The waiting is finally over. Just three days after the World Cup came to a conclusion on Sunday evening, our thoughts immediately focus on domestic matters after Fantasy Premier League (FPL) opened its doors once again this afternoon:
This morning’s release of the Player Price List heightened our anticipation – only three midfielders and four forwards are priced above the 10.0 barrier, with Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez the subject of much interest after he was classified as a midfielder for the season ahead.
There are changes to how the Bonus Point System (BPS) is calculated, too. Essentially, every previous statistic which factored towards a player’s BPS score is now multiplied by three – a forward earns 24 points towards his BPS score, for example, instead of eight in 2013/14, whilst a shot off target takes a single point from a player’s BPS score; previously, the system only deducted a point for every three wayward efforts.
A new factor introduced to the BPS is the decision to reward players for successful dribbles. Full-backs and wide men who are willing to take on opponents are now smiled upon favourably here – they earn a single point towards their BPS total, the same as providing a key pass. These new tweaks should hopefully prevent situations where, as we saw many times last term, numerous players picked up bonus points in the same match.
Fantasy managers now have the chance to assemble our 15-man squads with just a month until the campaign gets underway on Saturday August 16, where the early lunchtime kick-off sees United and Swansea go head-to-head in Louis Van Gaal’s first official match in charge.
As always, we’ll be rolling out a series of articles on the Player Price List over the coming days, breaking them down by position.
For now, this is just a heads-up. Enjoy tinkering, everyone!
