Premier League fantasy football 2018-19 tips: rules for scoring points, bonus points system, free hit, wild card, triple captain
All the rules and regulations of Fantasy Premier League explained, as well as some hints on how to maximise the Bonus Points System so you can choose your best squad
We all know that goals, assists and clean sheets are your bread and butter in Fantasy Premier League, but there are plenty of other way to keep your points ticking over – and that could make all the difference.
Office bragging rights – and no doubt a prize, whether it be a fake trophy or some cash – can be yours if you pay attention to some of the extra ways to score points.
It’s easy to pick to obvious stars like Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane, but if apply a little bit of research you can put together an all-star backing cast that’ll have you riding high in your league.
So what do you need to know?
First, the basics
You have £100 million at your disposal to put together a squad of 15 players – two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders, and three forwards.
You can pick from a selection of formations to field 11 players who earn points for their performances each Gameweek.
Players on your bench will be used if players in your starting 11 do not feature at all in a match. The substitute used depends on what the position is of the player who doesn’t play, and the formation you are playing.
Following Friday’s 7pm BST fantasy transfer deadline, users can make one free transfer per week, though you can use a “wild card” on any two occasions during the season, where you can make as many transfers as you want.
If you don’t play a wild card, any extra transfers will each cost you -4 points.
How do I score points?
These are the easiest ways to think about how to start racking up points, as you consider which players to put in your squad:
Scoring a goal (forward): 4 points
Scoring a goal (midfielder): 5 points
Scoring a goal (goalkeeper/defender): 6 points
Assist: 3 points
Clean sheet (goalkeeper/defender): 4 points
Clean sheet (midfielder): 1 point
Playing up to 60 minutes: 1 point
Playing more than 60 minutes: 2 points
Goalkeeper saves: 1 point per 3 saves
Penalty save: 5 points
You can also lose points.
There are few less infuriating things than when one of your players gets sent off or puts the ball in his own net, but it’s all part of the game.
Yellow card: -1 point
Red card: -3 points
Own goal: -2 points
Goals conceded (goalkeeper/defenders): -1 point for every 2 goals let in
Missing a penalty: -2 points
Fancy some double points?
Then put your captain’s armband on whomever you’re prepared to gamble on scoring a decent amount of picks.
Fantasy users must also select a vice-captain, who will pick up the double points in the case of your captain being injured or not playing.
You can even earn triple points – but only once a season – by selecting the triple captain option. So if you think Salah is going to score a hat-trick against West Ham this weekend, then by all means go all in straight away.
Any other tricks?
You can use “Bench Boost” once a season, where your substitutes’ points will be added to your points for that Gameweek.
“Free Hit” also allows you to rip things up (also once per season) and change as many players as you want for one week only.
There are plenty of bonus points to be had, too.
The three best players in each match, as adjudged by the Fantasy Premier League statisticians, will be award 1 point, 2 points and 3 points.
Players earn Bonus Points System (BPS) points based on the following actions.
Players one and two will get 3 points each if there is a tie for first place, with player 3 getting 1 point.
If there is a tie for second place, player one gets 3 points with players two and three getting 2 points.
If there is a third-place tie, players three and four receive one point out while player one gets 3 points and player two gets 2 points.
These points will be added an hour after the final whistle of the last match of any given day.