Fantasy Premier League (FPL) managers have until 6.30pm BST on Friday, August 21, to confirm their selections for the opening gameweek of the new season. The deadline falls 90 minutes before reigning champions Arsenal host promoted Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night.
Millions of fans worldwide are putting together their 15-player squads, with a £100m budget and the option to pick a maximum of three players from each Premier League team. Squads must include two goalkeepers, five defenders, five midfielders and three forwards.
How to register and build your squad
Players can register on the official Fantasy Premier League site or sign in if they already have an account. After choosing a team name, kit and badge, managers can start assembling their squad.
Transfers can be made before every game week starts once a squad is complete. Teams can be set up in any formation, but must include at least three defenders, one striker and a goalkeeper. A captain and vice-captain must also be selected each week, with the skipper earning double points and the vice-captain stepping in if the captain does not play. Substitutes should be ordered carefully, as they slot in when a starting XI member does not feature.
Scoring rules and chips explained
Points are awarded for goals, assists, clean sheets, saves and bonus points from the Bonus Points System (BPS). Goalkeepers and defenders earn four points for a clean sheet, midfielders one. Goals are worth six points for defenders, five for midfielders, four for forwards and ten for goalkeepers. Penalty saves earn five points, while penalty misses, yellow cards, red cards and own goals incur deductions.
Managers have four chips, each usable once per half of the season: Bench Boost, Triple Captain, Wildcard and Free Hit. Bench Boost lets benched players earn points, Triple Captain triples the skipper's points, Wildcard makes all transfers in a gameweek free, and Free Hit allows unlimited transfers for a single gameweek with the squad reverting afterwards.
Recommended team for the opening weekend
A string of new signings have been added to the game ahead of the new campaign, including Arsenal winger Christos Tzolis, Brentford midfielder Mamdou Sangare, Liverpool loan signing Ronald Araujo and Fulham's new £34m striker Gonzalo Garcia.
Factoring in new arrivals and established Premier League talent, a strong starting squad would be:
- Goalkeepers: Lammens (MUN, £5.0m), Verbruggen (BRI, £4.5m)
- Defenders: Gabriel (ARS, £8.0m), O'Reilly (MCI, £6.5m), Calafiori (ARS, £5.5m), Truffert (BOU, £5.5m), Shaw (MUN, £4.5m)
- Midfielders: Fernandes (MUN, £12.0m), Szoboszlai (LIV, £7.0m), Odegaard (ARS, £6.5m), Ndiaye (EVE, £6.0m), Sangare (BRE, £5.5m)
- Forwards: Isak (LIV, £9.0m), Pedro (CHE, £7.5m), Calvert-Lewin (LEE, £6.0m)
Managers must confirm their selections before the 6.30pm BST deadline on Friday, ahead of the season opener at the Emirates Stadium.
