The Fantasy Premier League is back and gadget tacticians are already plotting and mapping out strategies for the upcoming campaign.
The 2024/25 Premier League campaign is also fast approaching and teams are putting things in place in anticipation of a grueling season ahead.
Jonas Sand Labakk won the 2023/24 Fantasy Premier League, besting the league runner-up by over 50 points.
Definitely, the over 10.9 million followers, who were submerged by Jonas will be intensifying efforts to get their hands on the big prize in the coming season.
This write-up intends to inundate you on everything you need to know to play Fantasy Premier League in the 2024/25 season.
Picking Your Fantasy Premier League Squad
You will receive a virtual sum of £100 million to use in making reinforcements to your squad, which is expected to consist of only 15 players.
You will be needed to select 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders, and 3 forwards.
Each manager is offered the leverage to select at most 3 players from a single Premier League club.
Every gameweek you choose 11 starting players from your squad who you feel will earn you the most points.
You can select any formation for your team, as long as you have a goalkeeper, 3 defenders and 1 forward.
Additionally, all alterations to the setup must be made before the deadline for the Gameweek.
The deadlines are set at 90 minutes before the kick-off time in the first match of every Gameweek.
Managing Your Fantasy Premier League Team
From your starting XI you choose a captain and vice-captain, with the score for the latter doubled every match day.
Your vice-captain will assume the role of the captain if he doesn’t play any minute in the Gameweek.
If neither your captain nor vice-captain play in a Gameweek, then no player’s score will be doubled.
Your substitutes are expected to deputize in place of starting players in the case of unforeseen events where they unfortunately don’t play in the Gameweek.
If any of your outfield players don’t play, they will be replaced by the highest priority outfield substitute who played.
However, your team must not break the formation rules. Sometimes, players are unable to play due to injuries, suspension, or after leaving the league.
A red flag appears when a player is definitely ruled out of action due to several factors – suspension, injuries, personal reasons.
A yellow flag also indicates players who have a chance of playing, however, they are doubtful and many miss out due to injury.
Clicking either flag will provide you with needed information on why the player is unavailable for action.
Points
Points are scored for a player’s performance based on minutes played, goals, assists, and clean sheets.
They can also be deducted for negative aspects of a player’s performance, namely; yellow card, red card, goals conceded, and missed penalties.
Some actions also result in players receiving the same point regardless of their position.
Contrastingly, points scoring also differs based on where the player plays depending on the instance.
Clean Sheet
Clean sheet points to goalkeepers come if they don’t concede while on the pitch for at least 60 minutes excluding stoppage time.
Red Card
Damningly, if a player is handed a red card they continue to be penalized for goals conceded by their team.
Assist
Assist points are awarded to the player who made the final pass before a goal. It is also given if a shot on goal is blocked by an opponent, saved by a goalkeeper, hits the woodwork and a player is on hand to score from the rebound.
Bonus Points
This is awarded to the three best-performing players in each match and it is calculated by the Bonus Points System (BPS).
Mini-leagues In The Fantasy Premier League
After forming your squad, you can join and create leagues to compete with your friends and family.
Invitational leagues drive the game, as they create a competitive and fighting spirit in managers.
Basically, you form a league and then send the unique code to your fellow Fantasy Premier League managers.
There are two types of leagues – the Classic league or the Head-to-Head and their scoring differ as well.
In a league with classic scoring, teams are ranked based on their total points in the game, while head-to-head teams are pitted against each other every Gameweek.
The match result is based on the score of each team minus any transfer points spent preparing for the Gameweek.
Meanwhile, every manager contesting in the 2024/25 Fantasy Premier League will be entered into the cup this season.
Each team is randomly drawn against another, with the winner, who will advance to the next round, being the side with the highest Gameweek score minus any transfer points.
The process continues until the final Gameweek when the two remaining teams contest the cup final.
The mini-league cups allow you and your friends to compete in a knockout contest alongside your invitational league.
Chips
They can be used to boost your team’s performance across the demanding season.
Every manager is handed 5 chips across the campaign, namely; Wildcard, Free Hit, Wildcard, Triple Captain, and Bench Boost.
Bench Boost
The points scored by your bench players in the Gameweek are included in your total points accumulated.
Free Hit
This allows you to make unlimited transfers for a single Gameweek, with your previous Fantasy Premier League squad being restored for the following Gameweek.
Triple Captain
Your captain points are tripled instead of doubled.
Wildcard
All transfers (including those already made) in the Gameweek will cost you no points, even if you exceed the defined number of signings allowed.
The Wildcard chip can be used twice a season, with it being available until the deadline of Gameweek 20 and after the deadline of the previously indicated Gameweek.
Note: Only one chip can be played in a single Gameweek.
The 2024/25 Premier League campaign will commence on August 16, 2024, with Manchester United hosting Fulham at Old Trafford.
