In Fantasy Premier League (FPL), every manager is given an initial £100m budget to build a squad of 15 players. Before each Gameweek’s deadline, the big decisions are whether to make transfers, which player to captain and which four will be put on the substitutes bench.
The next instalment in our series of introductory guides explains how substitutions work in FPL.
- READ MORE: What is the FPL Wildcard chip and when should it be used?
- READ MORE: What is the FPL Free Hit chip and when should it be used?
- READ MORE: What is the FPL Triple Captain chip and when should it be used?
- READ MORE: What is the FPL Bench Boost chip and when should it be used?
WHAT ARE FPL SUBSTITUTES?
If someone in your Gameweek’s starting XI doesn’t take part, FPL substitutes are there to step in. So if there is an unforeseen event such as a player injury or match postponement, some cover is provided from the sidelines via one goalkeeper and three outfielders.
Active managers won’t have this scenario occur too often, so their typical bench will be comprised of very cheap players that enable more money to be spent on the main line-up.
However, there needs to be a healthy balance between cheap-but-weak replacements and having strong back-ups that provide regular benching headaches – if your unused substitute has a good week, it’s irrelevant because their points won’t be taken into account.
SELECTING A BENCH ORDER
Additionally, it’s important to rank your benched players in order of preference. This will be the sequence in which they’ll come in and replace.
Online, simply click the ‘Pick Team’ tab and use the player’s top-left icon to switch them either onto the pitch or with another substitute.
On the FPL app, visit ‘Pick Team’, select the player, press ‘Substitute’ and select the other player. Easy!
AUTOSUBS
If a starting player does not feature at all during the whole Gameweek (and avoids being carded on the sidelines), they’ll be automatically replaced according to your bench priorities.
Yet there must be a minimum of three defenders and one forward selected. Here’s an example.
SCENARIO: Your starting XI is in a 3-5-2 formation, with FOR – DEF(a) – DEF(b) being the 1-2-3 bench order.
AUTOSUB: A starting defender misses out due to injury, so DEF(a) must replace him and not FOR. If DEF(a) also doesn’t play, it goes to DEF(b) and then nobody.
Whereas an absent 4-4-2 defender can be replaced by whichever outfielder is ranked first.
BENCH BOOST CHIP
Meanwhile, for one week only, each manager is given a Bench Boost chip to be used in any Gameweek of the season. This means that all 15 players’ points will be taken into account, so no need to order substitutes.
TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ?
FPL managers must rank their three outfield substitutes in order of preference because, if someone in the starting XI doesn’t play during the Gameweek, an autosub takes place.
Here, the first player comes in from the bench, unless it leaves only two defenders on the pitch. A minimum of three must be included, therefore the first defender enters instead.
Players who remain stuck on your bench will not have their points included in the weekly total.