Sky Sports Fantasy Football makes a return as a regular on these pages this season and, as of this evening, our pre-season analysis of the game gets underway.

We start by plunging headfirst into the most dramatic change introduced for 2017/18. The Overhaul is a new feature that looks set to literally transform the way we approach the game.

Similar to the Fantasy Premier League wildcard, this allows us to completely revamp our squads on two occasions over the season. However, there is a key difference with the Sky Sports Overhaul, as it is restricted for use during two distinct one-week windows.

This alters the way we approach our entire initial squad selection.

Here’s why…

“The first Overhaul period will be for the whole of Gameweek 4 and up until the first kick off of Gameweek 5. The second Overhaul period will be for the whole of Gameweek 28 and up until the first kick off of Gameweek 29. You will be able to make unlimited transfers during those periods until the first game day deadline”

With this in mind, it makes sense that our starting XI should focus solely on the opening three Gameweeks.

Following that, the international break affords us the opportunity to revisit our team, armed with three weeks of player form and data to help us rebuild.

Prior to the season kick-off on August 11, we will be basing our player list analysis articles around the “pre-overhaul” top targets, before revisiting each position to give a “post overhaul” view on line-ups.

Beyond our initial selection, the Overhaul also has far reaching implications on our transfer policy during the season.

Overhaul Tactics

The 40 transfers at our disposal can now be broken up and distributed over three distinct window periods.

• The three-Gameweek period from August 11 until September 9, prior to the first Overhaul.
• The 20-Gameweek period from September 9 until February 24, prior to the second Overhaul.
• The 11-Gameweek period from February 24 onwards, after the second Overhaul.

Prior to the first Overhaul, it looks sensible to limit transfers to the bare minimum.

The best approach here is to pick an initial squad with good fixtures and with captains available for each match day – in our forthcoming articles, we will look to help guide you with this.

Of course, form, injuries and general misfortune could combine to play their part and derail that strategy.

However, our general rule with our intial selection should be to target assured starters or “nailed on” assets. This is always important but is made all the more paramount when you are essentially picking a team for the opening three Gameweeks.

Another viable tactic would be to use one or two transfers in a bid to get off to a flying start, covering all the major captains and looking for any “two for one” scenarios that the fixture schedule can offer us.

For example, by starting the season with an Arsenal asset for Friday night’s fixture at home to Leicester, then shipping them to acquire a Manchester City player for Saturday’s trip to Brighton, offers two possible captains and the extra player for a single transfer. It can also allow you to split your Arsenal/Man City budget in one team slot.

In terms of spending transfers, the Overhaul period two looks set to be the time frame where Sky Sports managers will use the bulk of their 40 trades.

This spell covers the vast majority of the season and the busy Christmas period while some of these weeks are essentially double Gameweeks.

In the past, experienced Sky Sports managers would use transfers on extra captain days and gain from “two for one” situations as best they could. However, the need to manage 40 transfers over the course of the campaign limited this tactic to rare occasions.

The Overhaul is set to shake this up, offering us the opportunity to be thriftier with our transfers.

Indeed, if we can select a solid XI and get our defence right after the first Overhaul, then extra captains and “two for ones” should take up the bulk of our future swaps, providing we can avoid being cursed by injuries and suspensions.

The second Overhaul arrives in the international break in Gameweek 28 – February 17.

Getting to that last Overhaul with around 10 transfers remaining – thus preparing for the fixture pile-up and inevitable rotation – should be a realistic goal.

Of course, with this being a new feature, it’s difficult to gauge the tactics and impact it can have on our seasons until we have first-hand experience.

If you have some alternative strategies on the use of Overhaul, then please let us know your views in the comments.

Coming Next…

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be providing player list articles, man of the match analysis and lots more to help guide you through to the season kick-off.

Also, I’ll be talking through the week’s action and upcoming plans with Fantasy Football Scout regulars Buffrey and Lewis on our regular podcast – the latest episode can be found here.

There is also a community article dedicate to Sky Sports Fantasy line-ups and Rate My Team queries.

Those looking to get involved should click this link.

The Fantasy Football Scout League

The Fantasy Football Scout League is up and running and, after winning the League of Leagues for each of the last four seasons, we’re bidding to defend our crown in 2017/18.

Get your squad entered – the League name is “FFScout” and the pin number to join is 8300422.