How to play FPL
FPL is absolutely addictive. It’s great fun for every football lover and a good way of forging bonds, or strengthening them, when played in a league of friends. The rules are simple : each player gains points when the players he chose score goals, get assists or win games and lose them when the opposite happens, right on the pitch. What makes Fantasy fun is that each team may “sign” players from different sides, so it is possible to build a true dream-team for the ages.
More competitive players may enter an official league. These are usually joinable, paying a certain fee, that will end up being part of the final prize for the best-positioned teams. A league like this is typically pretty big and a lot of teams enter, so it’s not a matter of head-to-heads but a challenge where whoever scores the most points (based on the Premier League’s player marking) win and top the table, at least for a week. More expensive leagues usually reward their players better.
Playing in a small league of friends is easier and doesn’t even require a personal computer. Whoever plays pays a sum at the beginning of the season, hoping to win his pot and something more in the end, thanks to his decisions. The main difference is that playing in this kind of league means having a week-to-week header against another team, emulating a true match. In friend leagues, then, it is not allowed for two teams to have the same player. When team A “buys” a player he is removed for the list and team B will need to look elsewhere during team building.
How to build a winner
There are a lot of strategies to consider when picking a FPL team. Some players just follow their guts, some others read huge amounts of data, some go for their favourite players while some just pick the most exotic names. By visiting our Gameweek Articles page it is easy to choose a strategy that fits our play-style but one thing to always remember is that players and performances evolve during the season.
It is not that rare for a Fantasy player to lose matches because of his or her own stubbornness. One thing to learn as soon as possible is that it is not good to blindly trust affection. Probably, every FPL player will sign a couple of guys he or she loves when picking the team. Should they underperform or end up injured, that player must show them the metaphorical door and sign someone who may bring more bonuses (or points in Fantasy Football) to the team. It’s fine going for our favourites but it is smarter to go for who is in better shape. During the season, there will be chances to empower our line-up. We should always exploit them, in order to have the best team possible each and every gameday.