There is nothing more important in Fantasy Premier League than goals and there is no position that scores more of them than forwards.
Admittedly they get less points per goal, and have no clean sheet prospects, but nevertheless a strong forward line is imperative in FPL.
3 of the top 6 point scorers in last season’s FPL were forwards. They were Harry Kane (242), Patrick Bamford (194) and Jamie Vardy (187).
It is worth nothing, generally, midfielders did outscore forwards. As such it would be very risky spending £9.0m+ on each of your forwards, whereas in midfield, 3 or more premium options are essential.
Best FPL Forwards
Based on current FPL pick percentages, the best forwards in Fantasy Premier League 2021/22 are Ivan Toney, Danny Ings, Patrick Bamford and Michail Antonio.
| Player | Club | Price | Pick % |
| Danny Ings | Aston Villa | £8.0m | 39% |
| Ivan Toney | Brentford | £6.5m | 31% |
| Michail Antonio | West Ham | £7.5m | 25% |
| Patrick Bamford | Leeds | £8.0m | 19% |
| Jamie Vardy | Leicester | £10.5m | 16% |
| Harry Kane | Tottenham | £12.5m | 15% |
| Kelechi Iheanacho | Leicester | £7.5m | 14% |
| Michael Obafemi | Southampton | £4.5m | 13% |
| Dominic Calvert-Lewin | Everton | £8.0m | 10% |
| Richarlison | Everton | £7.5m | 10% |
Premium Forwards
The best premium forward in Fantasy Premier League 2021/22 is Harry Kane.
However, it appears he will be missing the first game of the season. Until his transfer situation becomes clearer – whether he stays at Tottenham or moves to Man City – we’d recommend excluding him from your team.
If we count premium forwards as players priced £9.0m or more then there are only 5 forwards that fall into that category in FPL. They are Harry Kane (£12.5m), Jamie Vardy (£10.5m), Pierre Aubameyang (£10.0m), Timo Werner (£9.0m) and Roberto Firmino (£9.0m).
Outside of Kane all of these are picked by 10% or less of managers. Each of them have some downsides which are listed below:
- Vardy – 34 years old, will be expected to play far fewer minutes with Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka lurking
- Aubameyang – Only scored 131 points from ‘midfield’ last season
- Werner – Not nailed, looks to be playing on left of front three
- Firmino – Faces strong competition from Jota, may not even start first game
This means you can avoid the premium forward options, at least for the beginning of the season, and allocate more of your budget elsewhere.
Budget Forwards
Counting budget forwards as those priced £6.0m or less, based on pick percentages the best options in FPL 2021/22 are Teemu Pukki and Michael Obafemi.
Two seasons ago, Pukki proved fantastic value scoring 11 times and providing 3 assists. If he can match those numbers this season he will once again be a good pick.
Davis is a £4.5m enabler. This means managers are likely picking him to enable funds elsewhere, leaving him on their bench.
Out of the blue, Danny Ings (£8.0m) has signed for Aston Villa which will further move Davis down the pecking order.
Obafemi meanwhile has moved up the Southampton pecking order following the departure of Ings. Should he become a semi-regular alongside Adams upfront then at £4.5m his TSB will sky-rocket.
Outside of Danny Welbeck (£6.0m) and Obafemi there doesn’t look to be too many budget forwards starting. However, Welbeck is currently injured and also looks unlikely to feature in Gameweek 1, also.
With so many premium and budget forwards being unviable in this season’s FPL, mid-range forwards will dominate manager’s selections. Here are some of those players.
Ollie Watkins
Based on last season’s points and this season’s prices, Watkins is the second best FPL forward on the points per £m metric.
With such good fixtures to start the season – Watford (a), Newcastle (H) and Brentford (H) – it’s easy to see why he was the most picked player before Ings’ arrival.
It’s unknown how the departure of Jack Grealish will affect his returns but the arrival of Emiliano Buendia should be a positive.
As discussed above, now Ings have signed for Villa, Watkin’s ownership will surely drop. It’s hard to imagine Ings not starting given the £30m outlay so this means they will need to play two upfront or Watkins will move out to the left.
There are also strong doubts as to whether Watkins will start against Watford. Should these rumours be true then he is not worth having in your Fantasy Premier League to begin the season.
Ivan Toney
Priced at £6.5m, Toney has certainly got a lot of FPL manager’s attention. This doesn’t usually happen for players at promoted teams but given his numbers last year the attention does make sense.
He scored a staggering 31 Championship goals last year and if he can even slightly translate that into Premier League goals, he will be certainly worth the £6.5m investment.
Interestingly the Brentford forward has discussed his targeted numbers this season, which is music to Fantasy Premier League manager’s ears – should he reach them of course.
“I won’t tell you my [exact] target but it is higher than 14 and 17,” Toney shared. “I feel like if you aim higher and you come up just short, you will be alright. You have to aim crazy. I want to achieve something crazy.”
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Calvert-Lewin posted his best FPL points total to date with 165 points last season.
He scored 16 goals in total, scoring 11 of them in as many Gameweeks. He scored 7 of them by the end of Gameweek 5!
Everton are another team that start the season with a good bunch of fixtures. Southampton (H), Leeds (a), Brighton (a) and then Burnley (H) will only add to his appeal.
He is understandably his highest ever price at £8.0m but given his 29 Premier League goals over the last two seasons it does seem fair.
Patrick Bamford
Based on last season’s points, Bamford is the best value forward in FPL this season.
He scored an outstanding 194 points courtesy of 17 goals and 11 assists. Consequently, and justifiably so, he is now priced at £8.0m.
Interestingly he is only picked by 19% of managers but this will be due to Leeds’ somewhat tricky start. They face Man Utd (a) in Gameweek 1 and then face Everton (H) and Burnley (a). Unfortunately Liverpool (H) then follows which has deflated Bamford’s TSB.
Nevertheless, he is definitely a player to keep an eye on when Leeds have a good run of fixtures.
Differential Forwards
Many of the differential forwards have already been discussed above – Pukki, Davis, Werner, Obafemi and Firmino all fall into the differential category.
Richarlison
One player that hasn’t been mentioned though is Richarlison. His appeal depends whether he is utilized through the middle where it appears he performs better.
He is currently featuring in a starring role for Brazil at the 2020 Olympics where he scored a well-documented first half hat-trick against Germany. He has scored 5 goals in total and will face Spain in the gold medal match.
Unfortunately this involvement will likely keep him out of the Everton side at the beginning of the season. When he does return though, if he can keep the same form he has throughout the summer, he could be a consideration.
Raul Jimenez
One differential that will start the season is Jimenez, picked by just 3%! He hasn’t featured since a horrific skull fracture on November 29 but thankfully he has played in Wolves’ pre-season.
He scored 181 and 194 points in the season prior to last. If he can match those totals again he is fantastic value at £7.5m.
Wolves fixtures are actually pretty poor, however. They start off against Leicester (a) and host Tottenham and Man Utd. These three fixtures can be used to see how the Mexican looks in his long awaited return, though.