Liverpool’s first five fixtures, if you take out a possibly tricky test, when they play Arsenal at Anfield in week 3 of the Premier League, they face an easy start to the season. Liverpool kick off the Premier League season on Friday, August 9th at home again to newly-promoted Norwich City, Southampton, after Arsenal, then it is an away trip to Burnley in round four before finishing their first five fixtures against Newcastle United again at home.

There are a couple of ways in which you can setup your FPL team with Liverpool players incorporated. Firstly, you can go heavy at the back like I have done with my side. It means that you will definitely keep clean-sheets and we all love clean-sheets from our goalkeepers. I myself, have gone for three Liverpool defenders and or goalkeepers with Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson making up my Liverpool trio.

If I were picking my team again and you asked me, what Liverpool players I would not be going for are at the top end of the table. I certainly would not be picking up either Divock Origi or Roberto Firmino at least at the start of the season. I would firstly wait, wait to see how the Liverpool team lines up at the start of the season.

Does Sadio Mane for example come back for Liverpool in time for the Charity Shield.

Thankfully, Jurgen Klopp basically came out and said that Sadio Mane will return in time for the Community Shield vs. Manchester City to kick off the football season again. At 11.5 in the Liverpool midfield, he will certainly cost you some extra change, but unlike his Liverpool teammate Mo Salah at 12.0 and Raheem Sterling priced at 12.5 from Manchester City, the Senegal international does manage to save you cash for to be used elsewhere.

I believe though that at the start of the season definitely, because so many other Fantasy managers will already have him, you need to at least have Mo Salah in your FPL side if not as your captain. Mohamad Salah is just too good to leave him out of your side.

At the start of the season at least, you, I believe you need to have Mo Salah in your side to at least keep pace with the Fantasy sides in and around your side. Don’t try to break the mould early on in the campaign, it will be all about keeping pace with the top sides of FPL.

The three players that I would like to see step up to the fore and challenge both Mane and Salah for our FPL thoughts and considerations are: Naby Keita, Gigi Wijnaldum and Xherdan Shaqiri. I expect the two latter of the three Wijnaldum and Shaqiri to step up to the mark. I simply don’t think Naby Keita has it in him to do that.

Gigi Wijnaldum seemed to get caught up in the midfield wilderness last season, perhaps if Mane, Salah and Firmino are played further forward this campaign, Gigi can start to find his spot in the Liverpool midfield. Perhaps, if Klopp plays Wijnaldum like Benitez did when he played for Newcastle.

I still expect Xherdan Shaqiri to be an impact sub for the start of the season at least, I hope though he proves me wrong. It will be interesting to see how Jurgen Klopp uses Keita, Wijnaldum and Shaqiri at least at the start of the season.

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