Top 9 Fantasy Premier League traps to avoid: Popular FPL players you shouldn\u2019t pick Premier LeagueEvery season it becomes increasingly easier to fall into easy FPL \u2018traps,\u2019 as players that may seem like guaranteed point-getters turn out to be duds. So, let\u2019s take a look at the popular players you should be avoiding in your team for Gameweek 1 of the 2023\/24 FPL season. Some players are obvious to avoid in FPL: bench players, for example, or defensive midfielders, are unlikely to help your first team at all, unless they\u2019re used as budget picks to sit on your bench and allow you to cheekily pick the best premium players. However, there are always players that appear to possess something special and have an aura of points about them. That or they seem to have a huge upside \u2013 but might not actually be up to scratch at all. These traps can be the difference between winning or losing your mini-leagues, so take a look at our thoughts and who we think should be sidestepped in the 23\/24 FPL season. Popular FPL players to avoid in 2023\/24 *Note: Ownership percentages are correct at the time of publication. Tyrone Mings (DEF, 4.5) Ownership: 15.4% Prior to summer signings being made, Mings felt like a great choice and one of the first names in most people\u2019s drafts. The signing of Pau Torres could, and likely will, disrupt that thinking though. With the highly-rated Spaniard coming into Villa at the exact same price point, Torres seems a more nailed-on and reliable option for defense. Ben White (DEF, 5.5) Ownership: 9.7% Ben White is the lowest-owned player in this list, sitting just below 10%, but there\u2019s little reason for anybody to justify owning him at this point in time. With an xGI (expected goal involvement) of 4.85 last season, he was outperformed by teammate Gabriel, who comes in at 5.0 \u2014 0.5 cheaper \u2014 and is deemed a superior FPL option. Kieran Trippier (DEF, 6.5) Ownership: 34.6% Trippier\u2019s stats were elite last season, and they\u2019ll likely be fantastic this season too, but the early fixtures make Trippier a risky pick, not to mention his price that is only beaten by Trent Alexander Arnold (8.0) for defenders. Trippier is definitely a \u2018wait and see\u2019 option here, but when he has teammates like Sven Botman priced at 4.5, it\u2019s hard to justify his position in your team for the start of the season. Kevin De Bruyne (MID, 10.5) Ownership: 14.4% At 32, one of the greatest Premier League players ever might be starting to slow down a bit. He was still the 6th-best, points-earning midfielder last season and forged a deadly partnership with Erling Haaland. But, as we saw in the CL Final and at various points throughout the season, injuries are taking their toll. Pep is known for being a menace when it comes to chopping and changing his team and putting the fear of god into FPL owners. There are simply many players who are cheaper and assured of more first-team minutes. When Be Druyne plays he usually bags points, but how much will he actually play in the 23\/24 season? Alexis Mac Allister (MID, 6.0) Ownership: 15.3% Mac Allister became a solid option towards the tail end of the 22\/23 season while at Brighton, but don\u2019t expect things to be the same after his move to Liverpool. While he was deployed as a number 10 for Brighton under De Zerbi, he\u2019ll more likely be a number 8 for Liverpool, as well as no longer having set-piece duties to earn points from. Don\u2019t expect him to perform the same this season. Ederson (GK, 5.5) Ownership: 13.6% Premium goalkeepers are always somewhat of a risk, because while they can often be found among the top performers in their category, it means taking away up to 1.0 of your budget that could be better used on options in midfield or attack. Ederson is no different: he won\u2019t receive many save points (if at all) and you\u2019d be better off banking on a City defender such as Stones for the same price but with way higher points potential. Christopher Nkunku (FWD, 7.5) Ownership: 19.2% Nkunku is a hugely exciting prospect for Chelsea, but there\u2019s no denying that players often struggle in their first season in the Premier League. Haaland was an anomaly of the highest order. If he hits the ground running, Nkunku is going to prove an incredible pick, but he has a very high ownership right now and it might take him some time to warm to the league. Chelsea notoriously has a difficult time with strikers, and it doesn\u2019t help that Nkunku has already picked up a serious injury. Alexander Isak (FWD, 7.5) Ownership: 12.6% Isak had a very strong purple streak towards the end of the 2022\/23 season, but it didn\u2019t last long, and nor was it very consistent. He was a rotation risk with Callum Wilson (8.0), and the Newcastle front three doesn\u2019t seem completely set in stone. Not only that, but with Trippier (above) not getting any younger and Isak having a history of injury issues, throwing Champions League matches into the mix could mean a lot more rotation. For those reasons, treat Isak as a \u201cwait and see\u201d option, especially given Newcastle\u2019s tough start. Reece James (DEF, 5.5) Ownership: 15.4% Reece James, when on form, is one the best assets in FPL, able to compete against the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The issue is his persistent injury issues, not to mention the fact that he can also be utilised on the left of a back three, while someone like Chilwell (5.5) could be used on the left and isn\u2019t likely to be pulled into the middle, giving him unlimited opportunities to run down the wings and create opportunities. This isn\u2019t to say that none of these players are viable picks for your FPL team \u2014 they may well all prove to be fantastic assets. However, they feel like they could be huge traps going into the season, and are better left on the side until their form or question marks over their play week-to-week are answered. Be sure to check out the rest of our Fantasy Premier League content here: Best FPL tips this Gameweek | Top 3 must-have FPL players from each team | Best budget defenders | Best budget midfielders | Best FPL team names | Best FPL team according to AI | Best premium FPL players ranked | All FPL position changes this season | Best promoted players | Best underpriced players | Best new signings for FPL | Top FPL trap players to avoid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Top 9 Fantasy Premier League traps to avoid: Popular FPL players you shouldn\u2019t pick Premier LeagueEvery season it becomes increasingly easier to fall into easy FPL \u2018traps,\u2019 as players that may seem like guaranteed point-getters turn out to be duds. So, let\u2019s take a look at the popular players you should be avoiding in your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85823\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}