Want to boss Fantasy Premier League this season? Of course you do because you know that if Mike from accounts wins again, you'll be furiously trawling for jobs on LinkedIn faster than he can squeal 'Haaland!' again.
Read on with these insightful Premier League fantasy football tips. Heed advice from people who've taken home the trophy and write about it weekly on the best players to pick, how to use the Fantasy Premier League features best and much more. Remember: the deadline is Friday, August 15 at 18:30 (BST).
Be sure to check out FantasyYIRMA and John Wallin (aka @FantasyGaffer) on X (formerly Twitter) and for all the best tips and tricks on all things Fantasy Football
Fantasy Premier League tips: 1. Did they play over the summer?
The FIFA Club World Cup took place over the summer with Manchester City and Chelsea partaking in the Stateside competition, in addition to the usual early June international fixtures. Keeping an eye on the teamsheets for friendlies in the weeks before the big kick-off should help steer your opening selections.
2. Who are the best-promoted players?
Assess the main players from the promoted sides. These teams always tend to offer kindly-priced options that help free up cash to spend elsewhere. Look for regular starters on set-piece or penalty duties and pinpoint defenders who perform well for clearances, blocks and interceptions, which helps their bonus point potential.
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3. Who will be this season's bolters?
Analyse the player list. There are typically one or two players who emerge from the budget bracket to cement a role in our starting XIs. Pinpointing any players who are wrongly classified and playing in a more advanced role can also give us the edge a 3-5-2 could allow certain full-backs to be pushed up into midfield, for example.
Think back to Stuart Dallas in the 2020/21 season. The Northern Irishman was listed as a defender but in Marcelo Bielsa's man-to-man formation, Dallas finished the season with eight goals and two assists.
4. Which big club players to go for?
Utilise your three-player allocation for the top clubs wisely. Ruben Dias is a popular pick but generally offers little attacking threat compared to some of the more attacking full-backs on offer for similar prices. Focusing on the goal-getters or raiding defenders should reap greater rewards.
The general rule of thumb tends to be full-backs over centre-backs, unless those central defenders are especially useful at attacking set-pieces, like Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes.
5. Forget the new signings
Dont go overboard on new arrivals. Its easy to succumb to the allure of a big-name signing, but theres a definite risk in overloading your squad with players unproven in the Premier League. Give them time to acclimatise and then reconsider if they show signs of settling.
6. Which games to target?
Always keep an eye on the fixtures. Those teams with favourable upcoming schedules are more likely to bring in the points, so its wise to be aware of runs of easy or tough fixtures and plan your transfers accordingly.
7. Always check the injury news
A long-term lay-off can suddenly promote players from the fringes and has the potential to offer us a cheap option with the security of starts. This is particularly important when looking in goal.
8. You'll need a strong bench
Keep your squad well stocked for Christmas. The threat of rest and rotation is rife over the festive period and strong benches are essential as top-flight managers shuffle their options to cope with the hectic fixture list.
9. When to cash in your 'chips'
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Be patient with your chips. Both the 'Triple Captain' and 'Bench Boost' chips are particularly effective when wielded during double gameweeks (DGWs). These are best played when explosive options such as Mo Salah or Erling Haaland are handed a pair of fixtures in a gameweek to maximise their points potential.
10. Watch out for influential players
Watch the matches. Studying the statistics can help to an extent but theres nothing quite like scouting your targets in action to help guide those vital transfer decisions.
11. Have a solid pre-season
You need to do your research, starting in the summer. A few weeks before the season starts Ill look at injury news, transfers and so on, trying to find those unknown players that other people miss. Then in the last week of pre-season, when its still unlimited transfers, Ill just start throwing players in, tossing teams around youre looking for that good combination to start with.
Once youre happy with your team unless someones injured then it kind of manages itself.
12. Dont be afraid to gamble
Its no good having the same team as everyone else. In defence, a lot of people go for five players from different teams, playing it safe. Ill go for three from one, two from another. Im only relying on two teams to keep a clean sheet then. You have to gamble a bit, especially at the end of the season.
Don't be afraid to take form players out when they've gone cold especially if you know most people around you have them in their teams.
13. But be mean in the market
Think like a real manager. A player might have a goal-rush, but is he actually any good? Would you normally want to buy him? You want the maximum games out of potential signings, so look at their upcoming fixtures, possible suspensions no matter how desperately I want someone, I wont buy them if theyre on four bookings.
And, most importantly, dont make drunken decisions at 1am. You'll only live to regret it.
14. Ignore reputations
The best players dont always make the best team. I used to fall for the flashy, skilful players, but they werent earning enough points, and in most games defensive midfielders never win any.
Attacking full-backs are always good, because you might get points at both ends I played three left-backs in some games. And this is something I got over a long time ago: dont ignore players just because you dont like them.
15. Recharge the batteries
Peoples teams usually go wrong when they forget about them, so keep a regular routine. Thursday and Friday, follow the managers press conferences and check the predicted line-ups.
There are also some good Fantasy Football websites: but as soon as the weekend games are finished, unless there are midweek fixtures, switch off until Thursday again you get too into it otherwise.
More FPL stories
You can play Fantasy Premier League online on the Premier League website, or on the Premier League app, which is available on iOS and Android. Still missing something? Here's everything you need to know about FPL, including FourFourTwo's guides on the game. Enjoy!
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