With Fantasy Premier League (FPL) live for 2024/25, we’ll be welcoming back our team of Hall of Famers and guest writers for the new campaign. Here, eight-time top 10k finisher Zophar talks about the rule changes and discusses his first draft team reveal.
It’s been a few days since the launch of Fantasy Premier League for the 2024/25 season and while the initial enthusiasm and hours of tinkering have subdued somewhat, I am quite excited for what the new campaign holds after a somewhat dull 2023/24.
The lack of growth in the numbers has caused FPL Towers to take notice. On the face of it, we see that reflected in some of the prices for players such as Erling Haaland (£15.0m) and Cole Palmer (£10.5m). That being said, those are probably the only two players I see as being in the ‘overpriced’ range. Many of the others have been priced up quite fairly and in some cases like Alexander Isak (£8.5m) and Ollie Watkins (£9.0m), underpriced.
Rolling up to Five Free Transfers
The introduction of the ability to roll five free transfers also indicates that FPL recognised that something was needed to spice up the game. It’s the biggest rule change we have seen since the introduction of chips and I really like it. I’m traditionally a very patient FPL manager: when in doubt I like to roll my transfer. Previously, one could do so only to a point; after I had two transfers amassed there was an obligation to move, which just isn’t there now. This is both a good and a bad thing.
One of my main weaknesses as an FPL manager is not reacting to immediate changes in form or jumping to an immediate bandwagon as I prefer to wait for more information and roll a transfer instead. Basically, prioritising the long term over the short term.
I tried to change my ways last year and be a bit more aggressive, which helped me achieve a top 10k rank.
However, this season, the temptation will be to keep rolling if I have good players from good teams and no injuries, thereby neglecting value rises/form picks/short-term punts that are emerging. This is something I will have to keep in mind. Having 3-5 free transfers is always going to be a nice ‘flex’ amongst friends or on social media but what matters is total FPL points at the end of the season.
Looking at it from another perspective, having 2-4 free transfers in the pocket may allow me to buy players for just a one or two Gameweeks, say Phil Foden (£9.5m) for Southampton at home if he’s benched in a midweek UEFA Champions League game. So, it can be used to chase short-term upside as well.
And then of course there’s the friend who misses deadlines or forgets about FPL for a few weeks. They can use more free transfers and fix the injuries/suspensions in their team. I can’t really think of a negative thing to say about this rule; it’s another strategy aspect for us to think about. With the price points the way they are, hopping on and off the right premiums at the right time is likely to be the key to FPL success this season.
Changes in the Bonus Points System
There are likely to be many more detailed articles on this site explaining how the new changes in Bonus Points System (BPS) will affect each player this season, so I won’t go too much into specifics. But this has made me reconsider my strategy of usually loading up on defences from the ‘top six’ sides.
With the BPS now awarding more points to their attackers, I think it’s less likely that William Saliba (£6.0m) or Ben White (£6.5m) will get three bonus points if Arsenal win 2-0. Players like Kai Havertz (£8.0m) and Bukayo Saka (£10.0m), who fire off shots on target, will benefit more. Similarly, if Liverpool win 2-0 or 3-0, we might see the likes of Luis Diaz (£7.5m), Mohamed Salah (£12.5m), Cody Gakpo (£7.5m) etc scoop up the bonus points rather than say Trent Alexander-Arnold (£7.0m) or Andrew Robertson (£6.0m).
However, with teams such as Everton, Nottingham Forest etc, who are more likely to win games by slender scorelines and don’t generate as much shot volume, their defenders are more likely to be in the bonus points if they do keep a clean sheet.
Given the paucity of clean sheets last season anyway, I am thinking spending less in defence is the way to go. Maybe one premium defender at best. Liverpool are a bit of an unknown under Arne Slot, while three of Arsenal’s first five fixtures don’t look great for clean sheets. One of my favourite assets from last season, Pedro Porro (£5.5m), is someone who will likely suffer on the bonus with Spurs allergic to clean sheets. Villa interest me, especially with the likely signing of Amadou Onana (£5.0m). That just leaves Josko Gvardiol (£6.0m), who is currently the only premium defender in my side.
My current Gameweek 1 team
You can see more of me and Pras on this week’s The FPL Wire, where we talk about Wildcards and fixture swings:
