Your Fantasy Football Club by Club Guide: Leicester City

The overview

Last season: 12th (BWSL, relegated)

This season expectations: Rebuilding after relegation, aiming to challenge for the title

This season marks a fresh start for Leicester, who drop into BWSL 2 after a tough top-flight campaign and the chance to rebuild with a bit of breathing room. Rick Passmoor has effectively pressed reset this summer, with a host of faces departing and arriving to reshape the squad, so this is very much a new-look Leicester who are aiming to start the season as they mean to go on.

In terms of Fantasy, Leicester offer a lot of curiosity rather than certainty given the number of new faces. It is worth pointing out, though, that the incomings carry real second-tier pedigree. Jessie Stapleton and Jess Ziu both arrive from West Ham with BWSL experience behind them, Leah Eddie comes in from Rangers, and Poppy Pritchard joins from Manchester City in search of first-team game time.

The familiar face to build around is captain Sam Tierney, a tidy, hardworking midfielder who averaged 4.19 interceptions per 90 last season and would have been Leicester’s top points sorcerer with 79 based on our system. It may take a few weeks to see how the new players fit into the team, but with an instant BWSL return being the most likely target for this season, the Leicester players will be going all out to be in the fight for the title.

Set-piece takers

Corners: Sam Tierney is the safest bet early on, with assist potential if she keeps the duties in the new-look side.

Penalties: This is very much one to watch once the season gets going. Keep an eye on Leicester's first spot-kick to see who steps up.

Direct free kicks: Tierney is the most likely option.

Player costs

Sam Tierney (£6.5m) is the obvious one, the midfielder who takes corners and gets through plenty of work. She's the club captain, so it's pretty much nailed on that she's starting most games. Among the newcomers, Olivia McLoughlin (£6.0m) is worth tracking, a midfielder who covers every blade of grass and could gain plenty of involvement points, especially defensively.

Beyond that, it might be a good idea to hold fire until the pecking order becomes clear. This is a side in transition, so the smart play is to watch the opening weeks, see who starts and who scores, and grab the bargains as they reveal themselves rather than guessing from the off.

Make sure to download the WSL Football App to play the Barclays WSL and WSL2 Fantasy game.