Welcome to WSL Fantasy first time players and returning players!
Back by popular demand, here are ten tips for the upcoming WSL Fantasy Football season from the team and I to help you with the upcoming season. Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for how the following advice is used.
1. Starters and Known Assets
Possibly an easy one here… selecting players who will play the lion’s share of minutes is an easy win for points. Also, known WSL assets are good picks for the start of the season. New players to the league or clubs tend to take time to get accustomed. If you are unsure who to pick, check out the points from in the All Seasons Database. For more details on how the players got their points check out the 2022/23 Stats Centre. If you want to download the 2022/23 Stats Centre data, you can download the spreadsheet here.
2. To Kerr or Not to Kerr
Sam Kerr is the most tried and tested ShePlays WSL players of all time scoring a massive 901 points over the last three seasons. Kerr was the fourth best player last season behind by Khadija Shaw who scored the a second highest ever ShePlays WSL Fantasy score of 326 points. Unsurprisingly, perhaps Shaw was second only to Kerr’s 21/22 season high of 338 points. There’s a lot of premium talent at the 800K mark this season and although they have the most potential for points, you will likely need to make sacrifices elsewhere but it may be worth it.
3. 4-3-3 Formation
I created the optimisation programme that selects the team of the round and season for all the ShePlays competitions. From this, I have learnt that the most optimal formation is a 4-3-3. In previous seasons, this has been because midfielders tend to have lower point totals. Note, top midfielder from the two season’s Guro Reiten has been moved to forward this season.
From experience the midfield and how much value you place in the three (or more) in the middle can be a major differential when all the points are tallied up!
4. Free Choice Players and Bench
It is my opinion that your two free choice players should not include a forward. You can have max three forwards as starters, therefore a fourth forward doesn’t provide any additional flexibility to your squad.
Personally because I tend to play a 4-3-3, I like to use my two free positions for two defenders. My bench consists of two defenders, one midfielder and my back up keeper, all who will play in most instances. My midfielder is usually my most expensive bench player and I will rotate them in if the fixture is favourable. Note: others have been successful by running a cheap bench of 150k players so they can maximise their starters. This can work very well provided the starters all play.
Remember: if one of your starters doesn’t play, your bench players will be replaced in order they are listed, provided the formation is valid.
5. Attack and Defence Points
Clean sheets and goals come and go, but attack and defence points are more consistent throughout the season. II like to call them the “grind” points because they measure a player’s impact on a match despite result. Attack points include passes, crosses, shots, shots on target and chances created. Defence points include tackles, intercepts, clearances, and aerial challenges. See the Rules and Scoring page for the breakdown of how attack and defence points are calculated. On average, the top 50 players last season account 40% of their points to “grind” points.
6. Price Points and Transfers
It can be tempting to blow your budget with the premium players who get lots of points. However, having a squad of with different price points allows greater flexibility with transfer strategy to avoid transfer deductions. Transfer deductions can be beneficial if you really need to due to injury or form, just consider if the players you need are worth more than the -5 points.
We have certainly undervalued some players, so if you are quick to pick up them quick they can be extremely valuable. For your insight, we price players based on point potential, popularity, team price, and position.
7. The Big Four Clubs and Differentials
Players from the big four clubs (Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United) and Rachel Daly will likely once again be the top players for the season ahead, but they come at a cost. Differential players are the cheaper less well-known players from non top four sides. Last season, these were players like Kirsty Hanson, Bethany England, Rikke Sevecke, and Katie Robinson. Picking up on who these differential and in form players are throughout the season will help to sky-rocket to the top of your league. These players will likely appear in the TOTR and will pick up lots of attack and/or defence points.
8. Play the Long Game
From experience, you can have a poor start to the season but still catch up if you play the long game. Stick with your gut the first few rounds unless you have underestimated a players role as a starter. If you keep updating your team throughout the season you will slowly rise the ladder. Keep an eye out for our TOTRs and articles as well to help you with your selections.
9. No Emotions
I play my best fantasy football when I don’t get too attached to players or play with my heart. If you want to win fantasy football, you will need to get rid of your personal favourites when they aren’t getting you points no matter how hard it is. I’ll caveat that I’m not the best at this rule sometimes.