Top Newcastle picks for 23/24 FPL

Now that their fixtures and FPL player prices have been confirmed, here are the top Newcastle picks for 2023/24.

Recent years have been miserable for Newcastle fans but these past 12 months have been special. Way ahead of schedule after October 2021’s high-profile takeover, the Magpies reached a cup final and finished with Champions League qualification.

A vital part of their fourth-place foundations came from a strong defence but, by the end, it was the attackers who were a focal point of FPL managers.

Next season will be tougher for Eddie Howe’s side. Fighting on more fronts while so many rivals have strengthened, the Sandro Tonali (£5.5m) and Harvey Barnes (£6.5m) additions needs accompanying by more. After all, they made the second-fewest line-up changes in 2022/23.

Fixture Ticker

Thanks to Fantasy Football Scout, we can see that Newcastle’s first four matches rank as the hardest of all. They’re all against one of last season’s top seven, with Man City (a) and Liverpool (h) already experienced by the end of Gameweek 3.

Afterwards, fixtures gradually improve with back-to-back outings against newly-promoted teams. Their aim is to limit the damages until then.

Newcastle’s defence

When Gameweek 21 finished, Newcastle’s clean sheet tally was already on 12, having conceded twice in the latest 11 matches. However – despite underlying stats barely worsening – things regressed to just two clean sheets in their final 17.

• Alongside Man City, they let in the joint-fewest league goals (33)
• In the end, a total of 14 clean sheets felt low, although it did place joint-second
• Only Pep Guardiola’s champions conceded less shots on target (127), big chances (51) and expected goals (xGC, 38.78)

Top Newcastle picks in defence

Of course, the best defender amongst all Premier League teams was Kieran Trippier (£6.5m). A final day’s own goal prevented this bonus points magnet from reaching 200 points, as he ended number one across all positions for crosses (393), successful crosses (135), corners (216) and successful corners (83). Furthermore, only midfield playmaker Bruno Fernandes created more chances (110).

Trippier is a name synonymous with 22/23 FPL. By Gameweek 21 he’d blanked in just three of 20 appearances thanks to superb runs of six returns in a row and a further streak of eight (the latter totalling 75 points). But 13 blanks arrived during the next 15.

Owners stayed loyal throughout this decline, peaking at 7.79 million managers. This meant he quickly became a protection pick that offered virtually no gain in rank. This time, Trippier’s big price rise joins the aforementioned nasty early fixtures – avoiding him is recommended.

Meanwhile, the same back four started 31 of Newcastle’s 38 games and it’s a huge surprise to see Sven Botman remain at £4.5m. Team-mate Fabian Schar‘s (£5.0m) one goal arrived in Gameweek 1 but he ended with 4.95 expected goals (xG). He was the leading defender for attempts (56), big chances (9) and shots on target (14)

In goal, Nick Pope (£5.5m) is one of three goalkeepers to be priced at the highest £5.5m. It was an entertaining season for him – one red card, two penalty saves and many clean sheets – but the defence restricted opponents to 127 shots on target, meaning only 87 saves could be made.

Newcastle’s attack

A poor eight-match run to start 2023 brought silly draws and a low three goals. Soon after this, they were the best team over the final 12 Gameweeks for goals (33), big chances (49) and xG (34.80).

• The one team to better their season’s 417 shots inside the box was Liverpool.
• No team hit the woodwork more often than the Magpies (20)

Top Newcastle picks in attack

It ended up being Callum Wilson‘s (£8.0m) best Premier League season thanks to a bizarre spell between Gameweeks 29 and 36. He started five of the ten matches, bagging 11 goals from just 555 minutes.

The phenomenal Erling Haaland was the sole player with better xG per 90 (0.83) and big chances per 90 (1.48) rates but Wilson played the least often of all those with 11 or more goals. That’s why 23/24 will intensify the rotation uncertainty – he was already back-up to Alexander Isak (£7.5m) and now there’ll be the Champions League.

It also holds back the Swede’s FPL potential. The club’s record signing dazzled over later months but his game time will surely be managed.

Finally, we have to mention the purple patch of Miguel Almiron (£6.5m). A player symbolic of Newcastle’s quick rise under Howe, he netted eight times between Gameweeks 9 and 17 to establish himself as part of the Fantasy template. Things dropped off after the World Cup and it’s expected that a big-name signing will soon arrive in his position.

Conclusion

So it’s hard to strongly recommend any Newcastle names, at least initially. A nasty run of early games coincides with a defence that lost momentum and some big price rises.

Botman is certainly worth having in your squads as a £4.5m option, keeping him around for when better matches begin around Gameweek 6.

Elsewhere, Howe will add quality and depth for their busier schedule, making Wilson, Isak and Almiron vulnerable to rests. And it’s still brave to go without Trippier when you look at his dominant underlying stats of last season – three of his five double-digit hauls came against Man United, Brighton and Aston Villa, showing he can star against anyone.