Best Liverpool FPL Players to Own and to Avoid in 25/26

By: Ahsan Ejaz

The Premier League Champions, and their players, are obviously very attractive FPL assets, especially before a ball has been kicked this season and last season is all we really have to go off. FPL managers have Salah putting up the best FPL season ever by a player ingrained in their minds. Or Trent and Van Dijk’s consistent returns, both defensive and attacking, over the years, so Liverpool Defenders feel like very sure picks… But every season is different and Liverpool have gone on a bit of a spending spree. Arne Slot’s squad and the dynamics look very different in 25/26. So we need to reassess the outlook for Liverpool players ahead of GW1 to see who is worthy of the hype, who is potentially overhyped and if there are any FPL gems hiding within this powerhouse of a squad.

 

Best Liverpool FPL players in 25/26

Best Liverpool players to own in FPL
Salah
Kerkez
Wirtz
Gakpo
Van Dijk

Note: Isak would be 2nd in the list if he was officially a Liverpool player, but he is not and the deal has not been confirmed.

1. Salah:

I really don’t need to explain this to even the newest of newcomers to FPL. The Egyptian King had the greatest individual Premier League and FPL season ever in the 24/25 campaign, leading the Reds to the title. He broke the record for G/A in a single 38 game season, registering 47 G/A and totaling an unbelievable 344 FPL points. He was 1st in goals, assists, xG, xA and Big Chances Created. It was a truly historic season. He was the runaway lead captaincy choice for the majority of the season. We did not even consider moving him from the top spot in our FPL Player Rankings from around GW4 until about GW36. Of course, it is probably ridiculous to expect him to quite replicate exactly what he achieved last season, but can he replicate once again being the highest scoring player in FPL?

Short answer, yes, obviously – he’s Mo Salah. He is a year older, but the man keeps himself in immaculate shape and this summer was no different. The 6 pack was very much still there on his Instagram workout pictures. And more importantly, the team around him has improved significantly, and he has a coach who platforms him to succeed so well.

Liverpool have swapped out Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota (rest in peace) for Hugo Ekitike and in all likelihood, Alexander Isak as their 2 strikers. That is a seismic upgrade in finishing ability, pace, dribbling ability, movement, passing, football IQ… the list could go on. Salah created so many big chances last season that Diaz and Nunez wasted. That is far less likely to happen when it’s Isak and Ekitike on the end of his passes and crosses. Oh and then there’s Florian Wirtz running games and making Liverpool an even more dominant chance creating team both against settled defences and also in transition, which Salah should benefit from massively. Wirtz will also finish the chances Salah creates at a higher rate than Szoboszlai did last season.

Salah will still be the man to take penalties even if Isak joins the club which is huge for his ability to provide returns on a weekly basis. He is £14.5m, and there will be some FPL managers that will try to spread that money, but that did not work out well for managers last season and I doubt it will this season despite his higher price. I expect him to lead the league in G/A once again and that’s a recipe for being the highest scoring FPL player. You want that player on your team, not least because he should be your captain most weeks.

 

Kerkez:

This might seem high given Liverpool’s brilliant attacking options, but Kerkez is a star fullback in the making with everything it takes to be one of the best in the world. He is going to start the large majority of Premier League games for Liverpool, as he is a much better player than Robertson at this stage of his career, and £40 million is the most Liverpool have ever spent on a fullback. So his expected minutes are very secure.

He is one of the best attacking fullbacks in the league. And he is now playing with Salah, Wirtz, Ekitike, Gakpo and potentially Isak instead of Evanilson, Semenyo and Kluivert. Pretty big upgrade in surrounding talent for the young Hungarian. He had 6 assists, 36 Chances Created and 8 Big Chances Created last season which are very good numbers for a fullback and those will increase as Liverpool’s starting left back. His crossing ability stands out – Kerkez averages 3.7 crosses per 90 with a high success rate on those crosses of 30.2%. Compared to some of the best left backs in Europe both of those numbers are impressive. Nuno Mendes for example, the best left back in the world, is at 2.8 crosses per 90 at a 31.9% accuracy rate.

Oh and now he plays in arguably the best defence in the league now, alongside Van Dijk, Konate and Alisson, so he will keep more clean sheets this upcoming season compared to last. The ceiling is so high for Kerkez as an FPL asset, with likely double digit clean sheets plus a floor of 6-7 assists, but there is a world where he hits double digit assists as well.

 

Wirtz:

 

Wirtz is one of the best footballers in the world. Neutral fans will enjoy watching him play. His price-tag being £8.5m was a pleasant surprise for most FPL fans, and made him a very enticing option for managers building their GW1 FPL teams.

So will Wirtz be worth his FPL price? I believe he will. He is not a Bruno Fernandes type number 10, chucking in crosses and spamming through balls. He’s not a stats merchant. What he is is an incredibly intelligent player, with elite movement, and is one of the best chance creators in the world. Since the start of the 23/24 season, only Mohamed Salah (28) has more assists in Europe’s top 5 leagues than Florian Wirtz, who has 23. Wirtz is 5th in Europe’s top 5 leagues for Chances Created from Open Play with 124. I think he hits double digit assists this season playing in this Liverpool team. He has already scored a goal and registered 2 assists in Liverpool’s pre season. And yes, I know, it’s just pre season but we would rather see him getting G/A than not.

Wirtz is also an elite dribbler, with the 4th most completed dribbles in Europe’s top 5 leagues across the last 2 seasons, trailing only Yamal, Kudus and Doku. And the German star has 21 Bundesliga goals over the last 2 seasons, as well as 6 goals in 9 Champions League games in the 24/25 season. A complete and high level attacking skillset, playing in the best attacking team in the league, expected to start every game, for £8.5m? Yes Please.

 

Gakpo:

To begin the season, Gakpo will likely be Liverpool’s starting LW. He had a good season last season, his best in a Liverpool shirt. He scored 10 goals and registered 4 assists last season and that was while playing alongside a faltering Robertson and he suffered an injury towards the end of the season that halted his momentum as he was in a rich vein of form. He scored key goals against Man City, Real Madrid and other big teams last season and has the Dutch connection with Slot. If he can stay healthy he should improve on his numbers from last season, even if he doesn’t see an increase in minutes, simply because he’s playing alongside better players this season. Getting ownership of a starting forward in Liverpool’s attack with fairly secure expected minutes for £7.5m is an easy sell and an option I’m strongly considering myself.

 

Van Dijk:

The big man’s FPL legacy is pretty defined so most of us know the pro’s and con’s of owning Virgil. But has anything changed this season for Van Dijk as he heads into his age 34 season? Not really. He is still Liverpool’s captain. His expected minutes are still as sure as anyone’s including Salah’s. He is still a beast in the opponents box from set pieces and will probably score 3-4 goals. And Liverpool will be improved defensively as Kerkez is a much better defender than Robertson at his current age and Frimpong’s recovery pace and effort is a big improvement over the lack of defensive effort Trent gave, even if Frimpong isn’t a world beater as a defender.

 

Liverpool players to avoid in FPL 25/26

Liverpool players to avoid in FPL 25/26
Ekitike (If Isak signs)
Bradley
Frimpong
Szoboszlai
Alisson

 

Ekitike (If Isak signs):

If Isak joins Liverpool, as most expect him too, Ekitike won’t be a starter, at least not to begin the season. His expected minutes will be too low to justify owning him for £8.5m. He is looked at by Slot as a multi functional forward, which means there is a world he eventually takes the LW spot from Gakpo, but until that is fact, rather than theory, owning Ekitike can’t be justified.

 

Bradley:

Bradley could end up making the RB spot at Liverpool his own, but Frimpong has impressed more in pre-season and cost £35 million. I do think they will share the minutes fairly evenly, with Frimpong playing more at home and especially against the bottom 10-12 teams, whereas Bradley and his height, physicality and defensive capabilities played more away from home, especially against the best 6-8 teams in the league. But I simply do not want one of my 3 Liverpool FPL players to be a player that is rotated at all let alone for around half of the games.

 

Frimpong:

I can’t say all of that about Bradley and then tell you to own Frimpong. Now, Frimpong is an impressive attacking talent whose pace, dribbling and crossing ability makes him a real attacking outlet and asset, and when he does start, he would be a great FPL option. However, his expected minutes, like Bradley’s, are just not high enough for him to be 1 of my 3 Liverpool players.

 

Szoboszlai:

Szoboszlai will still play plenty of minutes but he is no longer the guaranteed starter he was with Wirtz’s arrival. His output was enough to justify his price-tag last season, but not this season with low expected minutes.

 

Alisson:

I have just never liked 1 of my 3 Liverpool players being their GK, as all-time great as the Brazilian is. Alisson is £5.5m so he is an expensive GK as well. That combination has just never appealed to me, especially as Liverpool Defenders now get Defensive Contribution points.

 

Some additional key Liverpool info ahead of GW1 are Liverpool’s best stretch of fixtures this season, where owning 3 Liverpool players is a must, and who Liverpool’s set piece takers are. Both will help you make the best squad selections when it comes to Liverpool players and players from other teams too!

Now you should be ready to attack the FPL season, at least where Liverpool are concerned!

 

 

Best Liverpool FPL Players to Own and to Avoid in 25/26