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Fantasy Premier League is a popular online game where football fans can become managers of their own virtual teams. By selecting real-life players from the English Premier League (EPL), managers aim to get the most points across the season based on the players’ performances on the pitch.
Whether you are completely new to the game or a returning player, this is vital, need to know information prior to the start of the season. The 2024/25 edition is set to be the biggest ever in terms of updated gameplay and the number of players (£14 million+), so let’s delve into the mechanics of the game and uncover the top tips on how to achieve the best rank possible!
👕 Create Your Team
Firstly, select your winning squad within a budget of £100m. You must select 15 players consisting of:
- 2 goalkeepers
- 5 defenders
- 5 midfielders
- 3 forwards.
Your active lineup each gameweek (GW) must consist of the following and have a maximum of 3 players per club:
- 1 goalkeeper
- 3 defenders
- 2 midfielders
- 1 forward
Formations: You can change your formation every week, but don’t worry about selecting formations. When replacing starting players with a bench player, the game will automatically adjust your setup to the formation, according to the starting eleven.
- Top Tip – Best Formations – Though it is team dependent, some formations are better than others. This season, the most engaged managers will either play a 3-5-2 or 4-5-1, including myself.
Bench Order: In the event of one of your players not featuring, the first player on your bench will be substituted in automatically. However, if the first bench player also does not feature, the second will come on etc. However, this is dependent on the number of players in each position in your starting lineup. For example, if you only have three defenders in your starting eleven and one of these does not start, the first defender on your bench will be subbed in, regardless of whether they are the first choice or not.
Captaincy: Each GW you select one player to be your captain and their points gained will be doubled. A vice-captain is also appointed to step in if your original captain does not play.
Player Prices: After GW1, player prices may increase or decrease based on their performance and the number of transfers in/out. These changes occur in £0.1m increments.
Gameweeks: Simply put, just another term for ‘fixture weekend’ and typically runs from Friday to Monday; team fixtures dependent. Occasionally, teams may have more than one fixture in a GW, or even none, so stay alert.
Deadline: You have until the GW deadline to finalise your transfers or, if content, leave as is. The deadline to set your team is always 90 minutes before the first match from that GW kicks off. Typically, 11:30 prior to a 13:00 kick-off.
- Top Tip – Selection Aids – When selecting players, ensure to utilise the information provided to assist you. These metrics come in the form of % overall selected, total GW points, last season’s points, transfers in/out and a fixture ticker arranged by difficulty. How you use these metrics depends on your management style, but knowledge is power.
➕ Scoring Points
Players earn points for actions such as clean sheets, goals and assists, while they can lose points for yellow/red cards or conceding goals. These points vary by position, with the key points being as follows:
| Clean sheet | 2 Goals conceded | Goal assist | Goal scored | |
| Goalkeepers | 4 | -1 | 3 | 10 |
| Defenders | 4 | -1 | 3 | 6 |
| Midfielders | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| Forwards | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| *Penalties: GK save +5, player miss -2 | ||||
| *Yellow and Red cards: -1 and -3 awarded to all players | ||||
| *59 and 60+ mins played: 1 and 2 awarded to all players | ||||
Bonus Points System (BPS): At the end of each fixture, bonus points are awarded to the top three players based on their overall performance. The top player gets three extra points, the second gets two, and the third gets one. This system is provided by OPTA stats and rewards the best overall players in the match.
- Top Tip – BPS – For the 2024-25 season, the BPS system has been updated. This season, the system rewards players that are often fouled or have multiple shots on target.
🔁 Transfers
Each week you are awarded one free transfer (FT), which can be rolled over and kept until a maximum of five FTs are reached. Any remaining FTs past five will simply disappear. If you require additional transfers, you may take a -4 point penalty for every extra transfer you wish to make. Transfers are final once made, so choose wisely.
- Top Tip – Transfers – Stay on the side of caution and don’t make an early transfer. Circumstances often change day-to-day in FPL, so wait as close to the deadline as possible before confirming your moves.
🍟 Chips
A total of six chips can be played during the season to increase your points total. When you play them depends on your strategy:
- Wildcard x2: Change your entire squad and keep it for future GWs. One wildcard is available at the start of the season, the other will be awarded at the end of December. Once activated, it can’t be cancelled.
- Bench Boost: All 15 players score points for you rather than just the starting eleven.
- Free Hit: Make unlimited transfers for a single GW, then revert to your original squad. Cannot be used in GW1 and once activated it must be used.
- Triple Captain: Your captain’s points are tripled instead of doubled.
- Mystery Chip: A new chip introduced this season; details are said to be revealed at Christmas.
🔎 FPLVeteran’s Pro Tips
Here are my top essential tips that I use every season to help me build a winning squad:
- Proven Players: Select players with a strong track record who typically play 90 minutes and are capable of scoring against other top teams.
- Set Piece Takers: Players who take free kicks and penalties have higher scoring potential.
- Good Fixtures: Identify teams with favourable fixture runs to maximise points. Personally, I select a four to six GW block, but this can fluctuate.
- Avoid Injury Prone Players: Consistent availability is crucial.
- Stay Fluid: Adapt to weekly changes in FPL and be flexible with your strategy.
- Data and Eyes: Use a combination of data and the ‘eye test’ to inform decisions. Data doesn’t always tell you everything.
🔎 FPL Veteran’s Current Team
This is my current team as I draft this article. Follow me on X at @FplVeteran_ to stay updated with all of my latest changes, ensuring that you have the best chance possible to beat your mates in those mini-leagues for bragging rights.
Goalkeepers: Vicario (£5m), Turner (£4m)
Defenders: Porro (£5.5m), Alexander-Arnold (£7m), Barco (£4m), Gvardiol (£6m), Munoz (£5m)
Midfielders: Andreas (£5.5m), Szoboszlai (£6.5m), Son (£10m), Salah (£12.5m), Nkunku (£6.5m)
Forwards: Watkins (£9m), Isak (£8.5m), Mara (£5m)
Look forward to plenty more pre-season content and my weekly FPL articles for Andy’s Bet Club. Bring on the season.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
18+ please gamble responsibly.
