How to play fantasy football: a beginner's guide

Fantasy football follows the Premier League week by week. You manage a squad of real players and score points from what they do on the pitch. Here is everything you need for your first season.

Your squad

• 15 players: 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders and 3 forwards.
• Budget of 100.0m. Each player has a price that reflects his form and role.
• Maximum 3 players from one club, so you cannot stack a single team.

Your starting eleven

Each gameweek 11 of your 15 players start and 4 sit on the bench. Allowed formations include 4-4-2, 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 style shapes: always one goalkeeper, at least three defenders and at least one forward. If a starter does not play, a bench player comes on automatically, in your bench order.

How points are scored

• Playing time: 1 point for up to 59 minutes, 2 points for 60 minutes or more.
• Goals: worth more for defenders and goalkeepers than for forwards.
• Assists: 3 points.
• Clean sheets: 4 points for goalkeepers and defenders, 1 point for midfielders.
• Defensive contributions: 2 points for defenders with 10 or more clearances, blocks, interceptions and tackles, and for midfielders and forwards with 12 or more including ball recoveries.
• Bonus points for the best players of each match; minus points for cards, own goals and missed penalties.

Captain and vice captain

Your captain scores double. If he does not play, your vice captain takes the armband. The captain pick is the single most important decision of every gameweek.

Transfers

You get one free transfer per gameweek and unused ones roll over, up to five. Every extra transfer costs 4 points, so only take a hit when the new player is clearly better for the next few weeks.

Three tips for your first week

1. Spend most of your budget on the players who start every week.
2. Pick cheap bench players who still play regularly.
3. Look at the next five fixtures, not just the next one.