How to play Fantasy Premier League: Tips, pitfalls to avoid, chip strategy and must-have players -

My name is Abdul Rehman and I have been playing Fantasy Football (mainly Fantasy Premier League) for 16 seasons. I was hooked on the game from my first gameweek.

This fixation and my competitiveness led me to take the game a lot more seriously than I maybe should have. However, from that, I have had some pretty impressive rankings. I have achieved four top-1,000 finishes and six top-5,000 finishes, and rank as the 53rd-best manager ever according to the Fantasy Football Research hall of fame rankings. My aim this season once again is to break into the top 10 and eventually go for that No 1 spot.

This is, of course, much easier said than done. FPL is growing rapidly year on year and the content available on websites, social media and other outlets is also improving, making the game more challenging. More than 11 million managers played FPL last season, whereas there were 2.5 million signed up in 2011-12.

I turned to FPL content creation around four years ago and turned a hobby into a career, and I haven’t regretted it one bit. I write articles about FPL, and produce YouTube videos and occasionally podcasts, too.

This is an updated version of a guide I created on how to play FPL, which was originally published at the start of last season.

Hopefully, there are useful tips for both beginners and seasoned veterans as I explain my experience of what works and what doesn’t. I hope it helps.

(Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)

How to approach the start of the season

The start of the season is when we have the least information and it is the most difficult time to pick a good team. This is why it’s paramount to go as safe as possible. By that, I mean selecting players who are nailed-on to start, are proven FPL assets, and play for teams who have good opening fixtures.

This is the worst time to take any risks. FPL cannot be won in the first few weeks but it can certainly be lost. Having a bad start not only puts you behind the pack but generally leads you to make more bad decisions as you try to rectify your mistakes.

You aren’t playing catch-up in the first few weeks, so there is no need to go seeking differentials yet. It’s best to go with a tried-and-tested template and let others make the mistakes.

There are two primary reasons it’s not a good idea to take any punts at the start of the season:

You don’t want to use your wildcard to rectify your bad team in the first few gameweeks. We don’t have enough information at the start of the season and, usually, things only start to take shape around Gameweek 10.

Price changes are at their most volatile at the start of the season, which means players rising and falling in price will happen quickly and frequently. This almost means that a £0.1m drop in value is equivalent to a £0.5m drop. You will need to drop down to the next price level if you’ve taken a punt that’s failed and falls in price.

Therefore, when picking my Gameweek 1 team, I would follow these guidelines:

Pick players who are first-choice starters for their teams and AVOID rotation risks.

Do not select any injured players or players who haven’t had a full pre-season and are doubts to start the season. Again, players who even miss one gameweek will fall in price rapidly.

Resist the temptation to pick players who didn’t play regularly for their teams last season, or young players who are breaking into their teams.

Try to avoid any players from promoted teams — but they are fine to have as bench options if they are regular starters.

Keep an open mind, though, when following these suggestions. There will always be caveats that you will need to make a judgment on.

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When to use your chips

The chips in FPL are the most important weapons we have at our disposal. Patience is key and that virtue should be exercised with our chips. It may be tempting to use them at the start of the season to get off to a flyer but this is not an advisable strategy.

We are given two wildcards, a bench boost, a free hit and a triple captain chip. We need to play the first wildcard by Gameweek 20 (December 30). The second is available from after Gameweek 20 until the end of the season.

The first wildcard is typically best used when we have a fixture swing for a number of teams or just before the first wildcard expires to set us up for the second half of the season.

The second wildcard and chips are best used near the end of the season when all the double and blank gameweeks arrive.

These are the trickiest periods to navigate, so having free hit chips during the blank gameweeks and triple captain and bench boosts to use in the doubles is going to be very handy. It’s a proven method and if executed efficiently, can really fire you up the rankings.

It’s highly recommended that you keep an eye on proceedings and stay on top of all the fixture rearrangements. Again, we will be here to guide you on this throughout the season.

The players who should be in your team this season

There are many ways to play this game — there are very rarely any “must-have” players. However, some players do very well year in, year out, and picking them will make your life much easier.

Below, I’ve listed my favourite players for this season by position:

Defender: Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8m) — The Liverpool right-back has come in at the most expensive he has ever been. I still think he is worth going for as he will very likely end the season as the highest-scoring defender. He has many avenues when it comes to recording points: clean sheets, goals and assists.

Over his last five seasons, Alexander-Arnold has recorded 11 goals and 59 assists, which is extraordinary for a defender. He will no doubt add to those tallies this season.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Photo: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Midfielder: Bukayo Saka (£8.5m) — I think Saka has come in at around £1m underpriced. He is the most nailed-on attacker for Arsenal in terms of minutes and is also the first-choice penalty taker. He has both goal and assist threats and plays for one of the best attacking teams in the league. The England international recorded a highly impressive 14 goals and 12 assists last season.

Forward: Erling Haaland (£14m) — His debut season was just absolutely phenomenal and he is a must-have for me. The Norwegian pretty much makes FPL a 14-man game now. He scored 36 goals and racked up nine assists in the league last season, finishing as the highest points scorer.

I can see a similar campaign for him again and he will be the best captaincy choice in most weeks.

Haaland is already owned by over 85 per cent of managers, which is a pre-season record. He simply has to be in our teams.

Ten successful tips for a good FPL season

Once you have picked your Gameweek 1 team, if you follow the below rules, it will give you a much better chance of having a successful season.

Don’t “points-chase” and make “knee-jerk” transfers: This is a very common mistake made by managers new to the game.

I was guilty of this a lot in my early days of playing. It’s very tempting to transfer in a player who just scored a brace but you also need to look at who you are removing. Don’t transfer out good, proven players for last week’s points. FPL is about chasing next week’s points.

Even when things go wrong, like having a bad gameweek, always keep a cool head, take a step back and assess throughout the week.

Always wait as late as possible before making transfers: This might be hard for some, especially the less engaged managers, but if I was to only give one piece of advice for a successful season this would be it.

Waiting as long as possible means you will have gained the most information available. In a typical season, there will be midweek games, injuries and illnesses — therefore, holding out until all the press conferences are done gives you an advantage.

Making transfers early in the week could bite you in more ways than one. Don’t worry about team value. It’s extremely overrated.

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Target players with multiple sources of points: We have to remember a good footballer doesn’t necessarily mean a good FPL option. Enzo Fernandes (£5.0), for example, is world-class but should never make it into our FPL teams.

Players such as Alexander-Arnold, Reece James and Luke Shaw are full-backs for teams that defend well, so will naturally get a fair share of clean sheets. However, they are also very attacking, so will pick up goals and assists too.

When it comes to attackers, target players who not only score but also assist and take set pieces and penalties for their clubs — anything that leads to FPL points.

Be very careful taking hits: Transfers are one of the most important single factors in the game. Every transfer you make over your free allowance will cost you four points. You really have to weigh up whether a hit is worth it or not.

I always take as few hits as possible and only really do so when my players are injured or seriously underperforming over a long period. If you plan well, then chances are you won’t need to take hits.

Fixtures over form — always: Historical data has shown that fixtures most definitely matter even for the best players in the world. Pay very close attention to fixtures. Target good and proven players for teams who have a good run of games.

Hold on to your chips: It is very tempting to use your chips early on but this isn’t the most effective way to use them. Save them for the double and blank gameweeks in the second half of the season.

Pay very close attention to stats — stats trump the eye test: I especially look at xG (expected goals) stats when it comes to FPL. They correlate more accurately towards FPL points than any other metric. Expected goals, of course, isn’t perfect but it’s the best model we have at the moment. The “eye test” is good as a secondary source of information but even then it can be subjective. For example, if three people watch the same match, they could all come to different conclusions. Looking at cold hard numbers is a lot more factual.

Learn from the best: As I mentioned earlier, there are just so many good resources out there now for new and experienced fantasy managers.

By following the below Twitter accounts, you can keep up to date with the latest stats, injuries and fixture rearrangements:

FPL General: General FPL advice and podcasts
Holly Shand: General FPL advice
AbuBakar Siddiq: Detailed stats-based weekly threads for the upcoming gameweek
Ben Dinnery: All the injury-related news and quotes from managers
Ben Crellin: The fixtures guru. A must-follow account to get all the rearranged fixtures and double gameweek news first.
Abdul Rehman: General FPL advice, stats, videos and team reveals
FPL Strategy: Team reveals, weekly threads and stats

When it comes to podcasts or video content, you cannot go far wrong with these guys:

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Leave club loyalties and emotions at the door: When it comes to FPL, there really isn’t any room for any sort of loyalty or sentiment.

To play the game to the best of your ability, you will have to pick players from your fiercest and most hated rivals. To make it easier for you, try viewing the players as stocks or shares that give you a certain value — anything, really, to rid yourself of this mindset.

Don’t take risks for the sake of it: To get the best ranks consistently, you need to play the game very simply, which some may find boring. But boring usually means more points.

Captain the obvious player each week: This season, in most weeks it will be Haaland but we will get opportunities down the line to go elsewhere. especially when it comes to blank and double gameweeks.

I wouldn’t diverge from Haaland at the start of the season in order to try to gain rank or get ahead of the pack. Don’t take risks or attempt maverick moves, especially early on in the season. Let others make those mistakes.

The time for taking punts and risks is at the end of the season when we have a few gameweeks left. Depending on where you are ranked overall or in a mini-league, you will have a better idea of what you need to do.

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