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The fixtures for the 2020/21 season of the Premier League were announced on Thursday, and it also means that Fantasy Premier League is back for another season. The player prices for the FPL season were released last week, and now, FPL managers can start building their team for the next season.
There is one major rule change: The deadline for each Gameweek is now 90 minutes before the start of the first match of the Gameweek.
But creating an FPL team can be a daunting task for many with the number of options available, and the cost of the options we may have to forego. There are many different strategies and approaches one can take when building a team, and FPL managers must be clear in their decision-making.
So on that note, let's take a look at the various factors to consider and some basic tips to help you set up your FPL team.
Click here to create your FPL team if you don't have one yet.
1) Have a strong core of players:
This is one of the most important factors in setting an FPL team, as having a strong core of players enables you to build the team around these players.
These four or five players should remain in the team for most of the season, or at least until you play your Wildcard. These players might cost you half your budget(£50 m) and are likely to be the premium-priced players.
For example, my core consists of: Mohammed Salah(LIV)(MID)(£12.0 m), Marcus Rashford(MUN)(MID)(£9.5 m), Harry Kane(TOT)(FWD)(£10.5 m), Trent Alexander-Arnold(LIV)(DEF)(£7.5 m), and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang(ARS)(MID)(£12.0 m), and costs me £52.5 m.
Aubameyang is more of a short-term punt, though, and I'll mostly bring Kevin De Bruyne(MCI)(MID)(£11.5 m) in after Gameweek 2, because of his Gameweek 1 blank.
2) Decide on your FPL Goalkeeper Strategy:
This is an often underrated aspect of FPL, but making the right choice concerning goalkeepers can get you a steady stream of points throughout the season.
There are a few ways to choose your goalkeepers:
1) The Cheapest set: This involves selecting a goalkeeper costing £4.5 m, and another goalkeeper costing £4.0m. It'll be better if both goalkeepers are from the same team as even if one gets injured or doesn't start, the other goalkeeper will play.
Mathew Ryan(£4.5 m) and David Button(£4.0 m), from Brighton and Hove Albion, are the best options if you opt for this strategy. This is, however, not usually advisable as chances of getting clean sheets aren't that high.
2) Rotating keepers: By paying £0.5 m more, you can get two starting goalkeepers and rotate them according to their fixtures and their team's defensive form. This gives you better chances of getting clean sheets and is a very popular choice for FPL managers.
3) Set and forget: This is another popular choice employed by FPL managers. This involves choosing one high-priced goalkeeper from a team which has a good defensive record, and another cheap, £4.0 m goalkeeper. The manager won't have to change the goalkeeper unless there's an injury or slump in form.
Popular set and forget choices include Nick Pope(BUR)(£5.5 m) and Rui Patricio(WOL)(£5.5 m).
Note: It's usually not advisable to select goalkeepers from the top teams as they usually don't need to make many saves, and as a result, don't get an opportunity of getting bonus points. At the high price you pay, you get pretty much the same output as a £4.5 m or £5 m goalkeeper.
3) Keep a cheap bench:
One of the most common errors which many FPL managers make is to have an expensive bench. Having costly players on your bench means that you are essentially wasting funds, which can be used to upgrade one of your starting XI players.
While keeping a £4.5 m defender, or a £5.0-5.5 m midfielder on your bench is fine, but anything more than that will reduce the output from your starting XI.
Therefore, FPL managers must try to keep the cost of their bench within £19 m and must try to get cheap enablers like Nathan Ferguson(CRY)(DEF)(£4.0 m) on their side.
Note: Not to be confused with the temporary benching of important players who have a tough fixture, or a minor injury.
