Fantasy Premier League 2023: Talisman, Differential, and Trap for Each Team

The Fantasy Premier League season kicks off on Friday 21 August and the tinkering has already gone into overdrive. To cut through the noise, four seasoned FPL voices – Pras, FPL Heisenberg, Gianni Buttice and Holly Shand – have gone club by club, pinning down three things for every side: the talisman to build around, the differential to steal a march, and the trap to dodge.

Here’s how they see it.

Arsenal

• Talisman: Gabriel (£8.0m, defender)
• Differential: Ben White (£5.5m, defender)
• Avoid: Christos Tzolis (£6.5m, midfielder)

Aston Villa

• Talisman: Ollie Watkins (£8.0m, forward)
• Differential: Matty Cash (£4.5m, defender)
• Avoid: Alejandro Garnacho (£6.0m, midfielder)

Bournemouth

• Talisman: Marcus Tavernier (£6.0m, midfielder)
• Differential: Adrien Truffert (£5.5m, defender)
• Avoid: Evanilson (£6.0m, forward)

Brentford

• Talisman: Igor Thiago (£8.0m, forward)
• Differential: Dango Ouattara (£6.5m, midfielder)
• Avoid: Callum Wilson (£5.5m, forward)

Brighton

• Talisman: Pascal Gross (£5.5m, midfielder)
• Differential: Luka Vuskovic (£5.0m, defender)
• Avoid: Georginio Rutter (£5.5m, forward)

Chelsea

• Talisman: Joao Pedro (£7.5m, forward)
• Differential: Levi Colwill (£5.0m, defender)
• Avoid: Enzo Fernandez (£7.0m, midfielder)

Coventry

• Talisman: Haji Wright (£5.5m, forward)
• Talisman (budget): Carl Rushworth (£4.5m, goalkeeper)
• Avoid: Milan van Ewijk (£4.0m, defender)

Crystal Palace

• Talisman: Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m, midfielder)
• Differential: Daniel Munoz (£5.5m, defender)
• Avoid: Jorgen Strand Larsen (£6.0m, forward)

Everton

• Talisman: James Tarkowski (£6.0m, defender)
• Differential: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£6.5m, midfielder)
• Avoid: Beto (£5.5m, forward)

Fulham

• Talisman: Rodrigo Muniz (£5.5m, forward)
• Differential: Antonee Robinson (£4.5m, defender)
• Avoid: Sander Berge (£5.0m, midfielder)

Hull City

• Talisman: Oli McBurnie (£5.5m, forward)
• Differential: Ryan Giles (£4.0m, defender)
• Avoid: Liam Millar (£5.0m, midfielder)

Ipswich Town

• Talisman: Emersonn (£5.5m, forward)
• Differential: Daizen Maeda (£5.5m, midfielder)
• Avoid: Chuba Akpom (£5.0m, forward)

Leeds United

• Talisman: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m, forward)
• Differential: Harry Wilson (£6.5m, midfielder)
• Avoid: Jaka Bijol (£5.0m, defender)

Liverpool

• Talisman: Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m, midfielder)
• Differential: Florian Wirtz (£7.5m, midfielder)
• Avoid: Jeremy Jacquet (£5.0m, defender)

Manchester City

• Talisman: Erling Haaland (£15.5m, forward)
• Differential: Phil Foden (£7.0m, midfielder)
• Avoid: Marc Guehi (£6.0m, defender)

Manchester United

• Talisman: Bruno Fernandes (£12.0m, midfielder)
• Differential: Matheus Cunha (£8.0m, midfielder)
• Avoid: Benjamin Sesko (£7.0m, forward)

Newcastle United

• Talisman: Nick Woltemade (£6.0m, forward)
• Differential: Malick Thiaw (£5.0m, defender)
• Avoid: Lewis Hall (£5.0m, defender)

Nottingham Forest

• Talisman: Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m, midfielder)
• Differential: Neco Williams (£5.0m, defender)
• Avoid: Chris Wood (£6.0m, forward)

Sunderland

• Talisman: Enzo Le Fee (£6.0m, midfielder)
• Differential: Granit Xhaka (£5.5m, midfielder)
• Avoid: Wilson Isidor (£5.5m, forward)

Tottenham Hotspur

• Talisman: Pedro Porro (£5.5m, defender)
• Differential: Mathys Tel (£6.0m, midfielder)
• Avoid: Marcos Senesi (£6.0m, defender)

The season starts with more questions than answers, as always. The trick is deciding which talismans to trust, which differentials to gamble on – and which big names to leave on the table when the first deadline hits.