The 2019/2020 Premier League football season is set to kick off on Saturday, August 10 and fans of the most exciting football league can’t contain their excitement. For some other fans, it’s another opportunity to try their hands as fantasy football managers in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
The 2019/20 Fantasy Premier League will begin with a whole new set of players, prices and teams to choose from but some golden rules still remain, whether or not you are a first time player.
To give yourself the best chance of success in the new season, it’s important to get the basic tricks right. Here are tips to help you get the most out of your starting XI and maximise the points you accumulate throughout the season.
1. Use your triple captain in a double game week
This is one of the simplest and most rewarding fantasy premier league tips to adopt. You might need to wait a while for a double game week to come around, but keep your triple captain till that time essentially gives you two chances to rack up mega points.
Single game week triple captains can work tremendously well, but waiting for a double is simply the safer option.
2. Don’t be tempted into taking a points hit
Unless it is 100 per cent essential, an easy way to set up your Fantasy team for failure is to panic after a game week and take a -4pt, -8pt or even a -12pt hit.
In playing FPL, patience is key, as strikers won’t score every week and defenses won’t become airtight overnight. Make sure you use your free transfers wisely and keep one strong sub on your bench. Above all, resist the urge to make hurried decisions as that can boomerang pretty quickly.
It may, however, be useful to take hits if multiple players are injured, but players picking up 2pts for playing a game without scoring is preferable to making a panicky deduction.
3. Choose set piece and penalty takers
It is important to include set-piece takers in your FPL. Set-piece and penalty specialists can easily rack up huge points for your team.
Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who has been valued at £12.5m for the new season, is a good player to consider for this trick.
4. Resist the urge to pick defenders from the same team
As tempting as it can be, make sure you resist the urge to pick too many players, particularly defenders, from one team. As the season progresses, you can decide to pick two defensive team-mates but don’t go beyond that number.
5. Spend less on defence
Don’t waste a large chunk of your budget on assembling a expensive defenders for your team, as you could exhaust your funds before getting the forwards you require. Search for bargain defenders from solid, even if unspectacular, teams and you’ll be good.
6. Pick only reliable players as captain
Don’t be reliant on a particular star player as captain throughout the entire campaign. Make sure you rotate your captain on a week-by-week basis based on form and opposition.
7. Keep up with fixtures
It’s best to avoid selecting players who have tough run of games ahead and this can mainly be determined by looking at upcoming fixtures. You can always return players to your team once the fixtures look more favourable.
8. Be conservative on spending on your bench
This is a very vital tip to follow if you’re going to succeed in playing the Fantasy Premier League. Make sure you only make shrewd spending on assembling players for your bench and resist the temptation to gather stars, as that will leave you with little budget for starting XI.
9. Look at cheaper goalkeepers
You might want to spend on cheaper, capable goalkeepers than splashing funds on stars from only big teams, because that doesn’t mean they’ll rack up the most points for your team. Shot stoppers from average but solid teams are likely to face more shots, providing a greater opportunity to make saves and score save/bonus points.
10. Steer clear of defensive midfielders
One fact that has been established in assembling teams for FPL is that star players in your team do not guarantee more points and the defensive midfield position is no different. In fact, it’s best to totally ignore defensive midfielders as they rarely score or set up goals.
Adopt these tips for your FPL and all the best in the new season!