You’ve picked your fantasy team name and got all the league codes you need, but now comes the hard part – actually picking your starting XI.
Whichever fantasy league platform you use, picking a strong squad while keeping it under budget is the biggest challenge.
Get it right and you’ll come flying out of the traps. Get it wrong and you’ll be giving up by late September and spending your Friday nights going out and speaking to people instead of staying indoors making panicked changes to your team.
We’ve spoken to daily fantasy football game Oulala.com to get some advice on the dos and don’ts of team selection. Follow their advice and you could be on to a winner, whether you’re playing a daily or season-long game.
1. Pick regular starters
Sure, it seems obvious, but it’s a trap which a surprising number of people fall into. With certain teams having far more competition for places than others, all it takes to get an idea of who will play and who won’t is a cursory glance at the official squad lists.
Oulala says: ‘The less injury-prone or at risk of rotation a player is, the more value he adds to your fantasy football side. Basically, the more they’re on the pitch, the more fantasy football points they can pick up.’
SportsJOE picks: Ashley Williams and Kasper Schmeichel tend to play every minute when fit. Get them in.
2. Research the fixture list
How many weeks ahead do you look at the fixtures? Are you stuck making a bunch of rushed changes while all your mates are somehow prepared already? We’re not saying you need to keep a spreadsheet, but a 10-minute look can help you gain a lot.
Oulala says: ‘Players from Liverpool appear the ones to avoid at the beginning of the season with away games against Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea in their first half-dozen matches.’
SportsJOE picks: Olivier Giroud and Romelu Lukaku love playing against West Ham. Make sure you’ve got room for them when the time comes.
3. Head over heart
Sure, you might have seen your favourite player produce a great performance last week without scoring, but no goals means fewer points than that rival who’s scuffing in two-yarders on a weekly basis. Do you want to win morally or, you know, literally. With points and that.
Oulala says: ‘The top managers do not pick players based on the club they support. Leave loyalty at the door.’
SportsJOE picks: Don’t pick Ryan Mason, even if he is ‘one of your own’.
4. Out-of-position players
If someone’s listed as a defender but usually plays in midfield, they’ll get the added boost of clean sheet points. Similarly, strikers listed as midfielders will get more points when they do find the net. There aren’t many who fit the bill, but there are some.
Oulala says: ‘If you can identify this season’s Eric Dier, either a midfielder listed as a defender or a striker listed as a midfielder and they’re a regular starter, get them into your team to earn a few bonus points that the correctly listed players cannot.’
SportsJOE picks: Anthony Martial is listed as a midfielder in the Premier League’s official game, as is Jay Rodriguez. They’re very different players to fellow midfielders like Lee Cattermole and Granit Xhaka.
5. Promoted players
Players with promoted clubs can often be undervalued in their first season, and the likes of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo showed last season that it’s not as hard to make the step up as it has been in the past.
Oulala says: ‘Burnley, Hull and Middlesbrough will offer a bargain or two between them this season. Can you spot who it’ll be?’
SportsJOE picks: Andre Gray knows where the back of the net is, and feels like the most likely to replicate what Deeney and Ighalo achieved last season. Elsewhere on the pitch, Middlesbrough’s Emilio Nsue is a good attacking full-back who should be great value if he holds down a starting place.
6. Don’t ignore stats
Strikers can have dry spells in front of goal for a variety of reasons, so it can pay to find out whether it’s bad luck rather than a quiet few games that’s kept your man off the scoresheet. If it’s the former, and he’s registering enough shots to suggest the goals will come, maybe stick with him a little longer.
Oulala says: ‘Analysing every piece of data when identifying potential fantasy football picks is a key ingredient to being a top fantasy football manager.’
SportsJOE picks: No specific picks here, you just need to keep your eye on the ball throughout the season.
Tips and infographic provided by daily fantasy football game Oulala. For more information visit www.oulala.com
