The Fantasy Football Scout Dugout FC League draft night is now just over 24-hours away.

For those who missed our introductory article, Dugout FC is a new draft-based Fantasy game that’s totally free to play and allows you to join or create a custom league, made up of multiple divisions.

There’s full promotion and relegation between the divisions and the game itself is driven by an Opta-based scoring system so advanced, Dugout FC are convinced it’s one of the best around.

Be sure to soak up our article for a full rundown of the features and why you should get involved.

It’s not too late to sign up and take part in draft night.

This takes place on Thursday at 9pm UK time.

You’ll either have to be online and in your division’s draft room for that time, or you’ll need to have set up your shortlist, which will be used by the automated system to select your squad.

Tactics for Draft Night

Dugout FC’s draft system is classified as a “snake” draft.

The team with the first overall pick selects, followed by the team with the second pick, third pick, and so on. At the end of the first round, the team that just drafted (with the last pick in the first round) will have the first pick in the second round and the round continues in reverse order.

There are ten teams in a division and with 18 players required in each squad, there will be 18 rounds of picks before each of the teams are complete.

During the draft, you’ll have two minutes to claim your pick before your shortlist kicks in and selects a player on your behalf.

Preparation for draft night is key and the first step, aside from forming your shortlist in Dugout FC, is to form a ranking sheet for the players on your list.

This will structure your targets in order of preference – the bigger your list, the more you’ll have to turn to on the night as the two minutes ticks down on your selection.

The obvious tactic is to work down your list, prioritising your high rank players, although there will be times when you’ll consider reacting to the selections of others, perhaps promoting a player in your ranking list or even bringing in a new player. Fundamentally, however, for at least the first three or four rounds, it’s a good idea to stick to your decided ranks in order to start your squad with a foundation of players that you have some confidence in. After that, you can consider taking risks.

Your first round pick is crucial and, while it’s tempting to target midfied heavy-hitters such as Eden Hazard or Alexis Sanchez from the off, you may be better advised to address your strikers first.

While Hazard and Sanchez are set to be the top scoring midfielders on show, it’s worth considering that, the gap between those two and the likes of David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Santi Cazorla may only be 30-40 points.

However, the gap between the leading striker and the chasing pack could be far greater. Sergio Aguero amassed 242 points in Dugout FC last season, the fifth ranked striker – Diego Costa – scored 86 fewer points.

In a nutshell, the drop-off in midfield between the very top ranks and those in the top ten was lower than that in the top ten strikers. Therefore, booking yourself a proven goalscorer could be the most viable tactic for the opening round.

With rotation and early season teamsheets still in transition, it also stands to reason that you are more likely to be pick up worthy free agents in midfield.

Player Versatility

Having said all that, it should be noted that Dugout FC have introduced the concept of versatility into the game. Hazard, for example, can be deployed either as a midfielder or a forward in your formation. You should take a note of these players as, securing an asset who can fulfil a number of roles offers flexibility and can help cover injuries.

Note that, Hazard and other versatile players, will score differently depending on where you play them: the Belgian won’t earn a point for a clean sheet whilst playing up front but will be more likely to earn a points for accurate passes, since he’ll only need to complete 30 per point earned.

The Scoring Model

Be sure to check in on Dugout FC’s scoring model to be clear on the match events at play and how these are applied, in particular, across the positions.

The scoring is finely balanced between full-backs and centre-backs but you’ll want to either target dominant defenders who win a raft of aerial balls, or forward-thinking full-backs who provided a ready supply of accurate crosses.

The criteria for midfielders is pretty clear – aside from goals and assists, those who make 40+ accurate passes, accompanied with chances created, should be high on your list of priorities.

However, given that there are points earned for fouls won, you should also factor in those players who frequently run at opponents and draw fouls – again, Hazard and Sanchez spring to mind, but there are others.

While Hazard suffered the most fouls (he was impeded every 31 minutes), Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish surpasses this frequency – he was fouled every 26 minutes on his introduction to Tim Sherwood’s lineup. Equally, Sadio Mane should be a target in this respect – he was fouled every 29 minutes for Southampton.

Up front, it’s clearly all about goals and shots, although again, big centre forwards who also draw fouls and who link play to complete 30 passes per match, offer some handy supplementary points.

Dugout FC’s player list offers a full rundown of last season’s points to offer guidance on your draft night priorities. This, combined with the statistics in our members area, should help you form your ranking list ahead of tomorrow evening.

The Fantasy Football Scout League

Once again, if you’re yet to sign up, it’s not too late.

We’re running a Fantasy Football Scout League which you’ll find when scanning leagues. Just click for an invite and you’ll be added to one of our divisions ahead of Thursday’s draft.

Good luck to all on draft night. Let’s see if I can’t snatch Aleks Kolarov.