FPL Masterclass

FPL Masterclass: Our panel’s top tips for Fantasy Premier League beginners

Our new FPL Masterclass series unites three of the best Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers around: two-time India champion Lateriser, seven-time top 10k finisher Zophar and five-time top 1,000 finisher Tom Freeman.

Between them they have 20 overall ranks in the top 10,000, nine of which were within the top 1k.

They’ll be chipping in with round-table Fantasy advice ahead of the start of 2021/22, with opinion on everything from tips for newcomers to their methodical process for captaincy selection.

We’re delighted that all three of these elite managers will also be writing for Fantasy Football Scout every week throughout the new season, with Tom additionally now on board as Deputy Editor.

Only subscribers will be able to read all of their articles in 2021/22; full-year memberships are now available for £20.

FPL price reveal and launch reaction from three-time top 200 finisher Lateriser 1

We begin with general advice for FPL managers ahead of the upcoming campaign, particularly those who are relatively new to the game – although there are plenty of helpful takeaways for the rest of us, too.

Fantasy newcomers can also read up on the basics in our ‘how to play’ guide here.

Tom said…

Giving yourself plenty of time to make decisions is so important in FPL. For example, knee-jerking your £6.5m forward out after he blanks on a Saturday night may not be the smartest move, especially if he has good fixtures to follow. Sleeping on a decision doesn’t necessarily lead to a better outcome but I find it helps, and remember, the player who scored big in the previous Gameweek won’t necessarily do the same in the next.

I’d also suggest building a basic set of custom tables in the Fantasy Football Scout Premium Members Area or use the existing templates if you don’t feel comfortable with that. I always use statistics to back up what I’m seeing on the pitch and this is an easy way of collating all that information in one place. However, the Season Ticker is perhaps the most important tool of all, as you can use it to plan future transfers and captain picks. Captaincy is one of the most important aspects of the game, so ensuring you have a good premium option each week is key.

I also like to spend a bit of time in pre-season researching the newly-promoted clubs. Here you’ll often find under-priced gems like John Lundstram and Patrick Bamford, who started out at £4.0m and £5.5m respectively. In the former’s case, you even got a midfielder who was classified as a defender! Maybe you don’t plan on starting with anyone from Norwich City, Watford or Brentford next season, but get that knowledge in place now, so you’re ready to move quickly once the season kicks off.



Finally, if you have a bad start and find yourself chasing, don’t panic. And if you’re still struggling heading into the final stretch, use calculated gambles rather than going all-in on differentials.

Zophar said…

Fantasy Premier League is, in my opinion, first and foremost a game of patience. It might sound off-putting as a new player but it’s what I’ve learnt over the years. It’s always tempting to be on the lookout for a shiny new toy or the player who banged in a hat-trick in the previous Gameweek but you have to remember that the points from last week are already gone and it’s not necessarily going to happen again in the future.

Faith in the players you pick is important: you picked them for a reason, they’re not going to score or assist every week and swapping them around means you end up chasing last week’s points.

You need to pick players for a longer period than one or two Gameweeks as transfers are precious. ‘Minus four’ for every hit is a lot of points and taking a hit every other week is definitely going to have a detrimental effect on your overall rank.

Fantasy Football Scout’s Season Ticker is one of the most useful tools around as it can rank which club have the best fixture run for a specified period and allows you to plan ahead for when to hop on or hop off a team’s assets. This allows you to plan your transfers in a structured manner rather than make kneejerk decisions.

Lateriser said…

My first suggestion to Fantasy Premier League rookies would be to point them in the direction of the Season Ticker in the Premium Members Area. Have a look at this tool, sort it for six to eight Gameweeks and plan your team for the mid-term.

Make sure that while constructing your team, you have short-term punts only in one to two positions at the most and have at least two premium players in your team. One mistake rookies often make is going for non-premium players as a captain too often. Do this only once in a while and stick to the premium players playing against bottom-half teams as much as possible.

If you can, look at the ‘captainable’ fixtures for the first six to eight Gameweeks and try covering the big hitters from those teams. What happens to me generally is that when I’m looking at the Season Ticker, the loose structure of my squad drops up in my head. Always have the Season Ticker open in another tab when you are building your team.

Other than that, my other pieces of advice would be that during pre-season, don’t spend your time over-tinkering. Once you are aware of all price points, you are more or less familiar with what kind of a team is possible.

Focus more on gathering information. Try finding out which defences were good last season and which attackers underperformed while paying close attention to manager quotes to give you an idea of player roles at the start of the campaign.

Only in the last seven days before the season starts is when you seriously tinker with your team because at that point, you will have gathered as much information as possible.

Don’t try to imitate any manager’s FPL style while you’re consuming content. Do your own research and over time, you will find your own approach which will be in sync with your temperament and risk appetite.

And most importantly, don’t forget to enjoy the game. Never forget that we are playing it for fun!

610 Comments Post a Comment
  1. Timon
    • 12 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Can anyone tell me who are the likely back 4 for Brentford?

    1. FC Hakkebøf
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Why would you want a defender from a promotion team?

      1. dbeck
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        as one promoted team usually performs well and are cheap, its risky but players like Dallas and Doherty, while rare are fpl gems

        1. Drexl Spivey
          • 5 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          And let's not forget Lundstram.

          1. dbeck
            • Fantasy Football Scout Member
            • 6 Years
            2 years, 8 months ago

            Lord Lundstram, tbf all those sheff utd guys proved value. I always go for a promoted keeper, Hendo 2 seasons ago, Johnstone last season (less succesful)

      2. Andy_Social
        • 11 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        Got my eye on Watford wingbacks myself.

        1. FC Hakkebøf
          • 7 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          Rode could be gold

          1. FC Hakkebøf
            • 7 Years
            2 years, 8 months ago

            Rose*

            1. Andy_Social
              • 11 Years
              2 years, 8 months ago

              I don't expect him to start - I'm looking at Femenia primarily, then Masina. See how they do pre-season but one could bag my last defender spot.

    2. Andy_Social
      • 11 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Think they just added one yesterday - maybe not done yet.

    3. Sinixtre11
      • 2 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      roerslev has the potential to create some assists from the right flank..

  2. FC Hakkebøf
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    How is this draft looking?

    Sanchez
    TAA Shaw Digne Lamptey
    Salah Bruno Jota
    DCL Nacho Watkins
    ____
    Steele Ayling Gilmour 4.5

    Two popular picks Missing:

    1) Toney: Very popular pick, but we just don't know how well he and Brentford will do in PL. Good pricepoint, but with more expensive forwards it's easy to get him into the team.

    2) Raphina: Leeds do not have favourable fixtures in the first few gameweeks. They have proven that they can score against any team, but surely there are better (and cheaper) options that will out score him. Easy to downgrade Jota to Raphina if need be.

    So I basically opted for Digne + Nacho (4-3-3) over Toney + Raphina. Crazy to go against the two high ownership picks?

  3. dbeck
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Who are people seeing in the 7m mid and below bracket? I know Raphina is great but i am 100% on Bamford and not sure quite yet if i want to commit to the double up

    1. Zimo
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Why not get the cheaper guy? Won't be much difference in the end between them. Raphinha is better value

      1. dbeck
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        bamford is underpriced imo at 8m, i want the guy at the top of the attack and on pens

        1. Zimo
          • 5 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          He is underpriced for sure but Raphinha is still better value imo.

          1. Andy_Social
            • 11 Years
            2 years, 8 months ago

            get both

            1. Zimo
              • 5 Years
              2 years, 8 months ago

              He doesn't wanna double up but yes this would be the ideal solution for an attack like Leeds.

            2. dbeck
              • Fantasy Football Scout Member
              • 6 Years
              2 years, 8 months ago

              i might but the fixtures dont look the best

              1. Andy_Social
                • 11 Years
                2 years, 8 months ago

                They score against anyone - it's at the back you might want to hold off.

              2. Zimo
                • 5 Years
                2 years, 8 months ago

                True and they were more cautious against top teams after they got destroyed by United 6-2.

                1. dbeck
                  • Fantasy Football Scout Member
                  • 6 Years
                  2 years, 8 months ago

                  I seem to recall towards the end of last season, like last 6 games or something, they tightened up at the back and put up some good xGC numbers. I do wonder if this is Bielsa planning for next year and becoming harder to beat and if it is, at what impact to the attack (if at all)

    2. Drexl Spivey
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      I'm still on Harrison.

      1. FC Hakkebøf
        • 7 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        Still a double up though

        1. Drexl Spivey
          • 5 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          Double ups aren't a bad thing. I had my best season yet playing Salah and Mané for the best part.

          1. FC Hakkebøf
            • 7 Years
            2 years, 8 months ago

            Agreed but he didnt want to double up

            1. Drexl Spivey
              • 5 Years
              2 years, 8 months ago

              He said he's not sure yet whether he wants to commit.

    3. FC Hakkebøf
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Buendia, Bowen and Sarr are popular picks as well.

    4. Zimo
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      The other one is Buendia probably. Odds are he'll be on freekicks and corners.

      1. dbeck
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        cheers, where does Beundia fit into the villa attack?

        1. Zimo
          • 5 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          RM most likely. Possibly CAM.

    5. Holmes
      • 10 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      As of now, it's Raphinha, Gross and Buendia.

      Raphinha is still 50-50

    6. DAZZ
      • 9 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      I’m going Barnes. Electric, explosive option and a great option at 7M

      1. Zimo
        • 5 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        If he starts regularly again then yeah go with Barnes here

        1. LangerznMash
          • 7 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          If we knew Barnes role in the team then yeah.
          5-2-1-2 could be Leicester's go to formation making Maddison the better £7.0m mid option.

          1. LangerznMash
            • 7 Years
            2 years, 8 months ago

            Vardy 'nacho
            Maddison
            Castagne N'didi Tielmans Pereira
            Soyuncu Evans Fofana
            Kasper

      2. dbeck
        • Fantasy Football Scout Member
        • 6 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        I like Barnes but no same price as Maddo doesnt feel right, is Barnes back from injury?

        1. DAZZ
          • 9 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          Will know more before seasons starts, but what an option @ 7.0M

    7. LangerznMash
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      £6.5m - Raphinha
      £6.0m - Harrison
      £5.5m - ESR

      All good value picks.

      1. Andy_Social
        • 11 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        Why is Saka at 6.5 not in the conversation?

        1. dbeck
          • Fantasy Football Scout Member
          • 6 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          i think no europe is huge for arsenal and can seem them improving, dare i say Auba and Pepe might be in the conversationn this year

        2. Zimo
          • 5 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          Arteta rotation love plus pepe and him play the same position I think no?

    8. diesel001
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Based on known information:

      Emile Smith-Rowe (Arsenal)
      Buendia (Aston Villa)
      Raphinha (Leeds)
      Harrison (Leeds)
      Barnes (Leicester)
      Sarr (Watford)

    9. gergin
      • 8 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      It is ridiculous nobody mentioned James. If he stays, of coure. The best option in 7 and under bracket. By far.

      1. Andy_Social
        • 11 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        Big 'if', that. I don't think he will.

    10. Sinixtre11
      • 2 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      roerslev has the potential to create some assists from the right flank..

      1. Sinixtre11
        • 2 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        sorry, I have replied in the wrong thread..

  4. Kristobal
    • 12 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    A) Shaw/Digne, Jota

    B) TAA, Smith-Rowe

    Or:

    C) KdB, Shaw/Digne

    D) Son, TAA

    1. FC Hakkebøf
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      D

  5. RAFA THE GAFFA
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Finally got a free morning at work!

    Time to pick my first team 🙂

    1. dbeck
      • Fantasy Football Scout Member
      • 6 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Enjoy it Rafa, i'm expecting to see Wilson in your draft

      1. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        He was haha. Unfortunately I’m 3m over at first attempt 🙂

        ASM as a forward 😯

    2. Now I'm Panicking
      • 9 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      The Summer is officially over.

      1. RAFA THE GAFFA
        • 7 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        Haha! Should I leave again? 🙂

        1. Now I'm Panicking
          • 9 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          Nah, I would welcome it getting a bit cooler 😉

          1. RAFA THE GAFFA
            • 7 Years
            2 years, 8 months ago

            Haha 🙂

  6. dbeck
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 6 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Jimenez at 7.5, is there a world where he could back to his old self, if so, 7.5 is under priced. I know nothing about the new wolves manager

    1. Zimo
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Wait and see for me

    2. RAFA THE GAFFA
      • 7 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Could be amazing value

    3. Andy_Social
      • 11 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      The price kinda reflects that. But they're opening fixtures are tough, so we've all got a few GWs to observe Wolves from a distance.

  7. RAFA THE GAFFA
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Everyone getting willock when the toon sign him? 🙂

    1. Drexl Spivey
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Ssshh (Yeah).

    2. Andy_Social
      • 11 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Not immediately, but if Raph flops ....

  8. mcginnntonic
    • 4 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Opinions please?
    Struggling to decide whether to double on TAA & Robbo or not...
    Don't want to double on brighton defence early on with lamptey so gone fofana.

    Sanchez / (Steele)
    TAA / Coufal / Fofana / (Ayling) / (Manquillo)
    Salah / Bruno / Grealish / Harrison / (Brownhill)
    Nacho / Watkins / Bamford

    Cheers

    1. Drexl Spivey
      • 5 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Is that definitely in budget?

      1. mcginnntonic
        • 4 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        Yeah lol its my team

        1. Drexl Spivey
          • 5 Years
          2 years, 8 months ago

          Very nice, I must say.

  9. Christina.
    • 14 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    I own Dallas.

  10. Osfezt
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    I got two drafts in mind, which one would you go for?

    (1)
    Martinez, (Steele)
    TAA, Digne, Shaw, Lamptey, (Johnson)
    Salah, Bruno, Barnes, (Harrison, Brownhill)
    Watkins, Toney, Antonio

    (2)
    Sanchez (Steele)
    TAA, Digne, Shaw, Fofana, (Johnson)
    Salah, KDB, Barnes, (Harrison, Brownhill)
    Cavani, Watkins, Toney

    1. The Knights Template
      • 10 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      1

  11. RAFA THE GAFFA
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Not seeing Kane in many drafts?…

    1. Tony Two Tone
      • 3 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      I'd say it's due to him likely having an interupted pre-season with the extra time he'll be given off for the Euros, and the fact that he's in a bit of a state of limbo club wise. If goes to Citeh everyone and his dog will transfer in straight away, it will be too tempting.

  12. DARK SIDE OF THE LOON
    • 7 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Hello everyone. Good to be back here. First attempt at building a team. Does it look ok?

    Sanchez Steele
    TAA Digne Cresswell Targett 4.0
    Salah Bruno Mahrez Raph ESR
    Nacho Toney 4.5

    1. Fletch69
      • 2 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      I think you may need a playing sub. Mahrez and Nacho may not play every game.

      But toying with switching to 4-4-2 myself to get Salah, Bruno, Son and a Liverpool defender in

  13. Gabbiadini
    • 6 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Origi 5.0, what's the likelihood of a move to a PL club where he is a starter?

  14. Ruth_NZ
    • 9 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    A critique on the article...

    It is interesting that there is next to nothing about game mechanics (understanding how the game works) from any of the three. 😕

    How to structure a squad and why.
    Benefits and drawbacks of using different formations.
    How to understand value (points per £1m).
    What is the true value of the chips and how best to use them.

    These and other similar aspects are what a beginner needs. Not what is in the article, which is mainly commentary about how those individuals go about picking players. Maybe they assume that people already know the basics. Maybe they have been playing so long that they have forgotten what it's like when you start. Maybe the FFS format only wants bitesize length, which is, of course, nonsensical if the subject requires foundations to be laid.

    To inform and teach someone to play FPL well would take a mini-library, each of the items mentioned above would need a long article to itself. Of course, people don't need to understand what they are doing, they can just copy others (which seems more and more the way of it nowadays). Maybe FFS doesn't want to make it too 'difficult'. But really this article does not deserve the title 'masterclass'. It doesn't begin to address what beginners need to know at all, despite that being its stated intention. 🙁

    1. Jafalad
      • 14 Years
      2 years, 8 months ago

      Putting the boot in early, Ruthless?

      1. Ruth_NZ
        • 9 Years
        2 years, 8 months ago

        No, just an honest critique. 🙂

  15. Falko79
    • Fantasy Football Scout Member
    • 2 Years
    2 years, 8 months ago

    Noo TAA or Robbo. Good price point players and team based on first 6 gamet. Digne will be sold for Maquire after first GW. Can also sell Greenwood for raph Harrison Barnes or Madison if he doesnt start.

    Sanchez
    Dunk AWB Digne Target
    Salah Bruno Greenwood Buendia
    DCL Watkins Toney
    Bench 4 mill, Stones, ESM, Ayling

    Any input much appreciated