It's Fantasy Premier League season – so FPL expert John Wallin of FantasyYIRMA takes a look at how to get ahead early
(Image credit: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Fantasy Premier League is a strange game. FPL managers can make countless changes to their squad across the summer, spending endless hours of free time (and probably a fair bit of our workday, too) in preparation for mid-August.
After reading every X thread discussing price releases, scouring stats sites for under-appreciated gems and parsing the early-season schedule more carefully than the teams themselves, you score 35 points in Game Week 1 and find yourself ranked in the mid-seven millions. Just like that you're looking up at a world's worth of rivals, all of whom have the upper hand while you've got a roster of Baxters and a strong desire to mash that Free Transfer button.
Many a manager has pulled up their bootstraps and buckled down, giving it a good run until the first international break, only to lose interest as the gap with the front runners grows. Instead of struggling uphill, it's helpful to set some goals before the season starts to help you get off to the best possible start in FPL. Does that sound like something you'd be interested in?
How to get Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points early in the season: 1. Study now
Being a good manager is all in the details (Image credit: Getty Images)
Only 100,000 managers are going to be happy with their GW1 rank, and a fair few of those are the type who create a new profile every week just so they can make the best squad possible. Cheap thrills.
We're putting in time now for rewards in the spring and we can't lose focus just because a few folks are putting on the press early. A score of sixty points or better in each of the opening three weeks might not have you at the top of the table, but across the length of a season an average score of 68 points would net you 2600 points and a run at the overall title.
Aim small, miss small, win big.
2. Use your full squad and your full budget
A full squad is necessary in FPL (Image credit: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
A lot of managers like to keep a couple million in reserve to ensure early price rises don't limit their transfer options. To achieve this, they end up signing cheap bench players with high ownership, hoping to capitalise on a price rise without getting punished on the score sheet.
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Savvy managers will avoid this trap and stack their full squad, not just their starting XI, with players who can produce FPL points. Particularly in a season with a busy international calendar: you want to insure against zeros in your lineup with no bench points to help.
Keeping a balanced roster where you spend your full budget will help you in the first three weeks and with your transfers following the first international break.
3. Follow the trends and the stats
Maupay was an example in FPL – no, really (Image credit: PA)
The highest owned players in the FPL are the highest owned for a reason. Every successful manager will own a least a few of the same names as everyone else.
You also need to follow the stats to help find under-owned players with upside, though – you can't just rely on Erling Haaland if 80 per cent of players have him. We call these 'differentials' and owning a couple of them helps set your side apart – you're banking points from players other managers don't own.
A couple of seasons, Neal Maupay was a good example of this. The then-Brighton striker had 70 appearances (59 starts) in the two seasons prior, with 2020/21 seeing him 13th in the Premier League for expected goals (13xG) – and he massively under-performed, scoring only eight times. But a new season can see stars hit the ground running to repay the faith. Maupay managed four goals in his first six games that particular campaign.
4. Captain Sensible
Who's Salah got first up? (Image credit: Getty)
This one might be as obvious as, er, Captain Obvious, but finding the right player to hand the armband in the first three weeks of the season makes a massive difference. In the early days of a new year, established stars in established teams against the weaker sides are the only players you should be considering.
Over the years, we've suggested handing the armband to Mo Salah for Liverpool's opening trip to Norwich (he scored one and assisted two) or Bruno Fernandes against Leeds, the season that the Portuguese netted a hat-trick (since Marcelo Bielsa's team had the worst expected goals allowed away from home in 2020/21). You get no points for originality but the points were obvious. Who are facing the promoted sides this time?
Don't just pick the players that you think are going to have good seasons, as tempting as that is. You're not picking a team to win you points in three months: analyse the fixtures, who might start the season slowly and take it from there.
John Wallin, aka @fantasygaffer, began writing about Fantasy Premier League in 2010 and now has appeared in print, podcasts and on television. John co-founded the cult favorite Fantasy Premier League draft platform Togga and has hosted the Bang Average Podcast with Ryan (@FantasyYIRMA) and Mike (@BangAverageMike) since the 2017/18 season.
