Fantasy Premier League Beginner’s Guide:
How to Win at FPL
Table of Contents
If you’re a beginner Fantasy Premier League player, or FPL, this guide will save you from making a few rookie mistakes which most new players tend to make.
Imagine it, reading one FPL Guide is all that stands in your way of a mediocre attempt, or a strong score week after week.
Let’s face it, your aim is to have the bragging rights over colleagues, friends and family. However, we want you to go one step further, winning your mini-leagues, earning a high overall finish versus the entire world.
This is the ultimate goal, which many people can only dream of achieving.
Let’s get started with our immediate tips, to help you improve your game.
Spending Your Initial Budget
Spending your initial budget is fun, but I’d also remind you to be very sensible here and break down your budget into each position.
My ‘Golden Ratio’ for 2020 is to spend:
- £9.5m on Goalkeepers.
- £25m on Defenders
- £38m on Midfielders
- £27.5m on Attackers
You don’t have to stick to this budget, but this helped me to build a very balanced team. Building a balanced team will be much more effective than spending cheaply on your centre backs, but having a high velocity strikeforce.
Goalkeepers
Goalkeepers come with two strategies. Do you spend money on two average goalkeepers, which can consistently rotate, or one expensive main-stay goalkeeper alongside a cheap goalkeeper that won’t play at all?
My strategy is to typically pick a main stay goalkeeper, it would definitely be a goalkeeper such as Alisson Becker, who offers a good clean sheet rate.
The downside of this, would be that it uses up a spot from the Liverpool team limit.
It’s worth noting that if you pick a cheaper goalkeeper, they do have the potential to earn Bonus Points, although often less likely to keep a clean sheet.
Defenders
I like to pick 2 Premium Defenders, typically attacking wing backs around the 5.5-6.5m bracket.
I like attacking wing backs, as it gives more of a chance for assists, such as Trent Alexander-Arnold who has a huge assist output.
I partner my 2 premium wing backs alongside a defender that’s relatively cheap, but guaranteed games.
It’s important not to overload the defence with talent, as lucrative it may seem.
Realistically, you’ll be playing three at the back, so you won’t fit all of these players in.
Midfielders
I put most of my focus into midfielders, as they’re a great catalyst for points.
On FPL, players such as Martial, Mane & Salah classify as Midfielders, so there’s the chance to really make your team strong from the midfield position.
I’d choose two premium midfielders, pick from players like Bruno Fernandes, Kevin De Bruyne, Mane, Martial & Salah.
You know the type, players that assist or score for fun.
Once you’ve picked two, pick some lower end players that will still feature for their clubs.
Players such as Grealish & Cantwell, who typically play all of the time. They’re also relatively cheap with a good output.
Forwards
Now we are at the exciting bit!
You’ll only have the money left for 2 superstar forwards, in the £8-12m price range. Partnering your two elite forwards, should be another forward which is around £6m. In 2020, I chose Jota from Wolves, as he seemed like a good option which plays regularly.
The Best Types of Player for FPL
When picking a goalkeeper, you have quite a few strategies available.
You can pick a good goalkeeper in a smaller side, such as Nick Pope or Dean Henderson, who save their fair share of shots and have the chance to earn Bonus Points.
Alternatively, opt for an elite goalkeeper which should keep clean sheets, such as Alisson Becker or Ederson. Teams with great defence are best for this option.
With your defenders, look for attacking full backs. A bonus would be teams that keep regular clean sheets, which is why I struggle to look past Trent Alexander Arnold. He takes corners and some free kicks, which gives him a great chance for extra points. Other options like Lucas Digne, Benjamin Mendy also fit the bill.
Midfielders are very important and you should be looking for a high-end attacking player, that gets involved with the final stages of the attack. This would give him the chance to register goals and assists.
It’s a bonus if he’s on set pieces, which is why I’ve ear-marked Bruno Fernandes and Kevin De Bruyne.
When choosing a forward, obviously a clinical finisher is a necessity. You’ll be looking for a player which doesn’t miss matches, rarely getting injured or substituted. Aubameyang is a good option, but there’s also players such as Vardy and Rashford which are assets.
When you’re picking your players, you need to consider the fact that they need playing time. If they regularly get substituted, it’s going to be better to leave them out of your team.
When to Use your Wild Card / Chips
What keeps FPL interesting, is that you don’t have to keep the same team for all of the season.
Every week, you’ll get a free transfer. If you don’t use a free transfer, it will roll over to the next week.
However, you can only carry 2 free transfers, so this is very important.
You can also make extra transfers, but they will cost you points. It’s best to completely avoid this, unless your teams hit with lots of injuries or suspensions.
You will also get wildcards to play during the season.
These are called Bench Boost, Triple Captain and Free Hit.
Bench Boost is where all of your players will score points that game week, even if they’re on the bench.
Triple Captain is another useful chip, which will give your captain a 3x multiplier that week. If he scores 20, he will be given a score of 60.
The final one is the Free Hit. This is where you can make unlimited changes, just for a single gameweek. Your team then reverts back to normal once this gameweek has ended.
Making Transfers
Making transfers is very important to your success, and it’s a strategy which will take time to perfect.
I like to look at the future game weeks, so that I can make the perfect transfer for the upcoming weeks.
Obviously, an injury or red card can completely scupper any plans for making multiple transfers.
Prices can also rise or fall, depending on the amount of players which transfer a player in, or out of the team.
Choosing a Captain
Your captain should be one of your most expensive player, typically an attacking midfielder or a forward. This will give you the chance to earn extra points when he scores a hat trick, or creates lots of assists.
Your captain will score double points, so ensure that you take fixture difficulty into consideration when looking at maximising your teams output.