What Fantasy is

Fantasy Premier League (FPL) is a free game alongside the real Premier League. You pick a squad of footballers within a budget. When they do well in real matches, you score Fantasy points. Your weekly totals add up over the season — that’s your progress.

Why it matters: every gameweek is a small swing in a long race. One bad week rarely ruins a season; repeating the same mistakes (missed deadlines, blind hits, captains you don’t believe in) does.

On Pitchline: this site is an unofficial helper while you learn — rankings, fixtures, and tips. It does not replace the official FPL site, where your real squad lives.

Your squad

• 15 players: 2 goalkeepers, 5 defenders, 5 midfielders, 3 forwards
• Budget: about £100m across the whole squad
• Club limit: at most 3 players from the same club

Prices rise and fall during the season. Money you spend early is money you don’t have later; three from one club blocks a fourth option from that side.

Why it matters: squad building is a set of trade-offs. A shiny expensive midfielder might mean a weaker bench — and when injuries hit, weak depth costs points.

On Pitchline: use player rankings (filter by position and price) or compare a few names side by side. Weigh the options — don’t treat the top of a list as “must buy.”

Starting XI & bench

Each gameweek you pick 11 starters and 4 on the bench. Only the XI (plus automatic substitutes if someone doesn’t play) score for you that week. Bench order matters for those auto-subs.

Why it matters: a player who hauls on your bench is points you left on the table. Progress isn’t only transfers — it’s also who you actually field.

On Pitchline: if you’ve linked your team, the dashboard may suggest lineup tweaks. Treat them as prompts to double-check minutes and fixtures — then set the XI on the official site.

How you score

Players earn Fantasy points for things like goals, assists, clean sheets (especially defenders and keepers), and bonus points after the match. Attackers lean on goals and assists; defenders lean on clean sheets plus the odd attacking return.

Why it matters: if you don’t know how a position usually scores, it’s easy to overrate a “hot” name who doesn’t fit how points are actually made. Understanding scoring helps you challenge any tip — including Pitchline’s.

On Pitchline: Metrics explained covers Form, expected involvements, Exp. pts, Pitchline score, and fixture difficulty in plain English. Use those labels as questions (“is this form or luck?”), not as orders.

Captain & vice-captain

Your captain scores double points. Your vice-captain only takes over if the captain doesn’t play. For most managers, the armband is the biggest weekly decision.

Why it matters: one bad captain can cost more than a transfer hit; one good one can leap you up the mini-league table. Blindly copying a lean without checking minutes or kickoff can erase a week of careful transfers.

On Pitchline: Captains shows who Pitchline would give the armband over the next 5 fixtures, among likely starters — hints to weigh, then confirm the armband on FPL.

Transfers & hits

You usually get free transfers each week. Extra transfers cost −4 points each (a “hit”). Hits spend points you don’t get back.

Why it matters: chasing every shiny tip with hits can drop your rank even when the new player “works out.” Sometimes holding is progress — patience protects your total while others bleed −4s.

On Pitchline: the dashboard may show transfer ideas; your watchlist (when signed in) keeps names you’re tracking. Ask “is this worth −4?” before you act on the official site.

Chips

Special chips (used once each in a typical season setup) include:

• Wildcard — rebuild your squad freely for a window
• Free Hit — temporary squad for one week, then it reverts
• Triple Captain — captain scores triple instead of double
• Bench Boost — bench players score that week too

Exact availability can change with the season rules on the official site — always check there.

Why it matters: chips are limited season resources. Burning one early changes what you can do later. Using one because an app “suggested it” without a plan can cost you a bigger opportunity weeks down the line.

On Pitchline: signed-in home shows remaining chips and the next window when there is one. The dashboard and Planner may mention chips when they’re relevant. That’s a nudge to think — not a calendar you must follow.

Deadlines

Changes lock at the deadline (usually before the first match of the gameweek). After that, your squad is set until the next deadline.

Why it matters: miss the deadline and last week’s XI rides again — progress stalls by default while others tweak. Most “I forgot” weeks are self-inflicted.

On Pitchline: optional deadline prep emails (~1–1.5 days before) can remind you with captain/transfer suggestions. Turn them off anytime. Still make the real changes on FPL.

Fixtures & difficulty

Some weeks look kinder than others. Fantasy rates matches with fixture difficulty (1 easier → 5 harder). Looking a few fixtures ahead helps with holds, sells, and captain choices.

Why it matters: a tough run can drag several of your players at once; a kinder run can lift a whole club. Fixture planning is how casual managers avoid panicking into points hits after one quiet week.

On Pitchline: open the fixtures ticker for every club’s remaining run at a glance, Clubs for a side’s next matches and avg difficulty, or a player page for their upcoming run. Labels have tooltips; Metrics explains difficulty and outlook.

Price changes

Fantasy updates player prices around 00:00 UK once the season is live. Progress toward the next £0.1m rise or fall is published as a public percent — over 100% means a change is expected at the next update (late transfers can still reverse it).

On Pitchline: open Prices for who might rise or fall, or a player page when progress is moving. Prices stay locked until after the Gameweek 1 deadline.

Ownership

Overall Owned % from Fantasy’s public selected-by figure tells you who sits in most squads versus who is still under the radar. Net transfers this week show who is being bought or sold — useful context before you chase or dump.

On Pitchline: open Ownership for most-owned and less-owned lists, this week’s buys and sells, and high-owned MID/FWD captain options. This is overall ownership, not an elite-rank sample.

Underlying (expected goals)

Goals and assists alone can mislead — chance quality matters. Fantasy publishes season expected goals (xG), expected assists (xA), and expected goal involvements (xGI). Per-90 rates level the minutes playing field; goals/assists vs expected show who is over- or under-performing those chances.

On Pitchline: open Expected goals for a filterable underlying table. Figures come from Fantasy’s public bootstrap — not a third-party Opta or Understat feed.

Planner

Transfers and chips are week-by-week decisions. Pitchline’s planner lays out the next few weeks for your linked squad — whether to use a free transfer, save one, consider a 4-point hit, or aim a chip at a week with few fixtures or two matches.

Free-transfer counts are estimates from your recent history — always confirm on FPL before you act. The dashboard still has this week’s full checklist.

Live matchday

Once fixtures kick off, Live shows provisional week points for your linked squad — captain/vice-captain multipliers, soft automatic bench-swap estimates, bonus race leaders, and whether bonus is still provisional.

Overall rank on that page is the last figure FPL published, not a true in-play update. Refresh after big swings; Pitchline caches live data briefly so the official API isn’t hammered.

Next steps

Tools after understanding — not “follow the app”:

1. Skim rankings and ask who looks sensible for your budget.
2. Compare two or three names before you move.
3. Optional: Join, link your team, and use the dashboard as a checklist — then decide on the official FPL site.

Pitchline tips are guesses with numbers behind them. Your progress improves when you understand the trade-offs — and only then use the tools.