Top 5 Fantasy Football Tips

It’s only two days until the Premier League season kicks off, which means over two million football fans are busy tweaking their Fantasy Football teams…

…choosing a “humourous” team name and trying to figure out what newcomers could be this year’s Michu. We look at some tips to make sure you’ve not given up by the end of August.

Go with your head, not your heart
You may want to choose three of your club’s favourite players and ignore some of the league’s most unpopular stars, but don’t let sentiment get in the way of your team selection. For example, Wayne Rooney may not be loved by many fans outside Old Trafford (or, indeed, many within), but he should almost be the first name on your team-sheet.

44% of players this year have already chosen the new Man United captain and last year’s overall Fantasy Football winner advises that if you don’t have him in your team “I wouldn’t bother playing”.

Two into one won’t go
Your goalkeeper is an integral part of your side but it’s a case of caveat emptor this season. Many top sides have two top-class keepers to choose from and it’s still difficult to determine who’ll be number one for their respective sides.

There’s no point blowing £6 million on Joe Hart or Petr Cech when Willy Cabellero and Thibaut Courtois could conceivably keep them out of their first teams. Likewise, Colombia’s David Ospina was one of the top shot-stoppers in Europe in recent seasons and hasn’t come to Arsenal to warm the bench for Wojciech Szczesny.

You’d be more advisable to choose a keeper at a club who are strong defensively but do not possess a top-class goalkeeping back-up. Think Tim Howard, David de Gea or Asmir Begovic.

Change Your Captain Regulary
As your team’s skipper earns double points, it’s worth checking before each match day as to which of your players has the easiest upcoming fixture(s). Going into Game Week 1 & 2, Chelsea have seemingly comfortable clashes with newly-promoted Burnley and Leicester City, so it might be advisable to choose one of your Chelsea stars as skipper.

Offense over Defence
The majority of successful Fantasy Football managers settle on three defenders, whether it be a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formation. Attack-minded players earn you more points, with defenders unlikely to contribute as many points for goals scored and assists. Furthermore, ensure your midfielders are also attacking.

The likes of Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Man City’s Fernandinho may be much-lauded ever-presents and pivotal to their sides’ chances but won’t score as many points as their more attacking colleagues. The same goes for your defence. The likes of Alexsandar Kolarov, Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Skrtel and Seamus Coleman were among the top assist makers and scorers last season, while also playing for relatively tight defences.

Make Sure They Start!
You may have splashed £6 million on United’s new left-back Luke Shaw, conscious of the fact that he’ll be ostensibly a wing-back in Louis Van Gaal’s new system. However, the young England international has already been ruled out for the first few weeks of the new season. Likewise, a number of top stars (particularly those who starred at the World Cup) are still not fully fit – meaning the likes of Robin van Persie, Sergio Aguero and Mesut Ozil may miss the crucial opening weekend.

It’s essential you keep up to date with injury news before each match day, with the Premier League site indicating the percentage chance of injured or unfit players have of starting their club’s next fixture.