Fantasy Football tips: who to pick from Man Utd to boost your team

Manchester United begin another Premier League season this weekend - and a push for glory will take place off the pitch too, with millions of fans taking part in Fantasy Football leagues.

One United player who will hope to hit the ground running is Bruno Fernandes - the No.18 has been an absolute must for any players of fantasy football in recent years.

He’s not the only United star who has brought in scores of points in recent years, but with a maximum of three selections available per team, choosing which Red Devils to include is a tough task.

Thankfully, we’re here to provide a helping hand and advise which United players are most likely to scoop up the points - and which you might want to avoid choosing.

Which players got the most points last season?

Firstly, we’re basing our choices on the Premier League’s fantasy game, the most popular in the UK. In that version, no player registered more points in 2020/21 than Bruno Fernandes’s 244.

After that, Marcus Rashford can boast the biggest tally for a United player (174), although he’ll miss the start of season through injury, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is surprisingly in third (144). His defensive colleagues Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw also registered 124 points apiece.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t tend to rotate his side too heavily and often selects similar line-ups every week, so there’s little chance of a first-team star being omitted from the starting XI.

What about the new signings?

Jadon Sancho is priced at £9.5m, which is relatively cheap for such a talented player, although including the English international could be risky as he adapts to Premier League football. He’s also expected to miss the start of the season.

So is Raphael Varane, who should expect to keep his fair share of clean sheets this season, although the centre-back is yet to be official unveiled as a United player. As for Tom Heaton, he’s one to avoid as his game time could be non-existent this campaign.

Which Utd players ranked lowest last season?

Donny van de Beek has endured a tough start to life at Old Trafford and he managed to only muster 32 points across the whole campaign in 2020/21.

Daniel James’s tally of 43 was also disappointing and his minutes on the pitch could be further reduced by the arrival of Sancho. Defensive midfielders rarely score highly in the game and Nemanja Matic (36 points) and Fred (69) posted weak final totals last season.

A lack of game time also affected the points earned by Eric Bailly, Brandon Williams, Alex Telles and Juan Mata.

Are there any other factors?

No-one seems entirely sure who United’s first-choice goalkeeper will be this season. Dean Henderson finished 2020/21 as the no.1, and is probably a safe bet to regularly play over the next nine months, but nothing is certain in that position.

Marcus Rashford’s shoulder injury means he’ll miss the start of the campaign, while a lack of minutes in pre-season means Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani are unlikely to start in the opening few games. As a result, Mason Greenwood should expect to play a lot more in the early weeks of the season.

Paul Pogba’s future is still uncertain at United, so he could be one to avoid, while the introduction of Varane means Victor Lindelof may expect to spend more time on the bench going forward.

Writer’s tips: Which players to pick

Controversially, we’ve left out Fernandes due to his price of £12m, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah a more reliable outlay for that sort of fee. Instead, we’ve gone for some slightly cheaper options who should still guarantee points.

• Dean Henderson - The England keeper will most probably establish himself as first choice this season and with United’s impressive defensive record, should expect to keep plenty of clean sheets. At £5m he’s a very good price and cheaper than the stoppers from the other top-four sides.
• Luke Shaw - The defender demonstrated at Euro 2020 how good he can be on the front foot. With plenty of assists and clean sheets, Shaw is surprisingly cheap at just £5.5m. He’ll also start almost every game for United, barring injury or suspension.
• Mason Greenwood - After a slow start to 2020/21, Greenwood found his shooting boots by the end of the campaign and should start the new term well rested after missing the Euros through injury. With Rashford injured, the youngster is expected to be thrust into the spotlight. He’s also valued at just £7.5m.

Who is in your Fantasy XI? Share your squads with us by emailing [email protected].