Southampton Top Picks for FPL 2024/25

Fantasy Premier League has launched for another season. For that reason we continue to cover each team in the build up to the start of the new campaign. In this article we take a look at the Southampton top picks for FPL 2024/25.

Picking out the Southampton top picks for FPL 2024/25 could be really helpful for managers. The Saints could be one of several teams with the potential to offer some great value for money assets this season, so let’s see what we can find.

Southampton claimed promotion to the Premier League after a hard fought battle with the likes of Leicester and Ipswich but it wasn’t as straight forward as they would have liked. In fact, the Saints fell short of automatic promotion so it took a seismic clash with Leeds in the play-off final to bank their spot in the top tier.

24/25 Starting Fixtures

Below we can see the Fantasy Football Scout Fixture Ticker. The Saints rank fourth best on the ticker to start the season with matches against Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Manchester United, Ipswich and Bournemouth.

Southampton Defence

Southampton eased their way into the play-off places but their defensive numbers weren’t reflective of that, ranking (best):

17th – Goals conceded
15th – Clean sheets kept
10th – Expected goals conceded
12th – Total shots conceded

Comparing the Southampton Defensive Assets

The Ipswich defensive players rank in the following order for gametime last season:

1st – Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.5m) – 3858 minutes
2nd – Gavin Bazunu (£4.5m) – 3690 minutes
3rd – Jan Bednarek (£4m) – 3548 minutes
4th – Taylor Harwood-Bellis (£4m) – 3499 minutes
5th – Ryan Manning (£4.5m) – 2744 minutes

We then compared those same players in terms of goal contributions:

1st – Kyle Walker-Peters – Six
2nd – Taylor Harwood-Bellis – Five
3rd – Jan Bednarek – Two
4th – Ryan Manning – Two

Conclusion

Based on his £4 price-tag, his minutes and the fact he managed around 400 minutes less and with one attacking return less it’s centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis who stands out as the best option.

Another good option for Southampton is full-back Kyle Walker-Peters who dominated both gametime and goal contributions.

Southampton Attack

The Southampton defence may not be have not have met expectations but the newly promoted side maintained a much better frontline last season, ranking (best):

3rd – Goals scored
2nd – Expected goals
2nd – Total shots
2nd -Total shots in the box

Comparing the Southampton Attackers

We now turn our attention to the Southampton attacking assets. When comparing their attackers for minutes played last season they rank:

1st – Adam Armstrong (£5.5m) – 3745 minutes
2nd – Will Smallbone (£5m) – 3002 minutes
3rd – Stuart Armstrong – 2829 minutes
4th – Flynn Downes (£5m) – 2550 minutes
5th – Che Adams – 2289 minutes

We then compared those same players for attacking returns and they rank as follows:

1st – Adam Armstrong – 34
2nd – Che Adams – 20
3rd – Stuart Armstrong – 12
4th – Will Smallbone – Nine
5th – Samuel Edozie (£5m) – Nine

Additional Notes

There have been some huge changes at Southampton ahead of the new season.

Key attacker Che Adams has since departed to Serie A club Torino so he could be a significant loss. Stuart Armstrong’s contract has also expired and he was one the Saints top three players for minutes and attacking threat last campaign.

Midfielder Carlos Alcaraz returns from loan after spending some time with Juventus.

Southampton have also signed left winger/forward Brereton Diaz (£5.5m) who many expect to come straight into the starting XI.

Conclusion

There isn’t much doubt around who the standout pick is in the Southampton attack. Adam Armstrong was reliable for gametime and excellent in regards to attacking output but his appeal is topped off my the fact he also takes his sides penalties.

The lack of convincing options elsewhere could mean taking a chance on Brereton Diaz as the second best attacking option in the Saints frontline. Brereton impressed for Sheffield United last season after scoring six goals and registering one assist in 14 features.