Quick tips for building the best FPL Gameweek 1 squad

In this article, community writer FPL Paz gives us a checklist on how to build the best Gameweek 1 squad for the upcoming season.

There are five simple things to consider when building a Gameweek 1 squad and they are broken down into five categories for the purpose of this piece. They are: Team Structure, Captaincy, Fixtures, Money, and Pre-Season:

Team Structure

• Pick players from different price points to allow you to make easy future moves
  • Allows you to fix any post-Gameweek 1 holes in your team quickly.
  • Two mid-priced midfielders allow you to quickly jump on players like Mount, Foden, Diaz, Maddison, Bowen, Saka or other expensive mids.

• Having the most expensive players in each position (except the goalkeeper) allows you to have “cash cows”
  • Allows you to get direct replacements at each position in one move.
  • Example: if Haaland is a flop, then a direct move to Kane is doable in one transfer.

• Limit promoted players/punts
  • No need to fall into the trap of “this player can cover for x” (i.e., Diaz can cover Salah).
  • Good to pick proven FPL assets.
  • Bournemouth, Fulham and Forest have bad fixtures and are unknown assets.

• Avoid booking in transfers
  • There will be other fires to put out post-Gameweek 1.
  • More information regarding minutes, formation, and assets will come up, so booking in a transfer reduces your flexibility.

Captaincy

• Pick two premium assets to attack easy fixtures each Gameweek
  • Allows you to switch to another premium asset in case of injuries quickly.
  • With Salah/Haaland, you have the two best captains in seven of the first eight Gameweeks.

• Plan 6-8 Gameweeks ahead
  • You never get to a Gameweek without knowing who your captain will be.
  • It allows you to plan for those Gameweeks in which there are better options.
  • Example: Salah/Haaland owners in Gameweek 6 know Kane/Son are better options)

• Don’t try to use “cover” for captaincy
  • Captaincy is your most critical decision, so give it to consistent FPL assets.
  • Example: Captaining Kulusevski in Gameweek 6 to cover for Kane/Son.

Fixtures

• Look at the first 6-8 Gameweeks only
  • No need to plan for the whole season because of the Wildcard and unlimited transfers after Gameweek 16.
  • The earlier you plan to Wildcard, the less ahead you should look.

• Use a Fixture Ticker for breaking down the best fixtures for both attackers and defenders
  • Ignore the unreliable FPL Fixture Difficulty Rating (FDR)

• Pick players from the best teams
  • Liverpool, City, Spurs and Arsenal all have good opening eight fixtures
  • Bournemouth, Fulham and Palace have the worst opening eight fixtures

Money

• Spend most of your money on your starting XI
  • Bench needed less with five subs now brought into play.
  • Leaving 0.5m in the bank allows you to account for price rises/falls.
  • One or two playing subs is fine.

• Look for value/minutes
  • Easier to find a £4.5m playing defender than a £4.5m playing forward
  • Spending money on players with more expected minutes reduces the chance you will have to rely on your bench.
  • Avoid hyped-up cheap options as they can decrease your team value. Example: Sam Greenwood is highly owned but will get few minutes, which may make tons of managers sell him and decrease his price.

Pre-Season

• Use it to scout players and teams
  • Is anyone playing ‘out of position’?
  • Who is getting the most minutes?
  • What formations are teams putting out?

• Look at the context of the results
  • Who was the opponent?
  • Are any key players missing?

• Avoid drawing definite conclusions
  • Only because someone scored does not make them “essential.”
  • Use pre-season as supportive data and not conclusive data.
  • Keep track of transfers as bad picks can suddenly become good picks.