Goal brings you the best goalscorers to pick in the game, including some bargain choices if you want to spread your budget further
You’ve decided on your fantasy football team name and now comes the difficult part: picking the squad.
Choosing the three forwards that will form part of your team can be tough when there are so many strong options available.
The Premier League is populated with some of the best strikers in the world, but which ones are the best bet for fantasy football points? To help you decide, Goal brings you the best Premier League forwards to consider in 2021-22.
Editors’ Picks
Best Premier League fantasy football forwards
The best forwards and strikers to choose in fantasy football are those who both score goals and provide assists for their team-mates.
Of course, the more goals and assists the better, so if you have a striker who also takes penalties or free kicks, then that is an ideal candidate.
Bonus points are given to players who have a positive influence on the game, so it’s best to consider strikers who are the focal point of how a team plays.
There are a lot of attackers who are well established, but every now and then comes a bolt from the blue, so it’s always worth paying attention to the early pacesetters.
Harry Kane | Tottenham | £12.5m
One of the best strikers in the game, Harry Kane needs no introduction. Coming into this season, the Tottenham captain, who could be on the move amid links to Manchester City, boasts a record of 166 goals in 245 Premier League appearances and was once again one of the highest scorers in FPL last term with 242 points.
In 2020-21 he was involved in 37 league goals (23 goals, 14 assists) and the fact that he is Spurs’ chief penalty taker is an added incentive to choose him. However, Kane’s long-standing effectiveness and value as a forward in fantasy football means that he comes at a high price, so if you want him he’ll take a big chunk of your budget.
Jamie Vardy | Leicester City | £10.5m
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy is the second most expensive forward in FPL at the start of the season and that’s because he scores plenty of goals. More recently, Vardy has also added more assists to his game (15 goals and 14 assists in 2020-21).
The former England international’s fantasy football points average coming into 2021-20 was 178 points per season. He has twice surpassed the 200-points threshold and, across seven seasons, he has never scored lower than 120 points.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Arsenal | £10m
Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is classed as a forward again having been designated as a midfielder in last season’s game. Despite enduring a difficult season individually and overall with Arsenal, Aubameyang has been valued highly once again.
The Gabon international scored 10 goals and laid on three assists in 2020-21, amassing a points total of 131 points, but he clearly possesses the quality, having scored over 200 points in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. ‘Auba’ is one to pay close attention to in the early games.
Timo Werner | Chelsea | £9m
He may not have pulled up trees for Chelsea in his first season, but Timo Werner was directly involved in 18 goals for the Blues across the 2020-21 Premier League campaign.
Though he scored just six goals in the league himself, Werner has shown he is capable of challenging for the Golden Boot, having hit close to 30 Bundesliga goals for RB Leipzig the season before his arrival at Stamford Bridge.
Roberto Firmino | Liverpool | £9m
With an average of 162 points a season in fantasy football, Roberto Firmino is very often a shrewd choice if you want to save a little on strikers.
The Brazil international endured a tough season from a personal perspective last term, with injuries and competition from Diogo Jota shaking things up. However, he still scored 141 fantasy football points, meaning he was still one of the best-scoring forwards in the game.
Gabriel Jesus | Man City | £8.5m
Should, as Pep Guardiola has hinted, City fail to buy a new striker, with Sergio Aguero now playing for Barcelona, the stage has been cleared for Gabriel Jesus to be the chief goal threat at Manchester City and if he hits the ground running he could be a bargain selection.
The Brazil forward will be eager to increase his scoring tally and break his previous personal best of 14 goals, which he scored in 2019-20. However, one thing to always bear in mind when choosing Man City players in fantasy football is Guardiola’s willingness to rotate his squad. There is every chance Jesus could score a hat-trick one week then find himself on the bench the next week.
Alexandre Lacazette | Arsenal | £8.5m
While never exceptionally prolific in front of goal since joining Arsenal in 2017-18, Alexandre Lacazette has always managed to score double figures for the Gunners, thus gaining a decent fantasy football score.
The France international struck 13 goals in the league last season and was one of a few shining lights in Mikel Arteta’s struggling side. He’ll be aiming to take things up a notch in 2021-22.
Patrick Bamford | Leeds United | £8m
A star student of Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United, Patrick Bamford enjoyed his best-ever season last term, scoring 17 goals and setting up 11 more for his team-mates in the Premier League.
He finished the season just shy of 200 points on FPL, leaving him second only to Harry Kane in the standings, well ahead of many of the players who are on this list, including Vardy, Lacazette and Werner.
Edinson Cavani | Man Utd | £8.5m
Veteran striker Edinson Cavani scored 10 goals in 26 Premier League appearances in 2020-21, as well as six goals in five Europa League games.
There is a decent chance that the Uruguayan will be one of the Red Devils’ key players once more this season, but even if not he is often a threat from the bench.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin | Everton | £8m
Dominic Calvert-Lewin flourished under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti in the Premier League last season and enjoyed his best-ever campaign, with 16 goals and six assists.
Much will depend on how new boss Rafa Benitez uses him, but, with clever hold-up play and with him always being a threat from set-pieces, Calvert-Lewin looks like he is maturing into one of the best strikers in the division.
Best bargain fantasy football forwards
In order to make best use of your budget, it is wise to seek out bargains and there are a few potential value-for-money forwards in this season’s FPL game.
Ollie Watkins | Aston Villa | £7.5m
Only Kane, Bamford and Vardy amassed more fantasy football points than Ollie Watkins last season, yet the Aston Villa striker is priced considerably cheaper.
There is always a risk that Watkins may not reach the heights of last season (14 goals, nine assists), but the fact that he has hit double figures in the goal charts in each of the last five seasons bodes well.
Patson Daka | Leicester | £7.5m
Having come from Red Bull Salzburg, new Leicester City signing Patson Daka has been likened to Erling Haaland and, even if the Zambia striker is his own man, they do have goals in common.
Daka hit 27 goals in 28 Austrian Bundesliga games last season and 24 in 31 games the season before. He may take time to bed in, but if he can hit the ground running he will be a bargain.
Richarlison | Everton | £7.5m
Returning to Merseyside an Olympic champion, Richarlison will be full of confidence as he looks to improve on his showing for Everton last season.
The Brazil forward is a dangerous presence in and out of the box and has shown himself to be capable of hitting double figures as well as setting goals up.
Raul Jimenez | Wolves | £7.5m
Raul Jimenez suffered a frightening skull fracture in November 2020 and his 2020-21 season was curtailed as a result. The Mexico international is back fully fit now though and a steal at £7.5m.
Jimenez scored 181 fantasy football points in 2018-19 then 194 points in 2019-20 thanks to goals, assists and his all-round link-up play.
Chris Wood | Burnley | £7m
New Zealand international Chris Wood has been one of the constants in Burnley’s relegation-defying team over the past four seasons, averaging 11.5 goals a season in that time. Translated into fantasy football terms, Wood averages around 130 points a season.
Wood’s involvement in the Olympics could have an impact on his season, depending on how far New Zealand go, but there is no doubting his credentials as an alternative striker option.
Ivan Toney | Brentford | £6.5m
Brentford’s first-ever promotion to the Premier League was fuelled in large part by the goals of Ivan Toney, who scored 33 times for the Bees.
It can often be tough to make the transition in the top division, but Toney has shown plenty of promise and consistent improvement over the past few seasons.
Teemu Pukki | Norwich City | £6m
When Norwich were last in the Premier League, in 2019-20, Teemu Pukki was one of the early stars and, while his scoring form slowed, he finished the campaign with 139 points.
The Finland international scored 26 times for the Canaries last season and, having helped Finland qualify for Euro 2020, he is arguably a better player than he was two seasons ago.
