Who To Pick From Man United

Drafting from Man United

Manchester United sit fourth on power at 85, and the shape of the squad is lopsided in a way that ought to change how you draft it. Bruno Fernandes is a 95 at CAM. The next name on the list, Lisandro Martínez, is an 86. That nine-point drop is most of why United's spread runs to 12, the widest figure in the league, matched by Liverpool and Aston Villa but beaten by nobody.

Below Fernandes this is a defenders-and-wingers squad. Martínez at 86 and Matthijs de Ligt at 85 in the centre of defence, Bryan Mbeumo at 86 and Amad Diallo at 85 on the right wing. Two right wingers inside the top five is a luxury in one sense and a redundancy in another, since you can only start one of them. Treat the second as insurance rather than a reason to spend twice. The attacking midfield group at 87 across two is the strongest thing on offer here, which is Fernandes doing the heavy lifting with a little help.

Fourteen elite players out of 31 is a solid haul, level with Tottenham, well short of Manchester City's 20 and Arsenal's 19. The goalkeeping is the hole: four keepers averaging 75, and the one position where United will actively cost you points if you fill it from within the club.

The legend to reach for is Wayne Rooney at 97. Read the top five again and note what is absent from it. There is no centre-forward in it at all. United's best five are a creator, two centre-halves and two wide men, and somebody still has to finish. Rooney outranks every current United player in the data, Fernandes included, and unlike Cristiano Ronaldo at 98 he fills a gap instead of gilding a strength.