Pick a striker in one of the first two rounds.

Only a few teams last season went back to playing a diamond with two strikers. Most of them aligned with the current formula of a target man, meaning they only play one striker in the starting 11. Therefore, there will be approximately 20-25 strikers who get regular playing time, assuming they don’t get injured (*ahem* Harry Kane). Since fantasy teams are allowed 3 strikers, it would be good to have two reliable strikers and one back-up. And so, since good strikers are few and far between, it is quite important to snap one up quickly so you have at least one who plays every week.

High-scoring midfielders are worth their weight in gold.

In the past two years, there have only been three players to surpass the 200-point mark in a single season. In Leicester’s title-winning campaign, only Mahrez reached such admirable heights. Last season, Sanchez and Alli were the only two to do it. It is no coincidence that these three were all categorized as midfielders on the draft fantasy football site. Midfielders gain 25% more points than strikers for each goal they score, and obviously that works in your favour. Therefore, a midfielder who scores goals is priceless.

Those who can score on occasion whilst also providing assists, such as Eriksen or Sigurðsson, are arguably just as valuable. Although assists are worth only three points compared to a goal’s five, midfielders are more likely to assist in a target man system, and can often swing tight fantasy games in your favour. I would suggest you pick up at least two reliable attacking midfielders within the first five rounds if possible, as you will reap high rewards as the season goes on. Prioritise them over strikers in the case of players like Sanchez or Alli.

The main source of a defender’s points comes from clean sheets.

The attacking prowess of a defender can be over- or underestimated with ease. I personally picked Bellerín in the third round last season, which turned out to be an underwhelming use of a third round pick. Despite his pace and relative attacking success two seasons ago, last season he underperformed (scoring one goal and assisting five) until the final two weeks (during which he made two of his five assists and scored his only goal). And, because of Arsenal’s shaky defence, Bellerín totalled a modest 107 points by the end of the campaign compared to the 154 of the previous season, the point being that defenders have unpredictable attacking stats.

It is safer to go for a centre-back from a strong defence rather than a full-back from a slightly worse one, as the four points gained is more valuable than the three of an assist. Because the Premier League is fairly evenly matched, teams cannot assume a player will keep clean sheets week-in week-out, and so the relative importance of defenders is reduced. However, it is best to put your faith in at least one full-back with attacking potential (such as Walker), in case they surprise you and perform to the same standard as Alonso last season. I would suggest you pick only one defender from your first five picks, as their points totals are more dependent on luck than that of attacking players.

Goalkeepers are fickle and cannot trusted.

Most goalkeepers do have some very good games, like Tom Heaton against Manchester United last season. And they can even save a penalty in a lucky game (or two in the case of the god-like Stekelenburg), but this does not mean you can expect them to. Goalkeepers are mostly there to get a safe two points for ninety minutes of playing time, and they can’t even supply that if they have a bad game. The point is, if the defence is under-performing, there is nothing a goalkeeper can do to salvage a point or three. Even when the defence has a good game, goalkeepers can sabotage a perfectly good clean sheet – looking at you, Bravo. And when the season comes to an end, goalkeepers all average similar points to each other, so there is really no need to start thinking about keepers until about round 10.

Holding midfielders are practically worthless.

N’Golo Kanté is a very special player, there is no doubt about that. PFA player of the year 2017, title winner two years running, he is really a delight to watch. But a holding midfielder’s job is to keep the opposition at bay with tackling and interceptions, something which is not rewarded under the current scoring system. And so, unless Kanté, or any other CDM, gets a lucky goal/assist, their maximum per game is two or three points. It is much more beneficial to pick a risky attacking midfielder from a team like Burnley over a holding midfielder from one of the top teams.

Overview

The main concern during the draft is managing your roster as you go through, making sure you balance your team evenly. As I said before, strikers and attacking midfielders are a priority, but you must pick an adequate defence, too. A suggestion for the first 10 picks would be two strikers, four midfielders, three defenders and a keeper. If you make sure your distribution of picks is weighted fairly evenly by this stage, your team is much more likely to perform to a higher standard as a whole, as you have almost made a strong starting team instead of focusing on getting the best players for a certain position, while neglecting the other roles.

You should also keep in mind that good players from lesser teams must be considered as picks, as throughout the season you will come to realise the importance of such players. Some fantasy managers may only pick from the best teams in the Premier League, and this could be a good system for a lot of game weeks. However, when two big teams play each other, the more famous players are less likely to perform as well, and that is when you need the support of players like King or Zaha who score highly despite their teams’ overall quality.

The draft can make or break your season, because starting well establishes your place in your league table, and you want as many points as possible early on to allow yourself a cushion later on in the year. You can improve your team with free transfers, waivers, and new arrivals to the Premier League, but this should not be relied upon – plan ahead to gain the best possible advantage going into your fantasy season.