchmen should still offer solid early returns and it would take a brave player to not select him.

United’s arch rivals Manchester City offer more appealing early fixtures, although doubts remain over who exactly will be their main men. That said ,it is difficult to not see Sergio Augerro being a consistent contributor even with the arrivals of Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo. Having endured a stop start season the Argentine should improve this term and if City have a strong year, he could be the man to turn to. Jovetic and Negredo are both significantly cheaper, however like any foreign imports present a risk. That said, Negredo could be a worthy gamble given his impressive scoring record – which saw him score 25 La Liga goals last term. Jovetic can’t boast such returns with his efforts in Serie A last season not justifying selection at this stage – he scored just 13.

In regards to Chelsea it is difficult to have faith in any of their options with us so unsure of who actually is in pole position for the striker birth. Given their wealth of midfield options it is likely only one of Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Romelu Lukaku will start – add in Wayne Rooney and things get very muddy. If Lukaku can force his way to the number one slot then at 5.4 he could be a bargain, however he is more than one to keep an eye on. With Chelsea you are probably best advised to invest in midfield options.

Like Chelsea, Arsenal’s best options look to come from midfield with Oliver Giroud and Lukas Podolski unlikely to provide consistent returns. Of course should they be successful in their pursuit of Luis Suarez then that situation will change, with the Uruguayan likely to achieve stunning returns as the Gunners main man.

Find Part 2 in our Blog section.