In Fantasy Premier League (FPL), every manager is given an initial £100m budget to build a squad of 15 players. This budget gradually changes over the season due to player price rises and falls.
The next instalment in our series of introductory guides explains how price changes 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 PRICE CHANGES?
Based on popular transfers and sales, players can rise or fall £0.1m in price. Whether it’s due to good form, bad form, an injury, a suspension or upcoming fixtures, there will always be trends in FPL and this is usually reflected in valuation changes.
They don’t change over the summer but, once the season kicks off, each player can rise or fall a maximum of three times per Gameweek, although never more than £0.1m at a time. So any dizzying mass rush to buy one particular player will still be restricted to a £0.1m rise that day.
WHEN DO THEY OCCUR?
Every day, once the season starts, at either 01:30 or 02:30 BST depending on the time of year.
When UK clocks go forward by one hour (late March to late October), player prices change at 02:30. For the rest of the year, it’s 01:30.
WHERE CAN WE SEE UPCOMING PRICE CHANGES?
This is where things get foggy. The official FPL website only reports on price changes once they’ve happened, rather than giving a heads-up to managers. LiveFPL tweets them immediately.
Sites like FPL Statistics try their best to track transfers and predict what will happen but it’s difficult when the exact algorithm is still unknown.
“Both the formula used to calculate this change and the time of the change include variable factors, and won’t be revealed to game players.” – from the official FPL FAQs
Without knowing for certain which level needs reaching at either end, the 100.0 (boxed blue) and -100.0 (boxed red) guesses are regularly correct but not always.
One thing we do know is that Wildcard transfers aren’t taken into account.
HOW DOES IT AFFECT MY PLAYER’S SELLING PRICE?
FPL managers regularly use price change predictors when debating whether a planned transfer needs to be made early in the week. Otherwise, a rise or drop could make it undoable.
Also, on the ‘Transfers’ page, a player’s sale price is not as straightforward as looking at their current value. If they’ve risen since purchase, you’ll make a profit of 50% (rounded down to the nearest £0.1m) but, if they’ve dropped, you receive that exact lower amount.
For example, Kieran Trippier began the 2022/23 campaign at £5.0m but ended it as a £6.1m option. Similarly, Eddie Nketiah began at £7.0m but was £6.3m by the final weekend.
PRICE WHEN BOUGHT | CURRENT VALUE | SALE PRICE | |
---|---|---|---|
TRIPPIER | £5.0m | £6.1m | £5.5m |
NKETIAH | £7.0m | £6.3m | £6.3m |
TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ?
Once the season begins, popular purchases and sales dictate which players are about to rise or fall £0.1m in value. Every day, at either 01:30 or 02:30 BST depending on the time of year, sites like LiveFPL will reveal if any price changes have occurred.
Wildcard transfers aren’t taken into account but, unfortunately, we don’t know the exact price change algorithm used by the official FPL game. It’s a secret, although the likes of FPL Statistics try their best to predict what will happen.