The 2022/2023 Premier League season is just over a week away and that means fantasy football managers are stepping up their squad preparations.

We're sure you've already chopped and changed your team a handful of times, and we're also pretty darn sure that you can expect it to change a hell of a lot more between now and opening day.

But as with everything in FPL, it's all a process. The more informed you become, the more you can tinker and improve your squad.

So without further ado, let's enhance that knowledge some more by assessing 19 players you should absolutely avoid for the start of the FPL season.

Goalkeepers:

Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) - £5.5m

Nothing particularly wrong with Lloris as a goalkeeping prospect in FPL - 158 points last year makes for good reading.

The issue, though, is that his price hike sees him cost as much as Alisson and Ederson. Both of the Brazilian keepers offer better value, likewise some of the cheaper options.

David Raya Martin (Brentford) - £4.5m

The signing of Thomas Strakosha from Lazio could put Raya's position as number one under threat.

That could catch plenty of FPL managers out given how good value Raya proved throughout last season.

Defenders:

Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) - £5.5m

Likely to act as back-up to Ben Chilwell, Alonso is an absolute no-go despite picking up decent points last season.

Thiago Silva (Chelsea) - £5.5m

Now 37, it would be no surprise to see Thomas Tuchel deploy Silva more sparingly this season, especially with the signing of Kalidou Koulibaly recently being confirmed.

Sergio Reguillion (Tottenham) - £4.5m

New signing Ivan Perisic is bound to be Antonio Conte's first choice and so the Spaniard is likely to be a peripheral figure in the squad.

Ryan Sessegnon (Tottenham) - £4.5m

It's much the same story in the case of Sessegnon, with the young left-back likely finding himself even further down the pecking order.

Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool) - £5m

The 22-year-old Frenchman could prove exceptional value should any injuries occur to Liverpool's starting centre-backs, but to start the season at least, one would presume Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip will take preference in most games.

John Stones (Man City) - £5.5m

Another very good centre-back that often plays second fiddle to two even better ones, Stones would be an enormous waste of your money given his hefty price tag.

John Stones warming up

Midfielders:

Conor Gallagher (Chelsea) - £6m

Arguably the bargain of the year last time out thanks to his 140 point haul, Gallagher fans ought to be wary of including the Englishman in their team this season.

Whilst he's obviously a top player, he's sure to receive much less game time at Chelsea and that's bound to hurt his returns overall.

Thiago (Liverpool) - £5.5m

It goes without saying if you play fantasy, but just in case you're new to it, players like Thiago never do well.

For all his playmaking brilliance on the pitch, being the man before the assist rarely pays dividends in the FPL world and whilst he might pick up a few bonus points here and there, his lack of goal contributions will ultimately drag his points return down compared to alternative options.

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Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle) - £6.5m

The exciting Frenchman would be an FPL manager's dream if he could put the ball in the back of the net.

Unfortunately, though, he doesn't do it nearly regularly enough. Five goals and five assists last season was a pretty underwhelming return and we'd happily pass him up for the price.

Forwards:

Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United) - £10.5m

It's looking increasingly likely that Ronaldo will actually be staying at United next season despite him trying to force a move away.

However, now we're at the point where the 37-year-old has had no pre-season preparations, and neither knows how or fits into the way Erik ten Hag likes to play.

Plus, his prize of £10.5m means you'd have to make him one of your premium picks - an area which Erling Haaland and Harry Kane seem like much better options.

Most certainly one to steer clear of to start with given the cloud of uncertainty that surrounds him.

Richarlison (Tottenham) - £8.5m

On paper, Richarlison seems like a great signing for Spurs and we're sure Conte has a plan for how he'll fit into he team.

But for the minute we can't paint a clear enough picture of where he's going to play in their set-up to justify his inclusion.

Besides, Kane, Son Heung-Min and Dejan Kulusevski are surely where you want to be looking across the Spurs attack.

Jamie Vardy (Leicester) - £9.5m

Sure, 133 points last time round isn't the worst return but it doesn't prove all that great value either.

Vardy's also 35 now and not getting any younger. Pace is such a key element to his game and we just feel like he began to feel that last campaign.

Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal) - £7m

He had his moments towards the end of last season but with the arrival of Jesus, it's safe to presume Nketiah will be seeing a lot less game time in 2022/2023.

Maybe if he was still dirt cheap there could be a bench option there, however given his price hike to £7m, we couldn't go near him.

Kai Havertz (Chelsea) - £8m

Havertz comes in at the same price-point for the new season, although he's been re-classified from a midfielder to a forward.

That presents a real issue in that he'll now get you one less point per goal, as well as no clean sheet points.

Overall, his lack of goalscoring returns don't justify an inclusion for the Chelsea man.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton) - £8m

Based on Everton's 2021/2022 campaign and their pre-season form as of yet, it's best just to steer clear of most of the club's players until we see how they begin proceedings.

Frank Lampard already sounds pessimistic whenever he discusses the prospect of the season ahead and given the Toffees have also lost their best player this summer in Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin's an easy lay.

Raul Jimenez (Wolves) - £7m

Wolves scored just 38 goals last season which is the lowest of any team above the relegation zone, so it's difficult to envisage the Mexican getting too many chances to convert.

Besides, Martial looks likely to start as United's number nine and he proves much better value at the same price.

Diogo Jota (Liverpool) - £9m

With Liverpool recently signing Darwin Nunez - and the Uruguayan recently bagging four against RB Leipzig - including the lively Jota in your team would be a serious risk given the competition he faces to start at Anfield.

True, he's especially effective off the bench. But do you really want to drop £9m on a striker who might start less than 50% of games? We thought not.