Sponsored by Bet365
When recently introducing the free-to-enter Premier League Fantasy game offered by bet365, we covered its prizes (both monthly and over the season), the rules and how to score points.
It’s a very similar game to Fantasy Premier League (FPL) with just a few alterations.
The Wildcard is the only chip, Gameweek deadlines go right up to its first kick-off, and bonus points are replaced by rewards for shots on target and team impact. Additionally, with the amount of stoppage time set to increase, midfielders and forwards will receive an extra point for completing a match.
This contest has a guaranteed prize pool of £500,000 to reward managers finishing in the top 10k. So let’s draft a free bet365 squad and get started!
To take part, all you need to do is register a bet365 account.
Exclusive to bet365 users, entries are strictly limited to one per customer, meaning there are no annoying duplicate teams.
BET365: DRAFTING A FREE SQUAD
Last time, we noticed that premium assets such as Erling Haaland (£12.5m), Mohamed Salah (£12.0m) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) are cheaper than in FPL.
Therefore, seeing as Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Bruno Fernandes (£9.5m) are much more expensive, a two-premium team is more feasible.
In goal, we have a legitimate £4.0m option to go alongside Jordan Pickford (£4.5m) and that’s Luton Town’s Thomas Kaminski. Stoppers are pricier here where, unlike FPL, some go beyond £5.5m.
Forward-thinking defenders Ben Chilwell (£5.5m) and Pervis Estupinan (£5.0m) have a fair starting value. The Brighton and Hove Albion left-back had more penalty area touches (56) than any other defender from Gameweek 20 onwards last season.
Joining them is Arsenal’s William Saliba (£5.5m), as team-mate Gabriel is up to £6.0m. It’s hard to better the Gunners’ early fixture run, so there’s a midfield double-up with Gabriel Martinelli (£8.5m) and Kai Havertz (£8.0m). FPL pricing makes Saka an easy choice but the game-makers here are forcing managers to think a bit more.
Speaking of the template elsewhere, further popular midfielders like Marcus Rashford (£9.5m) and Kaoru Mitoma (£7.5m) also have problems. The latter is £1.0m more expensive here, whilst the Manchester United star is classified as a forward. Consequently, that opens up a gap for Salah and there’s also room for seemingly underpriced Spurs midfielder Dejan Kulusevski (£6.0m).
Up front, Haaland is a no-brainer at that price. Joining both him and Rashford in a 3-4-3 formation is Brentford forward Yoane Wissa (£6.5m).
This squad looks handy for several weeks, which is great in this game because the saving of weekly free transfers is limitless, i.e. it can go beyond two.
Finally, it’s a cheap bench to go with Kaminski. Jordan Beyer (£4.0m) and George Baldock (£4.0m) should regularly start, whilst Ryan Christie (£4.5m) has had a good pre-season for Bournemouth. He notched one goal and two assists from attacking midfield.
ENTER BET365’S £500K PREMIER LEAGUE FANTASY GAME HERE
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