Torres

Last season Torres scored 24 goals, joint-top for Forwards (shared with Adebayor). This season he is the bookie's universal favorite to be the leagues Golden Boot, followed by Ronaldo, Adebayor and Drogba.

As far as price goes, these are the lads you will be paying top quid for to have in your team. Torres is £12.0 million; Drogba, Adebayor and Rooney are each £11.0 million. One million pounds makes little difference for the top strikers, but it can certainly go a long way in goal or in the defence. Is Torres worth that extra £1.0 million?

Liverpool have a good opening run of fixtures: Sunderland away, Middlesborough at home and Aston Villa away. Torres will be playing almost every minute of these games, and the strike partnership with new teammate Robbie Keane is expected to deliver goals. Paddy Power have a book open for First Hattrick, and it is no surprise that Torres is the favorite here too.

Perhaps the only reason you wouldn't select Torres for your Fantasy team is due to the fact that 45% of all teams have him already selected. This is further evidence of the expectation of Big Things - but it does mean that you will need to find another point of difference between your squad and most others. It also mean that should Torres have a bad game, almost half the league will be encumbered with it.

There is definately hype around Torres winning Euro 2008 with his spanish teammates. However, there is also little doubt that he is expected to be one of the stars of this years premiership. He is slightly more expensive than other strikers, and that will be the deciding factor in his acquisition. If the extra £1 million will significantly strength your squad in another position, then consider Adebayor, Van Persie or even Keane. However, if the money is available, then Torres represents as good an option as any for a 08-09 Fantasy squad.