Fantasy Premier League has taken the world by storm. It is a classic strategy game that tests the Premier League knowledge of the contestants. It is a free-to-play game, and everyone can register to compete.
FPL has over 11 million players, making it the largest fantasy football game associated with a domestic league. The players pick a squad of Premier League players with a budgetary constraint of £100 million.
How To Pick A Squad
Managers are provided with £100 million and are required to draft a squad of 15 players from the available pool of Premier League stars. Each player has a price tag associated with them. The price is determined based on the player’s minutes played, club, position, goals, assists, and other factors. A maximum of 3 players can be selected from a single Premier League club.
- The squad must comprise:
- 2 goalkeepers
- 5 defenders
- 5 midfielders
- 3 forwards
How To Manage Your Squad
Every FPL season is divided into 38 Gameweeks. A Gameweek consists of all the fixtures where all the clubs play against each other. This Gameweek usually consists of 10 fixtures but may vary due to Premier League fixture congestion. The deadline for selecting the squad before every FPL Gameweek is 90 minutes before the first fixture of the Gameweek kicks off.
How To Select Your Squad
- From the chosen squad of 15 players, FPL managers must select a starting XI that best suits their squad’s strengths.
- The formation of the line-up can be decided by the FPL manager.
- While selecting the line-up, it is important for the FPL manager to consider a lot of factors for each player. Some are the opponent, player’s past performances, form, minutes played, and so on.
- The 4 players not in the starting XI fill up the bench. These players will replace any of the players from the starting XI, in case they do not play any minutes at all.
- The manager must also select a captain and a vice-captain from their line-up. This is a very important role and can make or break a Gameweek. The points that the captain scores are doubled for every Gameweek. In case the captain does not play at all, the vice-captain receives this benefit.
- It is important to note that changes can be made before each and every Gameweek.
How To Make Transfers
The most important aspect of FPL is the transfers. After selecting the squad, players may be bought and sold as per the squad’s requirements.
- Unlimited transfers can be made at no cost until the season starts.
- Once the first Gameweek deadline has passed, managers are given one free transfer before each Gameweek. This free transfer can be made before the next Gameweek’s deadline.
- “Free” here is in respect of the Fantasy points.
- If the free transfer available for a Gameweek is not used, it will roll over to the next Gameweek. In this case, the FPL Manager will have two free transfers the following Gameweek. A maximum of five free transfers can be accumulated.
- If an FPL Manager wishes to make a transfer exceeding the free transfer available to them, they can do so. This, however, will come at a cost of four fantasy points.
- The transfer made must also meet the same budgetary and squad requirements as mentioned above.
- The prices of the players also vary throughout the season. Some may rise in price, while others may fall. The price changes of the players are related to their ability to score Fantasy Points.
- By making a transfer, FPL Managers may earn profits or losses on their players. Thus, their budget of £100m is also affected by these transfers.
How Fantasy Points Are Awarded
FPL Managers earn points for an FPL Gameweek based on some action performed by their players. These points are what determines every FPL Manager’s rank in the game. These points are totaled across all 38 Gameweeks to determine where each manager ranks in the world or their respective leagues. The actions for which players are awarded points are as follows:
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| For playing up to 60 minutes | 1 |
| For playing 60 minutes or more | 2 |
| For each goal scored by a goalkeeper | 10 |
| For each goal scored by a defender | 6 |
| For each goal scored by a midfielder | 5 |
| For each goal scored by a forward | 4 |
| For each assist for a goal | 3 |
| For a clean sheet by a goalkeeper or defender | 4 |
| For a clean sheet by a midfielder | 1 |
| For every 3 shots saved by a goalkeeper | 1 |
| For each penalty save | 5 |
| For 10 defensive contributions by a defender | 2 |
| For 12 defensive contributions by a midfielder | 2 |
| For 12 defensive contributions by a forward | 2 |
| For each penalty miss | -2 |
| Bonus points for the best players in a match | 1-3 |
| For every 2 goals conceded by a goalkeeper or defender | -1 |
| For each yellow card | -1 |
| For each red car | -3 |
| For each own goal | -2 |
How To Use Chips In FPL
FPL Managers are provided with chips that can be used to provide their Fantasy Points a huge boost. There are a total of 8 chips available throughout the season. This season, FPL managers have been given 2 of each chip. The first four can be used in the first half of the season, and the remaining four in the latter half. The chip applies only to the Gameweek in which it is played.
- Bench Boost: The Fantasy Points earned by players on the bench will be added to the total.
- Free Hit: The FPL Manager can make unlimited transfers for a single Gameweek. The squad will return to how it was before the Free Hit chip was played at the next deadline.
- Wildcard: All transfers made before that Gameweek’s deadline are free. These transfers are permanent, unlike the Free Hit.
- Triple Captain: The points scored by the captain are tripled instead of doubled.
- It is important to note that only one chip can be played in a single Gameweek.
Fantasy Premier League is a fun and immersive way for fans to test their Premier League knowledge. The fans can create their own leagues, which allows them to compete exclusively amongst their friends as well. FPL provides the basis for fans to analyse performances, understand statistics, and use these trends to their advantage.
Written by: Thillai Ritvik
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