Chelsea top picks for FPL

The Premier League season is edging closer and closer along with the Official Fantasy game. Because of this we direct our focus towards the Chelsea top picks in FPL. Analysing their defensive and offensive stats from last season to pick out their best fantasy players.

Looking at the Chelsea top picks in FPL can be extremely helpful to managers. ‘The Blues had an extremely poor campaign last season but under Mauricio Pochettino we could see them back to their best. But before looking at their players, lets take a look at their early fixtures.

Fixture ticker

As we can see from the season ticker below Chelsea rank third for the first six matches. They have games against Liverpool, West Ham, Luton, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Aston Villa. This could be an early indicator that they are worth investment.

The Chelsea defence

The Blues struggled to maintain their usual high standard in defence last season – they ranked:

Joint fourth best for goals conceded (47).
Joint sixth for clean sheets (10).
10th for expected goals conceded (53.27).

Chelsea defensive assets

Below we compare the Chelsea defenders in terms of minutes and goal threat to determine the best picks.

Firstly, it is important to highlight players who have left Chelsea – Edouard Mendy (goalkeeper), Cesar Azpilicueta (centre-back/full-back), Kalidou Koulibaly (centre-back) all exited during the summer.

Below we can see that Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5m) has played more minutes than any other defensive asset (2565) – With Mendy gone he will likely be first choice without rotation.

Thiago Silva is the highest ranking defender in terms of minutes played with 2351. Left-back Ben Chilwell (£5.5m), right-back Reece James (£5.5m) and centre-back Wesley Fofana (£4.5m) are all arguably first team players but their minutes were hugely affected by injuries last season.

We also compare their non-penalty expected goal involvement below.

We can see that although Reece James played less minutes than most of the other options he still leads the pack for NPXGI with 3.93 – the same can be said for Ben Chilwell as he sits just behind James with 3.80.

Taking into account his NPXGI, fitness and set piece taking Ben Chilwell is the standout defensive option. Reece James should also be considered as he has a high NPXGI and is regaining fitness. Wesley Fofana (£4.5m) picked up an injury and Levi Colwill (£4.5m) is fully expected to take his place.

The Chelsea attack

Chelsea struggled in front of goal last season, that is when comparing their campaign to recent seasons – they ranked:

Joint 16th worst for goals scored (38)
9th for shots on target (154)
13th for expected goals (48.77)

Chelsea attacking assets

Below we compare the minutes and goal threat data of the Chelsea attacking assets.

Firstly, it is worth highlighting midfielders like Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic have left the club along with striker Kai Havertz.

It could also be very significant that former Leipzig striker Christopher Nkunku (£7.5m) has joined them – the Frenchman is likely to play in a central advanced role for Chelsea and could take penalties – he also racked up 16 goals and four assists last season.

In terms of minutes Raheem Sterling (£7m) edges the rest after playing 1895. The next highest are Conor Gallagher (£5.5m) and Enzo Fernandez (£5m) but both play in a central midfield role primarily.

Mykhailo Mudryk (£6.5m) ranks fourth for minutes played with 21-year-old Noni Madueke (£5.5m) close behind.

Below is how the players compare offensively. One good indicator is non-penalty expected goal involvement.

Well clear and leading the pack is Raheem Sterling who had a NPXGI of 9.02 last season. Similar to minutes played both central midfielders naturally followed Sterling. One player who could be worth a special mention is Mudryk who although short on minutes has a NPXGI similar to the two ahead of him.

The standout Chelsea attacker at the time of writing is striker Nicolas Jackson (£7m). Jackson has led the frontline during pre-season and scored two goals whilst picking up three assists.

Another great option is new signing Christopher Nkunku who has proved both reliable in terms of minutes during pre-season, played in left-wing, striker and a number 10 role and scored four goals during pre-season – he picked up a knee in his last match so it could be worth monitoring. He could well edge Jackson to the top spot if fit and if on penalty duty.

One player to monitor is Mykhailo Mudryk – the Ukrainian accumulated solid NPXGI stats considering his minutes were limited and has impressed during his pre-season matches.

Pre-season notes

In the five pre-season matches played Chelsea won four and drew twice, remaining unbeaten.
Chelsea scored 13 goals in their matches whilst keeping two clean sheets.
Midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka (£4.5m) played in a number 10 role during pre-season and impressed so he could be one to watch.
Ben Chilwell looked like the most promising full-back – he scored, created an assist and looked dangerous throughout.